I noticed an interesting detail in a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by the city earlier this month.

The suit is the latest in a series of efforts by city officials to find out why the Environmental Protection Agency turned down Honolulu’s request for a waiver of secondary treatment requirements for the Honouliuli and Sand Island wastewater treatment plants.

The suit is a follow-up to a February 2009 request for “any and all documents in the possession or control of the EPA relating to the Final Decision of the Regtional Administrator” relating to the Honolulu’s request for a renewal of a prior variance.

Tucked away in the fine print at the bottom of page 7 is reference to continued withholding of certain documents by the EPA under the law enforcement exemption to the Freedom of Information Act.

Here’s the substance of the law enforcement exemption from a Department of Justice FOIA guide:

Exemption 7 of the FOIA, as amended, protects from disclosure “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”

So does this mean that somewhere in the mix is a federal “law enforcement investigation” of the city’s wastewater system? This will be interesting question to follow.

The Molokai Dispatch reports that the company supposedly planning a hydrogen power plant on the island has had no (as in Zero) contacts with Hawaiian Electric, nor has the company taken any steps that would be required to actually gain approval for construction of such a facility at a site on Molokai.

It seems that Jetstream Wind may just be hot air.

I ran across a column yesterday that I read with that wonderful “aha!” feeling.

“Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule” discusses two realms of work and, more importantly, the way time is perceived and organized.

What it calls a “manager’s schedule” is made up of the hour-by-hour appointment book, which gradually fills with events.

You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to, but by default you change what you’re doing every hour.

When you use time that way, it’s merely a practical problem to meet with someone. Find an open slot in your schedule, book them, and you’re done

But there’s another type of approach to the world used, according to the column, by writers, computer programmers, and other “makers”.

They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can’t write or program well in units of an hour. That’s barely enough time to get started.

When you’re operating on the maker’s schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in. Plus you have to remember to go to the meeting. That’s no problem for someone on the manager’s schedule. There’s always something coming on the next hour; the only question is what. But when someone on the maker’s schedule has a meeting, they have to think about it.

For someone on the maker’s schedule, having a meeting is like throwing an exception. It doesn’t merely cause you to switch from one task to another; it changes the mode in which you work.

That certainly describes the way I typically find my days organized, and explains why moving between the two worlds causes problems.

Anyway, I highly recommend this little essay.

From Wisconsin, a story on the next level of the foreclosure crisis–banks and other lenders choosing to abandon homes rather than go through with foreclosures and taking possession of and responsibility for the properties.

And now, the return of Feline Friday.

Yes, I missed last week. But not two in a row.

Today we’ve got yawning cats, resting cats, sleeping cats, and so on.

This is Ms. Wally, one of the sisters rescued after being dumped from a passing car onto Kahekili Highway during Saturday morning traffic. Wally & Kili survived and have been very satisfactory cats!

In any case, click on her picture to enjoy today’s cats.