We didn’t need this complication yesterday after just getting back from the mainland. But…we were only about a block from home, walking up Lihimauna Road where it comes up the hill behind the post office. There’s still a large empty lot that slopes up from that dead end of Kekio to the corner of Lihimauna and Olohu Road. And from somewhere in the thick overgrown bushes along the upper edge of that lot we heard the unmistakable crying of a kitten in distress.

I just don’t have much resistance under such circumstances, so within a few seconds I was on my butt trying to slide down the sleep slope and get a view under the canopy of thick growth. I only got a few feet before the crying stopped. No luck. So I crawled back out and we continued home for coffee and breakfast. But I decided to walk back over and try again. Back on my back side, sliding into the grass. This time the crying continued and, after losing my glasses a couple of times, I spotted some movement an arms length into a thicket of grass and connected it to the loud kitten voice. Another couple of seconds and I had a handfull of kitten, dirty, skinny, and a bit disheveled but apparently in relatively good shape.

Long story short. There was a stop at the vet for kitten formula, several feedings during the day, and by last night he (at least I think its a he”) was paw deep in a mixture of canned cat food and kitten formula. The big cats are not enamored with the kitten idea. And we certainly don’t need another cat.

Back in Washington, the Asian American Action Fund, a Democratic Party PAC, is inviting people to an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Reception tonight at Democratic National Committee headquarters featuring Howard Dean and “special guest” Rep. Mazie Hirono.

And here’s a fascinating article from U.S. News & World Report describing formerly secret minutes of corporate meetings discussing the announced spin-off of American Water, the countries largest private water utility. According to this story, while the German company which currently owns American Water was describing the spin-of as a great investment opportunity, it was privately bemoaning the disastrous state of America’s water infrastructure and the losses it was experiencing from this subsidiary.

This all has a Hawaii tie because American Water is the parent of Hawaii American Water Co., which operates the East Honolulu sewage treatment plant across from Sandy Beach. The privately owned plant processes sewage from the broader Hawaii Kai area, and the plant has been the target of persistent complaints about odors drifting beyond its boundaries. Residents impacted by the periodic odors fear that the company has deferred investments in new technology to fix the problem because of its broader financial difficulties.

A couple of things of note. First, the story cites large losses of water due to leaks in the company’s pipes. A figure of 19% is used for overall U.S. operations. It makes me wonder whether Honolulu’s aging water infrastructure experiences water losses at anything like this rate, or if those losses are even reported. Secondly, the formerly confidential minutes became public during legal proceedings as other states’ regulatory agencies reviewed the proposed corporate spin-off. Hawaii’s PUC already gave its approval of the spin-off, apparently without the slightest critical review. Is this a comment on the adequacy, or inadequacy, of the PUC’s review process? Of course, the company doesn’t offer water services here, but its sewer services are important to a large part of Oahu.

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