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November 2, 2002 - Saturday
Folks all along this coast were trapped yesterday morning after a fatal automobile accident closed Kamehameha Highway for nearly six hours. We wondered where the ambulance and fire trucks were headed while we were on our early walk, but didn't hear of the accident until we tried to drive into town and were turned back at Kualoa. That's what happens when there's only one road in and out.
| Little Spook needs a home!
From former Star-Bulletin writer Pat Bigold comes this spooky tale:
Ash-grey, long-haired, tiger stripe male kitten abandoned near the Ala Wai Elementary School on Halloween.
Our building co-manager, Judy Anders, has taken the kitten in but must find a new home for him because her 13-year-old house cat isn't reacting well to the new arrival.
Judy said the 5 or 6-week old kitten she calls "Spook" seems to be house-broken.
She can be reached on her cell phone at any time at 386-2980. She appreciates your help.
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Spook
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It looks like this is the answer to my question about delivery of the Sunday NY Times. According to yesterday's daily electronic update from Pacific Business News, the Star-Bulletin "will begin delivering the New York Times to residences, businesses and newsstands seven days a week beginning Sunday."
PBN reports: " It and the Honolulu Advertiser both put out both morning and afternoon editions in one of the fiercest circulation and content wars in the nation, and for the underdog to form an alliance with the New York Times is a potentially significant development in that battle."
And here's another comment received on the issue of campaign contributions:
Something about that rebuttal on S-B political contributions doesn't ring right.
Maybe it's not whether they spell the names correctly (doesn't that fall under "basics"?), but which stories they choose to print, which ones never see the light of day, and what angle they give to the ones they run. Your first guy was right: legal or not, the Midweek political contribution does take a bite out of S-B's credibility.
Still, Midweek's fawning over the Gabbard's didn't affect the S-B's endorsement of Mike Gabbard's city council race opponent, Pam Witty-Oakland. Thank God.
It's Saturday. I'll be slaving over chicken curry for six this evening, with a bit of wine to add inspiration.
November 1, 2002 - Friday
Here's a thoughtful reply from another Star-Bulletin newsroom staffer concerning the newspaper's campaign contributions:
If everything was done legally, then no harm done no matter what the journheads around this place might think.
A newspaper's credibility comes from getting its facts straight, with which many reporters and editors have problems. When we have difficulty getting peoples names spelled correctly or even their genders in order, our credibility suffers a hell of a lot more than if we donate a small amount of money to a politician's campaign fund.
A paper's credibility also comes from delivering the products you produce in an efficient manner at the value you promise. I don't work in circulation or advertising and am not involved in the job work of Midweek Printing, so I cannot address that. On the other hand, they seem to be getting plenty of business, so our customers must have faith in the work provided.
It is rather self-centered and misguided to believe that the entire product of the Star-Bulletin and Midweek is the news content of either paper. Our product might be called a NEWSpaper, but we deliver much more than news to our customers.
Further, a good portion of the Star-Bulletin, not Black Press per se, is owned by local investors. Did anyone ever stop to consider that THEY made the decisions? For them to participate financially in the political process of this state doesn't harm the credibility of this company one iota. In fact, it probably enhances it.
Will that be the final word?
Another reader shared his reaction to Rick Daysog's story yesterday:
Here's something from the "how you figgah?" files:
Rick Daysog of the Star-Bulletin reports:
"Otsuka's attorney, Paul Cunney, has characterized payments from Mattson to Otsuka as legitimate but would not go into specifics. Cunney said he is waiting to hear from prosecutors if they are willing to offer Otsuka immunity in exchange for her testimony."
If the payments are legitimate, then why would Otsuka's attorney be asking for immunity? I'm sure she ain't asking for flu shots.
| And back on the home front, I've been ferrying this tiny guy to my office and back so that he can get fed during the day.
He's eating very well. According to our less than scientific scale, his weight immediately popped from a mere 7 ounces to 9 ounces by last night, just two days. He's also getting more active, and spent time yesterday wobbling around the floor of my small office.
I might have someone interested in adopting him, which puts pressure on us to consider the awful question: how many cats is really too many in our household?
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October 31, 2002 - Thursday
A sudden hard rain at 5:05 a.m. had most of the cats clamoring to get back into the house. Even Mr. Silverman was suddenly looking in a window and crying to let me know he was ready to be admitted. Right now they're all negotiating places where they can eat in peace. Not necessarily a simple task. Ah, mornings.
This comment on the Star-Bulletin/MidWeek's contributions to the campaign of Republican Linda Lingle came from a staffer at the newspaper:
I can tell you that no one in the Star-Bulletin or MidWeek newsrooms were consulted or even informed of these contributions, even after the fact. This was a personal decision by the owners, and they view it that way, and I hope they examined the legal ramifications of such actions. (Maybe getting into bed with politicians is business-as-usual among rural shoppers and weeklies in Canada.)
But that's moot. The damage is done. Our stock in trade is credibility, and the public perception of our impartiality has been badly damaged. This piddling contribution to a campaign that didn't need the money has compromised our professionalism.
Ironically, the newsroom was just given a code of ethics that forbids putting candidate bumper stickers on our cars.
| Back in Kaaawa, high surf and high tides have been making our morning walks (and the drive later on) a bit more exciting than usual. Sand and debris has been washed onto the road in several places over the last couple of days. It makes us appreciate what sort of damage a hurricane would cause along this coast.
We saw the green flash at dawn yesterday, but it was partially obscured by the large waves marching towards shore.
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October 30, 2002 - Wednesday
The Star-Bulletin may not be scheduled to announce its endorsement for governor until the end of the week, but its Republican intentions are already a matter of record.
According to Linda Lingle's campaign spending report filed with the Campaign Spending Commission for the period ending October 21, the Republican candidate received a $1,000 contribution on September 23 from MidWeek Printing, the Star-Bulletin's sister company, and another $2,000 on October 1.
MidWeek Printing is inextricably linked to the Star-Bulletin. It's sales staff are housed in the same Restaurant Row building as the Star-Bulletin, and it handles financial, marketing, production, and delivery for the Star-Bulletin.
These contributions, and any others than may have occurred after the reporting deadline, are the first direct campaign contributions from either of the Honolulu dailies in my memory, and mark a different level of political involvement. Readers, please correct me if I'm wrong.
The contributions also raise questions concerning applicability of the Federal Election Commission prohibition on contributions from foreign nationals or foreign corporations. Generally, as I recall, local subsidiaries of foreign companies can contribute to U.S. elections as long as they do not use foreign funds and no foreign nationals take part in the decision-making process.
The argument used to be made locally that this prohibition only applied to campaigns for federal offices and not to state and county elections, but that excuse was swept away by the multiple enforcement actions against Japanese companies that contributed to state campaigns in Hawaii a decade ago.
In the case of the Star-Bulletin, and having observed its operation, it's hard to imagine the decision to spend money on a political campaign being made without any Canadian input or control. Of course, they may have taken extraordinary care to keep all the top management out of the process, or there may be some fine legal print that the company is taking advantage of.
| Do not try this at home!
On Sunday, and again yesterday, we heard plaintive mewing in the jungle as we walked up the road behind the fire station in the early morning. It's still dark when we go by there, and we couldn't see the source.
After we returned from our walk yesterday, I ventured down the hill behind our house, left the trails that crisscross the empty four-acre spot of state-owned land, and slowly made my way down to the corner where we had heard the tell-tale sound.
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Sure enough, after climbing over fallen tree limbs and under other rotting obstacles, I spotted movement. I then had to crawl several feet through a virtual thicket, then reached back into a hollow and pulled out this skinny creature. That was the beginning, followed by a forced march in search of kitten milk substitute, and hours of getting the little guy settled down and used to eating from a syringe.
Somehow nothing was simple. After trying to talk on the phone with the kitten in my lap, I was going to lunch. At least until I noticed he had apparently piddled right in the middle of my lap, leaving a very noticeable wet spot that kept me trapped in the office for an hour with my jeans hanging over a chair in the sun next to the window until they dried.
This little yellow and white kitten appears to be 3-4 weeks of age, just about ready to switch from milk to regular food. But he appears malnourished, and will probably take a few days to get stabilized.
We do not need this kitten, but we couldn't walk past that spot again without checking it out, and, having checked it out, couldn't leave him there. At least that's what I've told myself repeatedly over the last 24 hours.
October 29, 2002 - Tuesday
The Star-Bulletin rolled out its redesigned business section yesterday.
I hate to say it. It triggered a yawn. I know that these redesigns generate a lot of internal interest, but it all seems like wasted energy to me. Sort of like revising by-laws or writing mission statements.
Perhaps it will mellow with age. Right now it looks busier without a clear sense of purpose. I did enjoy Tim Ruel's data driven story on the state of the tourist economy, which provided a local lead.
While getting a haircut I had a chance to check the Advertiser's business section yesterday as well. Yes, the hair gets cut every three months or so whether it's needed or not. And if I recall correctly, there was nary a local story in sight on the 'Tiser's business front page. And not much at all beyond the front page.
I had an occasion to call Roadrunner's technical support on Sunday. I have to say the person I talked to was very helpful. Turns out he's providing support to Kaaawa from somewhere on the other side of Canada. He described it as being "above upper New York."
What's the weather like? "It's about 4 degrees, gray, a little rainy," he replied. "It's real nice this time of year."
Yesterday's mention of Ms. Kili brought a wonderful reply from a former islander now living in Texas. I do not have a cat, she asserts emphatically
I do not have a cat....
I only went out and bought cat food because my neighbor went away for the 4th of July and left his cats' food bowl empty.
I do not have a cat.
I bought them toys because well, they didn't have anything to play with.
I do not have a cat..
I only let them in my house when it's hot. Or cold. Or raining. Or they want in..
I do not have a cat.
I took the cat to the vet because his leg was injured and no one else was taking care of it. (It cost $80, but the little guy was really brave).
I do not have a cat.
I gave him antibiotics twice a day for a week because by now I had $80 invested in him. And I got the smoked ham for him to reward him for taking his medicine And of course I had to give some to his brother because you can't explain these things to a cat.
I do not have cat.
I only got the litter box because...well, see above about letting them in.
I do not have a cat.
I was only looking at cat beds because, as long as they're going to come indoors, they might as well be comfortable. And maybe they'll stay off my bed.
I do not have a cat.
I only bought the 40-lb bag of litter at Costco because it was a good deal.
I do not have a cat, dammit, I am a dog person.
October 28, 2002 - Monday
Another Sunday has come and gone without any sign of the New York Times. It was just about a month ago that I was contacted by a telemarketer offering home delivery of Times, which he promised would be on our doorstep by 8:30 a.m. Kaaawa? No problem, he said. I've been watching each week, and so far...nothing. At least I haven't gotten a bill, either.
I read somewhere that the Star-Bulletin had made a deal to handle the home delivery. It won't do them much good if the telemarketers fumble like this.
The Advertiser's Frank Cho has a good story today on settlements reached with a number of the parties in litigation to recover assets of Pacific Group Medical Association, one of the insurers which allegedly paid kickbacks to UPW director Gary Rodrigues.
And the Star-Bulletin has announced the appearance of a revamped business section in today's paper. It will be interesting to see what they've done.
| Poor Ms. Kili. Someone gave her a swat on the head that got infected. A trip to the vet resulted in a designer haircut and a good dose of antibiotics.
She was a very good patient until she figured out that a slight twist of the head and a quick backward shuffle could defend against the dreaded pill. So we've been doing the twice a day test of wills. So far, the pill has been going down. Eventually.
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Ms. Kili
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And in honor of Silverman's reappearance, I've updated the Silverman gallery with another batch of photos of the blue-eyed boy.
October 27, 2002 - Sunday
The mainland has switched off of daylight savings time, and the sunrise is moving later and later, so it seemed like an appropriate time to switch back to the "winter" image above.
Other than that, it's a slow Sunday morning. We bought nothing at the auction, although there were lots of great deals being had. One woman paid nearly $10,000 for a single gold necklace by Ming's, the former island jewelry company which went out of business recently. There's probably more of a story behind that bidding war.
A Star-Bulletin staffer had this response to my observation yesterday on the dueling web sites:
UH scores online -- I tend to agree. The quick fix is something the web is good at, and we don't take advantage of it enough.
But reality intrudes. We have two web people, they have a dozen. We simply don't have anyone working web at that time of the night.
Then Alex Salkever added this extended rebuttal to my Friday comment on the bitter edge of corporate purchasing:
If you spend time in the hotels on the outer islands or the high end hotels here on Oahu and talk to buyers, which is where the real money is for local producers who want to sell stuff, they are dying for high end Hawaii products. Usually, the problems are production and reliability -- that's why there aren't more Hawaii products featured.
But the buying public wants and craves these types of unique items that are specific to place. Restaurants in New York feature Coach Farm goat cheese from up the Hudson River Valley. They will not ever feature Puna goat cheese from the Big Island. Why? Customers know they are in New York, want New York things and, increasingly, appreciate the value of fresh local ingredients (ergo, big spikes in farmers markets around the country). So something like French bread is not where Hawaii would ever be a big player. Fortunately, it's not a differentiator. Things that Hawaii can win in are where it has a distinct brand edge. Kona coffee, mac nuts, etc. Those cannot be replaced or commoditized and will be sold on the mainland. Conversely, local producers can and do win here by emphasizing their localness. You do not go to a restaurant at the Four Seasons on Maui and find "fresh, air-flown New Jersey Beefsteak Tomatoes." And that same restaurant will feature Rick Halbein's grass-fed Big Island cattle over anything from Iowa.
For those reasons, I think your fears are misplaced. Yes, hotels are going to consolidate suppliers in things like French croissants and toilet paper. But Hawaii couldn't become and shouldn't want to become competitive in generic goods and services. Those services are not worth anything extra (witness the demise of Aloha Bananas on the North Shore -- no difference between those and other bananas) and are bad economic bets over the long haul. Worse still, they do nothing to build up Hawaii's own sense of self worth and identity.
All my two cents.
What Alex says makes sense for those producing those small niche products, but it's also confirmation of the declining local economic impact of hotels that has accompanied the corporatization of this industry.
At one time, not too long ago, local businesses didn't just provide the frills and extras, the local tomatoes and Waimanalo greens. Hotels also bought other things from local dealers, from kitchen sinks to office pens. Now these items, as well as that perishable french bread, are bought somewhere else. All this means that you've got to push a lot more tourists through those hotels to before they will have the same economic impact on the economy as they once had. It's a key factor in the relentless pressure to develop more of the islands. And, if you want to go there, another example of a downside of corporate globalization.
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