i L i n d . n e t

Maui’s Brad Parsons comments on the failure of the mainstream media to provide ongoing coverage of the Superferry story.

Amazing how some aspects of this story can be covered by a small radio station on an island, then the largest state newspaper…in a blog, then the largest west coast newspaper…in a blog, and finally the east coast newspaper of record all in a little more than a week, but the more shocking aspects of the story still not be reported to the public, except by a small little radio station in paradise.

Oregon State University is holding its 53rd annual luau tonight, according to a story at GazetteTimes.com. OSU officials also announced a new tie-in with Hilo Community College and Leeward Community College.

The program allows students to concurrently enroll at a two-year institution and OSU. It is designed to eliminate barriers to attending a four-year institution, such as transferring credits.

It will have one application for OSU and either of the Hawaiian schools, will have coordinated financial aid, and students can take classes at both institutions at the same time.

Students who complete the associate of arts degree in Hilo or Pearl City will be guaranteed junior standing at OSU, with their lower division baccalaureate core requirements completed.

What a smart deal all around. And moving from Leeward CC to OSU under this plan sounds like it will be easier than simply moving up to UH Manoa, unless they’ve streamlined that process a lot in recent years.

PBN reported this week that Honolulu Community College Chancellor Ramsey Pedersen is retiring and moving to the mainland. Pedersen’s wife, Pat, is principal of Waipahu High School.

Ramsey and my wife, Meda, started teaching at Honolulu Community College at about the same time in the 1970’s. Meda later moved to a position at UH Manoa, while Ramsey moved up the ranks at HCC and eventually into administration.

Watching the Pedersens head off to the mainland rather than using their experience and expertise here is certainly a loss for our community.

Maybe’s he’s betting on global warming turning Minnesota into a semi-tropical inland paradise instead of simply North Dakota’s neighbor.

From National Public Radio, April 24:

” If you’re dreaming of a spring vacation on the sandy beaches of Hawaii, think again. Rising fuel costs are making that sort of vacation a lot more expensive. And travel agents are seeing a slowdown in vacation bookings. Madeleine Brand speaks with Bruce Fisher, owner of the Hawaii Aloha Travel Company in Honolulu.”

This can’t be good for the visitor industry.

And from Texas, a link to an Austin dog event that our friend says: “Supposed to be the biggest wiener dog race event around.”

You may have missed this list–”50 best cult books”

In compiling our list, we were looking for the sort of book that people wear like a leather jacket or carry around like a totem. The book that rewires your head: that turns you on to psychedelics; makes you want to move to Greece; makes you a pacifist; gives you a way of thinking about yourself as a woman, or a voice in your head that makes it feel okay to be a teenager; conjures into being a character who becomes a permanent inhabitant of your mental flophouse.

And here are a couple of additional sunrise views. The photo on the left was taken this morning, while the one on the right was taken Friday morning. Enjoy.