To his detractors, he is "Facile" Frank Fasi, an arrogant gutfighter who shoots from the lip and to hell with the consequences. To his supporters, he is Mayor Fasi of Honolulu, a dedicated public servant battling an impacted Establishment. These days, Frank Fasi, 49, is easier to talk about than read about: since last July, the mayor has barred all interviews between his administration and the reporters from Hawaii's largest newspaper, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
The feud began in the fall of 1968, when Fasi, a onetime junk dealer and perennial political campaigner, was making...