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You're welcome, fellas. My little item yesterday on the drop in Advertiser revenues, taken from a Gannett press release, appeared later in the day with a particularly Burlesque spin on Burl Burlingame's Honolulu News Blues site. Then it reappeared as the lead business news brief in this morning's Star-Bulletin. The original Gannett press release, dated December 6, 2001, had apparently been languishing on the company's web until my curiosity took me there yesterday. Such is the news food chain, but at least I can claim a bit of credit.Rick Daysog had a good scoop yesterday on the sale of the Times supermarket chain, long a local fixture, to a California chain. The Advertiser finally got it into their online edition midday yesterday, and in today's print edition.
I'm really waiting for a Whole Foods Market, or another outfit that will challenge the limited choices available in most Honolulu stores. Take Safeway, which has expanded its stores but dramatically reduced its offerings. We notice that they've simply dropped most of their former low fat products, dumped most local products, reduced or eliminated choices in almost every category, and they've substituted the illusion of choice. With those long aisles, it seems like there must be good stuff lurking, but it's not there. I don't know whether they can get away with this on the mainland, where real choices exist. Take their breads. There's a huge section filled mainly with mainland balloon bread, along with a small selection from Safeway's own bakery. California Safeway's would be embarrassed by this lack of good product. As the main cook in the house, I could rail on and on about Safeway's approach to the business, but it probably won't do any good.
Lindsey and Silverman have come in to beg for breakfast and then settle down around my work space. Lindsey took my chair, so I've pulled over a stool to sit on. Silverman's taken up the towel put out for him last night on the kitchen counter. Lizzie is driving me nuts by taking refuge up behind my Treasure Craft collection. And Kili has been staking out the living room, an indication that she thinks Meda's birthday rat is still around. Oh, did I say earlier that it had been retrieved and brought back into the house the day after Tuesday night's dramatic rescue? With Kili on the prowl, that poor rat won't last too long.
Winter morning, Kaaawa style
(click for larger photo)
Gannett says its Honolulu Advertiser advertising revenues for 2001 were down 11.5 percent from the year before, the poorest performance of any company region. Retail ad revenues were down 11.7 percent, while classified revenues dropped 21.2 percent.These data are buried in a presentation at the Credit Suisse First Boston Media Conference by Gannett newspaper division boss Gary Watson.
Watson commented: "In Honolulu, keep in mind the JOA was dissolved in March and we're now in a competitive situation. Couple this with the very sorry state of the Hawaiian economy and these results could be a lot worse."
This bit of useful information came via Sen. Les Ihara:
FYI in case you didn't know or if ever you might need a quick way to submit testimony to a legislative committee.The Public Access Room (PAR) provides a service to citizens by accepting public testimony submitted by email. They make copies of emailed testimony and deliver it to the appropriate House or Senate committee. PAR recently established a separate email address to receive testimony for above purpose; it is:
> testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov
Make sure to include in the email the committee name; bill number; date, time and place of the hearing; and number of copies needed (as listed on the hearing notice). PAR's web site is at: http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/par Bill text and status, committee reports, and other legislative information is at the Hawaii Legislature's website at: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov
If you have any questions, please call the Public Access Room at 587-0478.
That's bound to come in handy at some point during the legislative session.
I belatedly tracked down my original photos of Ms. Kili and Ms. Wally, taken the day of their rescue, and added a link to yesterday's entry. Cat people will enjoy them. All others beware. That means you, Dave.
I just noticed an opinion issued last month by the Office of Information Practices which could impact the way requests for public records by reporters are handled. This opinion, No. 01-07, concluded that Maui County cannot treat requests from members of the county council any differently from other requests. The county had required all council members and staff to route their requests through the mayor's office.However, OIP concluded that the law applies to "any person" and, therefore, no particular class of persons can be subjected to special handling.
Similarly, requests from news media are often routed differently from requests originating with the general public. I've heard the mantra many time when agency staff realize that you're a reporter. "Oh, I'll have to check with the director before letting you have this record." Now OIP has provided some ammo to shoot down these practices.
Speculation is heating up in the Star-Bulletin newsroom about the direction of contract negotiations at the rival Advertiser. The Newspaper Guild's contract with Gannett's Advertiser expires in June, and some believe Gannett will demand concessions similar to those Star-Bulletin staffers made last year to save their paper, including salary cuts and a separate and lower salary scale for new hires. The difference, of course, is that Gannett is rolling in dough, is in no danger of closing down, and both the Guild and rank-and-file staffers are likely to balk at making concessions. But the new competition with the Star-Bulletin would appear to pose new risks should Gannett pursue a hard-line stance in negotiations. Ah, it's going to be a most interesting year.
How could I forget what day this is? It's Acquisition Day, the 4th anniversary of the rescue of Kili and Wally, who were found after being tossed from a passing car onto Kahekili Highway just past Temple Valley. Kili tends towards orange, while Wally is on the gray scale.
Kili was in the middle of the lane with cars driving around her when we arrived, and she just stood her ground and let Meda pick her up. Harry was found a bit further down the road, where I rescued her from another passing motorist. We were lucky to be there, having left early intending to go to an estate auction in town. So Kili & Wally are known as the auction cats, to distinguish themselves from the others.
For a "then & now" experience, here's the original notice of the rescue & adoption. They were really cute kittens. Check it out.
Wallyl & Kili
The Auction Cats at 4
Happy acquisition day, girls!
Finally, an aside to note the politically correct holiday card received from a friend in Baltimore. It's a hoot.
Yesterday was one of those peculiar mornings where the sun rises but without benefit of the usual fanfare. First it's dark and gray, and then it's a bit lighter but still gray. We waited for some color, but it never appeared.
Later we celebrated Meda's birthday with a run through some places we don't visit often. The high point was a shopping stop at It's Chili in Hawaii on King Street. A great small store. We walked out with several interesting preparations, including a small plastic jar of Dave's Gourmet Insanity Spice (yes, its real name), which brags of being the hottest spice in the world. "Not for people with heart or respiratory problems," the label warns.
After dinner, Silverman even delivered a little gift. A rat. Very much alive. This time, after at least trapping the rat in a corner after Silverman politely dropped it under the dining table, I was determined not to repeat the earler escape and hunt routine. So without much thought, I surprised myself and just reached over and made a bare handed grab, plopped the rat into a container, then took it out in the yard and gave it a running chance. Thanks, Mr. Silverman.Pity poor Jeremy Harris, Honolulu's mayor & wannabe governor. He has the bad fortune of cranking up his gubernatorial campaign just as the Campaign Spending Commission shifts gears and decides to actually investigate and potentially punish those who encourage or conceal contributions that exceed the legal limits.
Ten years ago, when current commission executive director Bob Watada was a member of the commission, this was not the attitude of the commission or its staff, according to an old legal document I just found in my files. This is a declaration by then-director Jack Gonzales filed in the case of Lind v. Grimmer, et al. Yes, same Lind. And the case is now widely cited in other federal cases.
In any case, Jack stated that 90 percent of all matters at that time (early '93) were settled through informal contacts between Gonzales and campaign officials, including instances of illegal contributions.
"If a campaign report indicates that an excessive contribution (one over the legal limits) has been made, the respondent campaign will be contacted and requested to remedy the excess by returning the impermissible portion of the contribution to the contributor. Usually this results in compliance, and no formal complaint need be pursued," Gonzales stated.
A far cry from today, where a campaign in a similar situation risks not only charges of violating state campaign laws, but additional potential charges such as money laundering and fraud.
Happy Birthday, Ms. Meda!
Well, I didn't get around to the latest cat photos until last night. But they're now posted as the latest photo gallery. Click on the gallery banner at the top of the page, or on Mr. Leo's fine form here, to see the rest.
The sun came out yesterday, at least for a while, even in Kaaawa. This gave the cats some relief from their indoor life.
Poor Miki's arthritis is acting up again. This time it's her other front leg which hurts, reducing her mobility and causing her to limp badly when she does move. She's feeling all of her 15 years.
There's little relief available for cats with this kind of ailment, so she's just having to suffer with it. I try to deliver food to wherever she is, but that's about all I can do.
Mr. LeoOn the news front, I don't have a clear idea of the extent of the Advertiser's management sweep, but John Simonds joined the list this week with his announced retirement, and I've heard that their vp for human resources, Jo Kerns, is also joining the exodus.
There are a lot of job openings listed on Gannett's web site, but none in Hawaii.
A holiday Monday, and I hoped not to be awake quite so early. But there were four cats in bed with us, including Ms. Miki, who settled herself right in the middle of my pillows, leaving little room for me. Then Mr. Leo, who wasn't one of those in bed, decided to start his morning exercises at 4 a.m. I tried applying the food bribe, and then tried closing the bedroom door, but the door routine is futile because no cat can stand the challenge of a closed door. Soon two of the bed cats were up and fussing at the inside of the door, while Leo lay just outside and dug with all four paws. I managed to hold out until 5, but I finally had to admit defeat, open the door, and lead the procession down to the kitchen. After the initial moments of excitement, though, they've now pretty much disappeared or settled down, I'm not wholly sure which.And with the cats spending more time indoors due to the bad weather over the weekend, I've got a backlog of good photos, and I'll be posting a new set sometime later today--just cats.
Star-Bulletin writer Burl Burlingame had this report last week on advertising inroads being made:
Publisher David Black is back in town and reports that now that the one-year exclusive contracts the Gannett paper signed advertisers to are ending, many are jumping ship and moving over to the Star-Bulletin, as they perceive a product that better suits their demographic. The Cutter car contract was a huge loss for the Gannett Advertiser -- we're talking millions a year in lost revenue -- and there are others, such as Papa John's pizza, that carefully studied the two papers as chose the Star-Bulletin as the flagship product.
Good news on the cow front. Hawaii Cows is back, thanks to quick action by former S-B'er Blaine Fergerstrom, who recognized the symptoms of an expired domain name registration and stepped up to secure a new registration for HawaiiCows.com. Blaine was worried about the possibility of an unscrupulous speculator taking over the name for their own use.A note from HawaiiCows creator Louise explains all:
I didn't get around to renewing my DNS registration and they cut me off.Thankfully, Blaine Fergerstrom came to my rescue and it should be back up soon.
Nice to know Bessie and Bossie are missed!
Then there was this little exchange yesterday. From the In Box:
by the by, i hear from mary in west virginia that her 13-year-old had a loud party, and because of a lack of planning, the two cats were cut off from their litter box.uh-oh. my money is on the doo-doo-in-the-bathtub revenge. i've seen it many times.
And my reply:
The use of the bathtub is a courtesy, not a form of revenge.Revenge is the pillow on the bed. Or inside a person's shoe. Or the burner on the stove.
Cat owners pray for bathtub.
Then there was Joe P., taking exception to my description of Kaaawa's morning cold.
Even though you no longer work as a newspaper employee, I see you have not lost the reporter's talent for embellishment..."I was up and fully intending to get today's entry done early, but a blast of frigid arctic air in Kaaawa drove me back into bed..."
As a boy growing up in an area where winter high temperatures of -10 were not uncommon, I certainly would have welcomed the chance to experience what passes for "frigid arctic air" in Kaaawa...
But, as I explained in partial defense, hail was reported in Hilo, and yesterday evening had me rummaging through closets for something warm to wear.
So it goes in Kaaawa.
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