November 19, 2005 - Saturday

Browsing the Internet can lead to the same little discoveries as wandering the library aisles without a clear purpose used to bring.

Yesterday I somehow found myself looking at Congressional lobbyists working the Akaka bill.

• "Manua Nui Inc." has hired R.J. Hudson Associates of Alexandria to lobby on "Native Hawaiian organization issues" (sounds like the Akaka bill) and "Government contracting". The lobbyist registration was filed August 5, 2005. I couldn't find any other reference to Manua Nui, no business registration info at DCCA, etc. The groups address is given as Davies Pacific Center, Suite 1614. The only listing at that address turned up by Google is the law office of Philip Doi, although I don't know if that listing is current.

• "Aloha for All", listed as a nonprofit public interest organization, hired lobbyist Morris J. Levin to lobby on matters of Hawaiian sovereignty in January 2003. The group's address is listed on the lobbyist registration form as 2447 Makiki Heights Drive, the address used by Persis Corporation and several other entitiees associated with former Honolulu Advertiser publisher Thurston Twigg-Smith.

In August 2003, Levin reported being paid $40,000 for the period ending June 30, and another $40,000 by December 31, 2003, with $20,000 received during each half of 2005.

•Dowling Company, Inc., controlled by Maui developer and former UH regent Everett Dowling, has hired The Washington Group, Inc., to weigh in on the Akaka bill effective October 1, 2005. Which way they're pushing isn't indicated. The company is currently building several housing projects for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The reported problems with a state fund manager raise all sorts of red flags . A quick check indicates that although the company, Plan Compliance Group, is based in California, it is registered in Nevada. Company president Francis Reimer is also an officer of several other Nevada financial companies, several of which were dissolved earlier this year, Nevada business records show.

Finally, dog owners take note: Those "Greenies" could be dangerous, according to this broadcast report. Handle with care.

We head to the airport before dawn tomorrow, so I may not be able to post a regular update, although I'll try. If not, though, I'll be back online Monday as usual. Speaking of flying, here's a little something to get in the mood.

November 18, 2005 - Friday

I noted a surprising lack of feedback to my belated reply to Steve Dinion. I expected a few mumbles of agreement and probably additional disagreements, but instead it's been...silence...for good or ill.

From retired Star-Bulletin editor Chuck Frankel:

   It is disturbing to note that neither the Advertiser nor the Star-Bulletin carried a staff-written story on the University of Hawaii faculty senate's  opposition to a $50 million Navy  research center. Instead the papers relied on a story written by Alexandre De Silva of the Associated Press. It used to be that our competing dailies manned important local stories.

Alex is a good writer and well versed on UH matters, but it does undercut the argument for competing papers if both turn to AP even for prominent local issues.

The Maui News reports that the two board factions at Akaku: Maui Community Television have been strongly urged to submit their differences to mediation. The push to mediate comes from the judge hearing a lawsuit in what has become a battle for control over the community access organization.

Meanwhile, Akaku is slated to receive an annual budget of $813,000 from the state Cable Television Division under a pending contract awaiting approval from the State Procurement Office.

And Kauai Senator Gary Hooser is jumping into the world of blogging. Here's his description of the new site:

I have been reading your blog since shortly after getting elected to the Hawaii State Senate in 2002. How it came about I do not know…but now I check your website (and read a half dozen or so newspapers) nearly every morning. Sometimes I find the "cat talk" a little less than stimulating (but then again I am not a cat person…I tend to sneeze and rub my eyes when around them)…however in general I find reading your morning notes interesting and often stimulating. So…thank you for doing it. I also began reading "poinagraphy.com" on a regular basis…and between the two of you I have become motivated to start my own fledgling blog which is found here.

I know, my start up site is very rough but it is a start. It may take me a little while to get the technology part down and maybe even longer to learn to distill my thoughts into a coherent and concise blog entry. It will be interesting to see how direct I can be in my writing and not worry about the "political implications" of possibly being taken out of context. Being spontaneous and/or free with my thoughts and opinions is something that I was very easy with prior to being elected in public office. However, in the rough and tumble world of the partisan political environment we live in today, one tends to be more cautious as every word you speak/write/blog…may be used against you in the next election…am not sure how blogging will fit in but will try my best to make it real. We shall see.

I'm sure we shall.

And for those who wish they were somewhere else, here's what the weather is like here in Toronto this bright morning:

November 17, 2005 - Thursday

A proposal belatedly making the rounds and raising blood pressure of faculty at the UH Manoa campus would transform the educational atmosphere of the university in the name of heightened security.

The document, dated August 4, 2005, was apparently not disclosed to faculty until this week, when a copy was distributed for comment by Chuck Hayes, dean of the College of Natural Sciences.

The draft "Policy on safety and security card access to university buildings and facilities" describes a campus in which every building would be eventually be secured via a central computerized system with entry only to pre-authorized individuals.

Although access to classrooms would remain open, faculty, staff and others requiring regular access to offices or administrative areas, including contractors or those making deliveries, would be required to apply for the appropriate security cards. The plan, which one faculty email describes as "Orwellian", prohibits access to secured buildings by anyone lacking the appropriate clearance.

Each authorized list will be inputted into the card system by the designated Building Coordinator with the following
information:

a. Full name of the access cardholder
b. Faculty, student or employee identification number
c. Status (Faculty, Staff, Student, Contractor, etc.)
d. Clearance approval information:
(1) Building's) authorized to enter
(2) Which doors in building that individual is authorized to enter
(3) Which days of the week access is permitted
(4) Times of the day access is permitted
( 5 ) Expiration Date(s) for access

The plan was prepared by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance and Operations. Current status of the proposal was not indicated when the plan was circulated this week.

Some faculty say the plan appears to reflect the kinds of security measures necessary to administer classified research projects envisioned for the proposed Navy research center now being debated.

But it would also abruptly put an end to free faculty-student interactions as well as routine contacts between faculty in different departments, remaking the educational and work environment. Faculty, for example, apparently would not be free to visit offices of faculty in different departments without advance administrative approval and appropriate security clearances, despite the number of university activities that rely on free exchange of ideas between those based in different parts of the campus.

Because of the plan's impact on the conditions of work, it might also have to obtain union approval before it could be implemented.

This is so much like Hawaii. Start with a problem, in this case the lack of meaningful campus security, and then immediately go to the other extreme, a virtual lock-down of every part of the campus. Surely there are sensible steps that should be taken, such as securing buildings at night or on weekends, without treating educational facilities like top secret pentagon bunkers.

I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about this one.

I stocked up on a few cat images before flying out of the house on Monday, and spent yesterday afternoon with them. Not as good as the real thing, but it's the best I can do right now. In any case, I chose a few to share. Just click on Mr. Leo for the latest.

November 16, 2005 - Wednesday

Apologies for the late post this morning, which I'll blame on the time difference and scheduling problems.

I also wanted to take some extra time to reply to union activist Steve Dinion's recent criticism. I finally got around to finishing it up this morning, and it ended up long enough require a separate page. So just click on the following link and you'll be forwarded to my reply to Dinion.

November 15, 2005 - Tuesday

Yesterday's dark owl, it seems, was not a good omen.

A few minutes before we reached her house on the beach yesterday morning, just a little more than an hour after the owl made its appearance, Ms. Tiki, one of our favorite morning dogs, collapsed on the deck where she waited each day for the morning walkers to appear. She had no strength left to respond to the regulars who gathered along the beach, below the seawall, to pay respects and offer encouraging words. Tiki had been battling cancer. Several tumors were removed months ago, and we all hoped she was out of danger. For a while she seemed to be doing well. But no such luck in the longer term. When she got to the vet yesterday morning, x-rays showed new tumors had spread and she was bleeding internally. There was little to be done except let her go, a most difficult decision for her people in the case of this wonderful dog. She was a favorite of ours and of so many who shared the beach in front of her yard. Aloha, Ms. Tiki.

Ms. Tiki

Have you noticed the new Star-Bulletin ad series continuing the "we're the underdog" theme. On Sunday, this text appeared above a picture of managing editor Frank Bridgewater:

The Truth:

Once upon a time, on an island in the middle of the Pacific, there lived two great friends, a Morning Paper and an Afternoon Paper.

They formed a bond called the Hawaii Newspaper Agency, and for years they did everything together-- Advertising, Printing and Distribution --in the hope they would help each other succeed.

However, one day a Mainland Corporation with deep pockets ended the bond. Now, with a long relationship over; the other paper is doing everything it can to be the only newspaper on the island.

Sad, but it seems the only Truth that will be heard will be heard from us.

Star Bulletin.
Today's News Today

As one who got the boot because I tried to write unauthorized truth as I saw it during a difficult time, I would be happy to see a new commitment to "Truth" (even with a capital "T") at the Star-Bulletin, but pardon me for being a bit sceptical.

November 14, 2005 - Monday

It was 4:33 a.m. and I had just gotten up when I heard that funny sound for the first time. About a second in duration, and repeated after a short interval, not loud but audible. It could have been metal-on-metal, sort of a screech. I first checked the refrigerator, which has been making its own strange sounds. Not there. Ms. Wally, on the counter for a drink of water, also heard it. So I went outside. As I walked down the front steps in the dark and stood on the grass, the sky was clear, the garage was a shadow to my left, and I could see one of our cats on the driveway, although there wasn't enough light to make out which one. Then came that screech again, and when I looked up it was to see the dark outlines of a large bird low over the yard with outstretched wings working hard, as if it had been swooping down but was startled by my appearance and now struggled to change direction. It didn't quite get down to eye level, but perhaps as low as 10 feet before gaining altitude and flying off over the house and into the darkness again.

My guess is that it was probably a barn owl. These owls were introduced in Hawaii in the 1950s, and we have had other sightings in the early evenings, perhaps 45 minutes to an hour after sunset. This is the closest encounter I've had, though, at any hour.

Also on the unusual animal front....Just a week ago, a reader and former Honolulu resident sent along photos of her Alpaca brood from their spot in New Zealand's South Island . Ms. Sally, right, was "expecting", while the expectant father, Casper, is in the center (background), and Sprite (white) is at left. "This afternoon, out of the hot gales and in some shade. Pic doesn't show how hard the wind blowing. Sally is due any second, but shows no sign of activity . . ." Then yesterday, the big excitement, and again she explains:

Nov 5--waiting

Yesterday

Sally did it w/o my being midwife -- and I missed everything! After maintaining daily two-hour watches for weeks, I decided that nothing would happen today.

So, of course, Sally decides to unpack w/o me being around.

I did do the iodine spray of the unbilical cord, and checked baby to see that she is a girl! A BLACK one, w/just a touch of white on her chiny, chin, chin -- the dab of white is from her mother.

Mother and baby doing well, as are dad Casper and Auntie Sprite. I, myself, though, am a space cadet!

And so it goes down on the South Island, where summer approaches. We're flying the other direction a little later today, directly towards winter.

We're heading to Toronto for the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Meda's major professional organization, while the cats stay home and enjoy their favorite sitter. You can browse the program at the ASC's web site to get an idea of the range of topics that get dealt with along with all the details of keeping a large organization running.

My sister added the family history lesson:

And yes, Yonge St. (a main street in downtown Toronto) is named for one of our collateral ancestors -- albeit distant.  Puslinch Township (near present day Toronto) was named after the English home of Elizabeth Yonge, wife of Sir John Colborne, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, 1828-35. Puslinch Manor lies just outside the village of Yealmpton on the outskirts of Plymouth, England.

Elizabeth Yonge was, I believe, a sister of our ancestor Duke Yonge who married Catherina Crawley. Duke and Catherina had Francis, who had James F. M. who came to California (my great grandfather).

In any case, there's a Yonge family connection there. We'll be staying at a hotel on Yonge Street to soak it in by osmosis.

November 13, 2005 - Sunday

If we put the matter to a vote, napping would always win. This was part of the scene during yesterday's afternoon nap, proving notion is as popular among the cats as among the people of the household. Just click on the photo for a closer look.

Cats are delightfully unapologetic in their tendency towards naps. They gracefully slip from full alert to full stop with minimal fuss in between. Sometimes there's a show of cleaning, food-free whiskers being well known for their sleep inducing properties. At other times a few dainty steps in a tight circle, as if to stretch those nap muscles before putting them to the test, perhaps a moment to position the paws just so, then the eyes close and they're asleep. No show of reading a book, however briefly, or pretending to follow events on the tv before dozing off, no tossing and turning while waiting for consciousness to fade. Just a straight forward strategy of position, settle, sleep. We would probably be much better off as a species if we were able to emulate the cats' approach to such mundane matters.

A bit more Kaaawa News went online yesterday, if you're interested in our community affairs.

I took some criticism from Steve Dinion of the Musicians Union and coordinator of Hawaii Labor for Peace in a letter to the editor of Honolulu Weekly in this week's issue (reprinted here). Although I saw the letter before publication, it wasn't in time to respond. Steve deserves a reply, so I've been trying to work up enthusiasm. Maybe tomorrow.