May 20, 2006 - Saturday

Yesterday's photos inspired a reader to submit this wonderful shot of a sunset several years ago as seen in Manoa. Click on the photo for a larger version.

A couple of people commented on the smoke in the background of the 1957 photo looking ewa from Punchbowl. It's off on the far right, and appears to be a cane fire at Ewa Plantation. For those who don't recall those days, sugar cane fields ready for harvest were first burned to remove the dried leaves and leaving behind the wetter stalks that held the sugar.

It was apparently less expensive for the companies, although the billowing smoke and fine ash from the burning fields covered surrounding communities and ultimately posed a health hazard. Environmental laws finally ended the practice

Chuck Smith, an old friend, former Hawaii resident, blogger and regular visitor/contributor to this site (you may recall his recent ruminations on the housing bubble) has now added "novelist" to his list of credits.

Smith's new book, I-State Lines, is getting some high praise. Here's a recommendation from the good folks at The Kaleidoscope, a bookstore in Hampton, Iowa:

I-State Lines
by Smith, Charles Hugh
Charles Hugh Smith is a wonderful storyteller; his not-exactly-linear style worked for me just the way memory works: one memory sparks another, and frequently one that is only tangentially related to the original memory. The story works on so many levels, it's hard to summarize. Summer vacationers looking for a "Road Trip" story won't be disappointed. High School and College juniors and seniors pondering their next steps will be inspired. Vietnam-era vets and those who love them will appreciate the myriad faces of the veterans we meet through Alex and Daz. People with painful family memories or relationships will identify with the Chings, and appreciate the gift Daz gives them when he takes their Lancer on his cross-county journey. My contractor buddies will love the Sacramento chapter, my farmer friends the Iowa connections, and my opera singing / actor friend in New York will identify with Daz's opening night jitters. Perhaps the small town Iowa customers who buy this book because of my personal recommendation will see hope for our future in the Scandinavian-Hispanic-Germanic-Af-Am faces of our next generation: the blondes named Hernandez , the dark-eyed Johannsens, and the mixed race Alvonni Stone who is now a part of my own family tree.

Okay. And, if you somehow haven't had a chance to read the story of the wrong guy interview or see the video, this is a good time to start.

May 19, 2006 - Friday

Congratulations to the Honolulu Advertiser and attorney Jeff Portnoy (and to fellow Whitman alum Bill McCorriston) for the victory in a significant 9th Circuit case that strengthens the public's right to access court records. Yesterday's Advertiser story includes a link to the text of the court's decision. But don't forget that you can listen to the oral arguments from the November 17, 2005 hearing--go to the 9th Circuit web site's audio file page, and enter the case number (04-15241) in the search field. You will then be given the link to download the file.

I recently had an exchange of emails with a cat person in Oregon who was sent home with those dreaded pills for one of her cats. She suggested the exchange of views might be of broader interest, so you can read it here.

Okay, it didn't really rain in Kaaawa for the entire month of March. Every once in a while there was a sunrise that wasn't covered with clouds and precipitation, and I finally got around to collecting my favorites from the month. Now I can get to work on last month. Just click on the photo for more.

Kaaawa in March

May 18, 2006 - Thursday

Here's a comment from another former S-B reporter regarding the newspaper's new ban on slippers in the newsroom:

I am so glad to know that Frank (Bridgewater, Star-Bulletin editor) is cracking down on sandals and other casual foot wear in the office. Should help circulation immeasurably.

Although those S-B circulation numbers still aren't subject to the industry standard Audit Bureau reviews, so it's hard to know what's really happening with them.

If you were watching those dismal Red State-Blue State comparisons after the last election, you might want to check out this encouraging update.

Remember Mike Matsumoto, SSFM International CEO who was the first person convicted in the long probe of illegal campaign contirbutions? Matsumoto pleaded no-contest to one count each of money laundering and making a campaign contribution using a false name, and was senteneced in July 2003 to 5-years probation, 300 hours of community service, and a fine.

A regular reader of this site who has the highest regard for Matsumoto noted that he was recently released from probation two years early and had all charges dropped and his record wiped clean by Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto.

According to the minutes of the hearing held on April 27, Matsumoto's attorney, Howard Luke, offered a letter from Hina Mauka and potential testimony by Associate Professor of Law Danielle Conway-Jones, while prosecutor Chris Van Mater declined the opportunity to cross examine the witness and offered no opposing witnesses.

According to a partial transcript of the proceeding, Judge Sakamoto commented:

Mr. Matsumoto still remains one of the most outstanding defendants that has come to this courtroom. His contributions to our community and the state are outstanding. And even after these offenses, he has continued his work in the commuinty as this court believed that he would. To believe that Mr. Matsumoto would commit another crime. I have absolutely no belief of that at all based on his track record that he's maintained a consistent giver to our community.

The reader who called this to my attention commented:

I have known Mike for a number of years, and I know, personally, the good man that he is. I know, also, how hurt he was by this terrible experience.

Well, sometimes, good guys do win.

Congratulations to Mike. He didn't need this ruling for people to know that he a good guy. There were no reporters when today's ruling was handed down, and that is a real disappointment. But, I promised him that I would get the word out to the reporters I respect. So, here it is.

Just a few more of those 1950s views of Hawaii, this time of downtown Honolulu and vicinity, including a most interest view of downtown and what was to become the capitol area in a photo taken from Punchbowl. The photo to the right shows Kapiolani Blvd as it looked back in 1954.

Kapiolani Blvd 1954 Click for more

Sunrise today is at 5:52 a.m., which will be several minutes before we even leave the house for our walk to the beach and back. I suppose it still qualifies as a dawn walk even though we won't catch up with the sunrise again until the fall.

May 17, 2006 - Wednesday

Sorry to be late today. I just didn't mange to finish up before we left for our early walk. But hopefully some will feel it's better late than never.

Over at the Star-Bulletin yesterday, editor Frank Bridgewater sent out an email to all staffers banning slippers from the newsroom, immediately and permanently. No more thongs, slippers, flip flops, male or female. Sandals are OK for women, but men must wear shoes. And this at the newspaper that prides itself on its local flair.

So far, I'm told there's no clue why this edict came down now. Perhaps theres a board walk-through planned or maybe it's bugged him for years and he finally decided to do something. Or perhaps there's more going on. We'll see.

I finally have the Campaign Spending Commission's explanation of their position on corporate and union contributions, spelled out in a February 6, 2006 memo to Deputy Attorney General Charleen Aina. After reading through it, I'm still convinced their interpretation is wrong. If you would like to browse through a few more of my observations on this, just click here. (Apologies to those of you who read this before I realized there was no link...)

May 16, 2006 - Tuesday

We were extremely fortunate to be able to celebrate my mother's 92nd birthday last night. My dad had the dinner fixings ready when we arrived and had started a fire to grill a couple of steaks. Meda did her salad magic, I opened some champagne, and my mother opened a few presents and told a few stories, including her first birthday recollection from when she was three years old and living at Puuloa, near where the entry to Hickam Air Force Base is today, and where my grandfather at that time was the station agent at the railroad stop. They were there for a few years he was able to transfer to the Waipahu station, where the family lived in much larger quarters on the 2nd floor above the station.

Happy #92 !

Leadership changes are likely in both the House and Senate next year, according to a report to the UH faculty union board by lobbyist and union official John Radcliffe, reflected in the board's minutes distributed to all members.

I've been told House Speaker Calvin Say has been urged by at least some political insiders to step aside gracefully in order to avoid a messy leadership battle next year. We'll see. Say has not yet taken out nomination papers to run for re-election, and he had only $32,181.42 in his campaign account at the end of 2005, a modest amount for an incumbant speaker, even one who has not faced serious opposition in his district for years.

If you enjoyed that batch of photos taken on Kauai in 1953, here's another round taken a decade later in April 1963. To the right is the area between Kilauea and Hanalei where construction started on the Princeville resort not too long after the photo was taken.

May 15, 2006 - Monday

I'm still puzzling over the Campaign Spending Commission's legal interpretation that has imposed restrictions the legislature rejected by limiting corporations to a token $1,000 total in campaign contributions during any election period. The commission modestly says it is only interpreting HB 1747 CD1 which became Act 203 (2005). But how this legal view developed, despite opposition from the Attorney General, remains unclear, as is whether it ever was discussed in a properly noticed meeting of the commission or offficially adopted or endorsed by the commission.

An effective ban on corporate and union contributions is a major change in law and in politics, but when the commission first discussed Act 203 back in May 2005, there was no sign that such a ban had just been imposed. In the list of amendments incorporated in the law, there was no indication that it took corporations and unions out of the campaign finance scene. Instead, like most reporting, it focused on the limits on out-of-state contributions.

Following that apparently brief presentation, the commission minutes are devoid of any discussion of Act 203 or any move to bar corporate/union funds until a November 10, 2005 meeting at which staff made a presentation on its view of the new law and proposed changes to the commission's administrative rules. It contains the first indication I can find of the commission's new view of the law.

The meeting lasted some 95-minutes, including the presentation. There is no record in the minutes of what was discussed or what questions were asked, or whether the commission had already authorized its staff to run with their new legal viewpoint.

Meanwhile, as Richard Borreca's story on the current campaign scene notes, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, the faculty union, saw the commission's move coming it was discussed at the UHPA board meeting in December 2005.

At that time, UHPA directors voted to set aside an $200,000 for a new political committee that would comply with the commission's new stance, but also approved a potential legal challenge:

Directors were informed that the CSC was misinterpreting the current law. Legal counsel recommended that the CSC interpretation of the new law be challenged now. Directors unanimously passed a motion to authorize legal counsel to obtain from the Campaign Spending Committee a written opinion setting forth its policy, analyze the legal basis of that opinion, and, if indicated, pursue legal action to overturn the policy.

To date, there is no advisory opinioin or other information available on the Campaign Spending Commission's web site that clearly states the basis for its current legal interpretation or indicates when and how the interpretation was formally adopted.

In testimony on a bill debated during this year's legislative session, the Attorney General's office indicated it does not agree with the commission's legal view and does not support the commission's legal conclusion.

I'm back to the question of how this new legal interpretation was adopted. At best, it is an attempt to enforce an ambiguous statute. It is, in effect, a new rule that departs radically from the prior rules. Should the rule making requirements of the Hawaii Administrative Procedures Act, including requirements for public comment, have been followed?

Very interesting....

May 14, 2006 - Sunday

Happy Mother's Day!

If you're stuck on how to appropriately celebrate, consider this invitation from attorney, activist, and mother Clare Hanusz to vigil for peace this evening in Waikiki (corner of Kapahulu and Kalakaua) from 8 to 9pm.

She writes:

Please note: This vigil is not being organized by any group, but by one mother who is very concerned about the world her young children are growing up in.

The first Mother's Day had nothing to do with shopping for flowers or jewelry or brunch at a fancy restaurant. On the first Mother's Day in 1870, Julia Ward Howe -- reformer, writer, peace activist, and suffragette -- called for mothers everywhere to raise their voices and bring an end to all war:

"Our husbands shall not come to us reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience.

We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"

On this Mother's Day, all women - and men who support them - are invited to join in mourning the lives lost to war and in remembering all women and their children who are victims of war, violence and poverty.

Thank you, Clare (clarehanusz(at)hotmail.com).

We spent yesterday afternoon in Kaaawa Valley for the wedding of Ariel Krape and Travis Hylton. It was a magnificent setting high on one side of the valley, part of Kualoa Ranch, the sun highlighting the clouds and sweeping patches of color across the surrounding cliffs. If you've got to get married, this is one heck of a place to do it.

Kaaawa Valley

A couple of months ago, Pete in Montana had a simple request:

How about a freshened up portrait studio page with all the cats named, or better yet, a <full> group portrait with all the critters, posed nicely, and looking at the camera <gdr>

...........and I can hear Ian now......"With this batch of cats,!!...Not a chance".

He's right. I didn't even attempt a group photo, but I have been meaning to get update the cat census with fresh photos of the entire crew.

I worked on the census yesterday and managed to get something written to accompany photos of all the girls, and made it as far as new photos of all the boys. Hopefullly I'll get to their accompanying descriptions today. But just click on Ms. Wally to get a peek at the new collection.