Fecal Matters

A cartoon I did for The Hawaii Independent about how Honolulu is, once again, inundated in smelly, poo-poo water (500,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled onto Waikiki beaches and shorelines alone - the entire island has "brown water" warnings posted at all beaches). The cause? Less than 4 inches of precipitation. Now I know that's not an insignificant amount of rain, but if we can't even handle 4 inches in 6 hours without our sewers exploding diarrhea water all over our streets and beaches, what happens when we get another 40 days of rain scenario like we did back in 2006? What happens when we add an estimated 20,000 new residents to the urban core over the next 25 years? 

If we don't fix the sewer infrastructure now, we may very well be up a literal shit river in a canoe with no paddle. We have very few politicians who will actually fight for better sewage infrastructure. Our councilmen joke that infrastructure is "not sexy." Well it's also not funny, and it's vitally important; so stop joking about it and actually do something, please (like drawing a cartoon about it).

The state of Hawaii's elected representatives

Looking at the gaggle of Congressional District 1 candidates rushing to try and fill Colleen Hanabusa's soon-to-be-vacant seat (as she attempts to supplant Brian Schatz from his seat in the U.S. Senate), it's hard to know who to vote for. None of them stands out as a particularly strong candidate. Some have had lots of experience sitting in legislative bodies, but have accomplished little, while others are idealists and reformers who have never held elected office and are much too likely to burn bridges and make enemies, preventing any of their reforms from ever taking place.

Looking at Hawaii's history of elected representatives, either from the Territory or the State of Hawaii, we have had titans of politics sit in Congress and fight for Hawaii in the past. Robert Kalanihiapo Wilcox, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, Samuel Wilder King, Jack Burns, Dan Inouye, Tom Gill, Patsy Mink: for better or for worse, these men and women fought hard for what they believed was best for Hawaii. Although not every idea they implemented was a success, not everything they accomplished has survived, and not all that they believed in turned out to be in the best interest of Hawaii's people, they still got shit done. These are the figures that shaped modern Hawaii, as representatives to Congress and, as was the case for several of them, as governors and U.S. senators as well.

Compare them to our current selection of choices and it seems the quality of our politicians, both in terms of leadership as well as sheer political skill, has declined. This is the argument that is made in a soon-to-be-published essay on the Hawaii Independent for which this illustration was created to accompany. Once the article comes out, the link will be posted. Where is our modern day Wilcox? Where is our Mink? I hope to see them enter the political arena soon.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Yes, that is the Dome of the Rock in the last panel, converted into the Thirty-Meter Telescope. If this incredibly sacred mosque in old Jerusalem, built in 691 AD on the Temple Mount site where the second Temple of Jerusalem once stood, were to be converted into the TMT, a lot of people would lose their shit. The name is derived from the site's significance to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths: the rock it is built upon, known as the Foundation Stone, is sacred to all three religions. We hope that by drawing a giant telescope coming out of such a holy place, we remind people that Mauna Kea is just as sacred to Hawaiians. #MaunaKea #WeAreMaunaKea #TMTshutdown #TMT #aoleTMT #BulldozeYourOwnTemple

For there are indeed valleys low enough.

Burnin' Down the House

Hopefully a fairly self-explanatory comic. We now have four heavy-weight political contenders for the office of Governor: incumbent Neil Abercrombie (D), James "Duke" Aiona (R), David Ige (D) and Mufi Hannemann, who just declared his official entry last week as the newly formed Hawaii Independent Party candidate.

But honestly, the capitol building could literally be burning down and these guys still wouldn't stop being politicians. I really don't know who the best choice would be among them. Abercrombie has proven that he doesn't keep his promises (a new day in Hawaii my ass); Aiona is supposedly a stand-up guy, but he's probably still too close to the Hawaii Republican Assembly view point when it comes to equality and helping the working class (which is to say he won't); Ige is fairly unknown, other than the fact that he's managed the state budget for awhile as head of the Senate Ways and Means committee; and Mufi (former Honolulu mayor) is, by many accounts, a vindictive bully, albeit an efficient one.

All I know is, none of these talking heads are really who I'd want to see as Governor, but at least the choices are better than they are in Idaho.

Not a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but not far from it.

Introducing "In Honolulu" 001: Golf Corrupts

This is the first strip I'm classifying as an "In Honolulu" strip. Unlike TSASOTM, In Honolulu will not generally feature consistent characters or any semblance of plot progression. It will simply be.

The name is derived from my online magazine INhonolulu which, together with my work for The Hawaii Independent will form the backbone of my idea-mining (idamining).

In fact, this first strip was created along side a story I wrote for the Independent about ethics violations among city employees. The strip also appears as the accompanying image for the story post, which can be viewed here. What I found most interesting is that there were around 40 city employees that took "gifts" of free food, drinks and golf from a company here in Honolulu, many of which reimbursed the company immediately, thus avoiding penalty. But there were a few who didn't. But this Ethics Commission report singled out the employee who used a sick day to play golf as the one who deserved suspension. Because the other gift-recipients used vacation time, they still got to play on the naked pizza trampoline.

And yes, there really is a Cheese-rolling Festival in Gloucestershire, though I (unfortunately) have never attended. It involves chasing wheels of cheese down a rather steep hill. Each year there are several broken bones, ruptured organs and putting-out of eyes. You win if you catch the cheese and your prize, naturally, is more cheese.

The primary goal of In Honolulu will be to highlight the absurdities of what goes on in this city, vis a vis politics, news, nightlife and lifestyle. The artistic style has also changed from a moderately realistic, comic book/manga feel to a straight-up-and-down web-comic look, clearly influenced by my favorite web comic, Penny Arcade.

Other comic-related news is that I will be sending some editorial cartoons to Civil Beat for a trial run at becoming their new in-house cartoonist to replace John Pritchett, who's work--in my opinion--has really gone down hill in the past 3-4 years.

There will be more... something.

Hammer Head

Hawaii Politics

Ahh Tom Brower. The State Representative from Waikiki and Ala Moana spent the beginning of the week as a hammer-wielding vigilante, smashing shopping carts left abandoned (and sometimes still in use too) by homeless people in his district. Brower said he was tired of the eye-sore caused by the stolen carts and frustrated by a lack of action on the part of the city.
For a lawmaker to take the law into his own hands, though, is a bit--comic worthy?
So Brower thinks he can just smash all our problems until they're gone. Homelessness? Check. How about a blazing fire? Well, he'll sure give it a swing...
Brower said yesterday that he would hang up his hammer and cape and call his vigilantism quits. Some advocacy groups and other organizations have called on the House to take disciplinary action against Brower, saying his actions were highly inappropriate for a state lawmaker. To which, Brower replied by smashing a coffee table in half.

Splintered Paddle

Hawaii Politics

Honolulu City Councilman Stanley Chang introduced a bill in September that would, essentially, make lying down on the sidewalk in Honolulu's three special business districts illegal. 

Yesterday, the most recent draft was deferred in committee by a vote of 3-2, meaning it will die unless another new draft is created.

Overall the reaction to the bill stalling was positive here in Honolulu. Opponents say that the bill is unconstitutional, as it violates the law of the splintered paddle--Kanawai Mamala Hoe--part of the Hawaii State Constitution, and that it targets the homeless specifically. Supporters, many of whom are small-business owners, say the bill is necessary, as many of the homeless in Honolulu sleep in front of stores in Chinatown, Waikiki and the Capitol District and can be disruptive to business.

I wondered what King Kamehameha the First, the creator of Kanawai Mamala Hoe, would think about Stanley Chang's bill. I wondered what other solutions would be viable other than opposing Kanawai Mamala Hoe. And then I wondered how people would react to an image of Chang prepping to splinter another paddle over the old King's head. So many questions...

The Monolith

Now that the Hawaii Independent has published it's first tablet magazine issue, I can upload the cover art I did for it to my blog! 

"The Monolith" was commissioned to go with a piece by veteran reporter Gerald Kato about public authorities like the Hawaii Community Development Authority or the much hated and now-revoked Public Land Development Corporation. Donovan Dela Cruz was included in the bottom right corner specifically because he was (is) Mr. PLDC - the others, Gov. Abercrombie, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Stanley Chang, David Ige and Ikaika Anderson are all either pro public authorities or are running for the important 1st Congressional seat of Hawaii soon and will have to decide where they stand on public authorities for their platforms - I can already take a guess.

Kato discusses the origins of public authorities and Robert Moses ("The Power Broker" is a book that should definitely be read by anyone at all involved with government, planning or communities - so everyone) to contextualize what's happened in Hawaii since the 1970s and, especially, today. 

I'm not necessarily against public authorities, which can partner more easily with the private development sector to sometimes accomplish great works for the people. The problem is really oversight and accountability. The authorities act as a buffer between the public and government which allows for fudge-room, shady dealings and easy ways out for officials. 

Below is a link to the excerpt from Kato's piece. The rest you'll need to read in the tablet magazine which is available on iTunes for a mere $1.99. It's like the Atlantic or the New Yorker for Hawaii.

"The Authority," by Gerald Kato: http://hawaiiindependent.net/story/the-authority