Maverick Wayne Nishiki took a $100,000 “loan” from developer Everett Dowling’s Dowling Co., the Maui News reports. The story appeared yesterday and was updated this morning.

But MauiTime Weekly beat Maui News to the punch. But a caveat–although the MauiTime story online is dated November 13, I’m told it actually appeared on Tuesday the 18th.

Nishiki, who was successful in his bid to rejoin the county council, bashed his opponent during the campaign for taking a $2,000 contribution from a developer. Quoted by Maui News:

Don Couch, who narrowly lost to Nishiki in the South Maui council race, was angered by the revelation.

“I think it’s unconscionable that he went after me for a lousy $2,000 donation from a developer, and made it a theme of his campaign, when he apparently withheld his finance report until it was too late, knowing it would probably have swung the election,” he said.

It’s a very unfortunate position for the veteran council member as he re-enters public life.

Maui News reported Ilima Loomis commented in an email:

. We were already working on the story (when the MauiTime version broke), but held it a day because we were waiting for response from Wayne. I may have said a few unladylike words when I saw they’d broken the story, but in reality they beat us by less than a day, not a whole week.

Grrr. I hate getting beat! Still, it’s a great story. Maui’s definitely buzzing about it today.

A reader grumbles about the Star-Bulletin’s web site:

did you go to the S-B website (Wednesday) morning?

the Pokai Bay ad comes up.

If you click on “Close Ad”, it takes you to the Pokai Bay website!!!!!

Aggravating.

I have to credit Andrew Walden, who all too often slips far over the edge into ideological territory, for sticking largely to the record in his review of information available online concerning Mahealani Ventura-Oliver, the woman in the middle of an alleged scam aimed at Native Hawaiians. Walden follows many of the same sources cited here the past two days and is able to paint quite a picture of Ventura-Oliver and the larger network of which she is a part.

Which underscores the question of why the Advertiser pulled its punches in reporting on the issue? I hope they were perhaps saving some details while more complete reporting was being done for a follow-up story. Unfortunately, with so much information relatively easily available, the impression is left that they shied away from sensitive issues. I don’t think that’s actually likely, and I certainly hope it’s not correct, but that’s certainly the impression Walden conveys.

Here’s another election day story courtesy of Melissa V., who explains: ” I received this one from my Uncle and felt it worthy to share. It brought me to tears. By the way, the Mr. Entertainment my Uncle refers to is my father, a die hard political junky and loyal democrat that lives in “Bush” country, the great state of Texas.”

Unaccustomed as I am to engaging in any political rhetoric (which I leave to Mr. Entertainment), I feel compelled to tell you about my experience. I do it not for any political statement but to tell you of my profound experience.

For many years, Cynthia has worked at the polls in NY on elections. She has always pushed me to do it also. I reluctantly agreed to do it this year and went and took the course, etc at the County Offices. Well, bless my soul, I got called to be a poll inspector.

Unlike Cynthia who works in our home polling district, I was assigned to a polling district in Central Nyack and I was aghast at my assignment. For those of you who do not know, Central Nyack has a “significant” minority population. The District that I was assigned to was located in “The Projects” in Central Nyack. My first concern was “what the hell did I agree to”!

These projects are strictly low income minority housing. Voting in NY goes from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. so it meant that as a poll worker you arrive before dawn and you do not go home until very late at night.

I can only tell you that it was the experience of a lifetime for me. Beyond the fact that I had to learn to speak Ebonics and I listened to Rap and Hip Hop playing all day in the playgrounds of the project, it became the most heart lifting experience of my life. All of the voters were minority. I never have seen such enthusiasm by voters or such determination by voters. We experienced a turnout of almost 80%. They were waiting for the polls to open. Many brought their children to witness their voting and to see the moment. Many asked for copies of the sample ballot to save for history. Others came with cameras and had family members take a picture of their voting. I watched very old people being helped into the polls by daughters, granddaughters and great granddaughters. I had a 94 year old woman voting for the first time. She came in on two canes and could barely walk. I had several who could only sign with an X in the polling records book. All viewed the voting process with awe and a respect that I never could have imagined. I watched the very young with their baggy pants and nylon skull caps come in a ask for help with the voting process. I watched some of the people cry.

I am a rather cynical person but I must tell all of you that I was deeply moved by what I experienced and saw working the election. I would not trade that experience for anything. If anyone ever says again to me that it doesn’t matter, I will just smile. I feel that for once I made a difference.

Thanks, Melissa. Great story.

This photo of a UH Manoa building has me puzzled. It’s identified as Hawaii Hall, but does not appear to be the present Hawaii Hall. Note the absence of the large pillars and stairs at the entrance,and its location on the wrong side of Varney Circle, in the foreground.

There are a few other buildings shown as well, including old Farrington Hall and Miller Hall while under construction, also scanned from small contact prints found among the papers of the late University of Hawaii Professor Carey D. Miller. Yes, that’s the Miller of Miller Hall. You can click here to go directly to the whole batch.