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This site was unavailable much of the day yesterday due to problems at HostRocket.com, the hosting service that I use. Hopefully all is well this morning.UH earned a point or two yesterday by including the new athletic director's salary in the official press release about the hire. Herman Frazier will earn $210,000 annually by UH, according to the release. Disclosure of salaries has been a sore point at UH, so this was one of the first things I looked for.
It was also interesting to see UH coaches commenting on Frazier's selection. They indicated a very good "first impression", apparently meaning that they were never consulted or involved in the hiring process. Wouldn't some involvement by those who will work most closely with the new A.D. have been reasonable, especially in an administration which keeps chanting it's allegiance to a "bottom-up" and participatory approach to campus governance?
This note came from "Anne of the Kiwis", a former Hawaii resident.
I can just see you in Costco w/your box of "bikkets."I truly understand.
I don't own a dog, either, but I buy a box of "bikkets" for the golden retriever who lives next door and (gawd forbid) pigs ears (yuck) for my little friend "Eli" on Waiheke Island and tiny little "bikkets" (20 cents each for the tiny things for his mother, "Tina" - both Cavalier King Charles spaniels.
Am foster mum to an injured 7-m-o blue Indian ringneck, "Poppy." Two weeks ago, he had the misfortune of falling off a shoulder in a petshop and into the waiting open jaws of a fox terrier. Besides extreme shock, the poor thing suffered a huge puka in his chest.
He's getting better and is eating everything I put before him and is getting along (to some extent) w/my two King parrots.
And we just have a couple of kittens.
I did a quick update of the photo gallery yesterday, and hope to update the kitten report later today. Stay tuned.
Friday. The summer solstice. A week ends, seasons change. Campaign season heats up, along with summer.Ka Leo, the UH Manoa student newspaper, reports that we're "long overdue" on a major hurricane.
Yesterday's mention of the UH hard line against disclosure of public information, to the extent of refusing to cooperate with the state's own Office of Information Practices, sent me scurrying to dig out Pres. Dobelle's remarks before the Honolulu Community-Media Council back on March 18.
"Of Hawaii's public institutions, this University has special responsibilities to ensure openness," Dobelle said. Then he pledged:
"Henceforth, the University's administration will follow the intent of Hawaii's laws that the provisions requiring open meetings and open records SHALL be liberally construed."
Actions, I've always been told, speak louder than words. To be fair, the events described in that OIP opinion took place months before, but well into Dobelle's administration. I suppose we have to see what happens the next time around, and whether the UH lawyers are given the same instructions.
I made a comment in the latest round of Morning Dog photos about standing in line at Costco to buy dog supplies. A friend provided the perfect bit of advice:
You wrote: It's a bit strange standing in line at Costco with the 14 pound box of large dog biscuits. Invariably someone asks what kind of dogs we have, and I have to say "none" and then sputter some reasonable sounding explanation.Tell 'em, "We don't have dogs, but I hear these things are really good for your teeth."
It's our last weekend of two kittens in the house. The little girl heads off to her adopted home at the beginning of next week. It's been a pleasure, despite the backdrop of Lizzie's disappearance and other problems I haven't mentioned here yet. I intend to spend a lot of hours watching kittens do their thing over the next couple of days.
Thanks to Tim Ruel at the Star-Bulletin for pushing the University of Hawaii for refusing to disclose the settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought by former researcher Anthony Perry. The long tale is chronicled in Opinion 2002-01 issued by the Office of Information Practices.It's an important opinion in light of the claim that details of a contract with Disney for cross-marketing are covered by a confidentiality agreement.
UH refused to disclose the settlement to Ruel, then refused to even provide a copy for OIP to review to determine whether it should be released. The UH position was so off the wall that the Attorney General was preparing to go to court to force the issue before the university backed down and provided a copy for review.
OIP ruled that the documents had to be disclosed, and went further to advise agencies that it is not permissible to enter into confidentiality agreements of this kind.
Good work, Tim.
Here's an unexplained email received overnight:
To: <diary@ilind.net>
Subject: Visit to Hawaii
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 21:44:37 +0800Greetings to Lesley from Western Australia
Austin
Perhaps I'll hear something from Lesley that will explain this.
I updated the Mornin' Dogs gallery with a few recent photos of our canine friends.
It's a bit strange standing in line at Costco with the 14 pound box of large dog biscuits. Invariably someone asks what kind of dogs we have, and I have to say "none" and then sputter some reasonable sounding explanation.
Maile & Axel
Variety reports that a deal has been made for a movie based on the life of Kamehameha I "a starring vehicle for Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson.""He was this fantastic, larger-than-life warrior king who united the islands into a single kingdom and built the nation of Hawaii," [scriptwriter Gregory] Poirier said. "The islands had been ruled by tribes, with different chiefs fighting each other all the time. People think of Hawaii as lolling in the surf, little umbrellas in drinks, but back then it was a brutal, war-oriented society, and Kamehameha pulled them into the modern age and made them able to deal with outsiders like the British. When Captain Cook first landed ... (Kamehameha) assimilated the white man's weapons, had an armed British warship under his command and established Hawaii as a trading outpost with the British. The story is epic in scope, and there is also a wonderful love story."Former S-B writer Pat Bigold pointed the story out to me, with these comments:
Whoever thought a major studio would want to do a picture about Kamehameha? And, wow, I wonder how Haunani and Mililani Trask and the Hawaiian Nation will feel about Columbia's plans to portray the king. This would seem like a very sensitive issue with native Hawaiians. Great story with a lot of mileage here, I think.He's got a good point. This could turn into a political mess if not done right. You've got to wonder whether Hollywood types appreciate the complex politics of the situation.
A current Bulletin staffer added this note:
BTW, Variety wasn't first with the Rock/Kamehameha movie story. Their item was dated June 18. The S-B story by Jason Genegabus ran four days earlier; don't know if anyone else had it then too. See http://starbulletin.com/2002/06/14/news/story4.htmlA new coffee cup design by Blaine Fergerstrom may appeal to folks who survived the final days of the old Star-Bulletin. It's a bit of an insider joke. Things got a bit crazy towards the back of the newsroom at that time.
I unearthed another rare find yesterday--a stack of copies of Drawn & Quartered, the little book I did with cartoonist John Pritchett a decade ago. Collector's items.
This is a great collection of Pritchett caricatures, along with some of my comments on the characters of the day. Some are still around, some recently departed, some only dim memories. An interesting look back.
If you want a copy, the books are free. Just send postage. Click on the photo for details.
Click for more information
The Star-Bulletin made a Sunday announcement of a series of design changes that go into effect this week. They appear to be small design tweaks, but it will take a couple of days to digest and assess them.Here's a set of legal research links compiled by the Hawaii State Bar Association. Interesting to see what Hawaii lawyers see as relevant.
Former S-B webmeister Blaine Fergerstrom has stepped up with his own Alohatown mug. Check it out.
Joe P., writing from Japan, had this comment on my bread:
In your diary, you write:> I don't believe in bread machines or other shortcuts. This is real
> bread the honest way.How did you mill the grain? Or did you take a shortcut and use flour?
I'd be interested in your yeast cultivation techniques as well.
Guilty as charged.
Things do change, and sometimes to the better. The Honolulu Advertiser's story this morning on awards given out Saturday night in the annual competition sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter reported on the overall awards, including those given to other competing media. The story, by veteran Walter Wright, broke from the Advertiser's past practice of reporting only their own awards. The story even mentions the Star-Bulletin by name. Congratulations to all the winners, and to editors over at the Advertiser for adopting this broader perspective.
I broke out my well worn copy of The Tasajara Bread Book yesterday and enjoyed a round of kneading and baking. I don't believe in bread machines or other shortcuts. This is real bread the honest way. And here are the results. Two were given away, and I'm looking forward to morning toast.
And I did manage to update the kittens yesterday, as promised.
Click for latest kitten news
Lots of gossip making the rounds. Is there a mayoral election in the cards after all? That's what some scallywags are saying.Then there's this batch of rumblings picked up during the week by a reader:
The other intriguing rumors making the rounds have to do with Mufi. At various times during the week we heard that:...Mufi is running for Congress as a republican and that the national party had promised big bucks - could be either against Mink or Abercrombie... Mufi will be Walter Dods designated running mate
... Mufi had been offered a job in DC and told to 'wait for two years and run for mayor' - (some) unions were willing to support him for mayor, but probably not for another race.
The official filing deadline isn't until July 23, and look how interesting things are already! What a year.
Watch for an update on Cybelle's kittens later today. Oh, speaking of Cybelle, the little survivor started acting a bit weird on Friday. We quickly realized that she's in heat again! So we're in high security mode to be sure she can't have contact with any of the neighborhood's intact tom cats.
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