THE LEFT LANE
Cancer Society teams mapping their steps

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Even before the strike began, employees at the American Cancer Society embraced the idea of stepping up their fitness levels. About 60 of them are part of the company's nationwide virtual Race Across America program. They're divided geographically into four teams, and since April, each team has walked (cumulatively) more than 4,000 miles.

All wear pedometers and have counted their steps to reach virtual destinations, including Kona, Hollywood and Las Vegas, and they're on their way to New Orleans and Atlanta. Jackie Young, marketing director for the American Cancer Society in Honolulu, said they haven't decided whether to walk or fly back.

2 different concerts for different tastes

These guys also faced down their share of controversy, from teenage brides and gunplay to public tussles over rock history credit and even a sex scandal — or two. Now Tom Moffatt Productions brings legendary rockers Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Chuck Berry (right) to the Islands.

Tickets, $55 and $45, go on sale Saturday for a "Rock and Roll Super Show" Oct. 25 at Blaisdell Arena.

More concert news: This band is a few decades younger, but it's played here so much, the staff at Eggs 'n Things knows the breakfast order. The Dance Hall Crashers, one of Honolulu's favorite ska-and-punk bands, returns Oct. 17 for a Pipeline Café show. It's only the third live appearance the Cali-based band has made this year.

Tickets for the all-ages show, $18.50, go on sale Sept. 13.

Get tickets for either show (or both) at the Blaisdell box office and TicketMaster outlets. Charge by phone: (877) 750-4400, www.ticketmaster.com.

Information: 591-2211.

Local tea designer impresses Gourmet

Byron Goo of Honolulu's Tea Chest designs the high-end chilled teas served at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room — and in the process, inspired "The Taste of Cool," a short piece in the Good Living section of August's Gourmet magazine that tells how.

Tea Chest is a mail-order tea house (www.teachest.com) that also operates a small retail location at Pioneer Plaza on Fort Street Mall, specializing in premium whole-leaf teas imported from Asia. Gourmet's favorite: the Passionfruit Paradise blend, a brew meant to be blended with a little pineapple juice to create a nouveau plantation iced tea.