There's still plenty of time to vote...
You've heard of the Oscars? Well, now there are the Oscats!
And our Kaaawa Cats are nominees for this month's Oscat Award.
Please visit the Oscat nominees by clicking on the Kaaawa Cats (below) and then cast your vote at the bottom of the Oscat page.
April 16, 2005 - Saturday
It's really a case-study in the ultimate spin, recasting the estate tax as an affront to the rest of us and not primarily the wealthy. A recent Washington Post story tracks the move to repeal the tax back to a lobbying effort fueled by a small group of wealthy individuals and families:
A little-known Southern California estate planner named Patricia Soldano launched her repeal effort with the backing of about 50 wealthy clients, with the Gallo and Mars families leading the way. Other contributors included the heirs of the Campbell soup and Krystal hamburger fortunes. Frank Blethen, whose family controls the Seattle Times Co., was also pivotal.
And it worked. All it takes is money, I suppose.
When you get to thinking that Hawaii has unique problems when it comes to government secrecy, it's always interesting to see how things are going in other places. In Washington state, a bill to strengthen their sunshine law was almost derailed by Senate amendments that would have exempted legislative and other records. The Senate draft passed earlier in the week, but by yesterday it appeared the bill will be moving forward after those amendments are dropped.
In Las Vegas, local judges are trying to restrict public access to records through a chance in administrative policies.
In Iowa, a recent series of newspaper articles on problems with public access has led the attorney general and legislature to address some of the problems that were identified, including inconsistencies in fees for copying government documents.
In Rhode Island, the state's Attorney General sued the town of Barrington based on allegations of multiple violations of the public records and open meeting laws.
And in Missouri, a museum funded with public money and with some board members appointed by a the local city council has been ordered to comply with the state sunshine law, a situation that sounds a lot like our own public access cable television providers.
| I'm not sure why this image of a backhoe at dawn appealed to me. Something about the collision of natural and human forces, perhaps. In any case, this was the view at Swanzy Beach Park a couple of days ago. |
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April 15, 2005 - Friday
Yesterday morning started normally.
Get up early. Scoop dry cat food out into various dishes. Sit down at the dining table, where I've got my Powerbook set up, and start the day's entry. When Leo jumps up and starts knocking things over--first the salt, then pepper grinder, then he's looking for more--I have to jump up, grab another scoop of food and a dish, and bring them back to the table for his dining pleasure. Let cats out. Prepare coffee and set the timer. Grab socks. Upload entry. Put on shoes. Grab more dog biscuits. Head out for the beach and the sunrise. All seemed normal.
But when we got down around the block behind the fire station, normal ended. There were two tired dogs running down the little street just a few feet off of Kamehameha Highway. Both female, mixed pit bull. One had a collar with a tag. Both dirty. One visibly covered with ticks and looking wiped out. At first they appeared to know where they were going, so we walked on up the road, where our daily routine takes us up where the road deadends at the base of the valley, and then back down and over to the beach.
The dogs followed. Now we were starting to get that "oh, no, the walk's going to be wrecked by these dogs" feeling.
Then things got worse. A woman came out from the house just across fire station road from the bottom of our lot. She saw the dogs and said they must be the ones that killed Bumpby during the night. "He never even saw them coming." Of course not. He's blind. Was blind. Oh, no.
Now it's the sinking feeling, big time. Bumpy is the cute little blind cat they adopted maybe six months ago. He'd been slowly expanding his known territory, and followed Ms. Annie up here to our house several times. A wonderful little cat but utterly defenseless. They killed Bumpy, she says. I don't know if it's true, but we've got cats, and they're outside.
Now I know we can't just leave the dogs to fend for themselves. We aren't going to be able to skate on this one. So I leave Meda with dogs and dog biscuits and scramble up the slope to our house, grab a rope, my cell phone, and the Humane Society's number, and head back down. I call. They'll pick up but it won't be until afternoon.
We use the rope as a leash. Now I've got two tired but nervous pit bulls on the ends of this rope, and we're trying to figure out where we can tie them up until the Humane Society pick-up that doesn't leave them, or other cats, at risk. With people, the dogs are well behaved, even sweet. We feel sorry for them. So do others down the road. Gus comes out. "What's going on?" Sees the dogs, the ticks. "That's awful! Look at all those. Wait here." He scurries off, returns quickly with a small container of flea/tick powder that he must use on his much beloved cat. Small clouds of dust as he pours this powder on the dog that has the most visible ticks. "She'll die if those stay on there," Gus says. He's mad at the unknown, absentee dog owner. Don't get Uncle Gus mad.
| We've come up blank on any ideas for where they can stay until sometime in the afternoon. It seems a very long way off. I'm resigned. I'll have to drive them in to the Humane Society. Okay. The hangup. We've just got a new car. Now I'm going to put two unknown dogs, dirty, restless, covered with ticks, into the back for an hour-long ride into town. |
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For a minute I forget about the dog's plight, and Bumpy, and the cats. I'm worried about the car. The moment passes. I scramble up the slope for a second time, grab wallet and keys, an old Army blanket to cover the floor, and I'm back off to pick up the dogs for the long drive.
The worst part is that the dogs were very sweet and totally well behaved. I encouraged them up into the car, they lay down immediately. Never fussed. And when I started driving, they just went to sleep and stayed asleep until we arrived in the Humane Society parking lot and I led them inside.
I feel generally bad. I don't know what will happen to the dogs. I don't even know what I want to happen. I would like them to be safe and kept safely away from cats. I want Bumpy to be alive. I want our cats, and those of our neighbors, to be safe. Is that possible? Don't know.
And now it's another day, and we're ready to head out again for another morning walk. It goes on.
[uploaded before editing at 5:50 a.m.]
April 14, 2005 - Thursday
The Motley Fool has an interesting assessment this week of Gannett's latest quarterly financial report.
British papers are reporting that an unnamed coin dealer in Hawaii provided the tip that led to the arrest of a cargo handler for DHL who was selling stolen via eBay. It shouldn't take long for a reporter here to track down the local end of that story. I'd make some calls today except that I'll be racing the clock to get our taxes ready for filing.
And from MacWorld, an interview with Gordon Moore, whose observation 40 years ago became known as "Moore's Law" and one of the best known benchmarks in computing. According to MacWorld, Moore is now a Hawaii resident.
And Big Island home buyers take note: now you can find out the predicted risk of lava damage at any particular location via the Risk Meter online service.
Missed last month: The conviction of a Honolulu Advertiser copy editor on federal charges of possession of child pornography that he purchased via the Internet. While some other similar cases have gotten more news coverage, this case was only mentioned in a couple of "brief" items. Question--were any of these materials found on company computers? There's a new headache for the folks in tech support.
April 13, 2005 - Wednesday
With Congress poised for a final vote on the bankruptcy "reform" fill, a reader wonders why both newspapers tread so lightly regarding Sen. Dan Inouye's support in last month's Senate vote.
Can't believe both newspapers have let this one slide. It's a truly ugly, nasty bill that will punish millions of helpless families and funnel billions to banks and credit card companies. Help us, Ian. At least put something up so that the people who are supposed to cover the news call Dan and ask him some hard questions about why he wants to screw the middle class.
There's been a lot written about this bill and its impact on regular folks. New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman had a concise review of the measure last month, and Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren has an excellent report circulating as well.
But a quick search for articles in the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser about this bankruptcy bill turned up little, despite the consistent interest in the numbers of bankruptcy filings by island residents. Interestingly, by comparison, the same search of the Advertiser popped up a strong editorial against the bill following the Senate vote last month, although substantive news coverage of the legislation and our reps' positions on it is much harder to find, if it exists. Where's all of that "what does it mean for us" reporting on this issue?
This side-by-side search prompts a further comment. I hadn't compared the two newspapers' search engines for some time. The Advertiser used to be worthless in this regard. No longer. Now it's built in search engine delivers quick results and sorts them usefully by date. Now it's the Star-Bulletin that lags in search ability, with no clear way to sort by date. Very interesting.
Some folks will accuse me of Star-Bulletin "bashing" again, but in this case it's just a straight comparison that anyone can easily replicate.
And the tiny Robson Valley Times in Valemount, British Columbia, recently ran a three-part series on Star-Bulletin owner David Black, who it calls "one of the most powerful media forces in British Columbia ". See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
April 12, 2005 - Tuesday
A reader made this observation last week following the death of Clarence Shak (sorry to be late in getting it posted here):
Ever since I moved home from San Francisco in 1997, I've marvelled at Honolulu's bizarre practice of defining parking space. On any visit to Waikiki, Kaimuki or any other urban neighborhood, I am floored by the massive amount of wasted space...if the little white carrots weren't there, the average city block would have space for three to five more cars. I always wondered whose aku-headed idea it was to define parking stalls and why.
Today's Advertiser obit section provided an answer as grim and disheartening as any I could have dreamed up.
From another reader:
Ian, I'm following up on your suggestion today that reporters make more use of the actual records in reporting stories. A great example of this was the Milwaukee Journal's publication of the arrest report of the Wis. AG for drunk driving:
Amy & David Goodman, writing in the Seattle Times earlier this month, provide an excellent perspective on "why media ownership matters".
Reading this long Maui News report on the war against coqui frogs gives me heartburn thinking about what life might be like if these critters make it to our part of the island. Losing the quiet of the country nights would be devastating.
After reading my description of yesterday morning's cat antics, Steve from Honolulu writes: "Ian, do you think the competition for the Oscat has disrupted the normal relationships and turned cat against cat?"
| I finally gathered a small gallery of morning photos taken during March, which is always a transition month. The sun rises earlier each day, moving 27 minutes earlier over the course of the month. It's also the end of the traditional Hawaiian rainy season, which runs October through March. There's just a lot going on during the month, I guess. In any case, just click on this picture for more. |
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April 11, 2005 - Monday
USA Today is running a long AP story on the continuing labor problems at the Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku. This has been continuing for a long two years or so.
An Oregon property rights movement is getting wider attention on the mainland, according to a Seattle Times story over the weekend, and looks like something that could reverberate here as well.
I'm coming up short on the inspiration front this morning while coping with various cat-related situations. I had to pick Toby off the roof a couple of minutes ago after hearing him crying just outside. I stand below him on the deck, and he steps off the roof onto my upraised hands. Earlier, I had to intervene to prevent Mr. Leo from sending various items off the kitchen counter to the floor. Attention getting, and effective. Before that he was in my bathroom trying the same routine. I've twice picked up Harriet to save her from unnecessary harassment by Romeo and then Leo. Then it's let Duke out. Oh, now let Duke in. And so it goes.
| You just never know what you're going to find in Kaaawa. Yesterday morning we ran into Abby on the beach who told us about Jerome Nozawa's foal (is that what you call a recently born horse?). So we returned home via the back roads in order to check it out. He was still a little unsteady on his feet, but quite a handsome guy. |
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April 10, 2005 - Sunday
Happy Birthday to my sister, Bonnie, who lives in Groveland, California.
Thanks to S-B reporter Gregg Kakesako for the update on Lava, the puppy saved by Kaneohe Marines in Iraq, whose story was mentioned here on Friday. Gregg's story appears in today's Star-Bulletin. And while the return of one group of Marines this week is being celebrated, I was surprised to hear that they expect to be sent back to Iraq in just a few months.
A reader provided this additional information about PBN's move to the Advertiser's new press. I'm also told the new look debuts on April 15.
This move had been anticipated for a while. When the press was about to be opened, Larry Fuller started negotiation with HA Press, along with reopening discussion with the Midweek press. PBN realized that the print quality from the HA press was far superior to the MidWeek press, and before I left, there was advanced discussion to redesign the paper to match the paper style of the HA press. That paper is a square tab, which is smaller lengthwise from the paper size they are currently using. Well, after about eight months of work, their re designer consultants have come out with what is now being promoted as the new paper.
This is just as well, as the MidWeek press was never very consistent in quality, especially on the color ads printed.
The Boston Globe yesterday ran a sobering look at the strategy being plotted by leaders of the religious right, gathered together by a group calling itself the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration. Just the name makes me shudder.
And a nastygram to a certain Star-Bulletin editor who moved out of a house near the Kaaawa fire station. Concerned neighbors say there were more than 15 cats left behind, although this is disputed by other sources who say the cat population had been substantially reduced and the remaining six cats are still being fed regularly. But folks out our way are still not happy about the situation as it's a neighborhood problem that could have been avoided had the cats all been neutered or spayed over the years.
And another issue of Kaaawa News went online this week. Don't be shy about checking out the neighborhood info.
