Advisory–You may see an occasional misspelling today caused by the absence of a critical letter “a”. The “a” on my keyboard is acting up, and going walkabout much of the time. I’m trying my best to compensate, which requires hitting the key with extra pressure until the letter finally appears. But, fair warning.
The Honolulu Advertiser editorialized on Sunday concerning the need for both sides in the UH faculty contract dispute to return to serious bargaining. Point well taken.
But the editorial also said:
Administrators also should consider other structural changes and prioritize spending to make the most of limited resources.
Interesting, in light ofSean Hao’s story in the same Sunday paper, about the latest iteration of the UH-West Oahu scheme to finance campus development through a sale of land.
The headline, “Land sale may fund campus”, is somewhat misleading. The story reports that West Oahu chancellor, Gene Awakuni, hopes to raise about $40 million through this sale to a developer.
But the last official round of plans for the West Oahu campus, with ambitious projections of more than 7,500 students, far outstrip this kind of funding, even just for basic construction, not to mention all the operational costs, including hiring of hundreds of new professors.
I’m told the new library at Windward Community College, a single building, is expected to cost some $45 million, and that’s sized for a campus with fewer than 2,000 students.
Awakuni seems to recognize the problem, but defends moving forward only by undercutting the elaborate plan that purported to make the case for the campus.
“It’s viable,” he said. “We may not complete all quarter-million square feet of buildings, but we’ll get something done.”
So the proposed land sale will produce just enough to start a largely unfunded project, either creating an academic orphan or setting up the UH system for decades of ongoing funding woes. This is surely one of those areas where the UH administration and regents need to seriously reconsider the system’s priorities, especially since there has never been a compelling educational case for the new West Oahu campus, as several UH officials have personally told me while they privately lobbied against funding the expansion.
Other news–Inversecondemnation.com is predicting more confusion as the result of an Intermediate Court of Appeals decision upholding a 2003 law claiming ownership to land created through shoreline accretion for the state.
The pre-Act 73 Ashford rule, with its single demarcation of the littoral boundary between public and private beach at least provided some certainty: if you remained seaward of the high wash — where ever it was on a particular day — you were on a public beach. Now, a person walking along the beach would very likely have no idea of where the “new” boundary is, or which part of a beach is private and which is public.
The Hawaii Land Use Law & Policy Blog also commented on the decision. The court’s decision itself can be found here.
Did you see where The Dude is finally getting some respect from academics?
The Dude, of course, is Jeff Bridges’ character in “The Big Lebowski”.
Where cult films go, academics will follow. New in bookstores, and already in its second printing, is “The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies,” an essay collection edited by Edward P. Comentale and Aaron Jaffe (Indiana University Press, $24.95). The book is, like the Dude himself, a little rough around the edges. But it’s worth an end-of-the-year holiday pop-in. Ideally you’d read it with a White Russian — the Dude’s cocktail of choice — in hand.
And, finally, there was some good news about Ms. Sadie, who was adopted into a new home this week. Here’s a forwarded email report received yesterday:
She is doing wonderfully, she loves to bury her bone and has destroyed two tennis balls already. Woke us up at 2:15 am regarding a loose dog in the street. Eats everything in her bowl. Took her for a long walk yesterday which she really liked. Sadie loves the whole family and vice-versa. Could not have gotten a better pet than her.
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Your headline said The Duke, not The Dude of Lebowski Studies. I was all excited. I thought I was going to read about my favorite Duke, the world’s most handsome fat cat, who should also run for governor. Cybelle would be proud.
happy to hear that ms. sadie is in a good home.
The Dude abides.
Good for Ms. Sadie, I will study up on the Dude, this one went right by me but then I don’t circulate in academic circles…
The Maui Community College campus is covered with large roofed edifices built by the current chancellor that cost a fortune to maintain. Please, take him to O’ahu so he can build edifices for you all.
If you use your apple laptop for your work, try plugging in an external keyboard, it may save the day.
I have a little more understanding of how the University & State are in such a financial mess. Expensive pet projects need to go now! Scrape any idea for a West Oahu Campus. As we have seen, UH cannot maintain UHM campus adequately.
Perhaps we should say “URGENTLY need to seriously reconsider the moneypit known as West Oahu campus.”
Here is a link to a piece on the 10 most critical state budgets: http://www.businessinsider.com/most-painful-state-fiscal-crises-2010-1
Add these up and you soon realize modest cuts and modest tax increases will not solve the crisis. All those lost jobs add up to lower tourist spending in Hawaii. The state is gambling on a recovery which is not just unlikely but impossible.
Your comments: “This is surely one of those areas where the UH administration and regents need to seriously reconsider the system’s priorities, especially since there has never been a compelling educational case for the new West Oahu campus, as several UH officials have personally told me while they privately lobbied against funding the expansion.”
You should spend some time reading the Second Decade Report compiled by Linda Jonsrud at the University of Hawaii. It depicts the dire need for accessible higher education in West Oahu — accessible higher education that will be provided by the new campus. Also, any funds raised by the selling or leasing of UH West Oahu property cannot legally be used for any other UH purpose that for UH WO.
Am I being paranoid, but do I see the persistence in UH-WO the new flagship campus of the UH? Less all those pestiferous old buildings, less money-losing laboratory science programs, indeed less any programs except those that can be taught by indentured lecturers to hundreds of full-fee-paying students at a time. What a boon, no more of those whiny Ph.D.s. Not to mention no more rail, because, when traffic to UHM stops, so do the traffic jams. And UH-WO is -so- much closer to Aloha Stadium.
That would be “… see IN the persistence OF …”
I could cetainly see Lebowski being studied in relation to zen or tao!
“You make one hell of a caucasian, Jackie”
UH West shouldn’t be built until UH Manoa is maintained 100%.
Why create another mess that won’t get cleaned up?