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The arrests this week of a couple of former St. Louis High School football stars (one who returned to the school as a coach) in a large international drug bust must give former S-B sports writer Pat Bigold a bit of grim "I told you so" satisfaction. He got himself in trouble at the Star-Bulletin when some editors apparently thought he was paying too much attention to reporting the darker side of the Catholic school's football program. But would more scrutiny then have changed anything for these players?Pat also noted that Tasi Malepeai, one of those arrested, was coaching when the team went to Las Vegas, hired a stripper, and ransacked their hotel.
"Proves once again what wonderful supervision the Catholic young men of St. Louis receive," Pat comments.
While the Star-Bulletin played up the St. Louis connection yesterday, I noticed that the Advertiser's follow story didn't mention it. I guess no one in their sports department pointed it out to court reporter David Waite. Now I'll probably get a call from someone over in sports to complain about this comment. Ouch.
It's not that the Advertiser isn't used to chasing the Bulletin on some local stories. I notice the Advertiser online edition this morning reports the closing of 3 McInerny stores, which the Bulletin reported yesterday, as well as a story about the Honolulu Academy of Art returning several items stolen from Cambodia. I read that story in the S-B two days back on Thursday.
Ms. Harriet has started a new program to disrupt our morning walks. Our normal routine is to leave the house, walk down our street a few houses to the corner, turn left towards the ocean, then turn left again and walk down to the corner by the Kaaawa fire station. Then we double back up to the end of the road behind the fire station, which passes by the side of our house, set back up a small rise. Harriet has taken to hiding in the tall grass next to the road and then running out to greet us if she hears us coming by. Then she follows us back down as far as she dares, all the while in the middle of the road. I'm in fear that a car will come along while she's there, which would create a very dangerous situation. Once she refused to give up and I had to go back, pick her up, make my way up the hill and lock her in the house so that we could continue down to the beach. I'm hoping that she'll get tired of the game. We'll see.
A survey by InsightExpress, reported this week in Marsha Geller's MediaPost.com column, Just an Online Minute, found that even most online readers prefer to read paper editions of their favorite publications.InsightExpress found that readers so prefer traditional to online that even of those people who regularly read online magazines, only 22% actually prefer reading magazines online - while 73% expressed that they would not forgo their paper magazine for an online alternative - even for half the price. In fact, while a majority of respondents (63%) currently pay for a traditional magazine subscription - nearly 80% expect online magazines to be free.I spotted another sobering tidbit in a column by Bruce A. Williams and Michael x. Delli Carpini appearing in the Chronicle of Higher Education (April 19, 2002):
... a 2000 Pew Charitable Trusts poll found that more than one-third of Americans under 30 now get their news primarily from late-night comedians, and that 79 percent of this age group (and half of the adult population generally) say they sometimes or regularly get political information from comedy programs such as Saturday Night Live or nontraditional outlets such as MTV.And what does that say about the future of newspapers?
My new Canadian correspondent responded to my question yesterday:
How did I find your site? I was cruising and it linked up from something else. You know how it works, you start talking with friends about gardening and an hour later you're discussing lava lamps. Somehow it all gets connected. I am in Edmonton Alberta. I am still waiting for the ice to leave the dirt so I can stick my fingers in the soil and not hit ice crystals 2 inches below the surface.
If you missed Mondo Condo, the strange tale of Honolulu life that I wrote for Honolulu Weekly a few weeks ago, it's now available online.The daily newspapers didn't take all the Hawaii Publishers Association awards announced this week. John Pritchett's editorial cartoons in Honolulu Weekly took both first and third place awards in that category for the second year in a row. Way to go, Pritchett!
I noticed that Affiliated Computer Services issued a corporate press release when the company landed the contract to operate Hawaii's infamous traffic cams, but not a word has been said about the contract being yanked and the whole project shelved. At least there's nothing on their list of press releases or anywhere else on their corporate web site.
This inquiry came my way yesterday morning:
How do you get the morning star-bulletin delivered? or were you waiting at a newspaper dispenser? I gotta hoof it down to the nearest strip mall to fetch one in the a.m.The answer to this was easy--move to Kaaawa. Out our way, you can't get the regular S-B afternoon delivery. But they'll deliver the a.m. edition. The issue is timing, apparently, getting the afternoon paper off the press and out our way before dark. We're only 13 miles from Kaneohe and the presses, but apparently its a logistical problem. We don't question. We just read the morning paper.
This message came yesterday bearing a Canadian armed forces return address:
I had the good luck to spend a week camping on the big island in Feb this year. We (sister and I) spent a lot of time cruising garage sales and the Op shops. Looking at your photos, well, I just sigh and look forward to the next time I can live on the beach. Your life style is my dream style. I think you understand that you live so many's ideal. Thanks for sharing.And thanks for reminding me that it shouldn't be taken for granted. I'll have to ask how she happened to stumble across these pages.
On the feline front: Still no kittens. Lindsey's blood test shows a liver ailment, as yet unspecified. So in addition to a shift towards easier to digest food, he's got a prescription for medication that we're supposed to sprinkle on his food. I'm sorry, but Lindsey would have to be pretty hungry to gulp down doctored food. So I know I'm in trouble, and will have to negotiate some way to get this stuff into him. And so it goes.
It's early, and I'm waiting. Waiting for the Star-Bulletin to get delivered, waiting for Ms. Lizzie to make her morning appearance, and waiting just a few minutes before dragging the garbage out for pickup.Congratulations are in order to all those recognized by the Hawaii Publishers Association yesterday in their annual competition. All other quibbling aside, the writers, artists, photographers, and editors who do the job daily deserve the credit, whichever side of the newspaper war they work on.
Amazingly, the Star-Bulletin apparently held its own, at least matching the Advertiser's performance despite the many disadvantages it has faced over the past year. Unfortunately, although the Advertiser has a story online this morning reporting on the 16 overall awards they received, including first place awards in five categories, there's not a word about the full results or awards won by any other publications. Not even a pretense of covering the overall event. "It's about me," appears to be the motto of the day.
The Star-Bulletin just arrived, with an A-2 story that lists all the winners in each category. The Bulletin claims that its 16 awards was tops for a daily newspaper, setting up an interesting subplot. With both papers claiming 16 awards and the Bulletin claiming more than any other daily, there's a big question dangling and unanswered. My quick count indicates the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser each earned 16 awards, contrary to the Bulletin's headline claim.
In any case, the S-B editors deserve credit for once again reporting on more than their own paper's performance.
For those interested in yesterday's photo, my mother, Helen Yonge, is second from the right as you look at the picture.
Sorry, news junkies, nothing to report today.Mr. Lindsey is doing marginally better. He's worked through a couple of jars of baby food, fed by hand, finger by finger. Then he did manage to eat some dry cat food, and suddenly showed some real hunger when we served up some canned food last night. But he's still moping around. And I don't like nursing this cat. Lindsey has been the "no worries" guy around here for years. He knows the territory and has his routines. When we're traveling, he's perfectly stable. We just don't have to worry about him, which provides a layer of mental comfort. So this bout of whatever-it-is disrupts more than his appetite. It also rattles part of my own sense of security. I'm a bit clumsy in the telling, but you get the idea.
Here's a photo from the University of Hawaii's 1934 yearbook. It's the first women's swimming team that entered intercollegiate competition. Before that, it was just intramural and informal swimming for the women.
My mother swam with that first team and is in this photo, and she retrieved a photocopy after the picture was displayed during an alumni event earlier this year. Can you figure out which is my mom?
First UH women's intercollegiate
swimming team, 1934 (click for larger version)
Here's another view of the recent moves from the middle of the Star-Bulletin newsroom. Suffice to say, they're obviously energized by the new level of financial support that the paper is enjoying.just a quick one about our local investors. while it isn't earth shattering, there is no way anyone could see this as a bad thing for the star bulletin. I don't care what your sources or experts say, the mood here is much better than before and for good reason. having the debt paid off is important, and the fact that we have local folks involved rather than a bunch of pricks in arlington virginia who couldn't give a rip about hawaii is also crucial. before, we had to worry about black tiring of the uphill battle to break even - now we are debt-free with smart business types investing in our life span.and we are still waiting for the advertiser to trot out john morton, aka "media expert" to tell us how screwed we still are - seems we've been told that for almost 3 years now. like we say in the newsroom, every day we're around is a day that gannett is pissed off. now is that not motivation or what?
And here at home, if it's not one thing, it's another. Now Mr. Lindsey has lost his appetite. If you know cats, you know that's really not a good thing. He hasn't been obviously sick in recent weeks, but sort of gradually got a bit picky in his eating, then finally decided nothing smelled good at all. When I cooked up some fresh mahimahi on Friday and he just picked at it, I knew it was time for medical intervention.
So we headed for Kaneohe yesterday morning. It's becoming a regular thing. Oh, Sunday? Time to see Dr. Lee Loy. Short version. A thorough physical exam turned up nothing except for a modest weight loss (bringing him down to just 11 pounds, 2 ounces), and mild dehydration. Other signs were ok. Temperature ok. Gums a good color. Organs felt ok. So she added some fluids to his system and pulled some blood out for broad testing. Those results should be back by the end of today.
Then, before bringing Lindsey home, I went across the street to Foodland and picked up a few jars of baby food, which has gotten several of our cats through difficult periods. Then, once safely at home, I began the food on the finger routine, a little at a time, just to keep something going through his system. It's almost always the same routine. The first finger of food is ignored, so I smear just a bit on his face so he has to clean it off and, in the process, get a good taste. Aha! From there on it's always pretty easy, and this was no exception. After this meal, I made a nice bed of towels in my bathroom where he spent the night. By early this morning, Lindsey had managed to at least snack on some dry cat food that I left out, and had another run of finger food. Then, just a few minutes ago, I finally let him out the door for what I hope will be a relatively brief tour of the yard.Mr. Lindsey is now our senior male cat at just about 9 years old. He and his sister were found in the bushes at the McDonalds in Laie back in May 1993 by our neighbors' twin daughters. We ended up adopting Lindsey, while they took his sister. He is a very good cat, despite his feeling that Elizabeth's house next door is an extension of his own territory.
There's a rooster crowing across the street, although it's still pitch black out there. But here comes the rain. That will probably discourage him.Here's a thoughtful and sobering reaction to the Star-Bulletin's announcement of new investors which I received yesterday from another Hawaii-based journalist:
It is cool to see local ownership, even if it is all cogs of the local power structure. That said, I seriously doubt it will make a difference one way or the other. Circulation has been bumped temporarily by artificially low rates. And small cities simply can't support two dailies. On all sides the lucrative ad sources of news papers are getting attacked. Monster for jobs (sure, the SB plays with them but that's a pretty weak position and not one that will ever give the SB significant profits). Moviefone for cinema listings. Match.com for personals (not here but in other parts and alternative media). Realtor.com for home buying (or, in our case, www.hicentral.com which blows the hard copy away for home seekers). Add to that a younger generation that can get all their news quite happily from the Web and the handwriting is on the wall. The real winner in Hawaii will be the newspaper that figures out first how to turn a digital operation into a profitable one. The rest will get stuck with the scraps, just like local television, local radio and local magazines, all of which have suffered in the vast majority of markets across the country.Yesterday's email also brought this missive from New Zealand, a reminder that there's interest in more than the news business.
I read your latest edition first thing in the morning. Excellent job.
But, I miss the daily news of the goings-on of the cats.
Any new pix of Miss Maile and her human?
Is the office cat overdue yet?
Keep up the great work.Cheers,
Anne of the Kiwis
Thanks for that cat call, Anne.
The office cat, a complex Siamese who we've named Cybelle, is very, very close to bringing her kittens into the world. She was spending quite a bit of time yesterday digging in several of the spots I've set up for her, including a long exploration of the large computer box with a little cat door cut in one side, and a comfy pile of towel and newspapers waiting inside. It has the advantage of being dark and covered and protected on all sides, although I can open the top and check out what's going on in there.
Of course, she's also digging under my desk, and she took over the swivel chair at my desk several times. I also think she tried at some point to get behind the couch that sits on one wall, but I've got that pretty effectively blocked off.
She's very large, and not very comfortable dragging the whole crew around with her.
She appears to be coping with it all quite well. I'm not coping quite as well. Perhaps that's to be expected. I wonder what Sunday will bring?
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