July 17, 2004 - Saturday

After seeing yesterday's photo of the cats during dinner, one friend fired off this cryptic email: "That photo is remarkable. Oh, my. Oh, my, my, my."

Now, I wonder what she meant by that?

Another Star-Bulletin staffer reacted to the newspapers lack of a thorough archive:

This is typical of the whining we at the Star-Bulletin have to get past if we are going to enjoy long-term success. The Advertiser isn't making it hard for us -- we are. We should have been up there copying archives from the first day the sale was announced. That we have so far refused to do so is our fault, not the Advertiser's. We need to stop blaming them for our mistakes.

It's hard to argue with that view, I think. I wonder if anyone has put a dollar figure on the cost to duplicate the existing archive held by the Advertiser?

Please don't click this next one if you're easily offended...but, that said, it's a hilarious animated commentary on the residue of the arms race, international relations, and more....

It was raining during much of our early morning walk yesterday, but it was beautiful on Thursday. This was taken at about 7 a.m., just after the sun made its appearance.

July 16, 2004 - Friday

By mid-afternoon yesterday, Pacific Business News confirmed news of the Star-Bulletin's decision to drop its neighbor island distribution, and added figures showing the Advertiser with a 10-1 advantage outside of Oahu. Clearly, the S-B has not been able to rebuild a viable base on the neighbor islands, and in that context the decision certainly does appear to make economic sense.

In case you get to thinking that we're the only place in the throes of a transit debate, the Seattle Times this morning reviews the new Las Vegas monorail with an eye towards its potential up there in the Northwest.

It was chaos at the dining table last night, at least for several minutes. We finally sat down to eat after a late arrival home ( and delay caused by a last minute decision to start a fire and grill some meat, . And five cats were just seconds behind. Well, six, actually, because Silverman was soon sweeping back and forth under the table in search of a handout. And Annie was at the table even before we sat down, helping herself to a bit of sour cream left momentarily unattended (ultimately intended for baked potatoes).

So I went for the camera and got a quick photo to record the scene. The table cleared, though, when my loud and unexpected sneeze (prompted by the liberal dose of hot sauce on my potato) sent cats flying in many directions.

For the record, then, on the table are Ms. Kili, Mr. Toby, and Ms. Annie, with Ms. Wally lurking on the floor in the foreground and Ms. Harriet in the background. Of course, click on the photo for a larger view.

July 15, 2004 - Thursday

The management of the Star-Bulletin has decided to pull the plug on neighbor island distribution of the newspaper starting next month, coincidentally the same time the Advertiser's new press takes over all printing chores.

One newsroom source comments: " The move seems to make a lot of sense from an operational standpoint but it's also a marketing headache. The only appropriate headline is "Star-Bulletin drops neighbor islands". Talk about a snub and a loss for the community."

So we're back to where things were under the old Joint Operating Agreement in which only the Advertiser got regular statewide distribution. It will now be the only Hawaii newspaper to be able to claim a statewide presence.

Another person in the S-B newsroom had a short comment on the lack of institutional memory in the case of Laurence Rockefeller:

Remember that we have no archives earlier than the beginning of the online edition, and that the advertiser makes it difficult for us to access what was left behind.

Although the "new" Star-Bulletin has the temporary right to copy the archive maintained by Gannett's Advertiser, it has not exercised that right. And it's a limited right that expires relatively soon, I believe. At that point, reporters who want historical context will have to stand in line at the State Library's microfilm files.

July 14, 2004 - Wednesday

KITV's Keoki Kerr is way ahead of the pack in his latest reporting on issues surrounding the firing of former UH President Evan Dobelle. Last night he reported on a highly unusual "side deal" which would have made Dobelle eligible for a one-year sabbatical in during his sixth year in the job. The deal was approved by the chair of the Board of Regents but not even made known to other members of the board, Kerr reported. Amazing!

Earlier in the week, Kerr reported that regents are investigating certain aspects of Mrs. Dobelle's travel to a conference at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst at UH expense.

Records of Dobelle's protocol fund show Kit Dobelle travelled to Massachusetts October 17-22, 2001 for a conference sponsored by the School of Education. Her first class air fare amounted to $3,854.98, and she received another $254 for miscellaneous expenses.

Both Honolulu dailies responded today with additional stories citing Laurence Rockefeller's development of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, which led the way for development along the Kohala coast of the Big Island. But the Advertiser's contribution by writer Kelly Yamanouchi was far and away the better of the two with quite a bit of local reporting. The Star-Bulletin, on the other hand, added brief editorial comments which could have been based largely on info from the hotel's web site.

Just a few more of the Haahaa Street crew, including this interesting shot of the unusually photogenic Ms. Annie. Just click on her photo to see the rest.

Annie...& more

July 13, 2004 - Tuesday

Retired Star-Bulletin staffer Chuck Frankel observes:

In the July 12 obituary of Laurance Rockefeller, neither the Star-Bulletin nor the Advertiser had the memory to mention that he built the fabulous Mauna Kea Hotel.

The Star-Bulletin used an obit from Associated Press, while the Advertiser used the Washington Post's.

The New York Times, on the other hand, had a long obituary by Michael Kaufman which did mention RockResorts and the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, although only briefly. But for Hawaii, the idea of a resort among the barren lava flows of North Kona was revolutionary in the 1960's, and the hotel's design and approach to tourism were remarkable and deserving of a local spin to the canned obits, as Chuck suggests.

Just a suggestion for Mike McCartney over at PBS Hawaii: Lose the gender stereotypes. I'm reminded of the problem every time I see the little promo where Mike's on camera sitting with another person who asks, "Who owns this station?" Mike responds, "They do", with a look towards the camera as if seeing individual television viewers. "That guy on the couch, that lady in the kitchen."

Low key, but stereotypes nonetheless. The couch potato guy, the little housewife in the kitchen. Perhaps I was overly sensitive because I was in the kitchen cooking dinner while I'm watching this, but it just seems unnecessary and easily remedied.

July 12, 2004 - Monday

Another of the remaining 12 newspaper Joint Operating Agreements appears headed for the dust bin along with the weaker newspaper in the deal.

This time it's Charleston, West Virginia, where the late Star-Bulletin staffer George Steele got his start writing for the Charleston Gazette. Now the afternoon Daily Mail has been losing ground and appears ready to fold.

In May, Media News Group gave up most of its share in the JOA, continuing to publish but without a share of the JOA profits, much like the Star-Bulletin's position while owned by Rupert Phillips (1993-2001).

According to a press release issued at the time:

In Charleston, West Virginia, MediaNews sold substantially all of its economic interest to Daily Gazette Company, its partner in the Charleston JOA. An entity controlled by MediaNews Group will retain a small limited partnership interest and will be solely responsible for the publication and editorial content of the Daily Mail under a restructured joint operating agreement.

This past week, for the first time, the Daily Mail and the larger Charleston Gazette published a combined Saturday edition in addition to their Sunday edition , which had been a combined product for decades. Local observers don't expect the afternoon paper to last much longer.

A friend writes:

There has always been a strong rivalry, some nastiness, a strike, ascendance of the Daily Mail in the Charleston Newspapers company,some very identical subscription rates, carving out of areas of coverage, sale of the DM by the family that had controlled it for decades, and lots of other stuff I don't know about from the years I was out of state.

I will truly miss the DM. I don't agree with a single editorial, but the rivalry has been somewhat healthy for this city and the state. Some of the writing is very good.

And we certainly know how it feels.

There are already lots of implied or subliminal messages being used in Honolulu's increasingly headed mayoral race. Take Mufi's theme--"Our home, our mayor!" If the underlying message were made explicit, it would probably look something like this. Oh, click on the photo for a larger version. I'll probably get some flack for this one....but it's a parody, folks. Lighten up.

July 11, 2004 - Sunday

Advertiser reporter Curtis Lum got a part of the story with his piece yesterday about the lawsuit to block an unlicensed nightclub controlled by attorney and former judge Richard Lee. I've been in the middle of this as president of the condominium owners association at Century Center, which filed this lawsuit. It's a saga which is definitely still unfolding.

A reader asks:

Did you catch the Dobelle 'interview' in the July 5 issue of Pacific Business News?

Wherein he's reported to say -

"What do you mean by local? I'm local. I'm not sure what local means anymore. I find it to be tiresome and have overtones that concern me. I understand local."

Which I find un-understandable in its entirety.

Evan's now the local boy? That's not a description that would have occurred to me.

I had to drag out of bed at 4:30 this morning to determine the source of the lively cat sounds. Once the lights were on I could see Annie and Leo playing with something. Well, "something" turned out to be a small rat. They chased it into the closet, which gave me a chance to intervene. The problem is that sometimes they lose interest and leave the rat for another day. That's fine for the rat, I guess, but not so good for us. So I try to grab the rat while still alive and let it go somewhere away from the house. This time it was a bit more trouble than usual, though, because this little rat kept trying to bite me. I finally had to throw a pair of shorts over it and carry the whole thing outside, where I gave Mr. Rat a running start. I'm sure that's more than most of you want to know about the start of my day.

A friend once said our morning walk must get boring, but I think of it as something like a symphony or a stage play. You know all the parts and the players, where you will start, each section of the route, and where you will end. It's all written out in advance, and every day is the same. But the details, the nuances, the unexpected conditions, the changes in emphasis, combine to make each performance different from the last, and even create the possibility that it will be unique.

Ms. Meda Yesterday morning in Kaaawa

A letter to the editor in today's Advertiser about Portland's light rail system sent me scrambling back to a commentary by Cliff Slater on June 7 and

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