Art scares government employees; Hawaii sees change The Olympics closed the air space out 45 miles from Salt Lake. We chose to move our plane to a 2600-foot long graveled air strip at what Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maps identify as the Vernon Municipal (airport?). We sent BLM a letter. Then - BLM sent a crew. They spread a big orange "X" in the middle of the airstrip. Staked it down really good. After that, a Cessna operated by Wildlife continued to use the strip. Ya see, a government employee lives in Vernon. Nine days into the no-fly period, and BLM's Brad Palmer called. "Get that plane out of there." Said they closed the airstrip. I said, "Get us an OK from the Secret Service." The call degenerated into a tirade. I felt Brad and the BLM's treatment of us (over the last few years) was tantamount (technically) to a terrorist attack on the phone service in three Utah counties. And I pointed out what the nation does to terrorists. Bad choice The next day Chuck and I visited Sally Wisley, the new state BLM boss. As we sat down to chat, I was informed that a BLM cop wanted to chat. I asked Sally if we could use her conference unit. Sure. All identified. The cop informed us that he had a complaint from a government employee that had been "threatened" by me. And to threaten a government employee is a felony offense. Sorry, but no corporal offense was intended. We got the lecture. Philosophical opinions are not allowed nowadays. Sally then told us that all government employees are instructed to report any such event. Sensitivity training? Chuck opined, "We are being held hostage by an axis of evil. BLM, NPS and Hill Air Force Base." Oh well…. WRTA's bash The Western Rural Telephone Association is reorganized. In February it held a convention in Kaui, Hawaii. Other than two small hotels, the massive Marriott convention Center/Hotel owns this island. The new management of WRTA did a fine job. The convention was a success. Chuck got sunburned. While we were sailing on a 15-foot cat, both porpoises and a humpback whale cavorted around us - really close. As an aside, since Sept. 11, the airlines have junked their gas-guzzling big jets to Hawaii and switched to the more fuel-efficient, long-range 737s. And, with fewer seats, every flight is full. Flights from the US bring about 10,000 folks each day. Six thousand per day from Japan. Want to commute intra-islands? An Aloha one-month blanket pass is $1,000. The WRTA fall convention will be in Salt Lake City. Y'all come? The mouse that roared A few years ago, retired Admiral Bob Kihune got the Hawaiian legislature to enact a law allowing creation of a wireline telephone company. Its charter was to provide service to the 68 Hawaiian homelands scattered around the five larger islands. GTE and the regulatory commission didn't cotton to this Hawaiian native then asking for a certificate. A judge held differently. Bob's company now has switches on all five islands. DLCs extend lines to the various homeland sites. Mid-States in Nephi, Utah, does the engineering. RUS is funding. Backhoes dig the trenches. Duct is laid. Toll? There is a AT&T cable ship in the harbor. Taqua Six and a half months into the RUS field trial, and the switch is working very well. We are installing a second. Few minor things are expected to be fixed by the 1.5 software load released today. A great replacement for DMS10 vintage switches. And it will be CALEA-compliant. Global Crossing Now that GX has gone Chapter 11, we are wondering what to do. It's impossible to block GX's traffic. As we have no direct trunks with GX, maybe we just oughta bill Qwest instead? Copyright 2002 by A. W. Brothers and Americas Network magazine. All rights reserved.   © Beehive Telephone Co.