Showing posts with label commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commentary. Show all posts

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Commentary: It's what journalists do


It's what journalists do.

We write things that someone, somewhere, probably won't like. It's been happening as long as the media has been around.

"There are but two classes of people in the world—those who have done something and want their names kept out of the paper, and those who haven’t done anything worth printing and want their names put in."—Atchison (Kansas) Globe, 1894.

The deadly rampage today in the newsroom of the Annapolis Capital Gazette, allegedly by a man holding a longtime grudge because of a column written about him, is an extreme example of the former.

Five journalists died today.

Danger is no stranger to our profession. We go to war zones. We uncover corruption. We go to dark places to interview shady sorts with nefarious motives to dig the nuggets of fact out of their often overlong and overblown stories.

We ignore the glares, the hate-filled comments about our work, those who crowd into our personal space and whisper threats. We turn down gifts, free dinners, special favors.

We try to be gentle with victims of tragedies, with children, with those naive to the ways of the world. But we get the story. It's what we do. We're not the counselors at the tragedy. We're the scribblers on the scene, getting that first draft of history.

We're not the innocents. We're not the schoolchildren huddled under their desks while shooters run wild.

Most of us aren't very well-paid. We're not in it for the money. We're in it because we can't imagine not being in it. It's a calling, not a profession.

We hold that torch high. We're not perfect and sometimes the torch slips. We take our lumps and vow to do better.

We're by no means the only ones who understand danger is part of the job. Police, firefighters, soldiers, corrections officers. All of us know what we're getting into.

The world doesn't have to like any of us. But the world needs all of us.

Gazette reporter Chase Cook said it best: "I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow."

It's what journalists do.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Commentary: The public has a right to tsunami inundation maps

wikipedia commons
1946 Hilo Bay tsunami PC: Wikipedia Commons
Tsunami maps drawn by scientists or tsunami maps drawn by the government?

I chose the former. And you should, too.

I am almost at the end of a more than four-year wait for copies of Hawaii Island's tsunami inundation maps, after the state Office of Information practices on May 10 overturned the then state Department of Defense's denial of the records. The opinion, No. 18-02, has not yet been posted online.

UPDATED June 10, 2018: Opinion No. 18-02 can be found here.

Almost at the end of the wait, that is, unless the state Emergency Management Agency decides to request reconsideration or appeal. The agency has until May 24 to ask OIP for reconsideration; it has until June 9 to appeal to circuit court.

The state argued an exemption under the state Uniform Information Practices Act that the records must be confidential in order to avoid the frustration of a legitimate government function. Releasing the maps, state officials said, would only "confuse" people. I argued there is no confusion exemption in the UIPA, and the public has the right to see maps purchased with their tax dollars.

The county uses the scientists' inundation maps to create evacuation maps, which are made public.

"The requested documents are used for the development of emergency management and/or emergency response plans, which include instructions to help ensure the safety of the public. The disclosure of the tsunami inundation maps, which are not disclosed to the public, but are used to help establish tsunami evacuation zones, would endanger the life and/or physical safety of members of the public who may be confused by the difference between the inundation limits and the tsunami evacuation Lines developed by the county," the state argued.

OIP said that's not enough reason to withhold the maps. All of the other states bordering the Pacific Ocean publish the maps online, OIP said in its opinion.

Here's how California does it. The state even allows the public to download the spatial data, so they can make their own maps.

"OIP understands the tsunami inundation maps to be essentially factual, representing the current scientific understanding of how a tsunami would affect the area mapped, whereas the tsunami evacuation zone maps represent a governmental policy decision as to what portions of the area mapped should be evacuated in the face of a tsunami warning," OIP said in its opinion.

"CDD's argument that, in essence, the public cannot safely possess such factual information about the likely horizontal measurement of the path of a tsunami, contradicts the purposes of the UIPA," the opinion added.

I wanted the maps in order to compare what scientists thought were critical inundation areas to what the government ultimately created as evacuation zones.

I'm not saying our own government would do this, but I can imagine a scenario where an important official or major campaign donor could be left out of a zone. A slight wiggle of the map lines here or there could translate into millions more dollars in property resale value or thousands less in property insurance.

The most common conflicts of interest in local government happen when officeholders face a vote on real property/land use issues that affect their own holdings, according to the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics program in Government Ethics at Santa Clara University.

Bottom line, the public has the right to compare the two maps. With the current volcano and earthquake emergency on the Big Island, it's more important now than ever that we know where inundation zones are.

Major mahalos to the nonprofit Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest and its director, Brian Black, for helping me with this appeal. The Law Center, incidentally, is the 2018 winner of the Big Island Press Club's Torch of Light award, given to an individual or entity who brightens the public’s right to know.

Government records belong to the public, not the government. We have a right to know.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Is U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz an "Upstart Senate Punk"? Watch the video. (Commentary)

Screengrab from I'm Not Done (Upstart Senate Punk) courtesy Kerry Yoshida
Gridiron 2015 - I'm Not Done (Upstart Senate Punk) from Kerry Yoshida. You can see the video here.

Hawaii's elected officials-- and those who wannabe -- make great fodder for satire when it comes time for the state's press corps to put on its biennial Gridiron show.

This year was no exception, with all the big name politicians from former governors to local mayors to members of Congress pilloried right and left for ambitions and missteps.

But the funniest by far had to be "I'm Not Done (Upstart Senate Punk)," featuring Donalyn Dela Cruz as former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, lamenting her loss to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in the Democratic primary to fill the seat vacated by the 2012 death of Sen. Daniel Inouye.

The video, played on the big screen at the Gridiron show, was a re-creation of the music video for the Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson hit "Uptown Funk."

Other honored victims of Gridiron writers were U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard,  former Govs. Neil Abercrombie and Linda Lingle, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi and pro golfer Robert Allenby.

The show raises money for journalism internships in Hawaii. And that's a good thing.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Who sucked the aloha out of the Aloha State? Behaving badly over gay marriage: A commentary

Lauer
Churches encouraging people to cheat and lie?

A high-ranking police officer vowing "you would have to kill me," before he'd enforce a duly enacted law?

A House member comparing same-sex marriage to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks?

An openly gay state representative voting against the measure?

Who sucked the aloha out of the Aloha State?

You could say it's all over but the shouting. Unfortunately, the shouting started long ago. And it's sure to continue.

Among the most egregious actions in the past few weeks:

The pastor of one of Honolulu's mega-churches, in a bold "citizen's filibuster," encouraged his flock-- nay, whipped his flock into a frenzy-- to drag out their testimony, rally and even pull their kids out of school to carry signs opposing gay marriage. Nothing wrong with that; all part of the legislative process.

It's when the church began distributing a list of testifiers and encouraging its followers to testify under other people's names in order to speak more than once, that it crossed the line. Compounding the apparent moral lapse is confirmation from Capitol officials that a sign-up list was stolen from the clerk's check-in desk.

Meanwhile, Tenari Maafala, president of the cops union, State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, and an officer with the Honolulu Police Department, vowed not to enforce a gay marriage law should it pass. It is counter to his religious beliefs, he told a House panel.

Hawaii is wrapping up its special session on same-sex marriage, with both houses apparently settled on a bill that should get its final blessing Tuesday. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who called the special session after the Hawaii Legislature dragged its feet, has said he'll sign it.

In the gayest state in the union (trailing only Washington, D.C., according to a February 2013 Gallup poll) the real question is, "What's taken so long?"

Hawaii has wrestled with the issue for decades. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled 20 years ago that the statute limiting marriage to heterosexual couples was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

But in 1998, voters in Hawaii approved a constitutional amendment empowering the Legislature to limit marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Ten years later, civil unions were created to allow same-sex couples to enjoy some of the benefits, if not the actual right to marry, that heterosexual couples have enjoyed for centuries.

Now, Hawaii is poised to become the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage. That's if the alleged Aloha State beats Illinois, where the governor is scheduled to sign its bill Nov. 20, to the punch.

It's been a hell of a special session at the Hawaii Capitol so far, and one can only wonder what will happen next. But however it's played, our state leaders need to remember: Tourism is the single biggest economic driver in this state.

Word travels fast, and gay activists are known to freely boycott to make their voices heard. Remember what happened to Florida orange juice in the late '70s?

But money aside, what about aloha?

Hawaii has a reputation for welcoming everyone with open arms. Do we really want to mess with that?

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Commentary: Hawaii's shield law is in peril; Senate hearing scheduled for Thursday

publisher, All Hawaii News

Back when I was a gung-ho young reporter, I thought the best thing for my career would be to go to jail to protect a source. The fame, the notoriety!

Every Deepthroat would want to meet me in a parking garage and tell me everything about government wrongdoings, every newspaper would want to hire me. Pulitzer Prizes would shower onto my desk.

Now that I have a few decades of journalism under my belt, the prospect doesn't look nearly as inviting. But I'm still ready to go.

I am under subpoena because of a series of articles I wrote about events at the Hawaii County Elections Office leading up to a bungled primary election. An attorney suing the government thinks sitting me down in a deposition and making me turn over notes and identify sources will somehow help his case.

I'm not so sure about that. Heck, even I can't read my notes a few weeks later. They're little more than memory prompts. A lot of water goes under that bridge over the course of weeks.

As far as identifying who told me what? Fuhgeddaboudit. In my professional life, just like in my personal life, if I say I am keeping a confidence, I am keeping a confidence. A fact is a fact. Doesn't matter who said it, it's still a fact, as far as I'm concerned.

But enough about me.

This is about Hawaii's Shield Law-- a model for the nation -- and how we're about to lose it. We're about to lose it because the Hawaii Legislature is in the process of watering it down to the point of ineffective pabulum, or even worse, letting it expire altogether on June 30.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing this bill at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 28, in conference room 016 of the Capitol. Everyone has a right to submit written testimony, or show up to speak.

Here's the testimony I submitted:

Testimony in support of HB 622, Hawaii Shield Law

Chairman Hee and Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

What if Watergate had never happened?

What if whistleblowers like Erin Brockovich were afraid to expose corporate and government wrongdoing that endanger people’s lives? What would our nation look like if everyday citizens were intimidated into keeping crucial information from the press?

What if the police, or trial lawyers seeking millions of dollars in damages, didn’t have to do their own legwork, bringing that burden of proof to a jury in the tried-and-true tradition of a judicial system guaranteeing civil rights? What if they could, instead, just scribble out a subpoena and grab a reporter’s notes about things that were told in trust and confidence?

That, my friends, is life without a shield law, also known as reporter’s privilege. It’s called a privilege for reporters, but the ones it really protects are the citizens, the whistleblowers.

Hawaii has such a shield law. Or it does, at least, until June 30. That’s the date the current law runs out, unless lawmakers make it permanent.

It's important that the law be made permanent without watering it down by exempting civil litigation and serious crime involving unlawful injury to persons or animals. Leaving in these amendments by the House Judiciary Committee would reduce coverage of the law to one of the lowest levels among the 40 jurisdictions that have shield laws, according to the Society of Professional Journalists.

This limited news media privilege against the compelled disclosure of sources and unpublished information has successfully protected a journalist and a documentary film producer in Hawaii since it was enacted almost five years ago. More importantly, it has stood as a model for other states and a beacon to a free press, preventing untold subpoenas and threats to the exercise of journalistic endeavors.

It is difficult to quantify the negative, so it is not known how many journalists were not compelled to turn over their notes and sources because of the shield law. In short, however, there has been no documented harm to the state because of the shield law, and at least two cases where the law served its purpose in furthering a free press.

Thirty-eight states, plus the District of Columbia, have substantial protections in place, according to the The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Should Hawaii -- the Aloha State, the state that embraces privacy and individual liberties even more than most – be the state that fails to protect that brave individual who comes forward to voice concerns about wrongdoing and corruption? I hope not.

Sincerely,
Nancy Cook Lauer
Publisher, All Hawaii News
http://www.allhawaiinews.com

 If you also care about a free press, you can do your part. You can submit testimony by following these steps:


  1. Go to http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=622&year=2013
  2. Go to Hearing Notices in the lower right corner. Click on view for the JDL committee. This will open a new window with the Hearing Notice.
  3. At the bottom under Decision Making to follow if Time Permits. Click HERE to submit testimony. (Click on HERE which opens another window)
  4. Under Senate Testimony Procedures there is a box. Go to website and click on SUBMIT ONLINE TESTIMONY, which takes you to another window
  5. Enter a measure to retrieve the corresponding hearing notice. (enter HB622)
  6. This will go to another window, which will ask for name, email, and a bunch of questions. Don’t forget to attach your testimony file in the box.
  7. Hit Submit and verify.



Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A message from All Hawaii News (commentary)

Merrie Monarch festival (c) 2012 All Hawaii News
There is a definite downside to being a solo daily news blogger.

For 884 weekdays over the past three-plus years, I have compiled the day's top government and political news and provided it here by 7:30 a.m. so you can begin your day in the know.
But sometimes, life intervenes and makes that task impossible.

Unfortunately, today is one of those days.

Circumstances beyond my control mean there will be no daily news update today, other than the automatic feeds running on top of and at the side of this space. I've also provided a photo from the Merrie Monarch parade for your enjoyment.

While you're here, feel free to throw a couple of bucks in the tip jar at the lower right. This blog doesn't accept advertisements, so the sponsors are the true lifeblood. 

Think of it as a mini-Pledge Week.

 By the way, I found this interesting article from LiveScience that says, "People want to do the right thing, paying more when given the option of getting something quite cheaply, a behavioral study indicates."
 
And never fear, All Hawaii News will be back tomorrow,
with all the top news from around the state that you've come to expect!

Mahalo for your support.

Aloha,

Nancy

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Hawaii: At risk for corruption? (commentary)

Earlier this year, All Hawaii News participated in a novel project -- creating a nationwide risk analysis for how susceptible state governments are to corruption. The collaborative project of the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International called upon journalists, analysts and experts in every state to rate government agencies on hundreds of benchmarks.


Hawaii didn't do too badly, based on the laws on the books for public access, transparency and ethics. An overall score of 74 percent, a C, with a ranking of 10th among the states, puts the Aloha State squarely in the status quo of government accountability.

But where Hawaii really falls short is in the implementation of those good laws that are already on the books. Lawmakers are ready, even eager, to create commissions, boards and oversight panels.

Unfortunately, the paper tigers have no teeth. There's a lot of style, but no substance.

Public records are, in theory, open to the public, yet the Office of Information Practices, charged with enforcing the provisions, can't force state agencies to provide records.

The state insurance commissioner is supposed to regulate insurance rates, yet he has to beg the Legislature to allow him to do his job.

The appearance of conflicts of interest in the Legislature is rampant, with lawmakers allowed to vote on the very projects they lobby for.

Hawaii has been slow to adopt technology to allow for public oversight of campaign financing and lobbyists' and public officials' disclosures.

Ultimately, oversight of government falls to an already overburdened court system.

Hawaii government leaders can make use of this report in one of two ways. They can look at other states and feel satisfied that at least Hawaii isn't as bad as, say Georgia, which ranked dead last with 49 percent.

Or, they can take the report as a blueprint -- a way to focus on what needs fixing first. They can pinpoint specific areas to make state government more accessible, transparent and fair for all of the state's 1.4 million people. In other words, state leadership can be leaders.

Let's hope they do the latter.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Byzantine government regulations endanger the already endangered sea turtles -- commentary

Visitors pose with sea turtles at Punaluu Black Sand Beach (c) 2012 All Hawaii News
Sea turtles -- by land or by sea?

You would think it's a distinction without a difference. Not so in the byzantine world that is our federal government.

In fact, oversight of protection of these endangered creatures is split between two federal agencies -- the National Marine Fisheries Service when the turtles are in the water, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when they're on land.

Visitor photos honu (c) 2012 All Hawaii News
In theory, the two agencies coordinate protection of six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters and nesting on U.S. shores -- all of which are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The species, the green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead and olive ridley, have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since the 1970s.

The agencies are charged with creating recovery plans for each species, setting goals and recovery strategies. They're also charged with enforcing laws against harassing or killing these endangered animals.

Snoozing honu (c) 2012 All Hawaii News
That coordination could be improved, according to Jan. 31 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Or, in government-speak, "To improve the effectiveness of the services’ sea turtle protection and recovery efforts, that the Secretary of Commerce should direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, and that the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of FWS, to revise the existing memorandum of understanding to clarify what specific steps the services will take to coordinate ..."
Hawksbill heads to sea, courtesy National Parks Service
Our precious turtles, known as "honu" in Hawaii, freely make use of both environments, of course. Swimmers and snorkelers easily spot green sea turtles in the ocean, and the curious creatures frequently will swim up to check out the people swimming nearby.

The Big Island's Punaluu Black Sand Beach is a favorite stop on the tour bus circuit, where hordes of tourists come to pose for photos with the massive honu sunning on the warm black sand. Some of the sightseers get too close, and arguments ensue, sometimes culminating in pushing and shoving matches.

We on Hawaii Island value our endangered species and aren't shy about making the scofflaws toe the line. In Hawaiian mythology, the green sea turtle, Kauila, could change herself into a girl who watched over the children playing at Punaluu Beach. Sea turtles also were thought to help guide early voyagers to Hawaii's shores and were an important food source in the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Honu grazing (c) 2012 All Hawaii News

The folks at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park also help coordinate protection efforts, especially of the hawksbill turtle that frequent their shores.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should also, according to the GAO -- get this -- share their data. The very idea!

And who's in charge when that bugger is half in, half out of the water?

Perhaps, and you may call me a heretic, there is an easier solution. Why not simply pick one agency to oversee the turtles? Simple solution, cutting unnecessary duplication in government agencies and allowing one agency take full responsibility, thus creating more accountability. Too simple, perhaps?

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Just sayin’ : Gov. Abercrombie’s tippy canoe

“Politics is poetry, but governing is prose,” former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo once said.

For Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, this sentiment never rang more true than this past week, when four of his top staffers slipped over the side of his beloved canoe of state. Abercrombie, a firebrand in Congress and on the campaign trail, ran aground against the unbending reef of the old-style Democratic political machine, backed by the solid union presence that defines Hawaii.

First to go were Chief of Staff Amy Asselbaye and Deputy Chief of Staff Andrew Aoki, purportedly to spend more time with their families -- pretty much the same families they had during more than a decade of serving Abercrombie in Congress and later coordinating a slam-dunk campaign against political heavyweight and former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. Next went Abercrombie’s public face: Communications Director Josh Levinson and Deputy Communications Director Laurie Au.

The four departures were the most public of Abercrombie’s 11-month tenure. But they weren’t the first.

Dr. Neal Palafox resigned his nomination to become Department of Health director in January, after being asked to resign for reasons the administration kept private. Next went Hawaiian Home Lands Deputy Director Bobby Hall, who resigned in May, a couple months after his appointment. In September, Human Resources Development Director Sunshine Topping left, also citing family reasons. Vice director of Hawaii State Civil Defense, Ed Teixeira, resigned last week, citing unspecified “changes” he didn't agree with.

Abercrombie won praise for bringing in a young government team – most in their early 40s -- to spearhead his New Day pledge. In a column titled, “Youth movement's fresh legs to carry Abercrombie's agenda,” longtime political wag David Shapiro noted, “It's to Abercrombie's credit that he seems committed to opening the door to a new generation and giving more seats at the table to those who will have to live with the decisions made today.”

But that youthful outlook didn’t sit well with many of the old-line Democrats. And the lack of experience transforming Abercrombie the firebrand Congressman into Abercrombie the solid, stable governor made matters worse.

“Several sources said Asselbaye and Aoki appeared devoted to Abercrombie's policy agenda and had the right instincts about insulating the governor from his older allies. But the young advisers did not have the gravitas or the relationships with influential Democrats and business and labor leaders outside the state Capitol to effectively contain the governor's impulses,” reported Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Derrick DePledge.

“The job of controlling Abercrombie fell to Asselbaye. But she had never run an executive office before, and her skills did not lend themselves to the kind of back-room back-slapping required to govern,” said Honolulu Civil Beat’s Chad Blair.

Granted, there have been better times to be a chief executive officer. The national and international economic slumps have devastated tourism, the primary economic engine. People are cranky and looking for targets for their displeasure.

“The truth is that the canoe, which is our beloved Hawaii, could capsize,” said a prescient Abercrombie in his January State of the State address. “We re in that unnerving moment when we could all huli.”

But it’s not too late. Abercrombie has served less than a year of his four-year term. He can pull his leadership back together, re-ignite that dream, deploy that charisma that has taken him so far. Perhaps there’s a bit of bending that can be undertaken by both sides. Maybe it’s time the old guards loosen some of that stranglehold and help Hawaii move into that New Day.

“Let us right our canoe,” Abercrombie said in his address, “Let us act in a pono way and begin our journey back to the heart of our island home with humble hearts and above all, with aloha for each other.”

Just sayin’.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Just sayin' : It’s called a privilege for reporters, but the ones it really protects are the citizens, the whistleblowers

What if Water- gate had never hap- pened?

What if whistle- blowers like Erin Brockovich were afraid to expose corporate and government wrongdoing that endanger people’s lives? What would our nation look like if everyday citizens were intimidated into keeping crucial information from the press?

What if the police, or trial lawyers seeking millions of dollars in damages, didn’t have to do their own legwork, bringing that burden of proof to a jury in the tried-and-true tradition of a judicial system guaranteeing civil rights? What if they could, instead, just scribble out a subpoena and grab a reporter’s notes about things that were told in trust and confidence?

That, my friends, is life without a shield law, also known as reporter’s privilege. It’s called a privilege for reporters, but the ones it really protects are the citizens, the whistleblowers.

Hawaii has such a shield law. Or it does, at least, until June 30. That’s the date the current law runs out, unless lawmakers make it permanent.

This limited news media privilege against the compelled disclosure of sources and unpublished information has successfully protected a journalist and a documentary film producer in Hawaii since it was enacted two years ago. More importantly, it has stood as a model for other states and a beacon to a free press, preventing untold subpoenas and threats to the exercise of journalistic endeavors.

It is difficult to quantify the negative, so it is not known how many journalists were not compelled to turn over their notes and sources because of the shield law. In short, however, there has been no documented harm to the state because of the shield law, and at least two cases where the law served its purpose in furthering a free press.

The state House sees the value in such a law. Bills by both the House Majority and the House Minority came forth this session to make the temporary law permanent. Talk about bipartisan support.

The House unanimously passed the bill March 3 and sent it along to the Senate. There it sits, with an April 8 deadline for a hearing, or it dies a quiet death. But not to act, is itself, an action, is it not?

There’s still time to get HB 1376 to a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Not a lot of time, granted. But time. Let’s at least get this important bill heard.

You can do your part by contacting Senate Judiciary Chairman Clayton Hee.

Thirty-eight states, plus the District of Columbia, have substantial protections in place, according to the The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Should Hawaii -- the Aloha State, the state that embraces privacy and individual liberties even more than most – be the state that fails to protect that brave individual who comes forward to voice concerns about wrongdoing and corruption?  I hope not.

 Just sayin’.