Dear Friends, I am happy to report that, thanks to your kokua, the Weekly has paid the Star Advertiser in full. We received more than 200 donations via PayPal, snail mail and even envelopes slid under our office door, many including uplifting notes of praise and encouragement.
It’s fitting that our cover story about the Disney Kingdom’s first Hawaii development, Aulani at the Ko Olina Resorts, hits newsstands during the week of Columbus Day–our national holiday in honor of the myth that America was discovered in 1492. In these Islands, where westernization nearly wiped out the indigenous people who remain our poorest, unhealthiest, least educated citizens after more than 200 years, the groundbreaking of a new luxury resort is usually viewed as enriching corporate interests in the name of economic benefits that never seem to reach those who need it most.
Honolulu Weekly is changing editors this week. Our editor of the past year, Lucy Jokiel, will be leaving us to pursue a variety of new adventures, including doing research for a book about her experiences in China and playing with her three wonderful grandkids (with one more on the way).
Support the Weekly……so that we can keep supporting you. Your donations ensure that Honolulu gets the best coverage of Art, Food, Movies, Entertainment, and Local Issues.
On July 27, the Weekly published, “Kukui Plaza Prostitutes—While prostitutes cruise Kukui Plaza, the neighborhood takes action.” An accompanying photo of the Kukui Plaza complex was labeled, “Beware, there be hookers here.” The headline incorrectly suggests that Kukui Plaza is responsible for Kukui Street’s prostitution problem. There have been no reports of prostitutes within the Kukui Plaza complex.
[June 1: “Dog Slaps Man”] The Weekly regrets using the headline “Dog Slaps Man” in last week’s Diary section regarding the alleged altercation between MauiTime publisher Tommy Russo and the A & E Television crew who is associated with Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman. Chapman was not involved in the altercation whatsoever–as our headline falsely suggests.
In the April 20, 2011 article “The Foreclosure Fiasco,” we erroneously stated that 1) attorney Marvin S.C. Dang, who served as vice chair of the Hawaii Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force, was a lobbyist for Bank of America but did not publicly disclose this fact when he was asked to serve on the task force and that 2) Dang sent letters to BofA execs to announce he is lobbying the House and Senate for the bank.
In the April 27 Honolulu Diary, we erroneously misquoted Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Mark Rectenwald in his first speech to the 2011 Legislature. It should have read: “There are many more people facing eviction, collections actions, foreclosures, loss of jobs or benefits and related problems such as divorce or domestic violence,” said Rectenwald, who identified a common theme facing “broadened expectations” of the judiciary: Our citizens want a justice system that works to resolves disputes in a timely and fair manner.
A person driving a Honda Odyssey in Kailua thought it OK to drive up to a Honolulu Weekly stand and take a large stack of papers–for birdcages, perhaps? A street artist who makes his living on the sidewalks of Waikiki, spray paints a 3-D shoreline and Diamond Head with current issues of the Weekly taken from Waikiki kiosks.
A few months ago, I decided to follow the path of several successful local professionals I had interviewed for an article in Island Scene magazine, published by HMSA, my former employer. These mavericks have embraced their second acts, a growing trend among “mature professionals” (like me) to choose “refirement” over retirement.
Gosh, is election season over already? After nine months inside the spin cycle, I’m sure we’re all a little bit dizzy, which makes this a great time to talk about books.
Have you seen the City Council’s fireworks-ban bill? The new restrictions would be the most severe at least since Eileen Anderson was mayor, and maybe ever.
Dan Boylan, the recently retired professor and longtime political pundit, went on the record with Columbia Journalism Review last week with a few observations about this election season and the way it’s being covered. Along with some refreshing reminders–that despite media obsession over it during this cycle, Hawaii politics are notably less negative than those in many other states–Boylan offered that “We’re talking too much about civil unions and not enough about education.
I like leaf blowers. I’m sure I’m in a tiny, tiny minority there, but there’s something about them that speaks to me.
This week, everyone’s talking about President Obama’s new national policy on oceans, which was unvieled Monday afternoon Hawaii time. Call it a hopeful guess, really–we’re putting the paper to bed at four o’clock Monday, and have no idea whether people will be talking about the new framework come Wednesday morning.
First, an apology. During Gov.
Regardless of what you’ve heard, Honolulu has not become a one-newspaper town. Despite its efforts to convince us otherwise, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser is just one of many newspapers serving this community.
Our story last week about the changes in Hawaii’s journalistic landscape–and a note here about how those changes affect readers of the Weekly–brought in a strong response from readers. We so appreciate your support, and more to the point, your patience as we continue to work out the kinks in our distribution schedule.
Readers clearly noticed last week when the Weekly arrived very late Wednesday to most of our distribution points. We received many phone calls and e-mails wondering what had happened.
It’s weird, isn’t it? Either way, Honolulu will have to adjust to life without the Honolulu Advertiser. Whatever else one thinks of it, the Advertiser was the newspaper of record in Hawaii for at least a generation, and it documented life in these Islands every day since long before David Kalakaua entered politics.
As noted here recently, we’ve had a lot of staffing changes at the Weekly over the past month, and our annual Food & Drink issue presents the perfect opportunity to announce the most recent: We’re happy that Martha Cheng has joined the Weekly as Food & Drink editor. Cheng’s writing, which has been appearing here for the better part of two years now, has generated a lot of interest from the food and “foodie” communities, and we’re excited to have her with us in a leadership role.
Your newspaper has been in a process of transition in recent weeks. At the beginning of the month, we bid aloha to Adrienne LaFrance, who had been Managing Editor since 2008.
This week we begin our two-part preview of the special election to fill the remainder of Neil Abercrombie’s term in Congress. On May 5, we’ll focus on the three best-known and most heavily-funded candidates.
Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin / Frank Fasi, whose public memorial service is this morning, was among many other things a fierce critic of the Joint Operating Agreement that from 1962–2001 governed the business operations of the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The legendary former mayor often portrayed himself as a victim of unfair reporting, but self-servingly or not, he long maintained that our dailies were two sides of the same coin, and that Honolulu needed more vigorous competition in its daily newspapers.
Our cover story this week profiles the three Hawaii residents who were selected from the many nominees to our first-ever Local Heroes celebration. Jointly sponsored by Honolulu Weekly and Kilauea Lodge in Volcano, Local Heroes was designed as a thank-you to the many islanders who work hard in relative obscurity to enrich and improve the lives of others.
After retiring from public service in 2002, Ben Cayetano seemed to be taking it easy on the political scene–until 2005, that is, when then-Mayor Mufi Hannemann revived the long-lapsed idea of a Honolulu heavy rail project. Needless to say, Cayetano did not concur.
Last Thursday, the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection had a busy session hearing several controversial bills relating to geothermal energy. Chairman Denny Coffman introduced HB2689, which seeks to exempt slim-hole, or exploratory, geothermal test wells from any sort of environmental review as is currently required under Chapter 343 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.
On Feb. 1, the Hawaii State House Agriculture Committee heard testimony on HB2703, dubbed the Food Self-Sufficiency Bill.
Mega-developer Castle & Cooke has re-filed an application with the Land Use Commission (LUC) seeking to convert approximately 768 acres of Ag land–currently in cultivation–into a “master-planned community” entitled Koa Ridge. If successful, the project will consist of two parcels–Koa Ridge Makai and Castle & Cooke Waiawa.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs holds a second round of community meetings to discuss the latest updates on the Kakaako land settlement. Stevenson Middle School, 1202 Prospect St., Wed., 2/8, 6:30pm; Waimanalo Community Center, 41-253 Ilauhole St., Thu., 2/9, 6:30pm City Council committees on Zoning and Planningand Transportation will take public testimony on agenda items.
[Feb. 1: “Kinda Kona”] The trade secret argument would fall to the wayside if it would read “10 percent Kona Coffee 90 percent Foreign Coffee,” or something to that effect.
If they are choosing the cheapest coffee from anywhere, then the “trade secret” is that they are adding crap and not a sp
[Feb. 1: “Rail Boss Wanted”] $300,000?
[Jan. 4: “Boss GMO] Dean Okimoto is a sell out and a criminal.
Monsanto is a major component of the NWO drive to reduce the world’s population in a global genocide program that includes the poisoning of the water, air and food. This criminal activity must be stopped.
Lets be real here, Dean Okimoto is not interested in anything other then keeping the status quo of industrial Ag. He is merely a puppet, playing it safe, a small game of following the money and corrupt political trail.
[Jan. 25: “Weaving the Future on Molokai”] Good luck to all those who possess the ability to balance long-term vision with short term opportunity.
[Dec. 21: “Underground Railroad”] This is, indeed, a “lunatic project,” as pointed out by a professor at the University of Hawaii.
This is such a bad idea for the overall architecture of Oahu. I visit here because my family is here and part of the charm is taking the bus or driving.
I cannot imagine how anyone can think this is a smart idea. I’ve lived in places with rail, but this Honolulu Rail Transit is stupid, plain stupid.
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