Akakū will be closed for inventory and the Good Friday holiday from April 4th thru April 6th.

Akakū: Maui Community Television will be taking inventory of all its equipment next week. Therefore, all offices, including the Media Lab, and our Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi locations will be closed to the public and all community producers from Wednesday, April 4th thru Friday, April 6th. We are asking that all community producers who currently have kits return them by Tuesday, April 3rd so that we are able to perform a thorough inventory. In addition, no reservations for cameras or kits will be taken. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Normal work hours will resume on Monday, April 9th, 2012.

For more information call (808) 871-5554. Happy Easter everyone!

The Live Streams for Channel 52, 53 & KAKU 88.5 FM will be down for maintenance beginning at 5pm till approximately 7pm. Mahalo to our viewers and listeners for their kokua.

 

 

Akakuʻs low power radio station, KAKU 88.5 FM will be off the air for approximately 1 hour between 8:30 and 9:30 am, on Wedenesday , March 28th, 2012, while repairs are made to our antenna tower.  We apologize for any inconvience for our listeners. Please listen for us to be back on the air as soon as repairs are completed.  Mahalo for your kokua.

 

On behalf of March Madness fans everywhere in Maui Nui, REJOICE!
After investigating the case of the missing channel TBS from your Oceanic Time Warner line up, TBS is back on the air on Channel 28!  

And if you take the time to read this email and attachment, this is a case worthy of a cable Sherlock Holmes.  

TBS West/Channel 28 has not been working on my analog system apparently for more than a week. I don't watch or even look for the TBS channel regularly but I do know that it has been dark at least since the beginning of the NCAA tournament. Why do I know this? Because I am a March Madness junkie and would watch every game if I could, many of which are broadcast on basic cable channel TBS and I could not find TBS anywhere on the analog line-up.

Curiously, today, one day after I submitted a formal complaint to the DCCA Cable Administrator, TBS is back on analog 28. Voila! Thank you basketball gods and thank you DCCA!  But there is no listing for TBS on channel 28.

I just checked Oceanic's Channel Line-Up on the web and found analog Channel 28 listed as DAYSTAR, a religious service. TBS is listed as appearing on digital 551. I am also holding a Oceanic Channel Guide for the Kahului franchise from my files dated 11/8/11 that lists TBS as only appearing on Channel 551.  On it, there is no listing or mention of Channel 28.

What I'd really like to know is this:

Aloha Mr. Yabusaki,

As you know this is the time of year known as March Madness where our broadcast and basic cable networks team with the NCAA to bring us every single game - except on Oceanic Time Warner. Today, I noticed that TBS, a basic cable service that was sold to subscribers as a channel requiring no special equipment or extra charges to view has been MIGRATED from its former analog position in the channel line-up to channel 551 which requires the rental of a digital box to view. This was done without notice and refunds were not offered to subscribers for the loss of service paid for in good faith.  Instead, subscriber's were greeted with a rate hike as of March 1st.

I believe that this is a deceptive business practice at best and would like to request that the DCCA investigate the matter of analog channel migration in general and order appropriate refunds to subscribers for the loss of TBS and perhaps other channels that, in fact, they no longer receiving but are still paying for. I would also like to request that you notify the Attorney General's office and the FCC of this deceptive business practice on the part of Oceanic.

Although I realize that it may to late for you to do anything about  more than 40% of viewers not being able to view March Madness on TBS,  I would like to thank you for your prompt attention to what one might call MIGRATION MADNESS, and I look forward to your response.

Jay April
Oceanic Time Warner Cable Subscriber

Akakū: Maui Community Television will be closed this Monday, March 26, 2012 in observance of Prince Kuhio Day. This includes all offices, the studio, the Media Lab, and our Moloka'i and Lana'i offices. We ask that all community producers plan accordingly in terms of renting or returning camera kits and/or other equipment. Normal work hours will resume on Tuesday, March 27, 2012.

For more information call 808.871.5554.

By McCrae Parker on 12 March 2012 - 9:03am

I’ve recently returned from Maui, HI where our Generation ZD partner, Akaku: Maui Community Television, has launched an innovative digital media program called Project YBEAM (Youth Broadband Education & Awareness Mentoring). Project YBEAM is a youth civic journalism project that seeks to expand access to communications and broadband technology in/for Maui's marginalized communities.

In Project YBEAM, students ranging in ages 12-18 years old participate in an intensive 12-day Digital Literacy Curriculum.  Each class day, students learn skills in journalism, video production and broadband technologies like wireless and fiber optic systems. Class discussions focus on topics such as media literacy, civic engagement, community responsibility, ethical awareness and cultural values.  Awareness, skills and action are tied together with the introduction and distribution of “MoJo” kits.

The term and practice of “MoJo” (mobile journalism) has been around since 2005, but it was only within the last year that it has become available to rural youth in Maui County. MoJo production kits are deceptively simple, but have proven to be extremely powerful tools in the creation and distribution of engaging stories.

Does a $50,000+ job with Oceanic Time Warner create a conflict of interest for legislator?

 
March 2nd, 2012 · Ethics, Legislature, Politics · Excerpted from i L i n d — Ian Lind • Online daily from Kaaawa, Hawaii

http://ilind.net/2012/03/02/does-a-50000-job-with-oceanic-time-warner-create-a-conflict-of-interest-for-legislator/#comments

Here’s a question about the Legislature’s web site: When members of the House or Senate disclose a conflict of interest, is there a record of that conflict which is accessible to the public?

The question occurred to me after a recent post about the bills impacting Olelo and the other community access television providers. I wondered whether Kauai Rep. Jimmy Tokioka had publicly disclosed his new job with Oceanic Time Warner, which creates at very least the reasonable perception of a conflict of interest. And I wondered if that information would be easy to locate.

Tokioka filed an amended financial disclosure with the State Ethics Commission on July 25, 2011, to report getting a job as business manager, Kauai operations. for Oceanic Time Warner Cable. His disclosure lists a salary in the $50,000-$100,000 range. That’s more than his legislative salary, possibly considerably more.

Tokioka is a member of the House Finance Committee, which ended up as the sole referral for HB2874, one of the cable bills that has stirred up controversy. The status page for the bill indicates Tokioka voted in favor, along with the majority of the committee. Tokioka reportedly has also been active behind the scenes seeking support from key colleagues in pushing cable-related bills forward.

Oceanic, which often finds itself at odds with the community access corporations funded by its franchise fees, is seen as a key interest behind these cable-related bills.

Jay April, president of Akaku: Maui Community Television, recently emailed the organization’s supporters:

 The Federal Communications Commission could begin to lift a 35-year-old ban preventing corporate thugs like Rupert Murdoch from creating media monopolies. But if we can flood their public consultation now we could save our independent media.

Click Here to send you comments to the FCC