Meda was kind enough to have another birthday yesterday,which put us into celebration mode last night, of which you will read a bit more later. Hence this late morning with little time to get my thoughts together before we launch into the dark for the daily walk to the beach and the dawn.
I was listening to Gov. Lingle’s State of the State speech yesterday, partially watching the broadcast. She got to her touchy-feely “I love this job” bit, then went on.
Oftentimes, it is music, more than words alone, that can best express our true
feelings.I would like to end my State of the State Address this year in an unconventional
way…but in a way I hope touches your heart.
Oh my gawd, I thought. She’s going to sing! I had visions of the guitar being passed overhead hand to hand through the raucous crowd to the podium, then Governor Linda launching off into a rendition of Kumbaya. But no such luck. One big suprise per speech, I guess, and hers was already taken up by the Turtle Bay vision.
Of course, this vision of purchasing that North Shore area isn’t in the governor’s budget and blows out all of her other financial proposals. It’s not a bad idea, but the way she has dropped it on the table puts her in the position to claim bragging rights while being able to blame the legislature (read “Democrats”) if they can’t make the math work under this year’s many financial constraints. Once again, a master stroke.
Dems might have preferred the sing-along.
Speaking of yesterday’s speech, Jeff Garland noticed the version available for online streaming via Real Media, which he says requires a pricey license. So his question–How much has been paid for that license and what does it apply to? Is it for use of all departments? Only for the gov? Interesting questions.
On reader had this comment on yesterday’s entry and the issue of legislative coverage:
“We try to avoid stories that get bogged down in the process of making laws.”
In addition to being all about process, wasn’t the Magaoay/grants series even entitled “Good Causes, Flawed Process”?
Who are these guys kidding? Don’t they even read their own paper? Do they even try to understand Hawaii politics? Or is it just easier to smugly act like they’re above it all, and no one cares anyway?
What about court cases? Will we now just get news about verdicts, and none about evidence and all that icky legal process?
Shallow, cut back, cheaper, dumbed down news. That’s what they’re really talking about. But we’ll get it faster, and there will be videos and rant boards to go with it!
Well. It seems this issue does touch a nerve after all.
A second reader offered this view regarding hiring of the new UH football coach:
I’m sure you noticed that the new UH football coach–who has
never been a head coach in a single game anywhere–has had his salary
increased from $110,000 to $1,100,000+….which is roughly double the salary
of Penn State’s legendary Joe Paterno, who has more bowl game victories than
any coach in history and is one of the two top coaches ever in terms of
total victories. Moreover, UH was in such a rush to hire someone that they
ignored local boy and offensive genius Norm Chow–whom they had passed over
once before for Fred von Oppen and who has now been hired with much fanfare
in Los Angeles as offensive coordinator by UCLA. During local press
discussions of Chow this past month, everyone said his salary in the pros
was $2 million per year–more than UH could match. Turns out it was “only”
$1 million and his severance package with the Tennessee Titans means that
UCLA is hiring him essentially free for most of the first couple of
years…while UH will be laying out more than two million bucks for a
novice.The more things change, the more they stay the same….
Here’s one from the “be afraid, be very afraid” file. The New York Times reports that sushi being sold in New York was tested and many samples found to exceed mercury levels considered acceptable by the EPA. It’s a prime candidate for local folo, but I wonder if that’s too sensitive a topic to take on?
This was the scene of our dinner last night celebrating Meda’s birthday. I guess springing for that bottle of Andre Brut might not be considered going all out for the occasion, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It had sort of a thrift store ethic in the background. In Meda’s case, that probably directly transforms those brain receptors we were reading about last week. In any case, click for a larger view.
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Your reader is dead wrong about the new UH coach.
http://hawaiiathletics.com/coach_bio.html?pid=3&coachid=191
It is very easy to see McMackin has head coaching experience at Oregon Tech and has plenty of pro and collegiate coaching experience.
There seems to be a pattern to Lingle’s initiatives. Basically, it’s come up with a sexy idea that’s short on details, don’t talk to the stakeholders, and then watch it slowly sink into oblivion.
But that’s fine since the public and media have short-term memories and it’s that first impression that sticks. Then the spinmeisters simply drone on about how the governor has all these great ideas but the legislature (i.e., the Dems) won’t go along just to make her look bad.
It’s not a bad strategy if you want to end up in the U.S. Senate one day. It’s a tragedy and a travesty when you consider that the governor really could be pushing for solid, well-thought out public policy that benefits the community rather then simply her own political ambitions.
It’s also interesting she made no mention of her tax cuts that was in her brochure. I suspect Klompus figured out it won’t fly so don’t mention it. After all, this appears to be the year for the university and the governor cut their request of over $400 million for repairs and maintenance to $40 million. Not to mention how do you pay for Turtle Bay, give tax cuts, etc.
It’s also interesting that in her last year’s state of the state she said, “We can do it all.” This year, it’s “Ummmm . .. we can’t do much.”
As far as McMackin goes, we will never know how the negotiations went. I mean, did McMackin play hardball and say if you want me, it’s gonna cost you $1 million plus? Or did the UH administration basically give him a blank check?
But in the college football business, it’s all about winning. If he goes 11-1 next year, he’s worth every penny. If he goes 6-6 next year, the blogs will be filled with posts about how the guy isn’t worth a dime.