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I don't think we're alone in watching the weather carefully today. Here's the official version (sorry about the shouting):

HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 PM HST FRI DEC 26 2003

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CONTINUED THE FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII...

...HEAVY RAIN AND FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK...

After the last bout of flooding, which we experienced up close a couple of times, we're a bit anxious about driving conditions, especially since we're scheduled to drive in to a party up at the top of Ahuimanu tonight, and that can be one of the wettest spots on the island.

From Gene Stoltzfus, a Mennonite friend with the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams, comes this new report on the treatment of Iraqi detainees based on their interviews with detainees and their families. It's a small snapshot of an obviously much larger problem. It's a pdf file which opens with Adobe Acrobat, but let me know if you would rather have a Microsoft Word version.

Here's an interesting one--a report ranking perceptions of corruption across the globe based on an accumulation of prior surveys. The U.S., according to this listing, is far from the "cleanest" country. That honor goes to Finland.

Powerpoint users might want to check out this AP story. Here's a taste:

Foes say PowerPoint's ubiquity perverts everything from elementary school reports to NASA's scientific theses into sales pitches with bullet points and stock art.

One of the Internet's inventors, Vint Cerf, gets laughs from audiences by quipping, "Power corrupts and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.

December 26, 2003 - Friday

Christmas high? There were lots of parties in Kaaawa yesterday, but we never got as wild as Ms. Wally with her new catnip toy. Just click on this photo for a better view.

Public media activist and analyst Sean McLaughlin recommends this article about the mega-merger between News Corp. and DirectTV. Sean notes: "Most interesting item in this story was the 'sham' proposal by DirecTV that effectively shuts out local programming!"

Those old "stag night" photos referred to yesterday are now available as promised.

December 25, 2003 - Thursday

Christmas morning. Here's hoping that yours is merry.

We spent last night feasting and opening presents with my parents. Today we'll make the rounds here in Kaaawa.

Ms. Annie is quickly recovering from Tuesday's surgery. We dropped her off Monday evening along with the spay and neuter certificate from the Humane Society, and picked her up late Tuesday afternoon. She's got a shaved belly and a small incision, and has been slowed down just a bit by the experience.

On the Christmas theme, I'm working on another piece of history--the women's protest against the December 1971 Kahala Mall's men-only "stag night" promotion. Stag night offered free beer and Santa's "bunnies" and was billed as a men-only shopping event. The protest was Hawaii women's liberation in action, backed by a few supportive men. Amazing to look back on. I should have this set of photos posted late today, with documents to follow later. You can check by clicking on the "Old Kine Pics" banner to the right.

| Men line up for "Stag Night" 1971

Meanwhile, I have no idea how to assist Roseline from the University of Western Australia, who found a passing reference sometime ago when I rescued a gecko that Ms. Kili was carrying around one morning. She writes:

Hi there,

my name's Roseline and I was looking for some information about morning geckos, and I happened to find your website and read that you had rescued a morning gecko.

I picked up one on the floor of my garage under the car, that appears to be quite weak and I was wondering if you'd be able to tell me what i could feed it? and generally what else I could do to take care of the little thing?

hope to hear back from you if you aren't too busy. thanks!

from Roseline.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'll gladly pass them along.

December 24, 2003 - Wednesday

I dragged out of bed this morning to find that Santa had arrived and delivered a reporter's special gift: news that the Hawaii Supreme Court has issued a rare public censure of David Fong, former District Court judge who had served as chairman of the Hawaii State Trial Judges Association and had been an ex officio member of the Hawaii State Bar Association board of directors. The censure apparently cites Fong's failure to disclose his wife's many business interests.

It was a series of stories that I wrote beginning in July 2000 that triggered a review by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, a probe by the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel, and ultimately led to the censure. My reporting started with a tip from an attorney, which I could never confirm, but which started my extensive dig through business and court records that ultimately yielded substantial questions about the judge's conduct.

In addition to the original story, a follow-up detailed the range of hidden business ties.

There are probably only a few people who recall my reporting on Judge Fong . The Star-Bulletin story today links to the original series but doesn't use my name, and the censure only merits a brief item in the Advertiser (after all, it wasn't their story in the first place....) No one called yesterday for comment, or even to let me know of the court's action.

But, you know, that doesn't matter. I'm elated by the news. And I know, in this small town, my reporting again made a difference.

This morning we will be walking at least a few minutes later than usual, and along the regular route I'll be delivering 8x10 photos of some of our favorite morning dogs to their people. It should be fun.

December 23, 2003 - Tuesday

The Toronto Star carried an excellent Noam Chomsky column earlier this week. The newspaper has been a place to look this year for sensible news and analysis of U.S. policy in Iraq.

If you're tempted to believe the Bush administration's feigned outrage over Iraqi use of chemical weapons two decades ago, don't miss the New York Times story by Christopher Marquis which probes declassified documents to follow Donald Rumsfeld's earlier and quite contrary political posture.

And don't miss this Washington Post story detailing extraordinary arm twisting before the vote on the Medicare prescription drug bill, as well as calls for a criminal investigation into possible bribery.

We weren't the only ones on Kaaawa beach yesterday morning for the solstice sunrise. I stopped to talk with a man who had a small home video camera set up on a tripod. He said he lives in Salt Lake, drove to Nuuanu, and then took the bus to Kaaawa, hoping for a clear morning when Molokai and Maui would be visible.

Dawn on the Winter Solstice, Kaaawa, Hawaii

Unfortunately, clouds and a bit of haze obscured critical parts of the view, but it was still worth the trip, he said. Indeed it was.

December 22, 2003 - Monday

Sunrise yesterday was sort of classic Hawaii winter--clear, calm, and cool. Well, cool for us at least. I expect today's solstice sunrise to be much the same.

We were watching the 6 p.m. news on KHON when they announced that power in Kaaawa had been restored an hour after yesterday's accident. I about choked on my lemon water, as we were without electricity for a full five hours. I noted that the statement was been made without attribution, but I have to assume this was the HECO line reported without qualification or further checking.

Okay. It was just a week ago that presidential candidate Howard Dean was being battered by critics from all sides for his simple statement: "The capture of Saddam has not made America safer." From the reactions, including from media pundits, you would have thought he had announced the selection of Saddam as running mate.

But here we are, a week later, and our "homeland security" agency has boosted the national terrorism alert level to "high risk" in reaction to threats described by Tom Ridge as "perhaps greater now than at any point since Sept. 11, 2001."

Wouldn't you expect stories on the high risk threat--higher than before Saddam's capture--to at least make passing reference to Dean's statement? This increased alert status certainly confirms Dean's position, no doubt about that.

But there's no mention of Dean. Not in stories announcing the increased alert appearing in the Star-Bulletin or Advertiser, not in the New York Times or Washington Post. It's like massive media amnesia, perhaps infectious dementia.

Welcome to Winter.

To cheer up the start of your week--at least for the cat people among you--here are a few of the latest from our Kaaawa household. Just click on Mr. Toby.

Mr. Toby

December 21, 2003 - Sunday

[Today's entry is going to be a bit late, so please check back again later.]

Our walk was extended about an hour beyond normal this morning by holiday merriment and stops along the way for neighborly exchanges, coffee on Hauhele Road, introductions to another morning dog (Tiki, a beautifully groomed Shih Tzu who turns out to live just up the hill from us), etc. Then at 8:50 the power went out and, after just a couple of minutes, Engine 21 from the Kaaawa Station roared out, siren blaring, most likely heading to the scene of the automobile accident that took out our electricity.

So the English muffins are in the toaster, untoasted. The fresh pot of coffee is beginning its slow descent into cool. And I'm here with the Powerbook balance precariously on my knees while Ms. Wally shoves her way onto my lap with her typical determination.

A medivac helicopter arrived on the scene sometime after 9:30, landing at Swanzy Beach Park, followed by lots of sirens. I finally decided to go down and take a look.

It was a beautiful day. Bright sun. Brilliant colors of the sky, ocean, and mountains. But not a nice day for the people who were in the van that hit a telephone pole just before the bridge entering Kaaawa, about where we turn around at the end of our daily walk and head back home.

The helicopter had been on the ground for some time before two ambulances arrived carrying three victims from the crash site. With dozens of people watching, firefighters and emergency medical technicians loaded the three into the waiting helicopter, which then took off towards the north before making a broad turn and heading back towards Honolulu.

Click for larger photo

One neighbor watching the process commented that these might be among the last victims injured in such accidents because the existing poles from Kualoa to Kaaawa are being replaced with much larger diameter poles which will certainly cause higher fatality rates in the future. Who's in charge of this process? Hawaiian Telephone? Hawaiian Electric? Does the PUC have any jurisdiction? It's obvious that they have little regard for the community's views on such matters.

FYI, power was restored in Kaaawa just a couple of minutes after 2 p.m., somewhat over 5 hours after the accident.

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