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While on the subject of campaign contributions, former Campaign Spending Commission director Jack Gonzales is still behind bars, one of 1,700 prisoners in the privately operated Taft Correctional Institution in Taft, California, serving out a federal sentence for his role in a so-called “prime-bank” investment fraud scheme. Federal records show Gonzales, 62, is expected to be released on March 6, 2009.

I’m still getting a broad perspective on Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s contribution base, so here’s a link to the list of his top mainland donors between January 2000 and December 2006. At the top of the list is Hannemann’s sister in New York.

But the big hitters here are associated with development of the Trump Tower in Waikiki, a project of Donald Trump and Irongate Capital Partners, founded by Jason Grosfeld and Adam Fisher. The two contributed $4,000 each to the Hannemann campaign in 2004, just before the election. In June 2005 and again in June 2006, Grosfeld’s parents, James and Nancy Grosfeld, each made contributions which were later found to have violated state law. They later entered into a conciliation agreement to settle a complaint brought by the Campaign Spending Commission.

I don’t know whether the other people and the law firm sharing the Fisher-Grosfeld names were also related. If they were, it all added up to $52,000 added to the Hannemann campaign coffers in less than two years. And note, of course, that all are mainland residents and can’t vote for Hannemann.

This snapshot could change next week when candidates file their disclosures covering the first six months of 2007.

Finally, here’s a story with a happy ending for Feline Friday submitted by Rachel in Honolulu:

“Just over three years ago a couple moved from New York City with their cat, Mao, into the apartment downstairs from us. After about a year there, the cat disappeared. They searched the neighborhood, talked to the neighbors and checked the humane society, all to no avail. Eventually they gave up and got a new cat. Just last month they moved back to the mainland. Then just over a week ago they got a call from the Hawaii Humane Society telling them they had their cat! Apparently he was picked up in the Ala Moana area, which is pretty far from the back of Palolo where he was last seen. So they called us up to see if we would go get him, which of course we did. Now it has been interesting to watch the interactions between the new cat, who is quite large and very muscular, and our other cat, who has always been a runt. Our little runt kitty is managing to hold his ground and intimidate the much bigger newcomer [I was reminded of this by your description of your new kitten's interaction with Ms Annie]. Luckily they seem to be coming to some level of a truce and I think they will end up getting along just fine.”