Veteran blogger Ian Lind (@ilind) wrote a post the other day that garnered a reaction that prompted him to write an entire post as a response He asks, in essence: “Just who do you think you are?” Ian’s response is far more articulate than mine, but I’d like to put my contribution out there to add to the conversation.

This is particularly interesting because someone I know brought up an argument that only insiders read blogs.

I disagreed. Vehemently, but respectfully. Here’s some of what I noted about Ian, someone I don’t believe is just a “regular” blogger (whatever that term means).

Ian is not some angry misinformed birther; he’s a serious guy with serious credentials. He is a former investigative reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, a former staffer to Councilmembers Neil Abercrombie and Duke Bainum, has been a legislative staffer in the Hawaii House of Representatives, makes regular appearances on Hawaii Public Radio, and used to write for Honolulu Weekly. He is well-respected and has one of the most heavily-trafficked blogs in Hawaii.

We would be mistaken to think only “insiders” read Ian. I’m willing to guess that almost all print and broadcast government reporters do, too. In fact, Ian’s website has been cited as a source for several articles in both dailies. With their understaffed newsrooms, I think reporters are more than happy to take up a story when Ian’s done most of the research. More importantly, the “insiders” who do read Ian are far more likely to write or comment on it, thus influencing non-insiders.

Ian is a smart and resourceful guy. I believe he is ABD (“all but dissertation”), an academic achievement that except for his dissertation, he has done everything to receive a PhD. And Ian’s ability to navigate through layers and layers of government records to find the ones that matter (or should) is nothing short of impressive. You or I might disagree with him on his opinions, or even his slant on a story, but rarely can you dispute the facts that he uncovers.

Finally, Ian is a journalist who happens to blog. No, he’s not employed by any of our major news organizations. What makes him a journalist is that he continues to use all of the practices he learned as an investigative journalist in his blogging. So he’s still approaching this blogging thing as a journalist, with fact-checking, source confirmation, letting the other side have a chance to comment, and other best practices of journalism.

For all of these reasons, I (and I think many others) have the utmost respect for Ian. That, quite simply, is the reason he’s not just a “regular” blogger. Long before Civil Beat came to town, Ian has been providing a high-quality, independent source of news coverage in Hawaii.

Please keep up the good work, Ian! Yes, even if I disagree. Yes, even if it proves uncomfortable for a candidate I might support. Your contribution is that you help keep us all honest – and I think that’s a good thing.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

Watch for your ballot in the mail. Ballots should have been mailed and you should have received one. If you did not receive a ballot, call the State Office of Elections at 808-453-VOTE (8683). Be reminded that you must live in the First Congressional District to be eligible to vote in this special election.

Be sure to vote for only ONE candidate. Fourteen candidates are listed on the ballot, but be sure to only vote for one. If you choose more than one, your vote will be considered an “overvote” and will not be counted.

Sign the back of the envelope. The signature on the outside envelope is checked against the signature on file with the Office of Elections. If you do not sign the envelope, you vote will not be counted.

Mail back your ballot today! Don’t delay, fill out and mail back your ballot today to ensure your vote counts in this important election. Ballots must be received (not postmarked) by the State Office of Elections by 6 pm on Saturday, May 22.

I would like to note that much of the information above was adapted from a mailing by one of the candidates, but not my preferred candidate. And, I did double-check the information.

Yesterday’s post had an image of the sample ballot to assist you, but I am listing the candidates below in text form, in the same order they are listed on the ballot:

• C. Kaui Jochanan Amsterdam – Republican
• Jim Brewer – No party affiliation
• Vinny Browne – Democrat
• Ed Case – Democrat
• Charles (Google) Collins – Republican
• Douglas Crum – Republican
• Rafael (Del) del Castillo – Democrat
• Charles Djou – Republican
• John (Raghu) Giuffre – Republican
• Colleen Hanabusa – Democrat
• Philmund (Phil) Lee – Democrat
• Karl F. Moseley – No party affiliation
• Kalaeloa Strode – No party affiliation
• Steve Tataii – No party affiliation

Voters also have the option of walk-in voting. From the City & County of Honolulu’s Elections Division website:

Special Election walk-in voting is available at City Hall until Thursday, May 20 (closed on Sunday). 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Whichever way you prefer to vote, you have no excuse for not voting. The Office of Elections has really made it quite easy this time around. As I Tweeted yesterday, “Good citizens DO vote. It’s the bad ones who don’t.” So please, go be a good citizen and cast your vote – even if it’s not for my preferred candidate.

And if you couldn’t vote in this election because you aren’t registered, now is the perfect time to register to vote. Besides, Saturday’s election is just the beginning. There will be another election in 2 months when several of these same candidates will likely face-off with each other again during the Primary Election. The deadline to register to vote for that election is August 19.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

The Census Bureau made a big point of saying they only asked 10 questions on the Census form. But this election ballot has only one question, who should serve the remainder of Neil Abercrombie’s term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

For your convenience, here is a sample of the ballot voters should have received; there are 14 choices:

The three “leading” candidates are Ed Case, Charles Djou, and Colleen Hanabusa (listed in alphabetical order). I’ve also had the opportunity to talk to Rafael del Castillo, who actually has some pretty good ideas that I hope the leading candidates might consider.

While I have my preferred candidate, what’s more important is that everyone who is eligible casts a vote. So please, if you have a ballot and haven’t voted yet, take the 2 minutes it will take to vote and be a part of the democratic process. If you already have, thank you in advance. If you don’t live in the district, but know someone who does, please encourage them to vote.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

Here’s what he said:

Men make themselves unhappy by bemoaning their lack of achievement. At 30, they feel that they should have had more success, at 40, at 50, at 60 and all the years in between. No matter how much success a man has, he’s usually disappointed that he didn’t go farther. But we rarely if ever achieve what we imagine. Just recognizing that this problem is universal to men can alleviate some of the pain.

So are you a man approaching one of these milepost ages? Does this sound like you? If so, you might re-read the advice shared above. I’ve read it at least once a day since it was shared with me and am passing it on to others to share with those who may benefit from it.

Now, on to planning my next great achievement!

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

Definitely don’t expect to see this kind of candor; in fact, I note that Advertiser education reporter Loren Moreno has deleted his Twitter account after that post.

There is the new Honolulu Civil Beat, who even hired real reporters (“reporter-hosts” as they call them). Like many others, I think the fact that they charge to access their content is the big limiting factor; they can only reach as many people as are willing to pay for the privilege of “membership” (Civil Beat’s term, not mine).

But what about regular folks, who may not want to pay for another subscription? Here’s what Ian asked (please click through to read the entire post):

Are you an independent blogger writing about public affairs, government news, community issues? Not necessarily exclusively, but at least in part?

If so, my question is: Instead of just complaining about and commenting on the decline of news, what can independent bloggers can do via cooperation and sharing of ideas, resources, and skills, that will increase our collective ability to produce or support original news reporting and investigations?

I’ve offered my help, in whatever way I can, and here’s what you can do if you’re interested, again from Ian’s post:

If you’re an independent blogger interested in taking part in such brainstorming, or are interested in starting this kind of blog, just send me an email with indicating your interest [ian(at)ilind.net]. Please include a phone number and Skype name, if available.

It’s definitely an ambitious undertaking! Granted, it’s unlikely that this group of bloggers will be totally independent, but even veteran journalists have their own biases, as do the news outlets they work for. Will it be successful? I don’t know. But I do know that if people don’t step up to the plate, it will fail. A similar thing happened on the Big Island when several laid-off reporters started a group blog, Hawaii247.com, which looks and feels like a regular news site. So, this endeavor can be successful.

It’s time to stop complaining about the problem of declining news coverage and be part of the solution. Will you join Ian and other civic-minded writers in our community? If you’re a blogger interested in public affairs, or you know of one, please consider Ian’s proposal.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

Happy Earth Day! Since the first Earth Day in 1970, people have been using April 22 to celebrate our planet and hold environment-related activities. I even found video footage of news coverage on that first Earth Day (originally shared by @thereisawayjose on Twitter). According to Wikipedia, April 22 was a strategic choice:

in order to maximize participation on college campuses for…an “environmental teach-in.” …the week of April 19–25 was the best bet; it did not fall during exams or spring breaks, did not conflict with religious holidays such as Easter or Passover, and was late enough in spring to have decent weather.

So it’s quite fitting that I chose today to share a new service that I just started using called Oahu Fresh. I have received nothing from them for writing this post; I’m a brand-new regular paying customer. For a couple months, one of my coworkers has been raving about and showing us what Oahu Fresh does, so I finally signed up. Basically, they provide “farmer’s market food delivery to working professionals and residents in the Honolulu area” – one weekly reusable bag at a time.

But Oahu Fresh provides far more than just delivery on Wednesday afternoons. First, it’s a convenience; you no longer have to plan a trip to your local farmer’s market (although you still can). Second, it adds some variety; the contents of a bag change every week. Third, it provides recipes to help you cook healthy and delicious meals. Fourth, it provides you with a commitment; I find that by spending this money, I’m more likely to actually eat the vegetables that are in there. Finally, it’s a great way to support our local farmers and our own community.

How much does it cost? $20 for the bag, $2.50-$5 for delivery, plus tax. So, you get all of the above benefits for about $25 a week. Not a bad deal to eat healthy and support local.

Take a look at what was in my bag this week:

This is the bag you get when you join ($5 fee to join)

Hauula tomatoes

Nalo Farms dill

Nalo Farms red kale

zucchini

asparagus

Maunawili Greens lettuce

Delicious, nutritious, and environmentally-friendly goodness. And that’s saying a lot – I don’t usually like leafy greens.

Mahalo and Happy Earth Day!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

Despite all the efforts to be culturally appropriate (i.e. reaching out to our Hawaiian and other local ethnic groups), Hawaii?s Census response rate is still one of the lowest in the U.S. It?s actually the sixth lowest, according to Craig Gima at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The Census Bureau even has a special video just to plead with residents to send their Census form in.

I thought this line from a Census blog post really summed up why you should do the form: Residents Urged to Act Today or Risk Visit from Census Workers in May. During the 2000 Census, I was visited by a Census taker, who had to sit down with me, explain the Census, and go every single question. You can save everyone some time, and the government some money,just by sending in your form today.

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono is getting in the game and has sent a detailed email making a similar plea:

If you’ve already mailed in your form, mahalo.  If you have not, today marks the final day to mail in your U.S. Census Form.

A complete and accurate census is vital to our community.  As of this moment, the participation rate for Hawaii is just 61%.  Our state’s participation rate in 2000 was only 64%.  As a result, Hawaii was greatly undercounted and we lost out on an estimated $300 million in federal funding. At a time when our state is in deep fiscal trouble, we can’t afford to let that happen again.

By taking 10 minutes to answer the 10 questions on your census form you can do your part. Let’s help ourselves improve our schools, transportation systems, and hospitals.

I understand there are some privacy concerns about the U.S. Census, but rest assured filling out and returning this form is safe.  Your answers are protected by federal law. Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidentiality of your answers and all of your information. Violating this law is a crime with severe penalties. For additional information about the U.S. Census please visit my census page.

For every 1% increase in the national participation rate by mail, the U.S. Census Bureau can save $85 million by not having to send census takers, door-to-door, to households who have not submitted their U.S. Census form.

By just mailing back your completed census form you can make a significant difference for our state and our country.  I urge you to mail back your U.S. Census form today.

They say it takes 10 minutes, but it didn?t take more than 5 minutes for me to do one for our 2-party household! I spent the remaining 5 minutes double-checking because I couldn’t believe it was that easy – this is by far the easiest government form I’ve filled out in my life.

So please, if you haven’t completed your form, do it today. And if you know of anyone who hasn’t, please pass the sentiment on to them. Ultimately, it comes down to money and power – and getting our fair share.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

I share the following information as a board member of the Friends of the Makiki Community Library, the non-profit group that operates this library. Please note that the Makiki Community Library is NOT part of the Hawaii State Public Library System. Therefore, we must fundraise money to operate with our small, part-time staff and many dedicated volunteers. If you live, work, or play in the Makiki area (or know someone who does), I hope you’ll consider lending a hand – we need the help and would appreciate it.

At the end of 2009, Makiki Community Library closed because of long overdue electrical and fan upgrades planned for the Library. In mid-March 2010, work was completed and FMCL was informed that it could again have access to the Library facilities.

This break has resulted in two exciting opportunities. First, with the closure of the Library, board members Josh and Stephanie Lake have had the time to take an inventory of all the Library’s fixtures and design a better floor plan and layout for the Library to better fit the Library’s needs and programs. Second, through the generosity of Bestsellers Bookstores, the Library now has some high-quality bookshelves and other fixtures that have transformed the first floor of the Library.

With these two opportunities, the Library is now set to re-open before the end of May. But before we can re-open, WE NEED YOUR HELP to pull the Library together! Please see below for dates and times of volunteer work days.  Shelving of books, reorganizing fixtures, and removing older furniture are just some of the tasks that need to be completed.  If you are available for any of these dates and times, please stop by. Board members and volunteers will be present during these days to guide you through the many tasks that need to be done to get the Library ready for re-opening!

Here are the remaining FMCL Volunteer Work Days:

• Saturday, April 17th: 11 am-2 pm
• Sunday, April 25th: 10am-2pm

The Library is located at Makiki District Park, 1227 Keeaumoku St.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

The person who sent it was Kirk Caldwell (@kirkcaldwell), who currently serves as the City’s Managing Director, and is an announced candidate for mayor. How true those words are, especially during this campaign season. Three candidates I like and support took this time of renewal to renew their efforts in their campaign.

First, there was Senate President Colleen Hanabusa (@colleenhanabusa) who is running for the First Congressional District seat vacated by Neil Abercrombie (@neilabercrombie). She dropped an ad that was causing far more controversy than it truly deserved, but then followed it up with some VIP sign-waving as she had Hawaii’s Senior US Senator, Daniel K. Inouye on-hand to help drum up support. You can’t renew your commitment to your campaign much better than to have DKI on hand.

Then there is former Congressman Neil Abercrombie (@neilabercrombie) who is running for Governor. Of all the candidates running for anything, he definitely has his Social Media act together. He’s already had a personal Facebook page and several other social media properties for a while. But he chose Easter as a time to renew these efforts with more pages. I noticed the following:

• http://bit.ly/bigislandforabercrombie
• http://bit.ly/mauiforabercrombie
• http://bit.ly/molokaiforabercrombie
• http://bit.ly/lanaiforabercrombie
• http://bit.ly/kauaiforabercrombie

And of course, there is Kirk Caldwell (@kirkcaldwell), who started me down this path of observing Easter and renewal. Here’s his Easter message in it’s entirety:

Aloha Friends,

Growing up in Hilo, Easter was always a special time of year for my family. It meant waking up Easter morning to treasures of candy and toys left by the Easter Bunny; looking for beautifully colored Easter eggs where our parents had hidden them; honoring our faith at an Easter service. Most important, Easter was a time to spend with family and friends in celebration of the season.

Easter and Spring are times of renewal. As Honolulu faces some of our greatest challenges,  I reflect on this renewal and know that our resilience will get us through these times. Working together we will make Honolulu an even better city than it is today.

I hope you spend this Easter weekend enjoying the company of your loved ones, neighbors and friends. Whether you celebrate in a place of worship, at one of Honolulu’s beautiful beaches or parks, or in your home, please make your celebration a safe one.

From my family to yours, have a happy and safe Easter!

Mahalo,
Kirk

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. And now that Easter has passed, it’s time for us to move on…to Spring Cleaning!

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.

The other week, I was fortunate to attend the Native Hawaiian Education Association’s 11th Annual Convention at Windward Community College in Kaneohe. One of the best-attended events is the awards dinner, which was no exception this year, and honored four Native Hawaiians for the contribution to the education of other Native Hawaiians.

This year’s honorees were Noelani Mahoe, Naomi Losch, Richard Paglinawan, and Lynette Paglinawan. In the next few weeks, I will be sharing information about each of the honorees, but for now wanted to share a little background on NHEA, the Educator of the Year Award, and the program.

NHEA’s slogan is “Encouraging a Native Hawaiian perspective in teaching and learning in the 21st century.” The recognition the Educator of the Year Award brings with it is but one facet of their varied efforts.

The judging criteria upon which the nominees for the Educator of the Year Award were judged is as follows:

• K?laimana?o: The nominee?s philosophy of education and its relationship to Hawaiians.
• Accomplishments: The nominee?s history of success and the reasons why the nominee deserves to be recognized.
• Longevity: The length of time the nominee has served and supported Hawaiian education, students and schools
• Impact: How the nominee?s actions have changed and/or benefited Hawaiian students, community and/or groups.
• Aloha: The nominee?s commitment to the Hawaiian community through service-oriented activities, such as volunteer work, civic and other group activities.

Indeed, it is an honor for these four recipients to receive this award, as it was for all of us who saw them receive it. Their contributions may not be known to everyone, but will be felt for years to come. I look forward to sharing more about Noelani Mahoe, Naomi Losch, Richard Paglinawan, and Lynette Paglinawan in the weeks to come.

Mahalo!

***

P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates.  Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 

P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?

Please note:  The views expressed here are mine and mine alone.  While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.