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January 10, 2004 - Saturday
I'm starting to see a familiar pattern emerging in the Lingle administration's approach to exploiting issues. Take so-called 'education reform". The administration commissions a report using private money, then releases it within a carefully controlled public relations blitz hitting on a few key themes. Evan after central factual claims in the report were questioned by Star-Bulletin reporter Susan Essoyan and turned out to be misleading, the PR machine just continues to repeat the original claims without regard to truth or accuracy. And I just noticed that critical articles like Essoyan's don't appear on the fancy web site set up at state expense to push the Lingle education agenda. It's beginning to remind me of the President's claims about those missing WMDs in which truth takes a distant back seat to politics.
And this week's shoot out at the Pali Golf Course is a reminder that there's something worse than organized crime, and that's disorganized crime. These turf battles weren't seen much during the period when Hawaii had a senior figure who was reputed to control much of the scene.
I've referred earlier to Gabe Aio's description of trying to steer disputes among crime factions into less violent directions during a 1996 interview:
Gabe acknowledges that he maintains relations with lots of guys, mentioning several well-known names of reputed crime figures. "Hey, I talk to them. They come to me for advice. I don't try to tell them what to do. I just give advice."
"You've got to have a network. You have to have contacts, to know what is going on out on the street."
"I tell them, you guys have to learn to talk things out, stop fighting each other. You've got to work together. Forget the physical stuff. You've got to learn to talk."
Makes me wonder whether anyone is playing that role today.
An attempt to check the UH web site for the agenda of next week's Board of Regents resulted in an error message--the official link to the agenda isn't working, at least not this morning. But I understand that the appointment of the Manoa vice-chancellor isn't on the agenda, meaning that it's been postponed yet again. Can we expect the dailies to check out what sort of politics is behind the extended delay in making this appointment? After all, the finalists were selected nearly half a year ago, but the appointment process appears to have simply ground to a halt, which certainly does nothing to enhance the university's national reputation.
It sounds like the interview with former Bush treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, scheduled for broadcast tomorrow on '60 Minutes', could contain some zingers. At least that's the P.R. buzz in advance of the broadcast, all aimed at promoting sales of a new book.
| The weather was beautiful this week after a month or more of rain. We've been waiting for another early morning view of Molokai and beyond, but yesterday's few clouds sat just at the critical spot on the horizon. Maybe today. |
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January 9, 2004 - Friday
Here's another link to add to your news junkies' bookmarks--the Legislative Reference Bureau's daily sweep of local and national news stories sorted by categories.
Diminished expectations? According to this morning's Star-Bulletin, UH President Evan Dobelle yesterday defended his fundraising plans against pointed questions by a Senate committee, and noted his attempts to obtain $50 million in federal funds for the new medical school complex in Kakaako.
But just last month, an Advertiser wrap-up of conflicts between Dobelle and the Board of Regents referred to a higher figure:
Dobelle said he always intended for that amount to include a combination of financing sources, including $80 million in federal money sought with the help of U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, to build the cancer center.
Slipping reporting or slipping goals?
The agenda for next week's meeting of the UH Board of Regents should be posted today, and should indicate whether they'll proceed with naming the new Manoa Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Surprisingly, neither Honolulu newspaper followed up on the link provided here a month ago to a story in the University of Texas-Arlington student paper which reported an offer has been made and accepted.
January 8, 2004 - Thursday
Star-Bulletin writer Burl Burlingame, former webmaster of the Honolulu Newspaper War site, is back in a new incarnation--Check6Honolulu.
I'm told the name is aviator-speak for something like "check behind you" or "cover your rear", or something along those lines.
The old newspaper war site now has Burl's long explanation of why he's laying the site down.
Hey, did you notice the Advetiser's tough editorial yesterday likening Hawaii to a Third World country? Bravo.
And the Star-Bulletin's Cynthia Oi hit the issues head-on in yesterday's column about the new federal overtime rules. Way to go, Ms. Cynthia.
And I wonder whether the Honolulu papers will pick up on Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa's call to move all future power lines underground and even to stop the replacement of existing poles with these huge new monsters.
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Ms. Piglet wandered back into our yard yesterday morning. It didn't take too long to lure her into a cat carrier with a handful or two of dry cat food. A quick slam of the door and there we were, starting at each other. |
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Toby prowled around the carrier for a couple of hours, keeping tabs on her. But before the day was out, piglet had a new home. No, not with us, thank goodness. It's an ideal ending to an uncomfortable few days.
To top off your morning, this tale from a friend in West Virginia:
Funny family story. I made a bargain with my son (he goes back to college this weekend) that he could subtract one load of laundry to do this afternoon if he'd get the roasting chicken in the oven by 4:30. I told him how to clean it, pulled out the roasting rack, mixed up the lemon juice/ olive oil/ thyme coating, and reminded him constantly to clean up everything. The chicken came out rather well but had a slightly strange taste. A few minutes ago I thanked him again for his help . . . and asked him if he'd cleaned up and did he wash the chicken. "Yeah, with Dawn." He's a sweetie. I have yet to learn to give complete directions.
January 7, 2004 - Wednesday
| It's aloha time for community media advocate and former Olelo executive director Richard Turner and his family, who are moving back to Maryland where Turner has been named executive director of Montgomery Community Television. Richard is an amazing guy, with skills ranging from hands-on engineering to national policy debates, and lots in between. |
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I happened to be on the Olelo board back in 1989 or so when we recruited Richard to make the move to Hawaii. He did, and pretty much built the public access provider, perhaps the nation's largest, from the ground up. Maryland's gain is our loss.
There was an economic analysis of the economic "recovery" in the Guardian (UK) yesterday that's worth reading:
But for the moment George Bush is riding high on an economic revival that everyone knows means trouble via the twin budget and trade deficits in the medium term. As for the fiscal stimulus, more and more commentators are noticing that it is not just tax cuts that are boosting the US economy but vast increases in military - or, in the case of lucrative contracts in Iraq, militarily-induced - spending. That 1950s-style military industrial complex is back.
Here's an interesting rundown on the most overhyped and most under reported news stories of 2003 from AlterNet.org.
And the Los Angeles Times has a chilling account of why our exclusive obsession with international terrorism may be misplaced.
Oh--just fyi--we haven't seen ms. piglet for 24 hours.
January 6, 2004 - Tuesday
We're freezing here in Kaaawa, with the overnight temperature dipping down to the mid-60's. It means more cats in the bed, and that down comforter is more welcome than ever.
Hawaii made it into the Onion at the end of the year in their top story about marine mammals...I shouldn't say more than that.
With Mad Flack Disease still rampant in the journalism community, the PRWatch.org is very busy tracking the "Spin of the Day". You should check their site regularly for the news behind the news.
Another "must see" site is "Behind the Homefront", a project of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. It is tracking news of how the quest for homeland security is impacting access to information and the public's right to know.
When we got home late Monday afternoon, the little pig was in dangerous territory. Neighbors had seen it in our yard a bit earlier, but I spotted it running down the little hill next to our house. Other people spotted it too, although I didn't see anyone going after it with deadly intent. But Kaaawa verges on country living, and that pig's days are numbered if it continues running loose in the neighborhood.
January 5, 2004 - Monday
| Saturday's piglet stayed around for Sunday dinner It was still under the house and making periodic forays into the yard for much of the day, cats keeping a close watch, although by late afternoon it was nowhere in evidence. |
Toby & pig
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Here's Mr. Toby, the cat, on the left, and piglet, the pig, on the right. Yes, piglet is eating cat food placed in front of a large cat carrier. The plan was to get him/her into the carrier and, hopefully, wrestle the door shut before it can get out. And then....well, as Chevy Chase says in that wonderful scene in The Three Amigos, "sometimes you can overplan these things."
Did you see the one about the Transportation Security Administration chief from Washington's Dulles airport who was picked up for drunk driving during the big New Year's security alert?
Maybe this guy was at the same party as the the FBI official who approved the request to police departments nationwide to notify their local anti-terrorism task force of any sightings of people in the possession of almanacs.
Isn't news great? You really couldn't make this stuff up. No-one would believe you.
January 4, 2004 - Sunday
| Rain washed out our early morning walks the first three days of this new year, but we're hoping to get back on schedule this morning. On New Year's Day, we finally ventured out during an afternoon break in the rain and took this photo of the still threatening weather. Our first walk photo of the year.
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January 1, 2004 in Kaaawa
Click for larger photo
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Can we see Maui from here? It seems that Haleakala, at just over 10,000 feet, should be visible, but that's just a guess. My sister found a web site which tries calculate a scientific answer to the question, "How far can you see?" Entering approximate data for the distance between Kaaawa and Maui (around 100 miles), it would appear to suggest that the upper portion of Haleakala is well within viewing range.
It took us a while yesterday to realize that something was amiss, and a bit longer to figure out what it was. There was a pig--well, a piglet--under the house, shadowed by at least three of our cats. Toby was the main shadow, backed up by Annie and Leo. All three are larger than this little pig, which appeared to be comforted by the cats. It was still around in the late afternoon. We watched as it made several forays out into the yard, only to run back under the house at the slightest provocation.
Neighbors across the street seem interested in "adopting" the pig if it can be caught, although I have no idea whether it will still be under there in the morning. We could hear it snorting around the front of the house late yesterday, but have no real idea what happens next.
We've seen large wild pigs come down from the mountains in search of water and food during unusually dry periods, and have heard of them emerging during wet spells as well. A friend several blocks away found two baby pigs in her back yard a few weeks ago and may still be trying to figure out what to do with them. I'm actually hoping that this little guy will wander on rather than forcing us to deal with it. We'll see later this morning, I guess.
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