Two people have emailed that they were unable to post comments here on Friday, although several other comments were posted successfully. I’m trying to understand what’s going on. So please let me know (email ian@ilind.net).

It must have been a very rough morning yesterday for folks at the Star-Bulletin after being scooped on the two big stories of the day. While the Star-Bulletin was reporting that James Lull was “on the lam” after failing to show up for sentencing, the Advertiser headline story by Peter Boylan and Will Hoover reported he was dead after driving off a cliff in Seattle.

And while the S-B reported on the plea entered on the theft charges filed against the wife of Sen. Fred Hemmings, Advertiser reporter Jim Dooley got the scoop on an earlier conviction for forgery and theft.

It is never fun to be scooped, and to have it happen on two big stories in one day must have been profoundly depressing.

And the Star-Bulletin’s woes continue. Today’s Bulletin has a story about budget woes at the University of Hawaii with somewhat vague projections of future cuts, many involving support functions rather than academic programs. Unfortunately, it missed the underlying hard news.

The Vice Chancellor for Academic Administration issued a list of recommended cuts dated April 27 with specific programs designated to be eliminated.

The hit list includes:

• BA in Musicology, its bachelor’s of music degree in guitar, and MA in composition.

• BA in classics (study of ancient Greek and Latin in the original languages), a two-year Russian language program that has existed for 60 years, the certificate program in human language and computers, certificate programs in languages of Hawaii and the Pacific and in linguistics, the Marine Option Program, the honors physics program.

• R&D in secondary visual arts education, the masters of education degree programs in K-12 health education, secondary physical education, the PhD in policy studies (Education Foundations and Ed Administration), masters in education degree in special education for instruction of students who are deaf/hard of hearing.

• International exchange program with the University of Bergen, Norway; semester abroad program in Adelaide, Australia, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

• Proposed travel industry management bachelors degree in hospitality to be offered in Singapore, which was denied accreditation.

In addition, a notice circulated this week by Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw lists several changes at the top of her list.

Folding the School of Travel Industry Management into the College of Business.

Consolidating the Water Resources Research Center and Environmental Center.

“Integrating” the Industrial Relations Center into Hamilton Library.

So there are lots of specifics being talked about at Manoa. Unfortunately, the Star-Bulletin’s story doesn’t do much more than skim the surface.