April 15, 2006 - Saturday

Larry Geller, over at DisappearedNews.com, has been pounding on the issue of corporate "interns" working in legislative offices, and he was joined this week by former Star-Bulletin Managing Editor Dave Shapiro in his "Volcanic Ash" column in the Advertiser.

I agree with some of the criticism of these "intern" arrangments. Some, but by no means all. It's Saturday morning, I've got a cup of coffee, Harriet is on the counter fussing for her morning lick of margarine (a story for another time), and so here comes a stream-of-consciousness reaction to the controversy.

I agree, for example, that these intern arrangements shouldn't be hidden. They should be disclosed, as all staff assignments should be disclosed and readily accessible for public review. We should know who is in a position to influence the process.

But I don't really think that these placements as "interns" offer a new or more pernicious kind of private corporate influence. If they just switched hats and registered as lobbyists instead of acting as volunteer interns, there would be nothing that unusual about their positions.

In the normal course of events, lobbyists can and do everything the interns have been criticized for. They can and do draft bills and get them introduced. They seek out and foster personal relations with legislators and key staffers. They participate in political campaigns. So do public interest groups and their representaives. And both corporate lobbyists and their public interest counterparts do their best to rewrite legislation and propose amendments, organize supporters and create public pressure while working behind the scenes through legislators who share their perspectives. Interns, hobbled by state ethics laws, can have less of an impact on the bills they would have the most interest in.

The corporate world certainly has more money to throw into the process, but public interest groups have far more passion to draw on.

So do interns represent a major tilt in power? The simple answer is "no".

It is beneficial for business executives--and anyone else, for that matter--to get an introduction into how the legislative process works and an appreciation of its internal dynamics. That's why we have university interns, and a public access room. It's the same reason public interest groups periodically offer educational programs and training. Some of our businesses have apparently taken this to heart, and as a result these same companies are known for their political skills.

What's the alternative? Should legislators surround themselves instead with people with no particular interests and no clue about poltiics? Will better laws be made by those the least familiar with or connected to the subject matter at hand? I think not.

Citizen activists can get a similar education by getting a job at the legislature. I'm working in a staff job in a legislative office this year, the first time I've done it although I've spent years as a public interest lobbyist and later as a reporter watching the legislative process. There's lots to learn from this side of things. I arrived with my own interests and lots of political background and commitments, just as those corporate interns. I'm paid by the state rather than by a corporate employer, but the educational ride is the same.

Perhaps my major disagreement with the most vocal critics, including Larry and Dave, is with the unstated and unexamined assumption that seems to be be behind the pointed attacks on the corporate interns. It's the view that somehow those who come to the table with their own interests--special interests, you might say--somehow taint the legislative process. It's akin to the view that significant policy decisions can--and should--be made by public officials without the intereference of political considerations.

I just don't agree. It seems to me that public decision making necessarily reflects a clash of real interests reflecting the diversity of our community and, in our democratic system, the process results in an eventual set of decisions reflecting a particular set of compromises and accomodations, always temporary and subject to change and challenge.

Now that those who control the daily news discourage reporting on "process", it's perhaps no wonder that much of the public thinks new laws can and should emerge clean and shiny through something akin to virgin birth, somehow untouched by political interests. But it doesn't happen that way, and we shouldn't be surprised by that fact.

So are special interests a dominant force at the legislature? Sure. If you don't have some motivating interests. you probably couldn't care less what goes on in that building. But that's not bad. That's why we have a legislature in the first place. It creates a relatively civil arena in which interests can clash. The alternative can be seen in the violence that flares when criminal interests, who can't fall back on the democratic convenience of legislative politics, attempt to solve their conflicts through warfare.

The answer isn't eliminating special interests from the legislative process. It's promoting access for more special interests, making accomodations so that most interest groups are able to sustain a presence and claim a place at the table. Not easily done. But criticizing the other guys for being better organized and more politically adept isn't an effective shortcut.

Whew. The coffee's cold. Silverman just showed up for breakfast sporting a swollen spot on the side of his face. Kili's going back to the vet later this morning and I'll try to get Silverman some antibiotics. So enough of the ramblings. I hope Larry and Dave don't take offense at my disagreement.

Here's the first reasonable photo of our latest visitor. For now, we just refer to him as "black cat". He's hanging around a little more on our back deck, where he patiently waits for a bowl of food and fresh water to appear. Nothing demanding, and the other cats have learned that he's not likely to act aggressively. So now I've just got to get the snip-snip plan in motion.

Black cat visiting

April 14, 2006 - Friday

The new public wireless network is up and running at the state capitol, allowing anyone with a properly equipped laptop to browse the internet or check email while in conference rooms or outside around the railing. In the back hallways, the signal is intermittent, but in the designated areas it works very well. It remains to be seen how it will handle heavy usage, but for now it's looking good.

[Correction: The following section was wrong and an apology to the State Procurement Office is in order. I wrote here that a web site redesign had removed documents which were formerly public. In fact, they were moved but not eliminated. My comments about the motives of the Lingle administration were therefore unwarranted in this case, and I apologize.]

Information alert: The State Procurement Office has redesigned its web site and, in the process, eliminated a significant amount of information that until recently was public available. No explanation is provided for why the information disappeared, but it's definitely a loss for the public.

Previously, for example, the list of requests by agencies to bypass the normal procurement process included a link to a copy of their written request, which included a description of the work, the justification offered for an exemption and, in some cases, the response of procurement officials.

These requests are quite informative. For example, I spotted the first report that the U.S. Dept. of Justice had initiated an investigation of Hawaii's Youth Correctional Facility in a request by the Attorney General's office to hire a mainland attorney to deal with the feds without the long procurement process. That tip led to all the reporting about the investigation.

Now the procurement office list of exemption requests links only to a summary of each request drawn from the official document. The summaries lack the justification or full description of the proposed contract. It's a very pale and empty version of what was prviously available.

Perhaps that's just what the Lingle administration wants, and why they've decided to turn out the lights and remove the information from public view. A very regretable move.

Help wanted: The State Democratic Party is again looking for a communications director. "Only experienced communications, journalism, public relations or marketing professionals need apply." Deadline for applications is April 19.

April 13, 2006 - Thursday

Plans for the dramatic expansion of Turtle Bay Resort are due to be aired tonight at the Koolauloa Neighborhood Board meeting at Hauula Elementary School cafeteria. The Save Oahu Coalition is urging residents in the impacted area, stretching from the North Shore back along our coast to Kaneohe, to attend.

Meanwhile, an anonymous letter was mailed last week to a number of reporters smearing prominent opponents of the resort expansion with allegations and innuendo.

The letter targets the Cole family, including famous surfer and environmentalist Peter Cole and his brother, "Lucky" Cole, along with Carol Phillips and Mark Cunningham.

In a telephone interview this week, Peter Cole said the smear was similar to tactics used two decades ago when Obayashi Corporation was seeking to develop its proposed Lihi Lani project of luxury homes and associated amenities. Cole was a founder of the Save Sunset Beach Coalition that successfully blocked the project.

At the time, Obayashi pressed its case through a group of local lobbyists and representatives who channeled campaign cash to an array of elected officials, and Cole says they also resorted to similar smears.

"They wanted to paint us as the rich haoles on the beach," said Cole, who chairs the Oahu Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

Cole's brother, Shuyler "Lucky" Cole, has issued a written statement responding to several of the specific smear allegations, which suggest that he operates four illegal vacation rentals at Kawela Bay which would be hurt by competition from an expanded resort.

Cole responds that the family purchased two lots in Kawela Kai in 1985, and has held them since then, hardly qualifying as real estate "speculators". The four vacation rentals are legal, registered with the city at transient vacation units, and in compliance with EPA regulations.

"The author (of the smear letter) is incorrect in the assumption that the expansion will hurt our business and the value of these homes; on the contrary, our homes will be quite affordable alternatives to the multi million dollar condominiums now planned. We have been fortunate in our real estate investments which began in 1964. We do not speculate."

"Both Peter and I unsuccessfully opposed the massive expansion of the Turtle Bay in the early 80s," Lucky Cole writes. "I guess we were less of a threat then because I don’t remember any smear efforts at that time. However, attacks were frequent during the period of our opposition to the Lihilani Project and our support of the Ke Ala Pupukea Bike Path in the early 90s."

The proposed Turtle Bay expansion will impact us in Kaaawa as traffic to service the 3,500 new hotel and condo units have only two ways to get to the area, along the two lane stretch of Kamehameha Highway through Kaaawa, Punaluu and Hauula, or via Sunset Beach and past Haleiwa. This, in turn, would increase pressure to expand the highways which would promote additional growth.

The opening of Ko Olina as a hotel destination was supposed to remove the pressure for development along our coast by channeling new projects into the Leeward "second city" area. The outmoded Turtle Bay expansion plan undercuts that general plan intent to keep this part of the island more "country" as a reprieve from the urban parts of Oahu.

April 12, 2006 - Wednesday

Web notes: The Honolulu Police Departments web site, www.honolulupd.org, was back online this week after they apparently got around to renewing the domain name. The domain registration shows it was renewed on April 6, nearly a week after it had expired, resulting in the site's temporary disappearance. And United Airlines' web site may not be compatible with Safari, the most popular Macintosh web browser, according to an email reply received to my question yesterday about recent problems using the airline's site.

A top University of Hawaii faculty union leader received an overwhelming vote of confidence from the union's board of directors last week following a challenge to his extensive lobbying on behalf of private clients and the alleged use of union facilities and staff for those private business purposes. Click here for the full story of the lively and revealing debate that has taken place in recent days among UH faculty over the extensive private lobbying business of UHPA's Associate Executive Director, John Radcliffe.

The same issues have been debated in the past and, as in this case, ended with strong support of Radcliffe by the union's board of directors. The current debate is spiced up by the disclosure of documents relating to Radcliffe's lobbying on behalf of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, including a 1996 plea for corporate funds to defeat then-Rep. Jim Shon, a legislator friendly to the university but considered "a main enemy of tobacco."

Radcliffe responded to my inquiry yesterday with a lengthy email, as well as The Lobbyist Factor, a document he prepared last year for the UHPA Board of Directors. It's all good reading.

April 11, 2006 - Tuesday

The National Labor Relations Board now filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the Hawaii Tribune-Herald for refusing to discuss its firing of long-time employee and Newspaper Guild leader Hunter Bishop. According to a release from the Hawaii Newspaper Guild, a hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 31 in Honolulu.

In the meantime, Guild members at the Tribune-Herald now have their own web site which has collected news accounts of the labor dispute. The Guild is also asking subscribers to sign a written pledge to cancel their subscriptions at a time of the union's choosing.

Your subscription will not be cancelled immediately. You will be notified by the HNTPC when, and if, we decide to cancel subscriptions. In the meantime we are collecting these forms to demonstrate to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald how much support for fair contracts we have from newspaper subscribers who are willing to sacrifice their newspaper to help the union workers who produce it.
 
Please DO NOT call the newspaper to cancel your subscriptions now. When Guild members collect a significant amount of pledges, we will be able to use them as leverage at the appropriate time.

Meanwhile, I'm preparing for a few days handling the herd on my own, as Meda flies out today for George Bush International Airport in Houston. She's due to give an invited lecture at Sam Houston State University's criminal justice program on Thursday. According to their listing of the week's activities:

Women’s Study Prof To Take On ‘Aggressive Girls’

Meda Chesney-Lind, professor in the women's studies program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, will discuss “Bad Girls, Mean Girls, or Just Girls: Trends in Girls' Aggression and Violence” on Thursday (April 13).

The discussion, part of the Beto Chair Lecture Series, will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. in the Kerper Courtroom of the Beto Criminal Justice Center.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a discussion and reception in the Texas Room for graduate students.

And so it goes this Tuesday morning.

And, by the way, let's hope there are a few remaining islands of sanity in the U.S. government who agree with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's assessment that a nuclear attack on Iran would be "completely nuts". I want to hear prominent politicians denouncing this talk of a "first strike" policy in no uncertain terms.

April 10, 2006 - Monday

The 10th of April--Happy Birthday, Ms. Bonnie!

What's the use of having my own blog if I can't wish my sister a happy birthday once a year?

Lee Cataluna's column in yesterday's Advertiser pretty much nailed the racetrack issue. What are legislators smoking that makes this $50 million giveaway look even for a moment like a good deal for the public? If a facility that would "keep racers off the roads" is the goal, that can certainly be done for small fracion of the $50 million cost of this proposal.

And to make matters worse, this tax credit isn't aimed at the racing facility itself. Giving a new racing facility a tax holiday to encourage development might be a bit more palatable. But the current bill (SB1734) woul essentially reimburse the entire cost of planning, engineering, land aquisition, construction, and equipment, giving investors their money back via dollar-for-dollar tax credits. And they could benefit from the tax credits even if the racetrack is never opens its doors and never hosts a single race, as long as the project isn't abandoned for six years.

Remember the Hawaii Super Prix?

In any case, SB 1734 would create an incredible deal! Well, a deal for those politically favored few with profits from other ventures that could be sheltered via these tax credits, not for the public that is being asked to foot the bill.

For a bit more economic news and analysis, check out the musings of my friend Chuck Smith, www.oftwominds.com. Be sure to scroll down to his "housing affordability chart 1975 & 2005".

Windward Community College hosted the state History Day competition on Saturday. This year's theme: Taking a stand in history. I had to get their to see the display created by Karen Murakami and Taylor Hori of Iao Intermediate School on Maui, who approached me via email several months ago to request permission to use a few of my photos from the first protest landing on the island back in 1976.

Iao Intermediate students Karen Murakami and Taylor Hori

So I ended up being part of their history display, and it went on to win a place in the state competition, which was quite an amazing swirl of historical moments captured by inquisitive students. The judging wasn't finished when we visited mid-day, but they all looked like winners.

April 9, 2006 - Sunday

Friday's mail brought one of those postcards from a young real estate assistant advertising another home for sale in Kaaawa. She's a nice young woman and lives in the neighborhood, but this sales pitch leaves an awful lot unsaid. We immediately recognized the house, in part because it's nearby and in part because of it's recent notoriety. No mention of the latter on the card. Click here or on the photo for the rest of the story.

Noted at ManilaTimes.net, a column last week about the 1924 sugar strike on Kauai and the Hanapepe massacre, with a follow-up including a return to Hanapepe looking in vain for signs of the historic encounter.

And, as often happens on weekends, yesterday devolved into a cat-and-camera act with a new batch of photos to show for it. Just click on Ms. Harry for more.

Ms. Harriet aka Harry