Mayor Kenoi Shows Face… Media Releases Being Updated Online

I’ve been checking the Counties website the last few days and I just noticed that Mayor Kenoi now has his picture on the Mayor’s Message. Or maybe it’s that I’m the last person in town to find out.

I wish the county would start doing more with their website such as adding an RSS feed. I’d like to see links updated more often as well. I have fired off an email to the county regarding this matter and offered assistance if they were to establish a “County Blog” or something to that effect.

If the State Legislature can have a House Blog, a House Minority Blog, and a Senate Majority Blog, then I don’t see why the County of Hawaii couldn’t have a “Blog” as well. I know the perfect ex-blogger that is now working in a county position that could possibly run it. :idea:

I just now noticed the link to “Media Releases” has been getting updated. I’m not sure if this is a new feature or not, but it is nice that it is now available. If/When they ever get an RSS feature to that site, then it will be less work to update my site when new releases are put out.

Now that Mayor Kenoi has surrounded himself with good people who understand how important it is to have a good working relationship with the media, I think they are also learning the value of Digital communication.

Now the county needs to learn more about Webcasting, Blogging, and having county workers use Twitter as an application that can really keep everyone who is interested in county events abreast of things in a timely manner.

I guess we can only ask for one thing at a time. I’d be happy just to be able to take pictures of Police Officers. :oops:

Lawsuit on Whales and Sonar SETTLED

The Navy and several environmental groups settled a lawsuit that challenged the Navy’s use of sonar around the globe as dangerous to whales and other marine mammals, the two sides said Saturday.

Both portrayed the settlement as a victory. The case is separate from one in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that the Navy could not be unduly required to protect whales.

The Navy said the settlement — reached Friday but announced the next day — does not require protective measures for whales beyond those it had agreed to in 2005. Nor does it require that additional funds be spent on marine mammal research beyond the $14.75 million the Navy has already earmarked for the next three years, the Navy said.

“The settlement protects the public interest in national security by preserving the Navy’s ability to conduct realistic anti-submarine warfare training,” said Cmdr. Cappy Surette, a Navy spokesman…

More Here

How Hawaii Protected Obama During the Power Outage

Just noticed that Time online ran this interesting article:

How Hawaii Protected Obama During the Power Outage

…Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann ordered the Honolulu police department to beef up patrols in the area around Obama’s beachfront compound while the Hawaiian Electric Company sent a portable generator to the home to ensure that Obama’s family and staff were powered up. “We understand he’s okay in his compound,” said Hannemann, speaking Friday night. “Where he is staying has to be one of the most secure spots on the island.” Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said an undisclosed branch of the military provided communications equipment to Obama’s security detail while state Civil Defense worked to ensure the generator was operating by 11:30 p.m. Friday night. “We stayed until we were certain that he was all taken care of,” said Lingle…

More Here

Fire at Old Pohoiki Coffee Mill

Big Island firefighters responded a generator explosion today at the Old Pohoiki Coffee Mill in Pahoa. The generator explosion and subsequent fire destroyed a shed and damaged a workshop area. The explosion happened about 8:30 a.m.

More Here

Mamalahoa Highway Flooding Video

Hawaii Electronic Music Festival on the Big Island

I was just down at the Drive-Inn at Kalapana and I noticed a poster on the window for the Hawaii Electronic Music Festival.

It’s happening at three seperate venues on the Big Island from January 8-11.

“The Hawaii Electronic Music Festival is a gathering of creative minds who share our love for the Island and our passion for life.  It’s a place for those of us, who dance to a different beat. Embrace the world and follow your dreams.  Bring an open mind, a good attitude and a smile on your face.”

The list of artists/performers can be found here.

Thursday, January 8th the festival will be having it’s opening party at the Pahoa Village Cafe.

Friday, January 9th, the festival moves over to the west side of the island next to the Kamehameha Beach Hotel at the  Mixx Bistro at 7 pm.

Saturday, January 10th the festival will be going on at the historic Palace Theater in downtown Hilo.

Sunday, January 11th the festival closes down at the Kalani Oceanside Retreat down in Kalapana.  Beginning at10:15 AM and lasting most of the day.

Ticket information can be found here.

More information on the website here.

UH Hilo Alumni Living on Big Island Get Free Trial at UH Student Center

Just got the following email from the UH Alumni Foundation:

…By now, you should have read about UH Hilo’s newest facility: the Student Life Center. Amongst other features, this Center also houses a wide assortment of new exercise machines, cardio equipment and an Olympic-size pool. The main goal of this facility is to provide more recreational opportunities for current students at UH Hilo.

Effective Dec. 22, 2008, all alumni members living on the Big Island wishing to use the facilities and services offered at the Center will be able to enjoy a FREE TRIAL!   Effective Jan. 12, 2009, membership to the Student Life Center will be available for sale at a great price!
…

Hilo Gets New Record Rainfall

I just noticed the following:

RECORD EVENT REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
445 PM HST FRI DEC 26 2008

...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT HILO HI...

A RECORD RAINFALL OF 5.25 INCHES WAS SET AT HILO HI TODAY. THIS 
BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 3.56 SET IN 1981. THIS IS A PRELIMINARY 
RECORD SINCE RAINFALL CONTINUES ON THE BIG ISLAND.

Lucky We Live on the Big Island

I’ve been following Twitter updates over the last 18 hours or so of people on Oahu who have lost there power and are staying updated on things by battery operated radios, cell phones, and online Twitter messages.

It does seem very strange to me that Oahu keeps having these extended power outages when the Big Island is actually known for the rolling blackouts.

Even during the October earthquake, Oahu lost power for about 8 – 10 hours while the Big Island continued to have power… and the actual earthquake was off the Big Island… not even around Oahu.

Last night on the Big Island, we had torrential rains and pretty strong wind.  Lightning was booming less then 3-4 miles away from where  I live, yet we never lost power at all.

I did lose internet service from about 9:00 on or so, but because I use Roadrunner, I’m just assuming for now that this may have been related to Oahu problems or something else.

We did have some flooding in downtown Hilo, however, folks down there are pretty much used to that now as it seems to flood down there at least once a year.

We are so fortunate to live on the Big Island.  I was reading the following from the Advertiser and I couldn’t help but laugh:

Waikiki Plunges into Chaos

…As for those on foot, the busiest areas were the front doors of Waikiki’s ubiquitious ABC Stores, where customers were being allowed two to four at a time to purchase what provisions were left…

Come on folks… the world is coming to an end if “provisions” at a friggin ABC store are getting depleted!

Lucky we live on the Big Island

My favorite line I heard this morning was in an email:

…Obama is reportedly safe and with power…

42 Stranded in Elevators on Oahu

This is one of my biggest fears in life.  Getting stuck in an elevator during a long power outtage.

…From 6:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m., the Honolulu Fire Department helped more than 42 people who were stranded in elevators…

Lightning Hits Hawaiian Flight in Air

…No one was injured when Flight 102, which left Honolulu at 5:20 a.m., was struck by lightning while in flight, said Keoni Wagner, Hawaiian’s vice president of public affairs.

He said some “superficial damage” was done to the plane…

More Here

Response to Exploding Tea Bag… One Free Box of Tea From TAZO

About a week ago, I blogged that a tea bag exploded in the Microwave as I was warming up the water.   I sent the following letter off to Starbucks officials (Starbucks is the distributor for TAZO)

—-

Aloha, I was brewing a cup of the Tazo in the microwave. I took the staple off and the label off and I microwaved it in a microwave safe cup for 1:00 minute. When I came back to get my cup of tea, I was in horror to find that my tea bag had exploded in the microwave. I have blogged about the incident on my blog here: https://damontucker.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/exploding-tea-bags/ And many people in Hawaii have been emailing me about this incident. Do you folks have any comment on the incident? I can only imagine had I opened the microwave as the tea bag was exploding and had some of the explosion go into my eye or something. Damon Tucker Pahoa, Hawaii

—–

This is the response I just received from them:

—–

Hello Damon,

Thank you for writing to Tazo.  I am sorry to hear about your experience with our filterbag envelopes.

In order to ensure the freshness of our teas, there is a protective barrier in each envelope.  Sometimes this can make the envelopes hard to open, even with the notch that is provided. But we are always working to enhance our products and we appreciate your comments.

As a sign of our appreciation, we would like to send you a coupon good for a replacement box of tea. If you let me know your box’s lot number (located on the bottom of the box below the bar code and starting with the letter “L”) and your address, I will get it off to you as soon as possible.  It would also be helpful if you could tell me where you purchased the tea.

Thank you again for contacting Tazo. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Alison M.

Tazo Customer Relations