January 29, 2005 - Saturday

The big news comes first. My friend Marnie thinks she's found a source of contemporary copies of the much revered but no longer available Rosti malamine spoons.

She writes: "I was in Compleat Kitchen recently and bought a white Rosti lookalike spoon for about $1.50. It looks and acts just the same, and I think it's made in Thailand....Looks like someone bought or copied Rosti's moulds, including the older originals we love. Weehah!" "Are you sure they're the same?" I asked. She replied: "Frighteningly, delightfully, identical." This has been a very long search, beginning back four years ago. Could it be over? It appears so. Now I've got to get in touch with all the people who have emailed me in the last three years inquiring about the spoon search.

The new find!

My worn originals

Our disgustingly talented friends Jim and Lois Horton have been in town for two weeks for several appearances at UH and a bit of vacation. They are the authors of Slavery and the Making of America, the book behind the upcoming PBS series which starts in a week or so (and a lot of other books as well). The good news is that they are close to a deal to teach at UH in the spring of 2006, with the possibility of extending the relationship. We met them back in 1987 when they spent a semester as visiting professors on the Manoa campus. We recall the date clearly because Jim had a presentation on the day that the stock market crashed. After a phone call from his son with news of the disaster in the financial markets, Jim looked over at Meda thoughtfully and said slowly, "I wonder what happened to university professors during the depression?"

My description of Ms. Wally's computer experience yesterday morning brought a couple of reader replies:

From Helen (the real cat lover) and Hank Chapin:

One of our cats, Govinda by name, has taken to sleeping on all the cables behind the monitor. Must be warm and cozy there. Anyway, the other day, the computer went out. Guess what? In scrooching around and getting comfortable, she had made two plugs come out of their sockets. In the future, I think the term computer "bug" is due to be replaced by a "cat" in the system.

And my sister, Bonnie, added:

I have a distinct memory of coming home from vacation and finding a long distance charge on our telephone bill for a call to a friend in Utah -- made while we were in Hawaii! Seems that one of the cats stepped on a speed dial button ... Aren't they cute?

January 28, 2005 - Friday

Sorry for the late hour. I was working without benefit of Roadrunner & Internet access earlier this morning. No clear reason, just a cable modem that sits there in "standby" mode. So I waited. And waited. Went on our walk. Back home, Roadrunner still standing by.

So I called Oceanic. While I was on hold with a technician, I was looking for the reset button on this newish cable modem. Couldn't find it, but found a button on the top that I couldn't identify. Pushed it. Oops. It is some kind of on-off button, and it's in Ms. Wally's path from her perch on the computer to the counter where the water dish is. She apparently stopped on it overnight and put Roadrunner into standby. How do you explain this to the waiting Oceanic tech without appearing a total idiot? Well, I couldn't escape the idiot label.

And, meanwhile, I've got Blaine trying to fill George Steele's early morning shoes with a quick "ahem" at the late hour of this post.

Back when I had Internet access, I ran across an article from the Hawaii Island Journal about Hank "Hanalei" Fergerstrom. A quick check with former S-B webmaster Blaine Fergerstrom confirmed that Hank is indeed a relative. Blaine had the details handy:

Hank "Hanalei" Fergerstrom Jr., son of Harry, grandson of William Kalino Fergerstrom.

William Kalino is my grandfather John Cook Fergerstrom's brother, my dad's uncle.

See the Fergerstrom family genealogy.

7. William Kalino Fergerstrom, b. 5 October 1894 in Laupahoehoe, Hawaii, Hawaii, m. Alice Kawailani Liana Johnson, 18 February 1922 in Waimea, South Kohala, Hawaii
4. Harry Francis Fergerstrom, b. 18 November 1923 in Honokaa, Hawaii, Hawaii, m. Irene Lindsey, d. 24 December 1986 in Honokaa, Hawaii, Hawaii
1. Harry "Hank" Fergerstrom Jr., m. Patricia Darlene Lawfer
1. Michael Fergerstrom (2)

Check the story. It seems that a certain strength of opinion runs in the Fergerstrom genes.

Up in Manoa, it seems that the flood was only part of the problem at the library. At its December 1 meeting, the UH Manoa Library Senate voted to take its concerns about the administration of the library to a new level. As a result, a "statement of concerns" has been circulating for the past week. According to this statement, "the issues are urgent enough to warrant immediate action and [the Senate] has requested that the Library Senate Executive Board (LSEB) present and discuss Senate concerns with the University Librarian."

Key grievances appear to be that the UH Librarian "is controlling and has a non-collaborative, top-down management style that often results in micromanagement", does not support the faculty status and role of librarians, and simply does not respect or respond to faculty.

I'm sure more will be heard about this situation.

Cat update: Stray Cat now has a name. We've dubbed him Romeo. It apparently was his search for females as much as the noise of New Year's Eve that brought him up our way, so it seems appropriate. And it can also be thought of as Roam-eo, another reference to his wandering past. And he's scheduled to make use of that Humane Society certificate on Wednesday morning. Not a moment too soon, I would say.

For all you mainland folks who have been enjoying wonderful winter weather, here's another another dose of Kaaawa in the winter. This was Thursday's sunrise. Nothing spectacular, but not too shabby. As our friend & mentor Colin Bell used to say, "Better than a slap on the belly with a wet fish!"

January 27, 2005 - Thursday

Associated Press reported Monday the Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division is investigating Gannett's proposed acquisition of a community newspaper publisher in Michigan and the New York Times Co.'s purchase of a free paper in Boston.

I noted this paragraph buried in this week's earnings release by the E.W. Scripps Co.:

2003 - The Company was notified by Gannett, owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, that the Cincinnati joint operating agreement with the Scripps newspapers, The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post, will not be renewed when it expires on December 31, 2007. As a result of the notification and as stipulated by terms of a collective bargaining agreement, we recorded a $1.8 million restructuring charge in the fourth quarter for estimated severance costs to Post editorial employees.

That's never good news.

Someone in the camp of former United Public Workers director Gary Rodrigues apparently has a sense of humor as well as a serious case of paranoia. I recently learned that some delegates to the union's 2003 state convention were sent an anonymous 10-page single-spaced packet dubbed "The Hawaii Monitor", which spells out in tedious fashion the world as viewed by Rodrigues in which I'm an active conspirator along with anyone who opposed him or testified in his federal criminal trial. It was aimed at influencing the election of union officers where several factions were vying to take over leadership of UPW. There are some interesting nuggets of information, but fact and fiction are so closely intertwined in this fevered world view that reading is more for entertainment than educational value.

Given the specific insider views expressed, I suspect the piece was authored by Rodrigues or a very close associate, although it contains no claims of authorship. Rodrigues had been ordered to stay well away from UPW affairs by Judge David Ezra, so contributing to this election missive would have violated terms of his release pending the appeal of his federal conviction and sentence.

Of course, Hawaii Monitor was the name of my newsletter on island politics which appeared for several years (1990-1993), with some of those original issues now scanned and available online. What a hoot that his faction would grab the name after branding me the "pilau reporter".

Award-winning cartoonist John Pritchett is no fan of former mayor Jeremy Harris, so when he saw this photo and accompanying story in a Belize City newspaper, he couldn't help adding his own caption and comment and sharing it with friends.

January 26, 2005 - Wednesday

Speaking of airlines, I don't recall reading about this case involving Japan Airlines and serious allegations of safety violations and discrimination, although it apparently played out in a Hawaii courtroom. And Canada's National Post sent a reporter to Hawaii to pursue stories about the state of the airline industry. The boys on the two ends of South Street should take note.

There has been some shuffling of the deck at the Advertiser, it seems. Robbie Dingeman is back at city hall, displacing Johnny Brannon, who is now on the education beat. I'm not sure where the dominos have fallen. I'd appreciate any info on all these recent moves.

Over at the Star-Bulletin, I notice Rick Daysog's byline has been showing up in the business section, so perhaps he's moved over from the City Desk. Hopefully I'll hear more about changes at the S-B as well.

Evan the Ex has spoken out again, and each time the story gets better. Here's what he told the Lowell Sun:

The attack, Dobelle says, was political backlash for his decision to publicly support the Democratic challenger for governor in a 2002 television ad.

And Dobelle's theory goes even further.

"I suspect they thought I was going to run for governor," he said, adding that it was not his intention. "I say this without arrogance: I'm a very popular public figure."

"Without arrogance." Hmmmmm....I can imagine several UH regents choking on their coffee this morning over that story.

And then there's another story of the university president's mansion and controversy over hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on renovations and diversion of funds from other sources to pay the bills. Evan again? Nope, this time the controversy is at the University of Washington in Seattle.

One of the down sides of the generation of digital cameras that I'm using is their small zoom range. So when Meda spotted a whale leaping and slapping its tail, all I could do is point the camera and hope. So I ended up with this photo from our deck. It looks a lot like the ones collected by people who spend their vacations and summers camping at Loch Ness waiting for the famous monster.

In this case, though, it's a whale's tail caught mid-slap. Take my word for it. Really.

January 25, 2005 - Tuesday

In a relatively unusual move, Hawaiian Electric has delayed reporting of its 2004 earnings after discovering bookkeeping irregularities, according to a company press release. I hope we'll be reading more about this move by one of the state's largest and most influential firms.

I spotted an interesting contract among recent state awards, and decided to check it out because it goes back to the case of Gary Rodrigues, one of my most successful investigations. Here's what I was able to learn yesterday:

The Office of the Attorney General has hired a California forensic accounting firm to search for evidence of fraud, misconduct, or overpayments in 80 banker's boxes of documents relating to funds transferred to Hawaii's two largest public employee unions for health insurance benefits provided members.

The documents include 42 boxes of cancelled checks and bank statements with accompanying documentation, and 38 boxes of computer printouts regarding health insurance benefits for members of the Hawaii Government Employees Association and United Public Workers.

The documents were turned over last year by Royal State Insurance Co. and an affiliate, Voluntary Employees Benefits Association of Hawaii, or Vebah. Vebah and Royal State handled insurance benefits for both unions.

It is the latest move in a 2002 lawsuit filed by the state after HGEA and UPW balked at an audit of possible overpayments from the Public Employee Health.

The audit was demanded after the federal indictment and eventual conviction of former UPW state director Gary Rodrigues. Evidence in that case indicated UPW insurance contracts had been “padded” in order to provide kickbacks to Rodrigues and his daughter. Rodrigues was convicted in September 2002 on 101 federal counts, including embezzlement, mail fraud, and conspiracy.

Rodrigues' defense argued that such “administrative” payments were common and were permitted because they did not actually boost the cost of insurance or take money from the state or union members, claims that were soundly rejected by the federal jury.

A total of $457 million was paid to the two unions for member health benefits over a ten year period, Deputy Attorney General John Dellera said yesterday.

“We have to determine whether those funds were in fact used to purchase health insurance for union members at a reasonable cost and that administrative expenses were in line with what would be expected,” Dellera said.

“We don't have anything to hide,” the insurers' attorney, Paul Schraff, said yesterday.

Royal State and Vebah “have voluntarily produced virtually anything the State asked for,” Schraff said. “It's been a voluntary thing to avoid escalating litigation.”

Vebah initially refused to disclose its records and fought the state in court because it was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, although it acted as agent for HGEA, which was a defendant.

Vebah and Royal State only agreed to fully cooperate after the Attorney General obtained the approval of Circuit Court Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo to amend its suit by adding the insurers to the list of defendants, Dellera said. The state then agreed to delay filing of the amended complaint in order to allow "voluntary" disclosure of the requested records.

The accounting contract was signed last month with the Santa Monica-based firm of Biggs & Co., and a team came to Honolulu at the beginning of January to start its work, Dellera said. In addition, a separate nonbid contract valued at $45,000 was awarded to New Tech Imaging of Honolulu for scanning the documents and transferring the images to CD-ROMs, according to records filed with the State Procurement Office.

Under state law applicable at the time, the Public Employee Health Fund transferred money every month to the Hawaii Government Employees Association, United Public Workers, and other public employee unions to cover the cost of negotiated health care benefits for union workers. The unions, in turn, contracted for the health services.

Payments were limited by law to the actual cost of monthly coverage for eligible employees, and any excess payments were to be refunded to the state. The state has argued that hidden costs, such as the illegal payments received by Rodrigues, go beyond the "actual cost" of insurance and should be refunded to the state.

In a justification for an exemption from bidding requirements filed with the State Procurement Office, the Attorney General's Office argued “this case involves allegations of fraud and misconduct that could conceivably lead to criminal charges.”

However, Dellera appeared to back away from that position yesterday, stressing that no criminal charges are currently contemplated.

“I'm a civil litigator and not on the criminal side, but criminal charges could be a possibility whenever you're dealing with this much money and a set of facts you don't really know,” Dellera said.

January 24, 2005 - Monday

The Seattle Times announced yesterday that it will make a series of cuts in its Sunday edition. All part of the ongoing battle over the future of the Seattle Joint Operating Agreement with Hearst's Post-Intelligencer.

It was also disclosed that the Times will cut up to 110 employees, including 55 members of the Pacific Northwest newspaper Guild, 23 of those in the newsroom.

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff is giving fresh life to the familiar advice, "check it out", with an excellent take on seemingly routine testimony by Alberto Gonzales during Senate hearings last week. It's always nice to see a simple situation made much more complex by a little bit of investigating. Turning truths into half-truths, as one of my favorite professors used to say.

The recent tsunami caused great devastation but was not necessarily lthe most deadly disaster to face the world in recent years. An op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor explores the tsunami-media confluence and its impact on aid policies.

I've rearranged our wireless network here at home to let me sit downstairs while Mr. Visiting Cat gets out on supervised release from his cage. That's where I'm sitting right now while he cycles between eating and yowling. Needless to say, the vet hasn't cleared him for takeoff yet. It will be at least several more days, depending on a couple of health indicators. If all goes well, he'll shuttle back for surgery towards the end of the week.

It took me way too long to get around to finishing this job, but here is a gallery of photographs from our early morning walks during the month of December 2004. It was, as you can see, a month during which colors were the rule rather than the exception. Sometimes, as in this photo, the sky's colors left everything else pale by comparison. And what incredible colors they were! Just click on this photo to see the whole batch.

The colors of December

January 23, 2005 - Sunday

This is an important day of the year. It's the first day that the sun begins its trek back towards summer. The sunrise will be a minute or so earlier today than it has been, the first move in that direction since the slide towards the winter-end of the year began back in mid-June. If you want to check the rhythm of the year, check out a full year of sunrise and sunset at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

It's also the first day for a background restructuring of this site which will make it easier for you to bookmark specific entries for later reference. It should be transparent for readers, though, and it has worked properly if you're reading this. I had intended to make these changes several times before but never quite got around to it.

In response to another request, I'm fiddling with an RSS feed of daily headlines that would let you know when updates are available. I'm sort of making it up as I go along, but try pointing your news readers here and then let me know if it works, or pile on with suggestions.

Forbes.com is inviting readers to respond to a poll on which airline(s) will not survive the ongoing crisis in the industry. As a community extremely dependent on the ability of visitors to get here, the future of airlines is critical for all of us. Yet, again, regular reporting on the industry here is minimal, bankruptcy proceedings aside, as is reporting on the hotel or tourist industries generally. Perhaps there are just too many toes of big advertisers to potentially step on digging around in such matters. Maybe staffing just isn't adequate. But critical and in depth reporting on home town sacred cow Boeing delivered a Pulitzer for the Seattle Times back in 1997.

The Honolulu Community-Media Council, along with SPJ, is presenting a "freedom of information" workshop on Tuesday with Office of Information Practices director Les Kondo and UH Journalism Professor Bev Keever. The workshop will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in room 224 at the State Capitol. Click here for more information.