i L i n d . n e t

Ian Lind online daily from Kaaawa, Hawaii

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Misleading rail headline, Murdock interview, bills of concern

February 8th, 2010 · Media, Sunshine

Here’s one I noticed yesterday while taking a stack of newspapers for recycling. It was a front page, above the fold story in the February 3 Honolulu Advertiser.

The headline: “City receives first FTA rail payment”

But, according to the story, the payment has not been received. It will only come following the expected future signing of an agreement sometime before October 2011. That’s 2011, not 2010. So far, they have only the verbal assurance of FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff that it’s been included in the proposed federal budget. That’s a very, very long way from actual receipt of the payment. In my view, the headline is quite misleading.

At one level, I know it is simply paranoid to think that such errors could be connected to the Advertiser’s strong pro-elevated rail editorial stance. At another level, I keep feeling a nagging doubt. Too bad, because I think Sean Hao’s reporting on rail has generally been excellent.

Did you catch the BBC interview with David Murdock, chairman of Dole Foods broadcast on Hawaii Public Radio? Not knowing much at all about Murdock, it was an eye-opener. He’s a macho vegetarian, with a “you’ve got to be tough to overcome food temptation” attitude. In the interview, Murdock discusses his start in business, but doesn’t get around to how he moved from building and selling a house to amassing quite a fortune. He does mention owning nearly all of Lanai, although the don’t talk about his proposed renewable energy projects. Give it a listen.

And here are some things to track over at the legislature, where several bills that would restrict public access to information are alive and well.

I hear that the Hawaii Dental Association is making the rounds lobbying to revive HB 1212, HD1, SD1, which in its current form eliminate the requirement that the record of complaints lodged against licensed professionals, from contractors and plumbers to dentists, as well as the disposition of those complaints, be a matter of public record. The bill died in conference committee last year but carried over to the current session. Interestingly, the Hawaii Dental Association, which is reportedly the primary backer of the bill, does not appear to have a lobbyist registered with the Ethics Commission.

Both DCCA and the Office of Information Practices have warned against denying the public access to information about complaints. It is the kind of information that can become a matter of public safety and consumer protection.

A pair of bills aimed to provide the Hawaii Tourism Authority with a broad authority to withhold documents and discussions from the public to protect information about Hawaii’s competitive advantage in tourism. HB 2445 and SB 2187, SD1 have already been reported out of the initial committees.

In its testimony, which for some reason was not included in the testimony made public on the capitol web site, OIP said it was concerned that the language was overly broad and needs to be narrowly defined if the bill moves ahead.

Meanwhile, if you were surprised by the data on lobbying by public agencies posted here over the weekend, several bills that would restrict public agencies from using public funds for lobbying and purchasing gifts for public officials are stalled without being scheduled yet for hearings. All have double referrals, meaning that the deadline for moving out of the first committee is rapidly approaching. The bills are SB2515, SB2916, and HB 2841.

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The morning dogs are overdue

February 8th, 2010 · Dogs, Kaaawa, Photographs

[text]Yes, our Kaaawa morning dogs are definitely overdue! I was surprised to see that it’s been almost a month since the last gallery of dogs was posted.

So here’s the solution to that problem–More dogs!

This is Ms. Hina. She’s one of those sentinels along the route of our morning walks. She can somehow see us coming from down the street and around the corner, and starts barking right away, apparently worried that a day might come where we would walk right past her house without offering her a dog biscuit. It hasn’t happened yet, but just in case, she keeps barking. We’re told that it’s a “special” bark. Could be.

She then alerts other dogs farther along that same little back road–Kala, Yeats, Hoku, and then, down at the end, Mr. Maka. The bag of dog treats is substantially lighter after we escape at the other end of the block.

Click on the Hina’s photo for more of today’s dogs.

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It was a very good visit

February 7th, 2010 · Aging & dementia

This 6-minute video documents an unusually good visit with my father. When I arrived, I found my sister was already there.

Bonnie and I agreed that he was more alert and able to interact than he has been in some months. He displayed a sense of humor, and was able to dredge up some detailed memories of people and places dating back to his high school days, more than 75 years ago.

And he looked remarkably good, which led to my best line: “Yes, the hair color is natural. And, no, I didn’t inherit it.”

But I noticed some contrary signs. Although he remembers and can identify people in the photo of his high school graduating class, he doesn’t seem to remember specifics of his family back in Long Beach, California.

When I suggested he say hello to his family over there, he looked at the camera and said: “Hello, people in Long Beach. I’m told I’m supposed to be interested in you.”

That was painful, although he said it with a smile and an accompanying chuckle.

Then there was a brief moment as the tray with his dinner was brought in. Remember, by this time Bonnie and I had been there talking with him for over half an hour. So the tray arrives. He looks up at the nursing assistant who brought it in, and he asks: “Is…Ian and Bonnie coming?”

In that moment, he has forgotten that we’re already there with him. Or perhaps its more like having entered a parallel universe where he’s focused on his meal and we don’t exist.

But in this other universe, we’re sitting alongside the bed where we’ve been interacting with him for a while, and we both respond. “This is for you, it’s your dinner,” I said.

He looked at us and seems to realize the disconnect that had just happened. It flashes on his face as those moments collide in his consciousness. Then, briefly, he closes his eyes. It’s a poignant second in which he accepts the realization. Seems to get a grip. And moves on.

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Three public agencies among leaders in lobbyist spending

February 6th, 2010 · Ethics, Politics

Public agencies were three of the five biggest spenders when it came to lobbying state lawmakers during the eight-month period ending December 31, 2009, according to spending reports filed with the State Ethics Commission.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply ranked #2 and #3, just behind the top spender, Altria, parent of tobacco giant Philip Morris. Wellcare Health Insurance was #4, followed by Hawaii County at #5.

The three public agencies spent a total of $196,666 during the period when the legislature was not in session, the records show.

Altria, which topped the list with $86,519.62 in lobbying expenses, was represented by well-known lobbyist “Red” Morris.

Veteran lobbyist Jon T. Okudara (Okudara & Associates) represented both HTA ($80,000 in fees) and Hawaii County ($50,000 fee). The Board of Water Supply hired SPJ Consulting LLC (Patrick K.I. Lee, James Pacopac, and Scott Matsuura).

Wellcare had several registered lobbyists, led by attorney-lobbyist Rick Tsujimura.

Hawaii Public Policy Advocates (Melissa Pavlicek and Stephen Teves) represented both Kamehameha Schools (#6 with total lobbying expenditures of 46,150) and the Western States Petroleum Association (#7 with $46,133 in lobbying costs).

The following list shows the top 20 lobbying organizations ranked by the total amount spent during the May-December 2009 period.

At the other end of the scale, organizations that reported that they spent nothing on lobbying, including staff time, include the Hawaii State Teachers Association, ILWU, Kuilima Resort Company, and the James Campbell Co.

Reports had to be postmarked by Monday, February 1. Reports received late may not be included in this list.

Additional information on registered lobbyists and expenditures can be found on the State Ethics Commission web site.

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Court says State of Washington violates constitution by failing to provide ample funds to schools

February 5th, 2010 · Politics

The state of Washington is violating its constitution by failing to provide adequate financial support for its public schools, a Superior Court judge ruled yesterday.

In a 73-page written opinion, Judge John P. Erlick said the Washington constitution makes public education the “paramount” responsibility of government, and the failure to provide “provide stable and dependable funding for such costs of basic education” is a constitutional violation.

You can listen to Judge Erlick summarizing his decision via public radio station KPLU.

He ordered the state to “determine the cost of amply providing for basic education and a basic program of education for all children”, and then to provide an amount as close “as reasonably practicable” to the actual educational costs.

Erlick’s decision acknowledged the financial crisis facing the state, which has a looming budget deficit of as much as $6 billion for 2010, and left it up to the legislature to devise a funding plan.

This court must acknowledge the deep financial crisis that the State currently faces. It is the Constitutional duty and responsibility of the courts to determine ultimately the scope and reasoning of Const. Art. IX, § 1, and whether the Legislature is complying therewith…. And it is the Constitutional duty and responsibility of the Legislature to act and fulfill its own Constitutional mandate. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, “There are risks and costs to any program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” All children in Washington “have a ‘right’ to be amply provided with an education. That ‘right’ is constitutionally paramount and must be achieved through a ‘general and uniform system of public schools.’ ”. It is the framers of our Constitution who established the pre-eminence of education in this state. It is the responsibility of the Legislature to effectuate that primary priority of funding basic education, and to determine how that can be accomplished. But it must be accomplished.[legal citations removed]

Could a similar lawsuit succeed here in Hawaii? It appears unlikely.

Washington’s state constitution contains a brief but explicit education provision.

It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.

This provision is apparently unique.

Washington law recognizes that no other State Constitution imposes a higher
education duty upon the State than Article IX, §1 of the Washington State Constitution does. The Washington Supreme Court has held that the education duty mandated by Article IX, §1 “is unique among State constitutions”, and that “No other State has placed the common school on so high a pedestal.”

Here is the comparable provision from Hawaii’s state contstitution, found in Article X.

Section 1. The State shall provide for the establishment, support and control of a statewide system of public schools free from sectarian control, a state university, public libraries and such other educational institutions as may be deemed desirable, including physical facilities therefor. There shall be no discrimination in public educational institutions because of race, religion, sex or ancestry; nor shall public funds be appropriated for the support or benefit of any sectarian or nonsectarian private educational institution, except that proceeds of special purpose revenue bonds authorized or issued under section 12 of Article VII may be appropriated to finance or assist:
1. Not-for-profit corporations that provide early childhood education and care facilities serving the general public; and
2. Not-for-profit private nonsectarian and sectarian elementary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities.

In Washington, schools are not to be treated as one priority among many others. Instead, the constitution sets education apart as the state’s “paramount duty”, and requires “ample” resources to be devoted. Whether the word “support” in Hawaii’s constitution (”The State shall provide for the…support…of a statewide system of public schools…”)provides a similar enforceable duty on the part of the state is a question for lawyers, but it seems unlikely to me.

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Cats and more cats on this Feline Friday

February 5th, 2010 · Cats, Photographs

I know I don’t need another camera, but check this one out: The new Pentax Optio I-10. What’s special about it? It features “face detection”. What’s new, though, is that it responds to dogs and cats as well as people.

Upgraded face detection — detecting even the faces of dogs and cats

The Optio I-10 features a new-generation Face Detection AF & AE function, which instantly and accurately detects up to 32 faces in the image field, then catches them in sharp focus and in optimum exposure in just 0.03 seconds. In addition to popular features such as the innovative Small Face Filter, this upgraded version is programmed to detect not only human faces, but also the faces of dogs and cats. When the user selects pre-registered dog or cat faces (up to three choices), the camera automatically recognises them and optimises focus and exposure. The user can even program the camera to automatically release the shutter the moment the subject’s face turns straight toward the camera. These features make it simple and effortless to capture delightful faces of active pets.

Sounds good. But I seem to be doing alright at catching the faces of these cats. Now, to Friday’s Felines, featured in two separate photo galleries.

Cats at empty bowlsIt’s very clear what these cats are communicating.

“Hey, you. Can’t you see our food bowls are empty? Have a heart!”

First up on this Feline Friday, a look at a somewhat typical meal time in our Kaaawa household. The cats start gathering early, getting themselves under foot and honing their begging skills. Gathered in front of empty bowls, they look up plaintively. Then they double-team and triple-team any passing person. Woe is us if we don’t eat soon.

In any case, just click on this photo of Kili and Wally, sisters who have lived with us since January 1998.

Mr. SilvermanAfter you’ve followed along from begging to feeding, you’ll hopefully be ready for more of our cats, just hanging out around the house. Nothing fancy here. Just cats.

That’s Mr. Silverman. He’s on the “island” in our kitchen, next to the stove, just nosing around to see if there’s any stuff that might be interesting to a cat. Don’t you love the blue eyes?

Just click on his picture for more.

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Yes, I miss Frank Fasi

February 4th, 2010 · Politics

I got up late this morning and saw the announcement of Frank Fasi’s death in the Advertiser’s Breaking News section.

A friend of ours once observed that you can judge a person by the stature of their enemies. If that’s true, then Frank Fasi was a great politician. He shook the party establishments from the populist outside. We can thank Fasi for the “resign to run” law, which was meant to take his city hall base away if he wanted to run for governor. We have Fasi to thank for the green space that surrounds the city complex of buildings downtown. I vividly remember the news photos of Fasi taking part in the midnight raid to execute his plan to dig up the parking lot behind city hall and replace it with grass. He took direct action while the city council debated, green before its time. We can thank Fasi for putting the “shaka” into campaigns. And if Honolulu’s all evevated rail system is eventually built, part of the credit will have to go to Fasi, since the current plans are little changed from those developed during his administration. The train will be considered either Fasi’s triumph or Fasi’s revenge, depending on how the public reacts to it.

Frank Fasi was part of my life. During the fall of 1960, I had my first taste of political excitment with JFK’s run for president. That excitement trickled down the political chain, and I asked my parents to put up a sign for then-Democrat Fasi in front of our house in heavily Republican Kahala. I can’t even remember if that was a run for mayor or what may have still been the Board of Supervisors. He lost, but he kept trying until he became mayor.

Then there was the lesson I got while working for Neil Abercrombie when Neil was on the City Council. I recall sitting in on a meeting between Neil, Fasi, and corporation counsel Richard Wurdeman. I think the meeting was to discuss Neil’s attempt to find a way to fund a senior housing project in Manoa. There was resistance from some other council members and community groups, and at some point Neil asked Fasi if they could produce a legal opinion. Fasi turned to Wurdeman, who said something along these lines. “Sure. What do you want it to say?”

Aha. A lesson in how things really work. Legal opinions on request. It’s something I think about every time someone holds up a handful of papers and announces, “but we’ve got a legal opinion.”

I was sued by the mayor in 1991 over comments about the appearance of corruption that were broadcast by a local news station. He withdrew the lawsuit later under pressure from the Republican Party.

Fasi was old school in some ways. He wasn’t shy to describe his approach. Reward your friends and punish your enemies. Other pols tend to believe that but not say it out loud. Fasi wasn’t shy.

But while rewarding his friend, Frank was a master of the small stuff. Voters might not understand city contracting and how it could be used to reward political friends, but Fasi knew voters remember the small stuff. Fill the pothole on their street, or send a crew to clean their neighborhood park, just respond directly to their minor, everyday complaints, and the votes would follow.

Fasi also knew something about image and action. Flooding? Hurricane? Fasi would be there on a truck, or in a civil defense jeep, hard hat and slicker, rain pouring, inspecting the scene. Not behind a desk back downtown waiting for reports to come in, not in a helicopter flying over days later. You’ve got to admire the guy for that impulse.

And there was Fasi the accessible. Remember those early mornings at Heidi’s, the little bakery and coffee place in Bishop Square where Fasi and his cronies used to gather every morning?

Several years ago, a reader submitted this classic Fasi story dating from 1989:

I will never forget a moment from Fasi: I’d lived in Hawaii only a month or so, and I was walking up Alapai Street where it meets Kinau. As I approached the top of the street, I could see a guy sweeping the street. Someone had smashed beer bottles on the street and a man in a white jumpsuit was sweeping it up, broom and dustpan in hand. No press. No truck. No anything.

Just me and Fasi. I said, Mayor Fasi, cleaning up a little? And he said, Yeah, there’s glass all over the street. Someone needs to clean it up. Why not me?

Apparently, he had gone down to the Board of Water Supply, grabbed a broom and dust pan and came back up to sweep.

He had my vote, right there.

Vintage.

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Mid-Week Miscellany

February 3rd, 2010 · Cats, Media, Politics

Have you noticed that the Star-Bulletin quietly eliminated the easy link to the past week’s editions as well as any link to its online archive, both features which made the S-B stand out in user friendliness. I don’t know when the change took place. I searched in vain for “back issues” and “archives” at Star-Bulletin.com and came up with zip. I’m not at all sure when this change took place.

[Update & correction: Thanks to those who responded so quickly this morning with comments pointing to "Back issues" in the drop down list of links beneath the "Home" button at the top of the page. Thank you!]

Previously, these were wonderful tools for backtracking to news of any specific day, all the way back to the first online edition.

It isn’t that the archive no longer exists, although it’s in a slightly different form. You can go there directly, if you know the URL (www.starbulletin.com/archives). It’s just that there’s no link on provided from today’s news. There is one “archives” link, but it takes you to the New York Times archives.

Big Island peace activist Jim Albertini has organized a vigil for peace in front of the federal building in Hilo every Friday for 437 weeks. That’s more than eight years. Now visions of a peaceful world have been briefly displaced by a more personal issue. The subject on Albertini’s press release yesterday says it all.

No pot to pee in at Hilo’s downtown Federal Building

Apparently the federal building remains open while undergoing a major renovation, but there isn’t a men’s restroom for public use, and the women’s facility will be closed soon.

“It is a disgrace that a port-a-toilet hasn’t been provided. It shows a lack of consideration, even contempt, for the public. The government can spend trillions of tax dollars on wars for empire, and bailing out wall street bankers, but can’t even provide a toilet for it’s citizens in a major government building.”

According to the release:

Albertini wonders why the construction contractor hasn’t provided a port-a-toilet for the public, or if federal employees in the building have spoken up for the public. Albertini said “the security guard told me that the construction company workers use a private restroom in the building. When asked why that restroom couldn’t be opened for the public, the security guard said he didn’t know.”

Thanks to Jim for raising the issue. I’ve complained before about the lack of facilities in some federal and state buildings. Honolulu’s federal bankruptcy court was my pet peeve for a while. The public restrooms are upstairs where the courtroom is located. If there’s no activity in court, that floor is closed to the public. But downstairs there are computer terminals set up for public use in researching bankruptcy cases. But if you’ve got to go, you’ll have to go somewhere else.

Maybe GSA needs to adopt a public user’s bill of rights that would include provide public rest rooms in facilities that provide public access.

And here’s an update on Mr. Duke. Did I mention that he weighed in at just over 19 pounds when he visited the vet on Sunday?

In any case, blood and urine tests show he does not have diabetes! That’s the good news.

The not so good news is that given his family history and weight issues, he is “predisposed” to the disease.

So Dr. Sakamoto has advised us to shift him over to Prescription Diet M/D. Here’s how it’s described:

Key Benefits
Prescription Diet® m/d® is formulated with the following benefits:

* Clinically proven low carbohydrate, high protein nutrition to modify cats’ metabolism and reduce body fat
* Clinically tested to control glucose levels in diabetic cats
* High levels of carnitine to help mobilize body fat and normalize lean body mass
* Appropriate levels of fiber to provide a feeling of fullness and may help reduce begging
* High level of taurine to help maintain normal levels of insulin
* High level of arginine to support insulin secretion
* Added antioxidants to control cell oxidation and promote a healthy immune system

We started the shift to the new food yesterday. Luckily, he likes it. But the recommended serving size for a weight-loss diet is startling small in comparison to his current eating habits. We have just started feeding him separately, and trying not to leave food where he can get to it. It’s going to be a long haul for cat and people.

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