After open-heart surgery to replace a mitral valve, Makaha Sons bassist John Koko says he has a new lease on life. He's off now with the Hawaiian music group on a two-week Mainland working tour.

Since his operation, Koko has been walking two miles a day. "I lost 50 pounds and cut my hair short," he said of his new look, minus the longtime mullet 'do.

The Mainland trek includes the New England Patriots' game with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. The Makaha Sons (Jerome Koko and Louis "Moon" Kauakahi are the other members) will make up their postponed Mele On the Lawn concert at the Bishop Museum on Oct. 7.

— Wayne Harada, Advertiser staff writer

SWANK RESTS AFTER GROWTH REMOVED

NEW YORK — Oscar-winner Hilary Swank is recovering after a hospital procedure to remove a small, benign growth, her manager said yesterday.

"She was experiencing some discomfort and went to see her doctor, who prescribed an immediate course of action," manager Jason Weinberg said in a statement, adding:

"There are no continuing health issues, with the exception of some short-term rest and recuperation."

Swank, 34, won Oscars for her roles in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby."

O'NEAL DENIES DRUGS WERE HIS

LOS ANGELES — A day after Ryan O'Neal was arrested on suspicion of drug possession, his lawyer said the actor is not guilty.

"The drugs found were not his," attorney Mark Werksman said yesterday. "He would never use them."

O'Neal was arrested along with his son, Redmond O'Neal, after deputies searched their home Wednesday as part of a routine check on the son, who is on probation for drug possession felonies.

The two were released after posting $10,000 bail.

In July, Ryan O'Neal's daughter, Tatum, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with an arrest on suspicion of cocaine possession in New York. Yesterday, she issued a statement of support for her father and half-brother, saying, "Addiction, if untreated, can lead to jail, institutions and death. I love them both and I am sorry to hear about this."

FARM AID HELPS HURRICANE AREAS

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson, a native Texan, yesterday said the organization will give $30,000 to groups that help farmers in areas of Texas and Louisiana hit hardest by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.

The fundraising Farm Aid concert will be held tomorrow in New England for the first time.

BRAD PITT BACKING GAY MARRIAGE

LOS ANGELES — Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

It's the first time voters will be asked to decide the issue in either California or Massachusetts — the states where gays have won the right to wed.

"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another, and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," Pitt said Wednesday.

Earlier in the week, Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced they have donated $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.