September 16, 2006 - Saturday

5:10 a.m. and it's raining in Kaaawa, sounding like large drops falling slowly and deliberately, welcome rain, really. I don't know if this is our regular early morning rain that clears before dawn or the front end of a rainy day.

We had dinner with longtime friends last night. We've known her for two-thirds of our lives, him for as long as they've been back in Hawaii. Both very smart people, and now uncertain how they will vote in the senate race, wavering between Case and Akaka. For Akaka--nicest guy, good voting record, seniority will help. For Case--a Democratic incumbant will have the best chance of beating Lingle when this senate seat is open next, and this Dem can think on his feet. Mixed feelings, whether Case is courageous or simply ambitious, and much it matters that Akaka is not the most substantive senator on the hill.

Their deliberations signal to me that the race is likely going to be much closer than the lopsided polls disclosed earlier.

I was browsing again yesterday through federal campaign reports, which include each person contributing over $200. Former governor Ben Cayetano has made a single reportable contribution in a federal race, $500 to Clayton Hee, who also got $500 from UH Professional Assembly director J.N. Musto and another $1,000 from union lobbyist John Radcliffe. Former House speaker and Bishop Estate trustee Henry Peters, also a single contribution of $2,000 to Colleen Hanabusa. Former UH prez Evan Dobelle has given $4,100 to Friends of Hillary.

Retired FHB head Walter Dods has been active this year with contributions to Menor ($1,000), Hirono ($1,000), Hooser ($1,000) Hanabusa ($1,000), Akaka ($2,000), Abercrombie ($2,000). In this quick scan, members of the law firm of Gary Galiher have made 48 contributions in this federal election cycle.

And so it goes on a damp Saturday.

September 15, 2006 - Friday

We stopped at Castle High School on the way home yesterday for a campaign rally for Senator Akaka. When we arrived, the senator was standing at the door personally greeting and being greeted, no phalanx of handlers to assist or provide cover. There was Hawaiian music, food, and a good showing of people from the district. It was a comfortable, old-time gathering. I think this photo caught the "feel".

Earlier in the day, while trying to confirm the time of the rally, I was surprised to find Monday's entry concerning the Realtors PAC featured prominently on the Akaka campaign web site.

And speaking of the campaign, it's interesting to see how Honolulu's two daily newspapers split their endorsements. The Star-Bulletin, which prides itself on being more "local", endorsed Case yesterday, citing his more conservative stance on issues, while Gannett's Honolulu Advertiser endorsed Akaka. Go figure.

Thanks to Burl Burlingame for pointing me to part of Mark Twain's initial observations after coming ashore in Honolulu, where he was impressed by the people, the surroundings, and the cats.

I saw huge-bodied, wide-spreading forest trees, with strange names and stranger appearance--trees that cast a shadow like a thunder-cloud, and were able to stand alone without being tied to green poles; in place of gold fish, wiggling around in glass globes, assuming countless shades and degrees of distortion through the magnifying and diminishing qualities of their transparent prison houses, I saw cats-- Tom-cats, Mary Ann cats, long-tailed cats, bob-tailed cats, blind cats, one-eyed cats, wall-eyed cats, cross-eyed cats, gray cats, black cats, white cats, yellow cats, striped cats, spotted cats, tame cats, wild cats, singed cats, individual cats, groups of cats, platoons of cats, companies of cats, regiments of cats, armies of cats, multitudes of cats, millions of cats, and all of them sleek, fat, lazy and sound asleep.

The passage if from his book, "Roughing it", published in 1872.

And for this week's Feline Friday, Mr. Toby put on his sticky foot routine for the camera again. He doesn't jump off the top of the wall, he sort of runs down it's face. I'm not quite sure where he learned this technique, or what the role of the perpendicular tail might be.

September 14, 2006 - Thursday

Several people have asked for more information about my story in this week's Pacific Business News, which is only available to PBN subscribers.

The story focuses on a business partnership formed by Joe Blanco, a director of St. Francis Medical Center and former high tech "czar" during Gov. Ben Cayetano's administration. The partnership's role as representative of a mainland developer seeking a contract with another St. Francis affiliate became public due to a falling out between the partners and a resulting civil lawsuit which provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look conflict of interest issues in the nonprofit world.

For those without access to PBN, I've tried to quickly retell the story with a focus on another of the partners. University of Hawaii folks might find this telling especially interesting. Click here to read more.

Meanwhile, I spent some time yesterday catching up with the morning dogs. This is Scruffy, who we've been seeing nearly every morning. Scruffy's partner, Magic, has been avoiding the camera, but I'll eventually catch up with her as well. In any case, just click for more.

September 13, 2006 - Wednesday

Did you hear the one about the delegation from China that stopped by the state capitol recently to learn a bit about campaigning from a few of our local legislators? After a discussion of campaign tactics and funding, they headed back to China with enthusiasm for the tried and true local campaign technique of holding campaign signs along city streets and waving at passersby.

News for cat people--the tresspass charges brought by St. Francis School against feral cat feeder Cindy Newberg have been dropped. Here's her note:

A big mahalo to everyone who made calls, wrote letters and sent e-mails on my behalf. Support has come in, thanks to the internet, from around the world and I am grateful to everyone who took the time to get involved.

One nice lady even e-mailed me a picture of the current Pope’s two " house " cats along with her words of encouragement. She says that the it is a well known fact that the current Pope has a soft spot for stray cats and in Italy theTrap/Neuter/Return & Maintain (TNRM) program is the only method used to control the feral cat population....

As for me, I am just happy to finally be done with all of it. In 8 years we took the cat colony at the front of St Francis School from 19 cats ( mostly kittens ) down to the current 3 ( another 3 are currently missing in action ). To me, there has been nothing like spending my own time and money fixing what has always been the school's problem and then getting harassed and ultimately arrested for the effort !

Life Lesson from St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226):
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."   

Still on the cat topic, Tom Brower, a House candidate in District 23 (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako) has collected photos of many of the cats living around the state capitol and city hall.    

September 12, 2006 - Tuesday

Retired newsman Chuck Frankel offered this insightful comment following the passing of columnist Bob Krauss:

The Advertiser and Star-Bulletin sometimes devote too much space to staffers and former reporters when they die. I remember a Star-Bulletin reporter's obit was padded with the fact that she attended art exhibition openings in her retirement.

In contrast to these faults, the Advertiser's handling of the death of Bob Krauss was excellent in writing and in display. The reprinting of his last column was intelligent and heart-warming.

Bob knew Hawaiian history and culture. Perhaps his closeness to missionary-tainted Thurston Twigg-Smith prevented him from appreciating current Hawaiian activism. The Advertiser should be congratulated on its handling of the life and death of Krauss,  a superior newsman.

* * *
With Bob's death, Helen Altonn of the Star-Bulletin  becomes the dean of journalists of Honolulu dailies.

--Chuck Frankel.

No complaints about improper campaigning on state time or with state resources have been received by the State Ethics Commission this year, according to commission executive director Dan Mollway.

"Usually we have dozens of complaints, but this year to date it hasn't happened," Mollway said last week in a telephone interview.

Mollway attributes the change to the provision that went into effect this year making solicitiing campaign contributions on state or county property a misdemeanor. A similar provision was formerly hidden away in civil service law but rarely if ever enforced, but the new provision is placed in Chapter 11 HRS which governs elections.

Prior attempts to eliminate campaign activities in public offices have stalled, but this year, Mollway says, "it seems to have stuck. It looks like a new day."

If you have access to this week's Pacific Business News, don't miss my story on an interesting business deal involving board members of St. Francis Medical Center, a couple of the town's top lobbyists, and a mainland developer looking for business in Hawaii.

During this part of the year the sun rises a bit later every day, which gives us a better chance to see those wonderful colors reflected off the clouds, ocean and sand. You never quite know what kind of a sunrise it's going to be until it happens.

September sunrise

September 11, 2006 - Monday

The political action committee formed by a national trade association spent more than $600,000 last month to directly benefit the campaign of an island candidate. That was more than the total amount raised by the candidate through June 30, 2006.

What was the PAC and who was the candidate?

Well, last week Ed Case's campaign sent out an email urging supporters to "follow the money". So I did.

The campaign's email presented data to show that Akaka has received a greater share of his campaign funds from political action committees and from mainland residents than case.

But the figures were carefully selected. Looked at differently, the same data show Akaka raised 80% more money from Hawaii residents than Case.

And Case points the finger at "special interests" supporting Akaka, who has drawn his share of support from PACs, which are each limited to a $5,000 contribution per election.

But Case has a huge special interest hiding in his closet, according to Federal Election Commission records. And the money from this PAC doesn't show up in lists of contributions received because it was spent "independently" of the candidate and is reported elsewhere.

FEC data shows the National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee spent a whopping $602,017 in August for television ads and direct mail in direct support of Case's campaign. This included $385,000 paid to the Fenn Communications Group for television ads, and $216,417 paid to Terris Barnes & Walters for a direct mail campaign in favor of Case.

That's more than the entire $597,575 raised by the Case campaign through the end of June 2006. This one PAC, in essence, more than doubled his money and did it by acting "independently" of the Case campaign.

Akaka benefited from a $100,000 independent expenditure by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which paid for television spots on his behalf, but AFSCME's proportional role pales compares to the realtor's position in the Case effort.

Both the Realtors and the AFSCME expenditures are among the independent expenditures made recently, according to FEC data reported by PoliticalMoneyLine. You'll have to search that list for Case or Akaka to find the individual entries.

Meanwhile, on the home front, here's a photo taken yesterday morning after we got back from our early walk. Toby was on the deck, so I was hounding him with camera, as usual, when I saw an opportunity for a self-portrait of sorts. Not great art, but a nice moment. Click for a larger version.

September 10, 2006 - Sunday

A story in the Chicago Tribune reports that Native Hawaiians were turned down for mortgages at a rate 60 percent higher than the rejection rate for whites, citing a study by the Federal Reserve.

African-Americans had the highest rate of denials at 27.5 percent, while the rate for Native Hawaiians was 19.6 percent. The rejection rate for whites was 12.2 percent.

Congratulations to Jeff Green, most recently head of advertising and marketing at the Honolulu Advertiser, who has been named president and publisher of the Asheville Citizen-Times, also a Gannett newspaper.

The Hill, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, reports on a bill pushed by Sen. Dan Akaka to offer federal protection to whistleblowers. Akaka has now gathered a measure of bipartisan support and is being used as the vehicle for the coalition's push for reforms.

Why does this happen so often? When the cats see me approaching with a camera in hand, they open their mouths. Often very, very wide, as Ms. Annie did here on Friday. She offers an example of one of those cat mysteries. With a portal that big, why is it so hard to pill a cat?