i L i n d

We stopped at Foodland in Kaneohe on the way home to pick up a few things for dinner, and when we came out the reflections of the setting sun were spectacular. I took a few pictures, then had to pull off Kamehameha Highway into the Toyota dealership to get a better view. Even the utility wires can’t wreck these colors. Another woman driving out to the highway stopped, commented on the glorious colors, and then snapped her own photos with her cell phone. Then, as quickly as they appeared, the colors were gone.

Writing in the Senate Majority Blog, Senator Roz Baker defends the grants-in-aid process against the characterizations in Rob Perez’ recent Advertiser series. She writes:

GIA requests are handled similarly to other budget requests and were included in last session’s Senate Drafts of the General Appropriations or Executive Budget bill, and the Judiciary Budget bill. While I can only speak about the Senate’s approach to reviewing grant applications, it is wrong to think that our final decisions reflect the opinions and priorities of only one or two senators. Senators receive a list of applicants and their requests, and we solicit input from our colleagues on their priorities and the needs of their respective districts. We also ask the Senate’s various subject-matter committees for their advice.

In addition, we provide completed applications to the Executive-branch departments that would have oversight over the individual grants once they are awarded. These departments provide their opinions regarding the appropriateness of the proposed grants, whether the grants would be duplicative of existing programs, and the status or suitability of the applicant organizations. This distribution of applications allows for a more thorough review than would be possible if the Senate tried to deal with the large mass of information on its own.

Acknowledging the challenges of completing the process within the confines of the legislative session, Baker concludes: “But I believe that it is equally apparent that the process is hardly the picture of secret backroom dealings that Mr. Perez tries to paint.”

Click here if you’re interested in reading about Howard Dicus’ beard. He says it’s all natural and gets to remain wherever it grows.

When you get up when I get up, not having to shave is important to well-being.

I’ve added the Hawaii Legal News to my Blogroll. It’s written by Maui attorney Ben Lowenthal, son of well known defense attorney Phil Lowenthal. Ben says he was a journalism student and spent some time writing for community newspapers before settling into the legal world. Now his blog quickly dissects Hawaii court cases, providing a good companion to the Supreme Court of Hawaii Blog (Unofficial).

Congressman Neil Abercrombie added considerably to the liveliness of last night’s Island Insight’s broadcast on PBS Hawaii, which focused on the the national elections. It was a good program, but in a historic election that could lead to the nation’s first woman or black president, the decision to feature five men of a certain age was a significant shortcoming. Despite the panels educated perspectives and combined experience, a bit more diversity would have been welcome.

I must note that yesterday was a very sad day. My sister called mid-day in tears, after hours in an emergency trip to VCA’s Manoa clinic with her much loved cat, Mr. Purrkins. He hadn’t come when the food bell rang on Wednesday, and yesterday morning had was listless and having trouble breathing. After a pretty comprehensive round of diagnostics, the news was very bad–a large mass basically filled in one lung. She’s lived with Mr. Purrkins for just a few months short of 15 years, since he was a kitten just a couple of months old, and now had to hear those dreaded words from the vet. “If he were my cat,” Dr. Kaya said…So Bonnie had to say goodbye to Purrkins. A very sad day.

I went looking for a photo of Purrkins since his arrival back in Hawaii in September, but couldn’t find one this morning. I’ll look again later.

On a brighter note, just click on Mr. Toby for the first cat gallery of 2008.