|
August 10, 2002 - Saturday
I was glad to get a reply from Advertiser
Features Editor Elizabeth Kieszkowski explaining that it
was a simple "production error" that led to a
Philadelphia Inquirer column mistakenly appearing with a
local byline.
The wrong byline was attached to a news
service story, and this error went undetected until we
were contacted by a reader. When we discovered the
error, we posted a correction. The story was removed
from the Web site because news service items from this
source are not posted online, according to Advertiser
policy.
This incident again underscores a problem with the way
corrections are handled in the online newspaper
world.
I've gone through the corrections listed in each
online issue since the July 31 publication date of the
column, and can't find the correction Kieszkowski refers
to. I'm sure it's there, somewhere, as she says, but the
point is that it does no good if the reader can't find
it, or can't find it in relation to the original
error.
In any case, I appreciate the Advertiser taking the
time to set the record straight.
The Star-Bulletin has a disappearing act of its own,
as another reader discovered she was unable to locate
columns by Nora Okja Keller in Starbulletin.com.
I inquired, and was told that her column is
print-only. If you want to read it, then you've got to
buy a paper or go to a library.
"Her agent is concerned that having the columns
available online would compromise the potential for a
book compilation," my source said. "Personally I think it
would help more in advertising than it would take away in
sales, but Nora's agent feels otherwise."
Folo: Star-Bulletin columnist Dave Donnelly had this
erudite response to Thursday's defense of UH President
Dobelle:
While I agree Evan Dobelle should be able to
deal with the bank of his choice, as a writer to your
website argued, I must take issue with him (or her) on
one count. Freud had nothing to do with the
paraphrased covenant of cigar smokers worldwide. It
was Rudyard Kipling (not Freud) who wrote, "A woman is
only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke." And while
we're at it, it was Dorothy Parker at the Algonquin
Round Table who, when asked if she liked Kipling,
replied, "I don't know. I've never Kippled."
|
Ms. Harry has been our medical mystery of the
week. She came in last Sunday, claimed the
newspaper, and went to sleep on the dining
table. On Monday she moved to a chair at the
table, and stayed there. By Tuesday night it was
obvious something was wrong. Wednesday morning
we were all off the vet vet. Harriet found
enough inner strength to cry and fuss all the
way.
The source of her lethargy wasn't apparent.
Dr. Lee Loy did a thorough exam. A slight fever.
No signs of poisoning. No neurological symptoms.
No wounds to be found. But Harry did appear to
have a sensitive spot along her back, and some
sensitivity in her front legs.
Putting the pieces together, Dr. Lee Loy
guessed that she had jumped or fallen and landed
awkwardly enough to hurt herself, and she's
mainly now just sore. So Harry came home with
three syringes of kitty pain relief and a supply
of antibiotics. She's feeling better, although
still taking it easier than normal. We're
keeping close tabs on her, as you can
imagine.
|
Ms.
Harry
|
August 9, 2002 - Friday
Plagiarism at the Advertiser? I don't know.
Here's the story, reported independently yesterday in
Burl Burlingame's Honolulu
News Blues.
On the last day of July, the Honolulu Advertiser's
features section carried a column with the byline of
Assistant Features Editor Wanda Adams. The subject was
unusual--the little stickers on supermarket fruit and how
they speed the checkout process. The lede:
As much as we may dislike them, the stickers
or labels attached to fruit speed up the scanning
process at checkout.
Cashiers no longer need to distinguish a Fuji apple
from a Gala apple, a prickly pear from a horned melon,
or a grapefruit from an ugli fruit.
So far, so good.
The problem is that the same column, with only a few
minor word differences, appeared a month earlier in the
Philadelphia
Inquirer, with the byline of Inquirer writer Maria
Gallagher.
Emails to Adams and to Advertiser Features Editor
Elizabeth Kieszkowski on Wednesday went unanswered.
It wasn't the first the Advertiser heard of the
problem, according to the person who called it to my
attention.
Apparently it was first spotted by a reader who
e-mailed the 'Tizer and reported getting no satisfactory
response. That person then contacted a friend at the
Star-Bulletin where the story made the rounds and then,
in turn, was forwarded on to me.
Adams'
version was available in the Advertiser's online
edition when I first looked on Wednesday. Luckily I saved
a web archive of it because by this morning it had been
removed, with only this standard message remaining:
404 NOT FOUND!
Sorry, the article you are looking for is not here or
is no longer available.
At this point, I'm waiting for the Advertiser to
clarify the situation. If it is not plagiarism, then it
needs to be explained. If it is, they will have to deal
with it and, I presume, disclose it to their readers.
Meanwhile, it's an uncomfortable situation for everyone
and needs to be resolved.
August 8, 2002 - Thursday
Have you noticed that Linda Lingle and the
Republican Party are advertising prominently on the
Honolulu
Advertiser's online entry page? Their ads are right
at the top of the page, right hand side. It may be the
first major online advertising by a Hawaii candidate, and
there's nothing comparable over at Starbulletin.com.
Dan Mollway, executive director of the State Ethics
Commission, said yesterday that he did not know why
commission staff had blacked out office telephone numbers
on the financial disclosure forms posted online.
After all, State law (92F-12(a)(14), HRS) makes an
agency officer or employee's business telephone number
and other job related information a matter of public
record:
§92F-12 Disclosure required. (a) Any
other law to the contrary notwithstanding, each agency
shall make available for public inspection and
duplication during regular business hours: ...
14) The name, compensation (but only the
salary range for employees covered by or included
in chapters 76 and 77, and sections 302A-602 to
302A-640, and 302A-701, or bargaining unit (8)),
job title, business address, business telephone
number, job description, education and training
background, previous work experience, dates of
first and last employment, position number, type of
appointment, service computation date, occupational
group or class code, bargaining unit code,
employing agency name and code, department,
division, branch, office, section, unit, and island
of employment, of present or former officers or
employees of the agency;
Yesterday's entry also brought a couple of spirited
defenses of UH President Dobelle.
Here's one regarding his use of First Hawaiian
Bank:
"Maybe he likes to bank at a
highly successful, service-oriented bank run by
local people, one that has NOT pushed off major parts
of its business --from advertising to credit card
management, to its computer back shop operations-- to
Mainland companies. Or maybe he just likes a bank with
a gleaming new branch -- one that lionizes local
sports including UH sports -- in the neighborhood of
his office. Seeing a plot in the choice of First
Hawaiian Bank is just looking too hard. Sometimes a
cigar is just a cigar, as Freud said."
It's a good point. We also bank at First Hawaiian,
although the experience is not without its own rough
edges.
The problem, I suppose, is one of appearances. When
the chairman of the bank took an active role in selecting
the UH president, it created an appearance of a potential
conflict that taints what might be perfectly normal
banking choices that Dobelle (or the University)
subsequently makes. It's a lesson in why actual and
potential conflicts can create problems.
And it isn't wildly speculative, because there's been
a history of side deals to boost compensation of UH
execs, providing reasons to wonder about these business
dealings.
More on this serious business tomorrow.
|
|
Here's another plug for this fine little
product, Dave's Gourmet "Insanity Spice".
The jar contains a red and yellow warning
label. "Not for people with heart or respiratory
problems."
There is the danger of using a bit too much,
a mistake I made once or twice. I can attest to
the fact that this stuff is hot. Very hot.
Extremely very hot. But good! Long-term impact
on sanity? Unknown.
The adventurous can find insanity spice at
It's Chili in Hawaii, on King Street in
McCully.
|
August 7, 2002 - Wednesday
With all the election year talk of fiscal
austerity, I'm struck again by the different drummer that
UH President Evan Dobelle is marching to. It isn't just
the big and obviously expensive visions and projects.
It's also noticeable in small things.
Despite the states woes, he has quite expensive
tastes, according to his 2002 financial
disclosure statement on file with the State Ethics
Commission. I have to admit being taken aback by the
$110,000 worth of car loans--there were two of them,
apparently his and hers-- from First Hawaiian Bank.
He also has set a very high standard for staff
salaries, perhaps another reflection of those expensive
tastes. A recent Advertiser article
by Bev Creamer notes that he hired two personal
assistants to replace the longtime secretary to the
president, a move that raised eyebrows in campus circles.
Dobelle's executive assistant is getting $104,856, and
his administrative assistant $87,576.
The problem here is one of comparison. The average
salary of a full professor at UH-Manoa is now $80,500,
according to the latest survey by the Chronicle of Higher
Education. It may take a professor 20 years or more to
reach that rank, with tough peer reviews and productivity
requirements along the way. Meanwhile, Dobelle brings in
relatively young staffers well above that full professor
level, apparently without the benefit of a competitive
search process. It may be defensible, but what signals
does it send?
Okay, I admit to being old fashioned in this regard. I still believe that the people we entrust with leadership of not-for-profit community organizations like the University of Hawaii should be careful stewards of our scarce public resources. That doesn't mean being stingy. It means thoughtful, and mindful of how choices will look to others.
It's also interesting that Dobelle appears to be
banking exclusively with First Hawaiian, which holds his
million dollar mortgage, car loans, and savings account,
according to the report. Is it a coincidence that FHB
chief Walter Dods was on the
selection committee that chose Dobelle for the
job?
I noticed one other thing while reviewing Dobelle's
financial disclosure. His business telephone number has
been carefully blacked out to avoid public disclosure. Is
there really a privacy interest in a public official's
office phone number? Isn't this a phone paid for by the
public, and where members of the public might
legitimately call? I'll have to call the Ethics
Commission later today and find out what their view
is.
I've also got to make an early run to the vet today
with Ms. Harry, who has been uncharacteristically crashed
for several days. At first we were pleased that she was
hanging around the house. By day two, we were worried.
Last night I called for an appointment.
August 6, 2002 - Tuesday
Remember Hiroshima. Then contemplate the current
attempt by the Bush administration to drum up support for
a new generation of tactical nuclear weapons. A moment of
silence.
Editor
& Publisher reports on an interesting survey of
visitors to online newspaper sites, which finds no
evidence that the web cannibalizes print sales. The
findings appear to question the logic of the
Star-Bulletin's approach, which intentionally delays the
online edition so that it doesn't compete with the print
edition.
A second
E&P item quotes a former AT&T executive who
alleges that the company's controversial sale of the Salt
Lake Tribune was a political move intended to protect its
cable television monopoly. It leaves you wondering about
the political dynamics of Oceanic/Time-Warner's monopoly
in Hawaii.
Francis in Honolulu shared this rant:
It took me a while to get this "feeling",
I've heard it said in the past by others, but never
gave it more than a "passing thought", until...
1. Last week got a call from Oceanic, about the
move to digital and the NEED to change the control box
from analog to digital. It seems the "premium"
services will be moving to a three digit digital
channel. I admit I was getting more than "heated under
the collar" and words were said, that maybe should not
have. One of the questions that I asked was "WHY?!?"
So, here we are in a "no choice" situation, BUT we get
the digital box for the price of the analog box for
one year, after that, "Ka-ching" and additional $4.00
per month, if not higher!!! Made a crack about AOL
trying to recoup its loses, by doing this?!?
The person I spoke to mentioned the service that
"we" subscribe to NGN, was one that they at Oceanic
had the most "trouble" with!!! I told her, look at the
demographics of the viewers of the channel, either
they are Japanese nationals and Shin-Issei (not sure
the market penetration of cable in Japan?!?) or senior
citizen Nisei and Sansei "getting there", like me. The
Seniors are on a "fixed budget", it went on and on...
Yadda-yadda-yadda... NO "choice" here since no other
outlet carries NGN!!!
2. A letter from VERIZON was received this
weekend... something about the "TIMELESS" Long
Distance Plan, effective 1-SEP-2002. Some "TIMELESS",
you get 30 minutes of mainland or inter-island long
distance at an additional $3.00 to your phone bill...
"The $3.00 charge will apply regardless of whether you
use your allotted minutes."
So what's up with this, you get CHARGED for a
"service" that you don't use or rarely use, whether
you "like it or not", in this case "use it or not"?!?
So much for being "a valued customer"!?!
Monopoly = NO Control, you're at the "mercy" of
those with the monopoly POWER!!!
Now, I have to figure out who besides to YOU to
vent and get "something" done. Yes, I know "fat
chance"!!!
Thanks for that, Francis.
August 5, 2002 - Monday
This comment from a reader in response to
comments on Honolulu Weekly:
Come on Ian, you write for the Honolulu
Weekly so that you can be heard. It's a form of vanity
publishing, where you subsidize the publisher in
return for the opportunity to be published in print.
That's probably a fair statement, although it doesn't
cover the whole relationship. But I didn't intend to
launch another whole debate about the Weekly, and I'll
let it go there.
I ran into the State
Procurement Office web site over the weekend, which
is worth checking out. There are links to state price
lists, bid notices and awards, and other potentially
interesting info.
|
I happened to be home on Saturday when a beat
up white pickup truck pulled into the driveway.
The driver honked the horn several times. I went
out. It was a guy who trims coconut trees, a
friend of a Tongan who used to do some yard work
for us and knew that the large tree in our front
yard desperately needed to be worked on. The
huge crop of coconuts was beginning to mature,
soon to begin dropping into our neighbor's
yard.
It took a while to work out the logistics,
and for him to return with a bigger truck to
haul away all the coconuts and fronds. You can
see him up in the tree in the photo to the
right. I thought mainland folks might find it
interesting.
|
|
|
I added a final chapter to Cybelle's Saga
yesterday. It seems appropriate, now that both
Cybelle and Duke are pretty much part of the
family, and Duke's grown to the state where each
week isn't bringing the dramatic changes of
kittenhood (is that really a word, Ian?). From
now on, I'll just report on the status of all
our cats.
|
|
August 4, 2002 - Sunday
Another Sunday morning. It's drizzling right now
in Kaaawa, but that's likely to clear in the next hour.
Cats of various sizes are racing around the house. I'm
not sure who's doing the chasing. I do know who is doing
the squeaking. That's Mr. Duke. Hopefully nothing vital
become a cat toy, at least until I have a chance to
finish this brief entry.
I've got little to report today.
Regarding the statements last week by Larry Meacham on
behalf of the local Common Cause group, I've been told
"statements are being attributed to Common Cause when
none of the board members have approved, endorsed, or
authorized those statements."
Speaking of Honolulu Weekly, the
9th Circuit overturned a decision favoring the
independent paper and instead ruled that the city does
not have to let the Weekly, which is free, be distributed
alongside the daily newspapers, which are not free. Or at
least not usually free.
The decision means the city isn't required to include
the Weekly in the lottery for limited designated Waikiki
distribution spots.
I got small chuckle out of the Star-Bulletin's photo
caption:
The Honolulu Weekly, a free publication, lost
its suit fighting a city ordinance that prevents it
from being sold alongside paid-for publications in
racks like this one in Waikiki.
The free Weekly isn't sold alongside the dailies. It's
free. Oh, well, no big thing.
I did manage to update the dogs of morning photos,
which includes a couple of new friends among the familiar
faces. Just click the "mornin' dogs" banner to the
right.
Previous
week •
Other
Search this site,
courtesy of the folks at Atomz.com
\*/.
|
Online
Store 
More
choices
|
