• $700K Mobile Command Sits For Years: A high-tech, state-of-the-art emergency mobile command unit that cost $700,000 has sat idle for 2 1/2 years after it arrived in Hawaii.
  KITV found out that most of the vehicle was paid for with federal Homeland Security money.
• Trouble on Albatross Island: The environmental group Center for Biological Diversity that it intends to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources over the failure to protect the threatened seabird.
• National Science Foundation grant awarded to professor: A grant of $499,999 has been awarded by the National Science Foundation to Dr. Robert Cowie of UH Mānoa’s Center for Conservation Research, part of the Pacific Biosciences Research Center.
• UH astronomy chief sees stars ahead: Institute for Astronomy director Rolf-Peter Kudritzki will step down at the end of the year. He will take a sabbatical starting in January and will return to the institute as a faculty member to continue teaching and research.
• Hawaii-ecosystem researcher Peter Vitousek wins Japan Prize: A Hawai’i-born Stanford professor whose extensive research of Hawaiian ecosystems has led to breakthrough understandings of the ways in which agriculture and other human activity affect the environment has been awarded the Japan Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in science.
• Hawaii pols use less paper, save $1.2M, 8 million pages, nix staff paycut: Two years since the paperless project began, the Senate recently reported its first savings estimate: more than $1.2 million, nearly 8 million pages and the equivalent of more than 800 trees.
• Ormat Technologies Provides Puna Power Plant Update: Ormat Technologies today issued an update on its 30 MW Puna power plant in Hawaii which is currently operating at approximately 17 MW as a result of a decline of the steam supply to the power plant.
• UH Mānoa houses newest FEMA National Disaster Preparedness Training Center: The newest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, headquartered at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is the newest of seven federally funded members of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC).

Check out all my bookmarks on Delicious.

I’m exhausted. My body is aching. My mind is spinning. But with “LOST,” these are good things. Tonight brings the Season 6 premiere, but I’m still thinking about the last few days. The “LOST” beach premiere on Saturday was fantastic, but I most cherished spending time with the fans and friends who joined my wife and I for our “LOST” travel package and tour, which spanned the weekend.

Over 100 people, coming from as far away as Norway, Turkey, Afghanistan and Germany were willing to spend several hours of their limited time in the islands with us, geeking out over the best show on television. We were thrilled. And humbled.

Thanks to Bruce Fisher of Hawaii-Aloha.com, Sakara Blackwell of DH Catering, and Hilton Blackwell of Island Adventures Tours & Travel for helping to make it all possible.

The incredible and unstoppable Christa Wittmier and the dancers of Iaora o Tahiti Nui made Friday’s dinner special. The folks at the Park Shore let me show off my “LOST” goodies in their lobby, and fed our group brunch at Lulu’s upstairs. And our all-day, island-wide “LOST” locations tour on Sunday? Incredible. June Matsumoto of the Hawaii Convention Center, Robin Naluai at Kualoa Ranch, Ed Kos of Kos Tours, the volunteers at the non-profit YMCA Camp Erdman, and my friend and radio co-host Burt Lum were among the many good people behind our great road trip.

I was having such a great time, I barely took any photos. Fortunately, there were plenty of shutterbugs (like Cesar and Bonnie), bloggers, and Twitterers documenting the festivities.

I’m still trying to gather the strength to write up our entire “LOST” weekend… but the show stops for no one, and we’ll soon be swept up by the show’s sixth and final season beginning tonight, cruising nonstop through to the epic and bittersweet end. In the mean time, here’s some notable press coverage of the weekend and of the premiere, including quotes from yours truly!

• Lost-apalooza! (Honolulu Star-Bulletin): Gary Chun hung out quite a bit, and came with us for most of our tour on Sunday.
• ‘Lost’ better absent expectations (Honolulu Star-Bulletin): My spoiler-free review of the first hour of the premiere. It wasn’t easy to write!
• For ‘Lost’ Fans In Hawaii, A Premiere With A View (Morning Edition/NPR): A piece by Hawaii Public Radio’s Ben Markus in which I embarrass my wife Jen.
• ‘Lost’ will linger on past its end date (Marketplace/APM): A brief segment on the likelihood of “LOST” sequels. I voted “no.”
• ‘Lost’ fans find home in Hawaii (Los Angeles Times): We loved meeting Maria Elena Fernandez (@writerchica) and Jose (@thephotoangel).

I also contributed to the Honolulu Advertiser’s coverage of “LOST,” including a “LOST” filming locations contest, which concluded Sunday. And, like last year, I’ll be joining the morning crew at KITV, Hawaii’s ABC affiliate, each morning after “LOST” to review the latest episode.

If you’re a visiting fan still in Honolulu tonight, you should check out Giovanni Pastrami in Waikiki. They’re going to be hosting “LOST” viewings every Tuesday, and would be happy to have you come and enjoy the season premiere tonight among fellow fans and friends! And after you’ve seen the episode, please share your thoughts for our “LOST” podcast this weekend.

• Report on the Task Force on Reinventing Government [PDF]: House Concurrent Resolution No. 76 established a Task Force on Reinventing Government to examine the existingoperations and organizations of Hawaii’s state government and recommend ways to makeHawaii’s government more efficient.
• Ocean Power Technologies Deploys Hawaii Powerbuoy and Wins Further Funding: Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. announces the successful deployment of one of its PowerBuoys at the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii.
• Astronomers discover cool stars in nearby space: Using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, a discovery has been made of an object which is technically known as a brown dwarf.
• Coulomb Technologies Secures $14 Million in Series B Funding Led: Coulomb Technologies, a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging station infrastructure, today announced that it has secured $14 million in Series B funding
• US Internet Acquires Internet Service Provider 3One Media Hawaii Corp.: US Internet, a global provider of Internet, hosting and digital phone services, today announced it has acquired 3One Media Corp.

Check out all my bookmarks on Delicious.

• NASA’s WISE Eye Spies Near-Earth Asteroid: NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has spotted its first never-before-seen near-Earth asteroid, the first of hundreds it is expected to find during its mission to map the whole sky in infrared light.
• Military in Hawaii has big plans for solar power at base: The military is seeking contractors to install more solar power systems at most of its major installations in the state in what ultimately would be a leap in photovoltaic power generation capability in Hawai’i, officials said.
• Governor Lingle Authorizes $2.8 Million in Federal Stimulus Funds to Enhance Robotics Education in Hawaii Schools: Governor Linda Lingle announced today in her State of the State Address that she has authorized the use of $2,805,200 in federal stimulus funds to enhance robotics education programs in Hawai‘i’s schools.
• The Queen’s Medical Center Installs New State-of-the-Art Breast MRI System [PDF]: The Queen’s Medical Center has installed a new, advanced breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system that provides physicians with higher quality images that allow them to more confidently diagnose and accurately intervene in breast cancer patients.

Check out all my bookmarks on Delicious.

Omidyar and Temple also conducted a Hawaii-only call to answer questions from the local media. “Obviously we’re not talking business model and those type of things,” Pierre warned, but the pair pulled back the curtain a little bit. I sat in on the call, and wrote up a rush transcript. It’s incomplete, and likely contains errors, but will hopefully be of interest to my fellow newsies.

Erika Engle/Honolulu Star-Bulletin: “I wanted to ask Pierre or John how Ginx.com will factor into PeerNews, or whether that’s a separate venture.”

Pierre Omidyar: “Ginx was something that we did a little while ago to help us learn about the Twitter universe, the behavior of people there, sharing news iwth one another and having conversations around the news they were sharing. We saw that as an experiment, and we learned quite a lot, but we decided to shut down that service in December. Ginx is no longer in operation. We’re devoting our technology efforts to the new news service we’re hoping to launch in early Q2.”

Erika Engle: “But I do imagine that social media will play a are role?”

Pierre Omidyar: “Certainly, Erika. The insight that we had early on was that a large majority of people actually get their news through social connections rather than traditional news outlets. That’s one of the things we learned and confirmed with Ginx. It’s very clear to see that social media is the primary way for a lot of people to be informed about the world and their communities. That’s a key part of our strategy. When I say we’re looking at a new way to do journalism online, it’s that we’re taking insights like that one.”

Janis Magin/Pacific Business News: “The types of coverage you’re talking about, civic and public affairs, how about business?”

Pierre Omidyar: “I’m going to turn it over to John in a second, we’re just beginning to work together, and we’re going to be developing the details of our coverage areas in the weeks to come. My first passion is civic affairs.”

John Temple: “One view we share is that economics is critical to all our coverage areas. We will be covering business issues, but through a different prism. How public policy affects entrepreneurs, how decisions in government relate to the ability of businesses to thrive. It might not be the way you’ve seen business covered in the past, but we see money as important to any coverage.”

Rick Daysog/Honolulu Advertiser: “What’s the role of citizen journalists, or do they have one in this new model?”

Pierre Omidyar: “Obviously the public is at the center of this model, because it’s about community. I’ve worked on some projects where citizens were the only content generators, they were the principle sources of content, and this will be more complex than that. But there’s going to be a way for people to share their knowledge, and debate issues.”

John Temple: “I’d say one of our greatest assets is that there is a large community of highly passionate and well informed amateurs, citizen journalists, who amateurs in designation, not skill. I have a lot of respect for the quality and impact of ordinary citizens when they engage in issues that they’re passionate about. When they learn about issues, they can add substantially to the quality and depth of the conversation. So absolutely, they’re going to be a part of what we do.”

Karin Stanton/Hawaii 24/7: “A follow up question about coverage. Those of us on the outer islands know that Honolulu doesn’t mean Hawaii. You guys are based in Honolulu. Will you expand coverage to include the entire state? Second part of my question… John, local sports sells local newspapers. Is there going to be a sports element in coverage? And how quickly are you going to be able to export this model to other communities?”

Pierre Omidyar: “Let me take the first part of that question about the neighbor islands. I’m very aware and sensitive to the fact that Honolulu is not Hawaii. There are a lot of issues and stories that are unique to the different neighbor islands and they merit focus, they need to be focused on. Having said that, as a startup operation based in Honolulu, our initial effort will have to center around the types of things that we can cover in that local community. It is the seat of the state government, and issues affect the entire state can be covereed effectively in Honolulu. As we grow and are able to provide a valuable service to consumers, we can expand that coverage into the neighbor islands. John, do you want to address the other parts?”

John Temple: “In terms of expansion, we’ll have to see as we go. We can’t speak to that at this point. There are a lot of issues we’ll cover in Honolulu that will touch the lives of people all throughout Hawaii, and we’ll be cognizant of that, but we’ll start in Honolulu. On sports, sports is not going to be our core focus. There will be a way that we’ll be sharing that kind of news, but I wouldn’ be looking to us as a source for sports. The emphasis is on civic matters and public affairs, on building a better community. There are aspects of community life that will be reflected on the site, but are not the core of the site.

Karin Stanton: Are you in Hawaii yet? How’s the weather where you are?

John Temple: “Not yet, but I will be soon.”

Jason/Hawaii Business Magazine: “How many applications have you received, for assistant editors and reporters?”

Pierre Omidyar: “We just put the postings up 25 minutes ago, so that’s brand new. I’ll say that when we started our search for editor, which we concluded with John, we did receive a few hundred inquiries and we did manage to talk to a whole lot of folks. We are hoping looking forward to building out the team.”

Jason: “A question on the website. What’s it going to look like, what kind of tools? Like a blog? What’s the presentation?”

Pierre Omidyar: “I think that’s all still under development, and anything I told you today would change, that’s the nature of startups. The web provides a very different platform for delivering news analysis, content, and conversation than exists offline. So we’re going to be… some of it may not be apparent, but we’ll be quite different from a traditional news operation The way you create the written content for the web is different than you do for other media. I think our primary objective will be to deliver real value to consumers, to help them understand whats going on in our community, and to debate and engage in civil conversation around the issues. There are a lot of great tools on the web that other people have innovated, and there’s a lot of opportunity to do something interesting.”

Jason: “How much do you think you’ll be using video?”

Pierre Omidyar: “I’ll let John address that in more detail, but we’ll use whatever media we can to meet the mission. I think video plays a role, probably, but so does text and all forms of media.”

John Temple: “We would like to look at it as, ‘What’s the best way to convey information?’ Video is sometimes the best way and we should use it. But sometimes text is the best way. We’ll try to be very smart about how we use different forms — video, audio, text, photo — to best serve the community.”

Janis Magin: “Is it going to be spot news, enterprise, breaking news… how extensive?”

John Temple: “We’ll provide a whole range of news types, but the emphasis of our staff will be on authoritative beat coverage in critical areas. And some of it will be breaking news because we know vehicles like Twitter are great for conveying breaking news, but the emphasis will be on enterprise and analysis. We believe we will be adding to the Hawaii, the Honolulu mix, more journalists, and more emphasis on in-depth reporting.”

Janis Magin: “How many journalists?”

John Temple: “We’re starting to build a small team. It will be a real newsroom. I don’t want to get into the numbers yet, but it will be a sizable enough team to generate valuable original reporting.”

Janis Magin: “The strategy was to provide local news, but how local? As you know, it has different definitions for Honolulu, for neighbor islands, as Karen ponted out… Will you be covering things like AP for a statewide, or for a worldwide audienc or a local audience?”

John Temple: “I think we’re covering it for the local audience. Worldwide, there are going to be people… like Hawaiians not on the island, or people who care deeply about Hawaii, and we welcome their interest. But we want to provide coverage that we hope provides the basis for informed discussion and debate, and used to discover steps forward for Honolulu and Hawaii. We’re not going to be a hyper local site. Not a neighborhood operation.”

Janis Magin: “Right, so not traffic news or that local.”

John Temple: “No, but transportation issues, and sometimes traffic, could generate a transportation story.”

Pierre Omidyar: “I think at a high level the idea is to provide a set of tools to enable the community to better learn what’s going on, understand, and debate the issues tha face our community. That’s community-wide, local focus. And I want to emphasize that we’re not looking to create a news product that’s solely there to inform. One of the benefits of the web is engaging the community, providing value and serving their aspirations to have an impact. And so that should help paint the picture for you on the type of content and the audience.”

John Temple: “It’s always a challenge in Hawaii, neighbor islands, transportation… we want to set expectations properly. As a start-up organization, we’re going to be based in Honolulu covering statewide issues. There’ll be natural limits to what we can do on day one.”

Rick Daysog: “Are there other models out there we can compare this to?”

Pierre Omidyar: “What’s exciting in 2010 is that there are a lot of experiments going on across the country, and some models that are interesting. Having said that, the particular blend of that John represents and the community interaction that my background brings, that’s something I haven’t really seen executed in the way that I envision and that we’ll try to execute in Hawaii. I think we’re going to add a new voice and a new way to experiment.”

Rick Daysog: “For example, the ProPublica model. Any similarities?”

Pierre Omidyar: “No, I don’t think so. They’re a great organization, a non-profit organization. And I’m commited to demonstrating with Peer News that a for-profit sustainable business operation can be an integral part of a community and can help people and meet aspirations in the community to make our home a better place. that’s something that can be done, and ought to be done, as a business.”

Vanessa/KHON2: “On news categories, you folks obviously said a lot about community and local issues. Would this be hard news? Where you’ll have… you’re not going to focus on sports, but, feature stories, international stories that may affect local residents? What are the categories?”

John Temple: “We’re still developing those, but international stories that affect Hawaii, we could cover that in one of our beats. There’s the context of trying to share with people what’s going on elsewhere and what we can learn, and how we might approach something like state government or higher education. You should always learn from what others are doing. We want to provide a lot of context for what’s happening in Honolulu. The journalists in this organization will be interacting with the community more than is typical than a traditional news organization. We’re going to be in a daily conversation with people, talking with them. If you like to think of yourself as an informed friend, you actually do respond.”

Vanessa: “Is every reporter that’s hired be equipped with a phone that can take pictures, Twitter, social m edia… how will they be able to, out in the field, how will that work in order to get it onto the website?”

Pierre Omidyar: “I really hope so. These tools are very powerful, as you know, it’s amazing what you can do with your iPhone or other mobile phone. We’ve come a long way from the telegraph, so we’re going to be using those tools.”

John Temple: “We’ll be looking at what the right tools are.”

Jason/Hawaii Business Magazine: “Hawaii is influenced by outside forces. Will you have correspondents in Washington, or San Francisco?”

John Temple: “I don’t think we’ve made that decision yet. You make a great point, and how we would do that is something we still have to explore. There’s no decision on that kind of thing, except that you make a valid report and there are different ways to do what you’re describing.”

Jason: “Do you feel that investigative reporting in this town is lacking? Is that why you’re starting this venture?”

John Temple: “That is not the impetus for creating the venture. I hope you can hear in Pierre’s voice his commitment, and what attracted me to be a part of this. To build a new news service that took advantage of contemporary technology, without worrying about what was done in the past, to help a community come togeter to learn more about itself and to participate more in a democracy. This is a fundamental first-amendment issue. What is the role of the press? To help citizens act in their best interest, with knowledge to go forward. That’s why I want to be a part of that. Investigative reporting is one of those things — we’re not stenographers or receivers, we try to inform people and anticipate the questions people should ask or are asking.”

Pierre Omidyar: “Thanks everyone for joining us.”

John Temple: “I look forward to meeting you all, it’s been a pleasure meeting you all over the phone.”

• Fast-Food Fries Cooked in Higher-Fat Corn Oil, Study Shows: Fast-food chains are more likely than smaller restaurants to cook their French fries in corn oil, which is higher in cholesterol-raising saturated fats than other vegetable oils, a study from the University of Hawaii found.
• Innovation Award Winners Focus on Clean Energy: The winners have developed innovative solutions to challenges, invented and implemented new technologies with worldwide applications, and contributed to Hawai‘i’s long-term economic well-being.
• Missing moon rocks turn up: On Friday, Lenny Klompus, senior adviser to the governor, said Hawai’i’s moon rocks were never actually missing, but had merely been moved to a secure location. During an annual gift inventory on Thursday they were discovered in a locked cabinet.
• Commerce Department’s NTIA Awards Grants for Broadband Mapping and Planning in 10 States: NTIA has awarded Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs approximately $1.4 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period in Hawaii

Check out all my bookmarks on Delicious.

Here’s the text of the one-page advisory (minus press-specific notes):

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL SCREENING OF “LOST” : THE FINAL SEASON

What:

“SUNSET ON THE BEACH”
Waikiki, Oahu

Thousands of fans will congregate on the sandy beach of Waikiki in Oahu to be the first to see the initial hour of the season premiere episode of “LOST”: The Final Season, before it airs nationally on the ABC Television Network. We will also be screening an episode of the hit comedy, “MODERN FAMILY,” immediately following “LOST.”

There will be red carpet arrivals before the screening, in which you will be able to interview the cast and producers of “LOST.”

“LOST” premieres on Tuesday, February 2 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

“MODERN FAMILY” airs Wednesdays (9:00-9:30 p.m., ET),
on the ABC Television Network.

When:

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

PRESS & CREW SETUP AT 4:00 P.M.

RED CARPET ARRIVALS BEGIN AT 5:00 P.M.

“SUNSET ON THE BEACH” SCREENING AT 6:30 P.M.

Where:

SUNSET ON THE BEACH:

Waikiki Beach on Oahu between Kapahulu and Monsarrat Avenues on Kalakaua across from the Honolulu Zoo.

Who:

THE CAST AND PRODUCERS OF “LOST”

The archives of three newspapers documenting Hawaii’s 19th century history have been posted online by the Library of Congress, digitized and converted into searchable text via OCR through the participation of the UH Mānoa Library.

The archives are available via the “Chronicling America” website, and come from:

• The Daily Herald (Honolulu, 1886-1887)
• The Hawaiian Gazette (Honolulu, 1865-1916; online: 1877-1913)
• The Independent (Honolulu, 1895-1905)

According to UH, The Daily Herald and The Hawaiian Gazette issues uploaded to date represent a conservative, pro-American editorial viewpoint, and The Independent represents a strongly nationalistic Hawaiian viewpoint. The library is continuing to digitize additional publications, and will be adding to the online archive each quarter.

As of December of 2009, “Chronicling America” offers free searchable online access to 1.7 million pages from 212 newspaper titles published between 1880 and 1922.

The “LOST” crew took over the “Great Lawn” at Bishop Museum, setting up for a wedding scene.

Fortunately, my family are members and regular visitors to the museum, and my wife and daughter just happened to be there today. A stage was set up to host a band. Jack Bender was running the show, with Jean Higgins by his side. The first actor on the set was Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), dressed up and doing press interviews, but he was not the groom. When Fionnula Flanagan (Eloise) showed up, flanked by a slight stand-in dressed in a tuxedo, the likely story became clear.

UPDATE: Or maybe not. Piecing together separate reports, it was not a wedding, after all… which might explain why no one saw a bride or groom all day! But there’s a reason why someone might get that impression.

The scene was instead a big-ticket fundraiser for the “Golden Gate Natural History Museum” (or something to that effect), featuring a concert, hence the stage. Parked at the entrance, black limousines and Town Cars with California plates, as well as the silver sedan that Desmond was driving in yesterday’s dramatic shoot.

The fundraiser was being hosted by Eloise, and Desmond was apparently crashing the party, looking for Penny. He tries to read the guest list, but Eloise takes it away. She rebuffs him, and he barks, “For what?” He then storms off.

Work continued past the museum’s closing time, so who knows what followed. But why the early impression that the scene involved a wedding? Apparently, some of the crew were referring to Eloise not as “Mrs. Hawking,” but as “Mrs. Widmore.” It may very well be simple confusion, but it seemed prominent enough to at least suggest an alternate outcome for her relationship with Charles.

See more photos from today’s Bishop Museum shoot here.

Thanks to my wife Jen, MDG from Long Island, VSC, and @MediumTuna for the report and photos.

The scene was deceptively simple. A silver car swerves out of control and crashes into the water. Extensive preparations were undertaken, with the car in question stripped of an engine and any other part that would upset the Environmental Protection Agency. It was hooked up to one end of a 90-degree pulley, and the other end was tied to a pickup truck. Several cameras were set up — one on a 40-foot boom, one on the back of a cart, one in the water, and a few more stationary cameras positioned around the marina. Background extras were briefed on where to stand, and the whole crew came together for a long safety meeting.

Shortly before noon, the set was cleared, and cameras started rolling. But when action was called, and the truck took off, the silver car stayed put. Instead, the cable or pulley system snapped, creating only a cloud of dust. It took nearly an hour to repair and reset everything, apparently sending the production into “overtime” as far as its area use permits were concerned.

Fortunately, the second time was the charm. Cameras rolled, action was called, and while the camera cart sped along the edge of the marina, the silver car hit the ramp and flipped into the water. I suspect the car was supposed to fly further than it did, but it looked like the tow cable held on a little too long, snagging the front of the car as it left the ramp. Still, it was a dramatic splash.

Most of the crew was silent for nearly a minute as divers swam to the car to help release the stunt driver. Once he surfaced safely, everyone cheered.

It was only after the stunt, and after a lunch break, that the context of the scene became clear. Seated in the ill-fated car were Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), perhaps not long after Charlie’s release from the airport holding cell and their subsequent conversation in a bar. Desmond is driving. The pair are arguing. Suddenly, Charlie grabs the wheel from the passenger seat and yanks, and his impulsive act is what sends their vehicle into the ocean.

What follows, I imagine, may be filmed on a sound stage. But the possible similarities to the Season 3 finale are hard to ignore.

Check out my full photo set on Flickr.

Special thanks to visiting fans Michelle, Jay, and Matt for their reports!