i L i n d . n e t

It’s another “glad to be a two newspaper town” morning.

The Advertiser’s Stephen Tsai reports UH football coach June Jones has resigned, citing Al Souza, a Honolulu broker and Jones confidant. Coincidentally, Souza is also a partner in Tri-Star Restaurants with Jiro Noguchi, whose $400,000 loan to and subsequent lawsuit against bankrupt contractor Fred Yamashiro was mentioned here yesterday.

Tsai’s story presents a detailed blow-by-blow account of Jones’ resignation and the reasons behind it.

Meanwhile, the Star-Bulletin’s Dave Reardon writes that the story of Jones’ resignation is “erroneous”, saying that Jones prepared a letter of resignation but did not send it. Reardon’s source is identified as former UH basketball standout Artie Wilson.

Taking a closer look back at the Advertiser, it appears that bets were being hedged after the Star-Bulletin story appeared, as two versions of the headline and story appear on the ‘Tiser web site.

One headlline says directly: “June Jones resigns as UH coach”, followed by this lead sentence: “June Jones has resigned as University of Hawai’i head football coach, according to his close friend, Al Souza.”

The other headline, appearing over what seems to be a later version of the same story, is less direct: “Hawaii coach tells friends he’s resigning”, although the slightly edited lead sentence still refers to the resignation: “The most successful chapter in University of Hawai’i football history came to an apparent end yesterday when June Jones resigned after nine seasons as the Warriors’ head coach, according to close friend Al Souza.”

It’s great to see both papers aggressively chasing the story, whichever version turns out to be true.

Now I see that KGMB included extensive quotes from Jones’ letter in a story last night, and was able to speak with Jones as well. I wonder how they got through to Jones while the newspapers did not?

KGMB reported: “KGMB9 actually spoke to Jones tonight and he says this is actually a letter he sent to a few close friends and he did not expect it to go public. And yes, it has not been sent to UH. ”

Now I’ll have to check what the other broadcast stations might have reported.

For those interested in a closer look at the bankruptcy of Fred Yamashiro, here’s the petition filed in federal Bankruptcy Court at the end of December. It lists modest assets. A 1995 Cadillac Deville valued at $1,565, a 1993 Mazda valued at $300, and a 2001 Accura, an engagement ring and wedding ring set valued at just $100 each, clothing worth an estimated $500, golf clubs worth $100, and not a whole lot more beyond Yamashiro’s primary residence and various insurance policies.

And if you’re wondering what the photos in the new Toby and Kaaawa Cats calendars are like, here’s a quick look:

And if you’re interested in ordering a copy, just click here to find them at Lulu.com.