|
September 6, 2003 - Saturday
It's hard to figure why this report isn't getting more attention. The New York Times, following a story appearing in Vanity Fair, reported this week that top White House officials approved a special flight to evacuate influential Saudi's from ten U.S. cities in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and the evacuees included relatives of Osama bin Laden. The flight received special government permission to proceed while other civilian air traffic was still being restricted.
Here's a piece from the current Columbia Journalism Review with an interesting perspective of the position of web logs in the realm of alternative journalism. Writer Matt Welch suggests that "alternative" weeklies may be brushed aside by the still emerging but robust world of blogs. Very interesting.
September 5, 2003 - Friday
Former Kamehameha Schools CEO Hamilton McCubbin is again the subject of controversy, this time by applying for a top post at the University of Hawaii's Manoa Campus. Should anyone be surprised that women are upset to see McCubbin, who has twice resigned from high level academic posts amidst allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate personal relationships, among the list of finalists? The Star-Bulletin reports today on a letter of concern now being circulated by a group that includes my wife, Professor Meda Chesney-Lind. Click here for the full text of that letter, now being circulated for additional signatures.
You don't have to look too far for indications of the problems posed by a possible McCubbin appointment. Many women on campus are already afraid to voice an opinion, knowing that the person ultimately appointed Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will have significant power over decisions that can make or derail academic careers. Faced with McCubbin's track record of unresolved complaints, including allegations of retaliation against employees who complained at Kamehameha, these women appear to have good cause for concern.
| This was an interesting sign spotted yesterday on the Manoa campus, but you'll have to click on the photo to read the larger version. A clue: Vicki Cayetano was a member of the Search Committee that placed McCubbin among the finalists (a decision reportedly made by a very close vote among members of the divided committee). |
|
Changing the subject just a bit, an old friend pointed me towards country singer Merle Haggards's editorial about those naughty Dixie Chicks.
September 4, 2003 - Thursday
Several people commented that the "real" labor question of the week is what Gov. Lingle was doing smiling and chatting it up with Tony Rutledge, the labor leader recently indicted along with one of his sons on federal fraud and tax evasion charges. The image was captured by Advertiser photographer Greg Yamamoto.
Did you notice the Star-Bulletin's story yesterday which reported that UH football coach June Jones will not earn his contract bonus for academic performance. You've got to wonder why the story was written by reporter Rick Daysog rather than a sports writer. That's an unusual crossover.
But a reader chimed in with this comment on the issue of Jones' salary:
If the salary for the coach seems to taxpayers to be absurdly high, one needs to be reminded that the taxpayers do not contribute one penny to his salary, that UH general fund (taxpayer) money for athletics is ten percent or less of the total athletic budget, and is for such things as building maintenance, utilities and the like.
I'm not defending the salary, but the point that the taxpayers are NOT paying is almost always lost - even on the coach, if you assume that Rick Daysog's coach-attributed-comment in the last 'graf of the story in today's SB is accurate.
"Jones also has said his new $800,000-a-year contract will not cost taxpayers more than his current contract because the difference will be picked up by private donors."
What he says, of course, is true - because it has NEVER cost the taxpayers anything to cover his salary. But it is also totally irrelevant.
This is obviously one debate that's not going away anytime soon.
Finally, another reader recommended this interesting read on the energy situation.
September 3, 2003 - Wednesday
Yesterday's Star-Bulletin carried an A-3 story on the local Labor Day union march and rally, with photo. The labor issues raised at the rally were identified and union leaders quoted. The Advertiser carried an A-3 photo of a Labor Day protest against President Bush in Richfield, Ohio. I had to look through the paper several times before finding a couple of photos of the local rally buried back on B-4 (two pages behind the obituaries). In the print edition, the second photo of a few people marching behind a labor banner is tiny, while the large photo given all the attention is of the taiko drummer providing entertainment. No labor focus at all in that photo, which is given all the play. The brief captions gave little indication that anyone other than the photographer attended, and the reader is given no information about the labor issues raised.
Bias? Not necessarily. Inattention? Sure.
| Seeing double? Not really. |
|
| That's Mr. Duke on the right. But that's his sister, Maka, on the left in a photo sent over yesterday morning by her adopted family. When she was adopted, both kittens were white with just a hint of an underlying pattern, but their colors have bloomed in parallel. What a beautiful pair! Just click on the photo for a larger version. |
September 2, 2003 - Tuesday
That recent OIP opinion that forced the University of Hawaii to make the football coach's contract public is now available online. Check out the "What's new" section at OIP's web site. Also of interest is OIP's new policy restricting the number of issues that office will handle for members of the general public, apparently prompted by a few individuals who have large numbers of information requests. Beginning July 1, OIP will deal with up to five active matters from any person, but will turn away additional requests.
Despite all the media hype, only 36,844 fans attended the first UH football game of the year over the weekend, well short of the 50,000+ capacity of the stadium.
The hurricane turned into a tropical storm and its effects have been largely confined to the Big Island. Here at home, Day 2 of kitten went much better than the first. All the cats have calmed down, although a couple of the boys still have a ways to go, and we're in denial about the current population count.
| Meanwhile, there have been a couple of new dogs in the mornings and they're part of the latest set of Kaaawa dog photos. Just click on this photo to see the new batch. |
|
September 1, 2003 - Monday - Labor Day
Warning: Do not try this at home.
| We had just hit the first bit of beach past Swanzy Beach Park on our early walk yesterday when the normal sounds of surf and the occasional passing car gave way to the unmistakable lost kitten cry. At first we thought it was coming from up in that scrawny tree in the background of the top photo. Then we looked down, where a drainage culvert opens up onto the sand just a few feet below the two lane stretch of Kamehameha Highway.
There she was. A gray and white kitten, probably about five weeks old. Of course we couldn't leave her there. So we headed for home where, after several meals, many brushes with the flea comb, and lots of sleep, she's perking up just fine, thank you.
|
The rescue |
Back home |
There's a clear sex difference in reactions of the other cats. All the females, with the exception of Harriet, are interested but not bothered by the sudden appearance of a kitten. The males, with the exception of Mr. Duke, were quite upset and agitated, although they've calmed down a bit this morning.
Are we going to adopt her? I don't know for sure, but she did sleep in our bed last night along with Kili and Miki.
Meanwhile, it's started raining in Kaaawa. I think this is probably the outer fringe of clouds thrown out from Hurricane Jimena, or so it appears in satellite images. Check out the weather forecast from the Mauna Kea Observatory. Click on "satellite", choose the desired view, then click for the animated version.
And here's a webcam on Alii Drive in Kona for a view of the storm.
August 31, 2003 - Sunday
It finally cooled off a bit overnight, but the air is still heavy and humid this morning as Hurricane Jimena gets within 24 hours of the Big Island. Yesterday morning, though, the potential hurricane had no presence in the Star-Bulletin's online edition. In the morning print edition, it was a small item of a few paragraphs in a page 3 column of news "briefs". With public worries creating a shopping crunch for batteries, water, and other emergency supplies, the omission was glaring.
A reader shared this question:
I had a question (not really for you) about the much publicized salary information for bus drivers compared to teachers, firefighters, and police officers. I seem to recall that the bus management released those figures, specifically for those workers after 5 years on the job.
Now, does that gap in pay between bus drivers and others remain constant after, say, 10 years or 15 years? I assume most bus drivers have worked for more than 5 years.
I'm surprised no one in the media has wondered about those figures, since it's clearly in the management's favor if they only release salary information that favors them in the court of public opinion. (Or maybe I just haven't looked around enough for those figures in the newspaper.)
Good question. How long do most drivers last in the job? I'm also wondering how Honolulu compares to comparable cities in the amount of public subsidy to transit v. direct user fees (bus fares). Lots of unasked questions about this situation.
Previous week • Other
Search this site,
courtesy of the folks at
|
 Online Store
More choices
|
