What do you get for $892 at a Honolulu hostess bar

[Rob Tucker]

What do you get for $892 at a Honolulu hostess bar?

The Trib reports that Mayor Kenoi charged $892 in one visit to a hostess bar in Honolulu.

I don't go to hostess bars. What does one get for $892 at a Honolulu hostess bar?


http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...qus_thread

[leilanidude]

No idea what you get at a "hostess bar", but in the real world (aka corporate) if you charged personal expenses on your corporate card, you were generally fired as soon as they found out, whether you reimbursed them or not.

[Chunkster]

My friend from Honolulu tells me that those hostess bars are "cheesy, touchy-feely" sorts of places. Kenoi admitted a lack of judgment in charging the $892 on the county card, but I have to wonder if the bigger lapse wasn't just being there in the first place. For someone with ambitions to higher office, he just doesn't seem to grasp the implications of some of his behavior. First there was the head-butting incident in a Hilo bar, then the squeaker re-election win where he spent an outrageous sum to barely beat an unfunded opponent, and now this. I hear reports that the shine is off his apple with the Dems in HNL, but this is Hawaii, so anything could happen. Stay tuned.

[kalakoa]

The rules are pretty simple for a government credit card, it shall be used only for government work.

Obviously Billy was deputized by Caldwell to perform an undercover investigation for possible health and safety violations at the establishment. The hostesses already know all the local officials, so they needed someone from out-of-town. Simple as that; no impropriety here.

Now that I know the full range of County employment, I'm definitely going to apply -- I've always wanted to be a "hostess inspector", and the job apparently includes travel expenses.

[Frankie Stapleton]

The answer to your question, Rob, is a whole lotta aloha!

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

I've always wanted to be a "hostess inspector"

Don't forget, there is a daytime component to the job.
Afternoons require assignments at the beach, but does include a county subsidized wardrobe of five t-shirts:

Bikini Inspector - Monday
Bikini Inspector - Tuesday
Bikini Inspector - Wednesday
Bikini Inspector - Thursday
Bikini Inspector - Friday

It is after all a county position, so of course you'll never be expected to work weekends.

[opihikao]

Well, knock me over with a feather. Didn't know Evergreen was a "hostess bar"! [:0]

I'm wondering if Mayor Kenoi led such a sheltered life (much like myself), that he thought he was going to see Barbara Streisand sing that night. [:I]

Evergreen, from the movie "A Star is Born"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5th39yLuJ0


Man alive, I need to get out more often.


JMO.

[Chunkster]

Wow, this story got some attention in Honolulu. Here's a link to a Star-Advertiser Poll:

http://poll.staradvertiser.com/

[kalakoa]

this story got some attention in Honolulu

Maybe they'll install a new Mayor for us, then.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Years ago I worked for a restaurant inspection and repair business on Maui. On a few occasions we were called to check the equipment at the two Korean hostess bars operating at the time on the island. My understanding of their business model, was that a customer would enter, then be seated at a table where a hostess joined him for drinks and conversation. The customer would buy drinks for himself as well as the hostess at extremely inflated prices. Management expressly forbade any funny business in the bar, and it was to the advantage of the bar to enforce the policy, as they could continue to sell drinks at $40 or $50 each if they operated above board. In the course of conversation between the customer and hostess, however, off site arrangements could be negotiated. Not that this always happened, as sometimes lonely older men were willing to pay the high drink prices just to have someone to talk to.

In addition to the hostess bar charges, Billy also made at least one other personal charge on his county credit card in December, which was reimbursed in March. Pretty sweet deal having 4 months to pay your CC bill with no interest or late fees. West Hawaii Today has requested copies of his government credit card statements to check for other personal charges, but they have been denied access.

It's not difficult to have a work credit card and a separate personal credit card without confusing the two. I've done this for decades without ever "accidentally" charging my personal expenses to my work card, or vice versa. In fact, I find it pretty hard to understand how a person could charge personal expenses to a business card unless it were done intentionally. I always carry both cards in my wallet. The business card says "Business Card" in large letters, and has my business name printed on it. I would assume there is a similar notation for county government cards. In any case, Billy most likely could see the difference between his personal card and government card by their different designs and colors.