In the midst of last week’s Taro Festival at the State Capitol, a women tapped me on the shoulder as I was trying to get a photo of several children pounding poi. She introduced herself as Tootsie Dodge, daughter of Fred Dodge, the Waianae coast physician who, back in the 1960s and 1970s, was extremely active in Honolulu’s peace movement. She said that she recently saw herself in a series of photos I took back in 1972 of a group printing political posters in the studio of the late artist Ben Norris. She was, at the time, about the age of the kids I was now capturing images of. I can’t believe the poster session was that long ago, but that’s another story. In any case, watching me getting photos of another generation of kids growing up in an activist environment, she just wanted to comment on the cycle of time, and the joy those kids will find when they see themselves in these old photos several decades down the line. It was a nice moment.

Yesterday brought another two-newspaper town moment.

Headline from the Honolulu Advertiser:

Posted on:
Hawaii joblessness at 30-year high: 6.5%

Headline from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:

Unemployment hits 12-year high

Oh, this headline from Pacific Business News on Friday:

Hawaii jobless rate 6.5%, highest since ’78

Jeff Garland is the only person so far to catch an error in yesterday’s entry concerning the Internet tax bill, HB 1405.

In an email this morning, he quotes my description, which was lifted from the committee report:

“The committee deleted the language of HB1405 and replaced it with the contents of S.B. No. 1680, S.D. 3, “which implements legislation for the State to adopt the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement”. This move was supported by most who offered testimony.”

Turns out that the bill reference to SB 1680 in the committee report was wrong. SB 1680 is one version of the broadband bill. The streamlined sales tax bill is SB 1678.

So what happens when a committee report makes that kind of error? I dunno.

Let’s see. I found this column, published by Indian Country Today, extremely disturbing. It describes a scene in a Hilo courtroom where a man facing traffic charges puts forward a sovereignty defense. In the process, two Hawaii County police officers conveniently lose their memories in court.

“Your Honor.” Interjects the Prosecutor, who stands awkwardly on one high heel. “I have to inform the court that officer Kealoha informs me that he cannot remember the defendant and I move to dismiss those tickets.”

“You mean to tell this court that the officer cannot reconstruct from his ticket or notes of the traffic stop to go ahead with trial?”

“He so informs me.”

Later, they got to the second officer. More of the same.

When the trial resumed officer Choi states on the stand he too cannot remember the defendant. The prosecutor asked him to review the summons. He reviews the ticket carefully and admits it is his handwriting. He returns the ticket to the prosecutor and she asked him “What did you charge the defendant with?”

“I am sorry I cannot remember.”

To the writer, this was a great outcome. I just don’t see it that way when, as it appears in this case, the situation suggests that perjury has been officially condoned. Shouldn’t this kind of incident at least warrant an investigation? And then there’s the issue of sovereignty activists endangering the community by keeping dangerous drivers on the roads in order to try to make their political point. Too much to worry about on an otherwise quiet Sunday.

We ran into another couple on the beach this morning who expressed our thoughts exactly. Just another Sunday morning in Kaaawa.