We don't like becoming part of any news story but sometimes, in pushing for public openness, we feel the need to get involved in the fray.

This happened most recently when Yucaipa Companies sought to buy Aloha Airlines' brand and logo at a public auction in December. Yucaipa was the highest bidder and already had reached a licensing agreement to allow rival go! to fly under the Aloha Airlines banner over 10 years for at least $6 million. Many former Aloha Airlines, who blame go!'s parent Mesa for putting Aloha out of business almost a year ago, are upset about the possible name transfer.

Our reporter Rick Daysog was excluded from the auction after James Wagner, an attorney for Aloha's court-appointed trustee Dane Field, said Yucaipa objected to Daysog's presence at the auction. Attorneys for Yucaipa and Hawaiian Airlines were included, as was former Aloha Airlines board member Richard Ing.

Since the auction was ordered by the court, nobody should have been excluded. But Daysog was tossed out. Randy Kauhane, assistant general secretary for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 141, was told the auction was private and not to show up. Daysog objected to Wagner but was escorted to the reception area until the auction was over.

To make matters worse, Yucaipa Co. attorney Robert Klyman misrepresented to the court that a reporter was present during the auction, making it appear as if the auction went off without a hitch. Daysog let U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King know what happened, citing other court cases in the Ninth Circuit that supported his argument that the auction should have been open.

"This case has been of great significance and interest to the people of Hawai'i, and the public has a right to know how the former assets of the state's second largest airline are being sold," Daysog wrote to King.

The next day, King asked Wagner why Daysog had been excluded from the auction and ordered that it not happen again. Wagner admitted that the press should not have been excluded from the hearing and that he should have handled the matter better.

In January, King filed an order for Field, Yucaipa and their attorneys to show cause why the auction should not be ruled invalid and on March 3, threw out the sale, calling the exclusion of Daysog an "outrage." King said he had not authorized a private auction.

It is quite possible that the sale will go through again in about six weeks since there are no other serious bidders. At the very least, Daysog and other members of the press and public who want to attend, should be able to find out what happens behind closed doors.