Baron Sekiya wasn’t the only staffer to lose his job at Stephens Media, which owns the Hawaii Tribune-Herald as well as West Hawaii Today and other Big island Newspapers. Pacific Business News reported last week that the company also cut its state capitol reporter, Nancy Lauer.

Lauer has been an officer and director of the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, a national organization of those covering state politics, and is currently the organization’s treasurer.

PBN notes:

That leaves The Honolulu Advertiser, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Associated Press as the only news organizations with a permanent presence in the capitol, but only two reporters — one each for the Advertiser and Star-Bulletin — cover state government and politics fulltime when the Legislature isn’t in session.

So if you wonder why our news doesn’t provide more substantive political background and perspectives, or provide more support for public involvement, this is one key factor.

It looks like Star-Bulletin owner David Black and his Black Press are having a tough time, according to financial info disclosed by Torstar Corp., which owns about a 20 percent stake in the company.

Torstar reported a loss from Black Press of $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2008 compared with income of $0.5 million in the third quarter of 2007. Year to date Torstar reported a loss from Black Press of $3.1 million in 2008 compared with income of $2.6 million in the same period last year. Results were down in the third quarter from a combination of lower U.S. revenues as the newspapers were negatively impacted by the U.S. economy, increased newsprint costs, higher amortization expense and higher effective tax rates. Year to date, results were also negatively impacted by the mark to market of its financial derivatives and a $2.1 million second quarter adjustment related to Black Press’s future tax assets.

Based on Torstar’s share of the losses, Black Press overall appears to have lost $1 million in the last quarter, but that’s a lot better than than the $15+ million loss for the year to date. That’s a very big hit in anybody’s books.

There’s still time to get tickets for next week’s fundraiser for the Sierra Club’s Oahu Group. It’s set for Friday, December 5, 6-9:30 p.m. at the Elks Club in Waikiki. Check their web site for more information or tickets.

A story on the financial health of Hawaii banks by AP reporter Jaymes Song has been getting lots of worldwide play, from the International Herald Tribune to Canadian Business Online.

I forgot to give the update on Ms. Kili. After x-rays taken last week, there’s still no clue about what might have caused her to suddenly have a very bad limp when we came home one day several weeks ago. She’s getting around better now, but still with a noticeable limp. There weren’t any visible injuries disclosed by the x-rays. But she does appear to have arthritis in both hips and in the bottom of her spine, so the slight limp that remains could end up being a chronic condition.

She and her sister, Wally, will be 11 years old sometime in December.