Monthly Archives: March 2009

Wednesday…Taro Festival photos, and last chance for the expansion of civil unions

4 Replies

[text]I rousted myself early this morning to do a rough selection of photos from yesterday’s Taro Festival at the State Capitol. The event is described in an entry by Thelma Dreyer on the Hawaii House Blog.

These are my quick picks from a large number of photps, gathered together in a relatively rough catalog. Enjoy.

We’re going walking now to watch the dawn, and I’ll try to be back with additional thoughts a bit later.

[Okay, it’s later.]

We got to the corner of our street to find a beautiful peacock and two hens grazing along the side of the road. They eventually followed us to our end of the street and wandered through our yard. I confess to throwing down a handful of cat food, which they devoured in short order.

While poi was being pounded downstairs yesterday, House and Senate members were jockeying over HB 444, the bill to expand the rights granted to civil unions.

Derrick DePledge links to a fascinating story from the Salt Lake Tribune in an entry on The Notebook blog.

DePledge reports this morning that Sen. Brian Taniguchi, who chairs the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee, is on the verge of withdrawing his support for pulling the vote out of committee and directly to the floor. Taniguchi had previously been assuring Democratic Party insiders of his intent back the effort.

But the key seems to be the shifting position of Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, who has been swiftly backpedaling from her early tacit support of the civil unions measure and now reportedly has been twisting arms behind the scenes to keep it off the floor.

Could we be seeing one of the first volleys in the 2010 elections?

Congressman Neil Abercrombie submitted testimony in support of HB444 earlier in the session. Hanabusa, who is at least considering a run against Abecrombie in the Democratic primary next year, could be trying to differentiate herself from Neil and take political advantage of the furor that this bill has stirred up on the religious and homophobic right. Leaving Taniguchi to take the public flack for allowing the measure to die while she lines things up behind the scenes, she may be trying to preserve her somewhat liberal image while cozying up to more conservative voters.

Some Democrats are also upset that, in the process, Hanabusa has empowered both conservative community groups and the most conservative members of the Senate.

Other Senators are grasping at excuses. Some say they won’t support pulling the bill from committee because Gov. Lingle would veto the bill and the House may not have a veto-proof majority. Isn’t this one of those cases where they should let the House worry about getting its votes in order and just do the right thing?

I think I’ll be sending a small campaign contribution to Sen. Gary Hooser, who has been steady in his support of HB444 even while votes began eroding around him.

Over in the House, Majority Leader Blake Oshiro has been trying to shore up support for the measure. Word yesterday was that he was preparing to circulate several legal opinions contradicting several of the most erroneous claims made by opponents of HB444.

The beat goes on.

Tuesday…Layoffs and other troubles at Honolulu Weekly, House committee guts fish consevation, new online resources

3 Replies

The daily newspapers aren’t the only ones facing tough times, it seems. Two Honolulu Weekly staffers were laid off last week, including a section editor, and remaining staff face a pay cut, according to several people familiar with the situation.

Meanwhile, former managing editor and interim editor Travis Quezon is pursuing claims against the Weekly for what he says are wages due but never paid. Quezon says a promised boost in pay during the period he served as interim editor and worked long hours to keep the Weekly in print was never delivered. Instead, he was later fired and given less than 15 minutes to clear out his desk.

I was unable to reach publisher Laurie Carlson yesterday afternoon for comment.

It isn’t the first time the Weekly has faced criticism. Back in 2001, I noted that the Weekly was paying freelance writers 10 cents a word, the same rate it had paid since its founding a decade before. I’ve lost track of the current Weekly offering, but wouldn’t be surprised if it has remained the same. However, they have increased the lag between publication and when payment is made, and that doesn’t count the additional period between submission and publication. Freelancers now wait almost two months to get paid for their work.

Ah, it’s the time of year for “Now you see it, now you don’t” at the Legislature, Yesterday the House Committee on Water, Land & Ocean Resources considered SB 378 SD1, which set bag limits for catching uhu and goatfish on Maui, a move backed by those concerned about depletion of Maui’s reef fish. The committee, chaired by Windward rep Ken Ito, gutted the bill and replaced it with the language of HB 1712 HD2, which would set up virtually impossible conditions before any conservation measures could be implemented. Similar attempts to place roadblocks in the way of conservation have failed the past several years. This latest move looks an awful lot like a bargaining chip in the making.

Meanwhile, the Grassroot Institute has put a nice front end on legislative voting data at a new web site, HawaiiVotes.org.

According to the group’s press release:

Citizens now have a powerful, online tool to track the actions of Hawaii’s state legislature and individual legislators. HawaiiVotes.org is a free website that provides concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill, amendment and vote in the Hawaii House and Senate. These are all sortable by legislator, issue category, keyword and more, allowing a citizen to quickly create a custom “voting record guide” for any legislator on any issue.

And the Attorney General’s office has launched its new web site providing the public a way to track information on charitable organizations that solicit funds in Hawaii. You can look up information that includes background on each organization and specifics on the percentage of your contributions that will actually be spent for the group’s charitable purpose versus amounts spent simply to pay for the fundraising costs. These proportions vary greatly and are worth checking out before you give generously to any cause.

Monday…More on Black and the San Diego deal, Borreca column draws criticism, and a 7 a.m. legislative hearing?

2 Replies

A spokesman for Platinum Equity, the lead group in the purchase of the San Diego Union Tribune, clarified the role of S-B owner David Black in the deal after a Canadian newspaper reported Black was the buyer of the San Diego newspaper.

According to the Business Examiner in Black’s B.C. backyard:

“If the question is, ‘Is Black Press buying the Union Tribune?’ the answer is ‘no.'” Barnhill told the Business Examiner. In fact, the deal has been negotiated but not as yet completed. When it is, the owner will be an “affiliate” of Platinum Equity created specifically to own the paper.

The company will not be a free-standing investment vehicle or fund, but will be purchased out of Platinum’s general funds. Platinum, said Barnhill, had $2.7 billion in assets.

“David Black will not have a controlling interest in the company,” he added. “He will continue to be a critical member of our team.” That is, Black is part of a management team advising on the purchase now and the operations of the company later.

Black also added a couple of interesting observations on the future of newspapers.

For dailies in general, Black believes there is at least a future of 30-40 years. “That’s the lifespan of the people who still rely on newspapers for their news.” For his weeklies, he is confident as well because there is no option for local advertisers. The Internet, as yet, has made no inroads. “They don’t have same overhead as the dailies; they don’t have the big newsroom. And they can cherry pick their publication days, sticking to the big shopping days.”

Blogger and reporter Joan Conrow (KauaiEclectic) is taking issue with S-B political writer Richard Borreca’s Sunday column on the Superferry and Hawaii’s business climate.

I don’t like to criticize Richard because he’s a good reporter and can be an insightful commentator. This column, though, isn’t up to his standards. Contrast it to Lee Cataluna’s take on the same subject.

Conrow first points out that Borreca seriously misquotes her to make his own political point. That’s for starters.

And he misses the mark in his choice of other examples. Monsanto? Although the company cut its 30 jobs on Kauai, it has been growing and investing in Hawaii over several years, including its purchase of 2,300 acres on Oahu just two years ago. And those Kauai jobs aren’t necessarily lost, as employees can apply for positions elsewhere in Hawaii.

The Advertiser’s story on Monsanto’s Kauai announcement gives no hints that it resulted from anti-business attitudes. Neither did the Star-Bulletin’s shorter story.

And, of course, it isn’t just an alleged anti-business climate that has dogged Monsanto. Although Borreca belittles those questioning open field GMO testing, federal courts have taken the issue quite seriously.

Other factors, like the worst economic slump in a century? It doesn’t even show up on Richard’s radar. Did the Superferry have a business plan capable of eventual success as an interisland ferry? At best, the jury is out.

The company’s rather puzzling lack of due diligence in jumping into the rough seas between the islands? The impact of a federally protected whale sanctuary? None of those factors fit into Borreca’s narrow view of the issues.

And what about thriving businesses being featured on the Star-Bulletin’s own pages? Target? Some businesses can apparently do fine in Hawaii by playing by the rules and following the law without trying to cut corners and force officials to give them a blank check.

Oh, well. This isn’t likely to be the end of the Superferry debate, although it could very well be the end of the Hawaii Superferry.

Thanks to Brad Parson’s Hawaii Superferry Unofficial Blog for continuing updates, corrections, etc.

Hey, I wonder how many people are grumbling about Rep. Angus McKelvey’s scheduling of public hearings at downright inconvenient hours. Tomorrow he’s convening his Committee on Economic Revitalization, Business & Military Affairs at 7 a.m. And it’s not the first time McKelvey’s had ordered his committee into such an early session.

Early commenters say he might be backed into the early hours by other committees, in which case it’s really a leadership problem in assuring enough time for each committee to do the public’s work.

But the very early a.m. agenda seems to me a violation of at least the spirit of the state’s open meeting laws and the Legislature’s own rules which have increasingly provided for public access. A 7 a.m. hearing is, for practical purposes, not a public session as it is very difficult for members of the public to attend. It displays, whether intended or not, a subtle disregard for the public.

I’m sure those directly impacted by the committee’s deliberations are reluctant to press the issue, but someone should be challenging this kind of scheduling.

Sunday…Happy Anniversary to S-B.com, Graulty’s retirement recalls appointment conflict

3 Replies

Ooops. Me bad for forgetting to congratulate Starbulletin.com on its 13th anniversary.

Former webmaster Blaine Fergerstrom reminded me that the Star-Bulletin launched its online edition on March 18, 1996. Unfortunately, I let his email get lost in the stack. But better a few days late than never. Happy Anniversary!

As I recall, the move online was made over behind-the-scenes objections by Gannett’s Honolulu Advertiser, which controlled the joint operating agreement and didn’t get itself online for a couple of years.

On Thursday, the State House of Representatives congratulated Rey Graulty, who retired on March 1 after a 10 year term as a 1st Circuit Court judge.

The Hawaii House Blog printed the congratulatory speech made on the floor by Rep. Glenn Wakai, which recounts Graulty’s many contributions during a public career stretching nearly three decades and including stints in both the House and Senate.

Graulty had quite a run through a series of positions.

But my memory of Graulty’s judicial term is colored by the circumstances of his appointment to the court, which I covered back when I was writing for the Star-Bulletin.

It was one of those cases involving a blatant and disturbing conflict of interest that was politely ignored, at least publicly.

Long story short–Gary Rodrigues, then the politically powerful state director of the United Public Workers, the state’s second largest public employee union and sometimes referred to as the 26th Senator, sat on the Judicial Selection Commission.

He took part in the interview and deliberations on Graulty’s appointment, despite the fact that Graulty, as insurance commissioner, was investigating questionable payments made to a company owned by the union leader’s daughter by Pacific Group Medical Association, an insurer serving the union that had been seized by the state after being declared insolvent. The insurance commissioner had also sued the union seeking to recover premiums withheld when PGMA ran into financial trouble.

Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua) said Rodrigues should have recused himself from anything dealing with Graulty’s application.

“That’s just wrong,” Thielen said of the union leader’s participation.

“That’s not ethical.”

“Graulty as insurance commissioner questioning a transaction that involves Gary’s daughter, while Gary votes on his judicial nomination, is as close as kissing cousins,” Thielen said. “It’s just too close.”

Thank you, Rep. Thielen. It should have been obvious to everyone, and probably was. But most wouldn’t say that publicly.

Taking Graulty out of the picture didn’t succeed in stopping the insurance investigation or deterring a subsequent federal investigation.

Rodrigues was later indicted and convicted, along with his daughter, on a long list of federal charges including mail fraud, embezzlement, health care fraud, acceptance of kickbacks to influence operation of an employee benefit plan, conspiracy, and money laundering. He is now serving a 64-month sentence in a mainland prison.

Graulty was probably correct in saying that he did everything right.

“Through my attorney, I had notified commissioners (David L.) Fairbanks and (James) Kawashima that there was ongoing litigation,” Graulty said.

“I took it there was a little discussion among them before I came in,” Graulty said. “If there is a problem, it is on their side. I attended the hearing on the date and time appointed. Mr. Rodrigues was there. They asked me all the hard questions that I presume they asked of others.”

But the fact remains that the circumstances of his appointment left a permanent question mark, perhaps through no fault of his own.

At the time, I was the only reporter digging into Rodrigues’ links to the failed insurer, which left behind some $18 million in debts, and the mysterious payments to his daughter. Given Rodrigues’ status and clout, we felt we were on dangerous terrain and my reporting was careful and understated. In retrospect, too understated, perhaps.

Such is the nature of Hawaii politics and power.

Finally, if you’re one of the 99% of Americans who have been contacted to help retrieve a fortune from the Nigerian government, you should laugh through this extended correspondence. It’s a hoot!