http://www.thehawaiiindependent.com/local/aiea News • Culture • Community English news@thehawaiiindependent.com Copyright 2011 The Hawaii Independent Corporation Thursday, February 9 2012 9:05 AM /story/comment-what-will-rail-and-hot-lanes-do-for-honolulu /story/comment-what-will-rail-and-hot-lanes-do-for-honolulu In the following commentary on traffic congestion, Pano Prevedouros, University of Hawaii civil engineering professor and former candidate for Honolulu mayor, describes potential traffic alternatives and its impact on high profile events, tourism, and energy in the islands. What would rail do for future major conventions like the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia Development Bank? Nothing! Remember that the rail dead-ends at Ala Moana Center. Rail is promoted in order to create many temporary jobs. It won’t be well used because the bulk of its ridership comes from deleted bus lines. Rail cannot even go next to the Hawaii Convention Center for security reasons. If there is a rail line next to Honolulu Community College, then security-sensitive events cannot take place there, which defeats the purpose of HCC. What if we had high occupancy and toll lanes (HOT) Lanes instead of rail? HOT lanes (the toll applies to low occupancy vehicles) would be about 11 miles long, between the H-1/H-2 freeway merge and Iwilei with exits at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu International Airport, Kalihi, and Downtown. Tampa built elevated reversible toll lanes (town-bound in the morning, out-of-town bound in the afternoon) in six years for less than $350 Million; it opened in 2007. Tampa’s reversible express lanes (REL) solved a big part of its congestion problem for the same cost that Honolulu is spending on rail design and promotion. With HOT Lanes, during major events such as APEC, we would have problem-free travel between the H-1/H-2 freeway merge and Downtown regardless of H-1 freeway closures. There would be no visible blight because HOT lanes run mostly next to H-1 freeway and terminate one half mile before the waterfront. As a bonus, HOT lanes have no part in the destruction of Aloun Farms and the prime agricultural land that is planned to become an approximately 13,000 residential Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the Ewa plains. What will rail do for Oahu during a hurricane? Rail will shut down. It’s standard procedure. After hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008, Houston highways recovered in two-to-three days. It took its rail transit two weeks to operate fully. During a hurricane or other major storm, HOT lanes can be converted to be a resilient backbone for emergency and special services only. HOT ;anes will be elevated for 11 miles so they won’t flood or get clogged by debris. They can be designed with resiliency in mind so light poles and signs won’t collapse and block the roadway. They will aid in quick response and recovery for Oahu. What will rail do for Waikiki and tourism and the UH Manoa campus? Nothing. Rail dead ends at Ala Moana Center. Over one billion dollars will be needed to backtrack to Kapiolani Boulevard to get to Waikiki. Rail will permanently blight the Honolulu Convention Center and the spine of Waikiki: With the elevated rail and stations, sun will barely reach Kuhio Avenue. Rail to the UH Manoa campus is another $1 billion waste without justification. UH Manoa is in full session only 150 days a year. The rest of the time, it’s in summer session, final exam weeks, breaks, holidays, and weekends. How does one justify $1 billion for such partial usage? In contrast, a substantial portion of traffic from the H-1 freeway will divert onto the HOT Lanes (similar to the relief of Likelike Highway by the opening of the H-3 freeway). This will result in less congested travel to Waikiki and UH. With HOT lanes, traffic on the H-1 freeway will be as if UH is in recess permanently. What will rail do in terms of climate change? It will promote global warming. The Final EIS for the rail shows that the project will save 396 million British thermal units (BTU) of energy each day, or 144,540 million BTU per year, based on the City’s rosy forecasts of ridership. On the other hand, the rail’s guideway and station construction will require 7,480,000 million BTU to be constructed. Dividing 7,480,000 by 144,540 gives 51.75, or about 52 years. That’s how many years it will take to make up the construction energy loss by the assumed energy savings. But in 52 years, rail will need multiple component replacements, repairs, and refurbishments. So it is an energy black hole. In 2025, rail will be absurdly un-green compared to third generation plug-in hybrid vehicles. In contrast, HOT lanes reduce congestion and fuel consumption. HOT lanes can promote green technologies by having a reduced or zero toll for electric vehicles. Their pavement can be retrofitted with conduit for contactless battery recharging for hybrid buses and electric mini-buses. HOT Lanes are in large part transit and high-occupancy vehicle facilities. Some call them “virtually exclusive busways” because they are built to serve express buses and vanpools, and the excess capacity is then sold to lower occupancy vehicles through a toll charge. Former-Mayor Mufi Hannemann used some retired directors of transportation to convey the message that “we can’t build any more roads on Oahu.” Nothing is further from the truth. The proposed HOT lanes will be about 33 lane miles in total size including their shoulder lane. In the last 10 years, over 100 brand new lane miles of highways were built on Oahu, such as the Kalanianaole Highway widening, Fort Weaver Road widening, North-South Road, and two large freeway interchanges and new streets in Kapolei. HOT lanes, with their intelligent management center, automatic reversibility to serve morning and evening traffic, and accommodation for hi-tech cars and buses would be a prime technological demonstrator for traffic-clogged cities in Asia. In contrast, nobody from Asia would visit Honolulu to learn from its archaic and noisy steel-on-steel elevated rail. What do HOT lanes cost? Costs are a “moving target” because they are affected by final design, energy cost, and materials pricing. In approximate 2010 terms, the HOT lanes should cost under $2 billion, while the rail will cost over $5 billion. Significantly, the HOT lanes can be done in large part with private investment funds leaving the taxpayer with a less than $1 Billion tax liability. In contrast, all of the rail’s $5 billion cost is taxpayer funded. Most HOT lanes in the United States were built as public-private partnerships with shared investor-taxpayer risk. Rail’s construction cost will be followed by huge taxpayer financed subsidies, which if operation, maintenance and equipment replacement costs are totaled would be over $250 million per year (forever). In contrast, the operating costs of the HOT lanes are relatively minimal, similar to those for the H-3 freeway. News Culture Community Monday, December 12 2011 10:19 PM /story/i-ka-waa-ma-mua-ka-waa-ma-hope-exploring-pearl-harbors-present-pasts /story/i-ka-waa-ma-mua-ka-waa-ma-hope-exploring-pearl-harbors-present-pasts HONOLULU—On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I helped lead a field trip to Ke Awalau o Puʻuloa (Pearl Harbor) for 57 inner-city Honolulu high school students. We were studying the history of World War II, its root causes, consequences, and lessons. We also sought to uncover the buried history of Ke Awalau o Puʻuloa, once a life-giving treasure for the native inhabitants of O‘ahu, the object of U.S. imperial desire and raison d’etre for the overthrow and annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom.  A recurring theme in this excursion was the ʻōlelo noʻeau or Hawaiian proverb: “I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope”  “In the time in front (the past), the time in back (the future).” Kanaka Maoli view the world by looking back at what came before because the past is rich in knowledge and wisdom that must inform the perspectives and actions in the present and future. Or another way to say it might be to quote from William Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Throughout our field trip, the past kept reasserting itself into our present. To prepare for our visit, we impressed upon the youth that while our objective was to engage in critical historical investigation, we needed to maintain a solemn respect for Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa as a sacred place and a memorial. It is a place where the blood and remains of many who died in battle mingle with the bones of ancient Kanaka Maoli chiefs lying beneath asphalt and limestone on Moku‘ume‘ume (Ford Island). It is a wahi pana, a legendary place, where the great shark goddess Kaʻahupāhau issued a kapu on the taking of human life after she killed a girl in a rage and was later overcome with remorse. It is also where Kanekuaʻana, a great moʻo wahine, female water lizard, provided abundant seafood for the residents of ʻEwa until bad decisions by the chiefs caused her to take away all the pipi, ʻōpae, nehu, pāpaʻi, and iʻa. Our students were all poor and working class youth of Filipino, Samoan, Tongan, Chinese, Vietnamese, Micronesian, and Native Hawaiian ancestry. Their ethnic origins tell their own history of war and imperialism in the Pacific. We asked them to consider whose stories were being told, whose were excluded, and who was the intended audience. We asked them to consider whose stories were being told, whose were excluded, and who was the intended audience. A large floor map of the Pacific at the entrance to the museum provided a great teaching aide for illustrating the competing imperialisms in the Pacific that led to World War II. As students played the role of different colonized nations, we described the simultaneous expansion of Japan as an Asian empire and the rise of the United States via its westward expansion across the Pacific. I couldn’t help but reflect on how much President Barack Obama’s recent foreign policy “pivot” to the Pacific in order to contain the rise of China echoed these earlier developments. Inside the “World War II Valor in the Pacific” museum, we explored the roots of World War II, the differing U.S. and Japanese perceptions of the U.S. military build-up in Hawai‘i, and the seeds of World War II in the devastation caused by World War I and the Great Depression. We discussed the impacts of martial law and racial discrimination against persons of Japanese ancestry during the war.  The section on the Japanese internment took on a new sense of urgency in light of the recent U.S. Senate vote authorizing the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens accused of supporting terrorism without due process. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) arguing against inclusion of this clause in the Defense Authorization Act said: “We as a Congress are being asked, for the first time certainly since I have been in this body, to affirmatively authorize that an American citizen can be picked up and held indefinitely without being charged or tried. That is a very big deal, because in 1971 we passed a law that said you cannot do this. This was after the internment of Japanese-American citizens in World War II. [...] What we are talking about here is the right of our government, as specifically authorized in a law by Congress, to say that a citizen of the United States can be arrested and essentially held without trial forever.” But the measure passed 55 to 45. One of the tragic ironies is that among the senators voting to keep the indefinite detention clause in the bill was Sen. Daniel Inouye (D—HI) whose own people were unjustly interned in concentration camps during World War II. After taking in the effects of institutionalized discrimination, we continued on through the museum. To its credit, the National Parks Service included information about Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa as an important resource and cultural treasure for Kanaka Maoli. However, the “Hawaiian Story” was relegated to set of displays outside the exhibit proper. In this marginal space where Kanaka Maoli and locals are allowed to tell our history, most visitors rest their feet with their backs to the displays. Once I saw a person sleeping in front of a plaque that contained the sole reference to Hawai‘i’s contested sovereignty: “The Kingdom of Hawai‘i was overthrown in 1893.” The first thing that jumps out from this line is the passive third-person voice, as if the overthrow of a sovereign country just happened by an act of God, when in fact, it was an “act of war” by U.S. troops that enabled a small gang of Haole businessmen to overthrow the Queen. Still, according to a National Park Service official, this watered down reference to the overthrow was one of the most controversial lines in the exhibit. In their book Oh, Say, Can You See? The Semiotics of the Military in Hawai‘i, Kathy Ferguson and Phyillis Turnbull describe the hegemonic discourse that obscures alternative narratives: “The long and troubled history of conquest is muted by official accounts that fold Hawai‘i neatly into the national destiny of the United States. Similarly, the relationships to places and peoples cultivated by Hawai‘i’s indigenous people and immigrant populations are displaced as serious ways of living and recalibrated as quaint forms of local color. Another controversial shred of history that made it into the exhibit was a small reference to America’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Entitled “Road to Peace,” the small photograph depicted a devastated Hiroshima with its iconic dome. But where were the people? In contrast to the graphic depiction of U.S. casualties in the Pearl Harbor attack, the museum avoided showing the vast human suffering caused by the atomic bombing of Japan. One explanation can be found in the classic study Hiroshima in America: Fifty Years of Denial, by Robert Jay Lifton and Greg Mitchell. They argue that U.S. citizens suffer from a collective psychic numbing about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: “It has never been easy to reconcile dropping the bomb with a sense of ourselves as a decent people.” It seems that the U.S. public has also developed a collective psychic numbing about slavery, genocide, and imperialism. It seems that the U.S. public has also developed a collective psychic numbing about slavery, genocide, and imperialism, which brings us back to the role of “Pearl Harbor” as war memorial and national myth. It is as if the Pearl Harbor attack induced a collective post-traumatic stress that haunts the national psyche, a recurring nightmare within which our imaginations have become trapped. And since the United States is now the preeminent superpower, the entire world is held hostage to its nightmares. As national myth, “Pearl Harbor” reproduces the notion of America’s innocence, goodness, and redemption through militarism and war. It absolves the sins of war while mobilizing endless preparations for war, a constant state of military readiness that has mutated into a war machine of vast, unfathomable proportions. More than 1,000 foreign U.S. military bases garrison the planet. “Pre-emptive war,” military operations other than war, proxy wars, and decapitation strikes by drones have become the norm. As German theologian Dorothee Soelle reminds us, the delusional pursuit of absolute security, shuttering the window of vulnerability, means closing off all air and light and undergoing a kind of spiritual death. Every time we are scolded to “Remember Pearl Harbor,” the dead are roused from their resting places to man battle stations for imagined future enemies. Haven’t they sacrificed enough? What if we let the dead rest in peace? What if the greatest honor we could afford them was a commitment to peace and not endless war? How would Pearl Harbor be different if it was a peace memorial instead of a war memorial? After viewing the exhibit, we decided to debrief and reflect on what we saw and experienced. Large tents and white chairs were set up in neat rows for the upcoming commemoration.  Seeing visitors sitting under the shade of the tents, we decided to join them. After all, the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack is a time of public remembrance and reflection, with amenities and labor paid for by the public. But before we all could sit down, a sailor in blue camouflage told us we were not allowed to sit on the chairs that they had just spent hours setting up. A teacher reassured him that we would just meet for a few minutes and leave the area as orderly as we found it, but he insisted that we could not sit there. So we all stood up and huddled in the shade. But the other visitors, who appeared to be Haole and Asian tourists, were allowed to remain seated. I walked up to the two sailors and informed them that there were other people sitting on their chairs and suggested that they also inform those visitors about the “no-sitting” rule. The sailors became aggressive. One sailor leaned forward to my face, his lips curling into a snarl and his voice raised to intimidate. “Who are you?! What’s your name?!” he fired off. “Who are you with?! What are you doing here?! Why are you telling us how to do our job?!”  He didn’t want my answers. His words were like warning shots from a gun intended to make me seek cover. I asked why they made us stand while they let the other people sit and argued that they were sending a very bad message to the youth. Unable to explain the inconsistency of their rule, he finally said that they would talk to the other visitors when they “get around to it.” As I walked away, he grunted “Fucking bitch!” The youth, who had overheard the exchange and witnessed the pent up violence of the sailor’s voice and body language, were abuzz. I told them to pay attention to how we were treated, to who was allowed to sit and who wasn’t. I asked them to reflect on why we were treated this way. Several students blurted out “It’s racism, mister!” “They only care about tourists!” Sadly, the two sailors were also persons of color. From their looks and name patches, it appeared that they were of Asian and Latino ancestry. I imagine that as low-ranking military personnel, they get yelled at and humiliated all the time. This particular assignment—setting up white chairs and tents for VIP guests, chairs that they will never sit on—must have felt demeaning. So, when a group of youth who look like them came along and casually crossed the class and race line, it surely pushed some buttons.  I have noticed that when colonized people serve in the colonizers’ armies, they often adopt hyper-aggressive attitudes to overcompensate for feelings of humiliation and self-loathing. When troops are conditioned to win respect and authority by demeaning or dominating others, it can spill over into other human interactions. We see evidence of this in the high rates of domestic violence and sexual assault of women in the military. It also helps to explain why it was so natural for the sailor call me an epithet so degrading to women. In other times and other circumstances, he might have called me a “Jap,” “Gook,” “Haji,” “Nigger,” or “Fag.” Those names serve the same function, to dehumanize and put us in our place. I should thank the two sailors for making an indelible impression about the oppressive nature of military power in Hawaiʻi and the racist and colonial order the military helps to maintain here. I wonder how our students will respond when they are approached by military recruiters in the future (and most of them will be approached by recruiters). Their demographics place them in a high risk category for being recruited into the military. Recruiters have swarmed schools with large immigrant and low income populations, luring students with incentives and promises of citizenship, education, and career opportunities. A study by the Heritage Foundation of U.S. enlistment rates reported that as of 2005, “Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander” were the most overrepresented group, with a ratio of 7.49, or an overrepresentation of 649 percent.  How would Pearl Harbor be different if it was a peace memorial instead of a war memorial? After our inhospitable treatment at the Pearl Harbor memorial, we left for our final stop, the Hanakehau Learning Farm in Waiawa. Just off the main highway, down a few back roads and a dirt trail, the concrete freeway and urban sprawl gave way to a humid, green oasis near the shores of Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa. As we drove up, a Hawaiian flag flew over the entrance and clear water flowed from springs. The ‘āina lives! But scattered piles of construction debris and weed-choked wetlands told of the arduous work to “restore `āina in an area heavily impacted by a long history of military misuse, illegal dumping, and pollution.”  Andre Perez greeted us and explained their mission “to reclaim and to restore Hawaiian lands and provide the means and resources for Hawaiians to engage in traditional practices by creating Hawaiian cultural space.”  Flipping on its head the popular saying “Keep Hawaiian lands in Hawaiian hands,” he explained that it was more important to “Keep Hawaiian hands in Hawaiian lands.” Until Kanaka Maoli practice caring for the ʻāina, they would not have their sovereignty.    The class took a short walk to survey the area and witness the transformation of the environment. What was once clean and productive wetland and ecoestuary system had become a place of social decay and ecological ruin.  Sugar growers had built a railroad on an artificial berm that cut off the flow of fresh water to the lochs.  Former fishponds were imprisoned by a military fence with signs warning of toxic contamination in the fish and shellfish. This is one of more than 740 military contamination sites identified by the Navy within the Pearl Harbor complex, a giant Superfund site. Now drug addicts and outlaws seek out the secluded brush near Ke Awalau o Puʻuloa to make deals, get high, or strip stolen cars. Against this backdrop, Hanakehau farm stands out like a kīpuka, an oasis of hope amid the ruins of colonization. The farm represents the resilience of the ‘āina and Hawaiian culture, new growth on devastated lava flow, to transform Pearl Harbor, a place of tragedy and war back into Ke Awalau o Puʻuloa, a source of life and peace. Andre shared an ʻōlelo noʻeau with the students: “He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kanaka.” The land is chief, and humans are the servants or stewards. This metaphor shows that land is held in high honor and calls on people to take care of the land.  After we returned to the school, the students were given the assignment to create short skits about what they learned during the field trip. Three of the five groups created satirical skits about the absurd “chair incident.” Another group utilized the metaphor of “He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kanaka.” As educators trying to instill critical thinking skills, we couldn’t have asked for a better curriculum. Our class excursion made me remember another frequently cited quote about the importance of history.  The philosopher George Santayana wrote in The Life of Reason: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This quote has been used frequently to justify constant vigilance and overwhelming military superiority as the prime lessons of World War II. However, as the United States “pivots” its foreign policy to contain a rising China, it seems to be following the catastrophic course of past empires. Perhaps our memories don’t go back far enough to a past when people had peace and security without empire. Instead of walking away from the past, we might be better off turning to face history, where our past may hold answers to our future.   Related Story: Pearl Harbor wasn’t always a place of war News Culture Community Tuesday, December 6 2011 11:09 PM /story/rail-work-accidentally-interrupts-honolulus-ability-to-view-traffic /story/rail-work-accidentally-interrupts-honolulus-ability-to-view-traffic AIEA—A Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. subcontractor’s construction vehicle working on Honolulu’s rail transit project struck an overhead communications line near Aloha Stadium today, affecting the City’s traffic camera coverage. Cameras covering the Central and Leeward Oahu area are out of service due to the incident, and crews are expected to work through the night to make the necessary repairs, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) officials said. “We understand that many commuters rely on these cameras for their traffic updates, and we are working diligently to get the needed repairs done as quickly as possible,” Kevin Rozendaal, a project manager for Kiewit, said in a statement. “We are sorry for any problems this may cause.” A vehicle used to locate utilities struck the overhead line on Kamehameha Highway and Honomanu Street, cutting the fiber optics cable and disabling the cameras, Kiewit officials said. Kiewit notified the City and inspectors were sent out to inspect the damage and to consult on a repair strategy. No injuries were reported. News Culture Community Wednesday, October 19 2011 9:25 PM /story/verbatim-major-conflicts-of-interest-with-honolulu-rail-transit-consulting /story/verbatim-major-conflicts-of-interest-with-honolulu-rail-transit-consulting A group of individuals (Walter Heen, Benjamin Cayetano, Cliff Slater, and Randall Roth) who have been speaking out against the City’s handling of the Honolulu Rail Transit project sent the following letter earlier this week to City officials. The group alleges a conflict of interest in the City’s dealings with Parsons Brinckerhoff, the planning and engineering firm which has had a multi-year, $86 million consulting contract with the City. To: Mayor Peter Carlisle, Members of the Honolulu City Council, and Members of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Board From: Walter Heen, Benjamin Cayetano, Cliff Slater, and Randall Roth Re: Call for an investigation of apparent negligence We recently pointed out that: 1. Brinckerhoff has a strong financial interest in the proposed elevated heavy rail system; 2. Three former Parsons Brinckerhoff employees formed the company, InfraConsult, which is supposed to be providing oversight on Parsons Brinckerhoff’s work; 3. A former Parsons Brinckerhoff employee, Wayne Yoshioka, now serves as the City’s Director of Transportation Services (DTS); and 4. Yoshioka’s wife continues to work at Parsons Brinckerhoff. Such relationships create conflicts of interest that have the potential to lessen accountability. For example, one related party might hesitate to hold another related party accountable for the latter’s negligence, even in circumstances where negligence is clear. With that in mind, we draw your attention to the glaring mistake someone made in routing the proposed railway and one of its train stations too close to protected airspace around Honolulu International Airport. In 2009, DTS director Yoshioka publicly stated that it would cost $29 million to fix the problem and that the entire amount could be “easily absorbed” within the City’s contingency fund. He did not identify the party that made the mistake, nor did he explain why taxpayers should bear the cost of what presumably was someone’s negligence. Given the conflicts of interest noted above, we believe the Mayor, Council, or HART board should conduct a full investigation into the circumstances of the routing mistake. If the project manager or any other consultant is found to have been negligent, that party or parties—rather than Honolulu taxpayers—should be held accountable for the financial consequences of their negligence. News Culture Community Friday, August 26 2011 10:52 PM /story/aloha-aina-earth-day-in-aiea-to-collect-prom-dresses-household-appliances /story/aloha-aina-earth-day-in-aiea-to-collect-prom-dresses-household-appliances HONOLULU—The Aloha ‘Aina Earth Day #114 Recycling Community Clean-Up and Fundraiser will be in Aiea this month to support the Aiea Community Association. The monthly recycling drive was created to provide residents with an easy way to get rid of recyclable waste while raising money for community groups. This month’s event is scheduled for Saturday, August 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Alvah A. Scott Elementary, 98-1230 Moanalua Rd. For the first time, the recycling drive will accept new, or like new formal (prom) dresses, accessories, handbags, and dress shoes. These items will go to the Bella Project, a sponsor and non-profit organization that collects formal dresses and accessories throughout the year to donate to high school women in Hawaii who are unable to purchase their own prom attire. Another addition to the drive is the acceptance of new, and like new career attire, accessories, handbags, shoes, and makeup. These items will go to Dress for Success, an organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Other items that the public is encouraged to bring are: scrap metal, bicycles, appliances, lawn mowers, beverage containers, cardboard-corrugated, newspaper, used cooking oil, cellular phones, printer cartridges, PDAs, cameras, gaming systems, electronics, telephone books, magazines, used bath and beach towels, cardboard egg cartons/ drink trays, DVDs, CDs, Blu-Ray and games, used eye glasses, hearing aids, all types of batteries, computers, printers, scanners (no limit), one TV per car, usable clothing and household items, plastic bags, plastic bottle caps, two incandescent light bulb exchange for two CFLs (2 per person), canned goods for Hawaii Food Bank, and monetary donations for Hawaii Meals on Wheels. For free towing of unwanted cars and free roll-off bin service for scrap metal, call (808) 306-1876. Please do not bring tires, motor oil, paints, hazard fluids, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, microwave ovens, gas tanks, and green waste.  For more information, call the Office of Rep. Blake Oshiro at (808) 586-6340. News Culture Community Saturday, August 6 2011 12:47 AM /story/verbatim-elevated-rail-is-all-about-politics-and-money-we-cant-afford-it /story/verbatim-elevated-rail-is-all-about-politics-and-money-we-cant-afford-it The following statement is a follow-up to an ad, which ran today in the Star Advertiser, by HonoluluTraffic.com, a citizen group opposed to elevated rail in Honolulu. You can find our ad on page 6 in today’s paper. We make certain claims in the ad that the City will try to rebut. However, the following are the facts shown it italics under each of the claims we make: CLAIM 1. ITS ABOUT POLITICS. Rail has nothing to do with traffic. It’s about money for land owners, developers, contractors, politicians and union leaders. It’s THEIR train! We Verify: Check the campaign contributions to politicians at the Campaign Spending Commission website. In particular, check former Mayor Hannemann’s list for the 2008 and 2010 elections. CLAIM 2. TRAFFIC CONGESTION WILL BE WORSE. The City admits in its Final EIS that, “Traffic congestion will be worse in the future with rail than what it is today.” We Verify: The City wrote, “You are correct in pointing out that traffic congestion will be worse in the future with rail than what it is today without rail, and that is supported by data included in the Final EIS.” (Page 1252 of Appendix A, Final EIS) CLAIM 3. IT’S LIKELY TO COST $7 BILLION, NOT $5.3 BILLION. The City says the rail project will cost $5.3 billion. It doesn’t tell you that a Federal study concluded there is a 50 percent CHANCE IT WILL COST $7 BILLION. We Verify: See www.honolulutraffic.com/FTA_cost_probabilities.pdf. This paper is largely based on the FTA’s Project Management Oversight Contractor’s Report of July 2009 (see page 7-17 and related pages). In addition, the IMG Report, written by one of Washington DC’s leading consulting companies and commissioned by Governor Lingle, also found that construction and finance costs would probably total $7 billion. See page 16 of the IMG Report here. CLAIM 4. WE CAN’T AFFORD IT. A $1.7 billion cost overrun, the $300 million taken from the federal bus funds, together with rail’s operating losses would cost the average household a $400 increase in property taxes every year FOREVER. We Verify: Actually, we understated the cost. The 2010 Oahu property tax collections were $854 million. The 2006 average family of four property taxes paid were $1,650. The increase in City property tax collections 2006 to 2010 was 44 percent, which brings the average property tax paid to $2,368. Thus, a $400 increase would mean a 15 percent property tax increase. The $1.7 billion cost overrun ($7 billion less $5.3 billion), plus $300 million that has to be replaced from the General Fund, amortized over 35 years at 5.5 percent interest, is $130 million annually, which is 15.2 percent of 2010 tax collections. That covers the $400 annually and that’s before we get to the operating losses, which are difficult to calculate because rail ridership projections are notoriously overstated while operating expenses are usually understated. However, the projected bus/rail fare revenue in 2019 of $105 million and the expenses of $318 million resulting in losses of $213 million is certain to be exceeded. CLAIM 5. IT WOULD BE AN EYESORE. Imagine 720 of these huge supporting pillars along the route with stations 75 feet high and as long as a football field. Consider how it would degrade the grace of our City, block views and destroy the beauty of Honolulu’s waterfront. Never mind the many years of construction chaos. We Verify: Every one of Oahu’s environmental organizations is opposed to elevated heavy rail running through our city. For good reason, more elevated rail lines have been torn down in the United States than have been built in modern times. News Culture Community Thursday, July 14 2011 1:41 AM /story/brotherhood-boy-band-reunites-at-iges-in-aiea /story/brotherhood-boy-band-reunites-at-iges-in-aiea AIEA—In the late-90’s, Darryl “Cuz” Anguay produced a local boy band called Brotherhood, who found success with hits such as “Be My Girl” and “Send a Message.” Their popularity led them to open for such national acts as Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block.  When Brotherhood disbanded, some of the members joined some of the guys from The New Generation (TNG) to form Faceless and then Brownskin. Faceless and Brownskin opened for K-Ci & Jojo, Christina Aguilera, and Ginuwine, and also worked with local artists Fiji, “Princess” Ilona Irvine, and Jamin “Chief Ragga” Wong. The group performs at Ige’s Restaurant in Aiea on Friday, June 19. In 2011, brothers Michael and Richie Pelen from the original Brotherhood have reunited the group, and they are currently in the studio and performing. Joining them are accomplished singer/songwriter Dino Robley and Devin Nakasone, charismatic frontman from the groups Chaos and All Left. Tickets are on sale at Dirty Lickens Restaurant. Brotherhood Friday, June 19 at 8:00 p.m. Freddy Von Paraz’s Fathers Day Event Ige¹s Restaurant 98-761 Oihana Place, Aiea $20 pre-sale ($17 for 6-11 years) or $25 at the door. Ticket price includes all-you-can-eat buffet.  News Culture Community Thursday, June 16 2011 9:05 PM /story/prevedouros-floating-rail-bonds-now-is-a-dereliction-of-city-councils-fiduc /story/prevedouros-floating-rail-bonds-now-is-a-dereliction-of-city-councils-fiduc The Honolulu City Council is considering granting permission to float $2 billion in bonds to pay for initial rail contracts. The following is a letter to Honolulu council members from civil engineering professor and former mayoral candidate Panos Prevedouros. Dear Council Members, It appears that several of you are misinformed about the status of the rail project. Here is a five line update: 1.  The city does not yet have [Federal Transit Administration] FTA approval to enter Final Design. 2.  The City has not completed Final Design. It is still collecting the necessary samples. 3.  Only after Final Design is completed, the City can enter into a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the FTA. 4.  Only then the actual dollar commitment of the feds will be set in terms of monies and year of expenditure. 5.  At that point, Congress has the prerogative to cut the funding, reduce the funding, or grant it as stated. See for yourself: www.apta.com/gap/legupdatealert/2011/Pages/2011April20.aspx Congress cut FTA’s New Starts by a whopping 20 percent for 2011. The 2011 New Starts funds for the whole nation is $1.59 billion and Honolulu is asking for $1.55 billion! Floating bonds before federal funds are secured is a dereliction of your fiduciary duty and lack of due diligence. Mahalo, Panos Prevedouros News Culture Community Wednesday, May 4 2011 9:59 PM /story/robbery-suspect-dies-after-police-shooting-in-pearl-city /story/robbery-suspect-dies-after-police-shooting-in-pearl-city Just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, police shot and killed a man suspected of robbing Pukana La Massage Therapy, an upstairs businesses at Waimalu Shopping Center. This is the second deadly police shooting on Oahu this month. On April 14, police shot and killed 28-year-old Mark Ahnee after he and another man were involved in a carjacking rampage through east Honolulu. KHON2 News reports. News Culture Community Wednesday, April 27 2011 8:44 PM /story/citys-pear-harbor-bike-path-cleanup-a-success /story/citys-pear-harbor-bike-path-cleanup-a-success HONOLULU—The City’s Department of Environmental Services (ENV) and 350 volunteers from dozens of organizations successfully completed the Pearl Harbor Bike Path Cleanup Saturday, April 16. Approximately 3.5 tons of trash and debris were collected along the 13.5-mile section of the bike path from Aiea to Kapakahi Stream in Waipahu. Furthermore, about eight cubic yards of mulch and 200 native plants were planted to minimize erosion and filter sediment runoff to Kapakahi Stream and Puuloa Natural Springs. The event was sponsored by ENV, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Pearl City Lions Club and Hawaiian Electric Company. Cooperating agencies/organizations include HPD, DLNR, DOCARE, Council Members Nestor Garcia and Breene Harimoto, legislators, the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Facility Maintenance, U.S. Army, Waipahu High, Olelo and youth groups. To volunteer for Adopt-A-Stream/Adopt-A-Block cleanups, logon to www.cleanwaterhonolulu.com or contact Iwalani Sato at (808) 768-3248. News Culture Community Tuesday, April 19 2011 9:21 PM /story/for-zachary-manago /story/for-zachary-manago HONOLULU—Pre-game rituals are not uncommon among sports teams. But none are more heartfelt or have deeper meaning than that of the Hawaii Pacific University baseball team. Before the start of each game, the Sea Warrior squad gathers at the middle of the outfield, says a short prayer, and collectively shouts, “Ride to the top!” “It’s something we say to remember what the season is for and to remember that we are playing for our boy that didn’t get a chance to play,” said senior Lester Akeo. The words are much more than a saying, but a mantra of remembrance for a fallen comrade. Before the start of the season, Zachary Manago, a redshirt freshman on the team, died in a hit-and-run incident while riding his bike. His death not only shocked the entire Hawaii baseball community, but forged the 2011 Sea Warrior team into a close knit fraternity of brothers. “We are super close. We are a family and we bond together,” said redshirt freshman Keanu Kapana, who played with Manago since he was 12-years-old. “Before what happened at the beginning of the season, we had groups of guys that were super close. And now we are all on the same page.” To go along with the emotional roller coaster ride at the beginning of the year, this season has had its share of ups and downs. After dropping eight of their first 10 games, the team hit a mid-season surge all the way to the top of the Pac-West. Through all of this, Coach Garrett Yukumoto has preached the team’s camaraderie. “The team chemistry has grown from the beginning of the season till today. There is more cohesiveness, which in turn makes us a little more victorious,” Yukumoto said. “They dedicated the season to Zach and I told them, ‘if you’re going to dedicate a season to someone, then you need to put your heart and soul into it’.” The death of a team member can no doubt have harsh emotional effects on a group’s psyche and mentality, but there have been a steady number of leaders on the team who stepped up and made sure everyone is on the right track to help the Sea Warriors go far. Aside from Akeo and Kapana, Coach “Yuks” also tabbed Chad Bolibol and Kale Sumner as positive contributors to the team. “I think with their leadership roles, they are taking the lead to have the team bond as one and they aren’t showing it by mouth,” Yukumoto said. “It’s more by expectation and work ethic.  That’s basically leading by example.” Akeo, an infielder who is in his final year, loves the leadership role that comes with seniority and said this season’s group is unlike any other he has been on in his time at HPU. “This is probably the closest team I’ve been on since I’ve been here,” Akeo said. “This team is a little younger so I want to take the lead and show the younger guys how it is to get back to the regionals.” On the way to the Downtown Honolulu campus, going Koko Head bound, there is a mural dedicated to Manago’s memory of him riding his bicycle. The words above the painting of Manago read: “Ride in paradise.” The artwork is another touching tribute to someone who was not only seen as a great teammate, but an even greater friend. Whether the team is at home or on the road chasing another Pac West title, each and every number on the roster knows No. 29 will always be riding alongside them ... helping them get to the top.   News Culture Community Wednesday, March 30 2011 11:04 PM /story/aiea-heights-road-improvement-project-underway-expect-traffic /story/aiea-heights-road-improvement-project-underway-expect-traffic AIEA—The City is planning to begin roadway improvements to provide lateral support for a segment of Aiea Heights Drive. The project location is Aiea Heights Drive between the road’s horseshoe turn and Analio Place. Utility relocation work is expected to begin Monday, March 7 and the main construction work is scheduled to follow. The construction should be completed by the end of June.  The project will include road and slope stabilization (micropiles with concrete caps, tiebacks, and soil nails) and pavement restoration (including installation of curbs, concrete guardrails, pavement markings and markers, and temporary and permanent joint pole relocation).  During construction, one of the two existing travel lanes will be closed so crews can work safely.  Motorists should expect delays as traffic will be diverted to the remaining lane in a contra-flow pattern with the assistance of Honolulu Police off-duty officers and flagmen stationed above and below the road closure. To expedite the road improvements, the contractor will work extended hours Mondays through Fridays, and also work on Saturdays. No construction is expected on Sundays. The City’s contractor for the project is Schnabel Foundation Company, Inc., and the work is expected to cost $1.5 million. News Culture Community Tuesday, March 8 2011 3:41 AM /story/heco-fewer-than-300-without-electricity-in-west-oahu /story/heco-fewer-than-300-without-electricity-in-west-oahu Electrical power has been restored to most of Oahu, according to Hawaiian Electric Company and Hawaii Civil Defense. Governor Abercrombie released a statement this afternoon, calling for HECO and IBEW to immediately resolve the labor dispute “Two private entities cannot hold the public interest hostage,” he said. “Neither the public nor I will tolerate delays or punitive tactics by either side.” For ongoing coverage, follow the #HIPower hashtag on Twitter. News Culture Community Monday, March 7 2011 1:07 AM /story/hawaii-pro-football-kicks-off-friday /story/hawaii-pro-football-kicks-off-friday HONOLULU—J.J. Niebuhr is a busy man. As co-owner of JJ Dolan’s Irish Pizza Pub on Bethel Street, he has his hands full managing the daily operations of a kitchen that cranks out up to 240 pizza pies in a single day of operation. He is also the new public face of the Arts District Merchants Association, a position that seems well suited to his gregarious nature and uncommon willingness to help others. And now Niebuhr is involved in another ambitious undertaking. He has signed on as a coach with the Honolulu Volcanoes of the Hawaii Professional Football League (HPFL), which begins its 2011 season Friday, March 4 at Aloha Stadium. “I actually tried out for the team back in December,” says Niebuhr, who played football in high school and with intramurals squads while he was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. “But after you get called ‘Uncle’ and ‘Pops’ and ‘Brett Favre’ enough times, you start to think there might be another way to get involved.” Niebuhr has become the running backs/special teams coach serving under team owner and head coach Darrick Branch, who won the hearts of UH Football fans with a banner 1992 season, when the team won the Holiday Bowl. There are four teams in the HPFL, and a large roster of free agent players. Some players will receive pay for playing, others have the option to pay for playing time. At the time of the start of the regular season on Friday, teams will be limited to 40-man rosters. “The league has a whole lot of homegrown talent,” explains Niebuhr. “A lot of these guys are playing for personal fulfillment, not a paycheck. They get off of work at pau hana time and they come to practice. There’s some serious dedication there.” The league offers a second chance to former collegiate players who never made a pro roster. An official NFL developmental league, the HPFL offers an opportunity for players to showcase their skills for scouts and agents, exposure they might not otherwise receive. With the demise of Arena Football in Hawaii, the opportunity is certainly a welcome one. The HPFL uses many of the same rules of play as the NFL and NCAA, with a few exceptions to add excitement to the game and to give the league a distinctly Hawaiian identity. The coin toss to determine possession at the beginning of the game will be replaced by a jun ken po challenge, with the winner receiving the same advantage as a winner of a traditional coin toss. An ‘oli will be performed before each game, and a traditional haka by each team will be allowed. The 2011 regular season begins at Aloha Stadium, but the rest of the regular season games will be played at Pearl City and Radford high schools. For more information about the Hawaii Professional Football League, or to purchase tickets, visit www.hawaiiprofootball.com. Related Stories: After two years, J.J. Dolan’s Irish Pizza Pub models success Rollin’ in the dough: JJ Dolan’s marks its first year of value, fine service in Downtown News Culture Community Friday, March 4 2011 4:31 PM /story/hawaiis-houseless-hawaiis-dream-center /story/hawaiis-houseless-hawaiis-dream-center News Culture Community Thursday, March 3 2011 8:02 PM /story/retirees-protest-retirement-cuts-taxes-at-town-hall-meeting /story/retirees-protest-retirement-cuts-taxes-at-town-hall-meeting KITV’s Catherine Cruz reports that a town hall meeting last night provided an opportunity for state retirees to raise issue with the Abercrombie administration’s planned cuts to the state pension system. Pensions may be taxed, and Medicare Part B reimbursements may be cut. For more information about the Medicare Part B proposal, see our explanatory coverage here. News Culture Community Friday, February 18 2011 5:20 PM /story/2-15-bhf-kaimuki-high-school-performing-arts-center-to-perform-pirates-of-p /story/2-15-bhf-kaimuki-high-school-performing-arts-center-to-perform-pirates-of-p KAIMUKI—To celebrate its 24th year, the Kaimuki High School Performing Arts Center will be performing The Pirates of Penzance, the popular comic operetta written by Gilbert and Sullivan. It will feature a rollicking band of pirates led by their swashbuckling Pirate King, a shrewd but stuffy Major General with a bevy of beautiful daughters, a pair of young lovers wrenched apart by misunderstanding and a misguided sense of duty, a police force reminiscent of the Keystone Cops, and a happy ending (of course). The enthusiastic and talented actors represent various public schools from Hawaii including Kaimuki, Aiea, and Kalani High Schools and Washington, Dole, and Kaimuki Middle Schools. Also represented are students from Myron Thompson Academy and Hokulani, Lehua, and Kahala Elementary Schools. The Pirates of Penzance will be performed on February 18, 19, 25 and 26; March 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m.; and February 27 and March 6 at 3:00 p.m. With ID, elementary and high school students, military, and seniors citizens over 65 are $6. Adult tickets are $12. Box office opens 30 minutes before each performance for ticket sales. Tickets are also on sale at Harry’s Music Store and online at News Culture Community Wednesday, February 16 2011 1:20 AM /story/oahu-agriculture-and-environmental-awareness-day-hawaii-students-to-converg /story/oahu-agriculture-and-environmental-awareness-day-hawaii-students-to-converg HONOLULU—A swarm of more than 600 elementary students and their teachers will descend upon the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s 30-acre Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on Thursday, February 17. The UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ Oahu Cooperative Extension Office and Office of Academic and Student Affairs is hosting the 2011 Oahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day. To view photos from last year’s event, click here A record number of students and teachers from Hale Kula, Iliahi, Wheeler, Palisades, Pearl City Highlands, and Punahou elementary schools will attend this annual event, which serves a two-fold purpose: To create a greater awareness and understanding of agriculture and the environment among today’s students, teachers, and the general public; and to introduce students to career opportunities in agriculture and the environmental studies on Oahu and throughout the state. The 30-acre Urban Garden Center is operated by the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. The garden serves as a one-stop resource for gardening information, ideas and educational activities. Oahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day Thursday, February 17 from 8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. UH Manoa’s Pearl City Urban Garden Center 955 Kamehameha Highway News Culture Community Monday, February 14 2011 10:46 PM /story/city-offers-express-bus-service-to-the-pro-bowl-1250-round-trip /story/city-offers-express-bus-service-to-the-pro-bowl-1250-round-trip HONOLULU—The City and County of Honolulu will be offering express TheBus service to the public going to the Pro Bowl this Sunday, January 30 at Aloha Stadium.  Football fans can relax and avoid the traffic and parking battles to focus on cheering for their teams. There will be 17 express locations island-wide. The fare is $6.25 each way (cash only, exact fare, no passes, or transfers). The locations are: Ala Moana Center Waikiki Downtown Hawaii Kai Kahala Kaimuki University of Hawaii Palolo Village Park Kapolei Mililani Mauka Ewa Beach Kaneohe Bay/Makalani Kailua: Keolu/Hele Kailua / Hahani Kaneohe Bay/Mokapu Kalanianaole/Kailua Return Trip: TheBus will leave the stadium when the bus is full and the last return trip will leave a half-hour after the game ends.  For more schedule information including departure times from the neighborhood locations, call 848-5555 or visit www.thebus.org. News Culture Community Saturday, January 29 2011 1:20 AM /story/city-council-unanimously-grants-initial-construction-permit-for-honolulu-ra /story/city-council-unanimously-grants-initial-construction-permit-for-honolulu-ra HONOLULU—The Honolulu Rail Transit Project received a key permit approval today from the Honolulu City Council that allows the project to begin early construction activities. The City Council voted 8-0 to approve the Special Management Area Use Permit (SMP), which allows the City to move ahead with the construction permitting process for the rail project. Initial work for the rail project will begin shortly with the relocation of utilities and site preparation for the eventual construction of the elevated rail guideway. The City Department of Planning and Permitting, which oversees the SMP process, recommended City Council approval of the permit. The permit application concluded the rail project will have no significant adverse environmental or ecological effects on coastal ecosystems, beaches, or other coastal resources. About 1.6 miles of the 20-mile Honolulu Rail Project route will be inside the Special Management Area district, with a 2.8-mile portion of the rail transit route bordering the district. The permit approval follows the Federal Transit Administration issuing a Record of Decision last week for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project, confirming that the project has met all the requirements of the environmental review process. In December, Governor Neil Abercrombie accepted the project’s Final Environmental Impact, which identified environmental, community and economic benefits and impacts of the rail system as well as mitigation measures for addressing these issues. The City has already awarded a construction contract for the first phase of the elevated rail guideway from East Kapolei to Pearl City.  A second contract for the train storage and maintenance facility in Waipahu is expected to be executed shortly. The City is scheduled to award two more major construction contracts this year for the second phase of the rail route from Pearl City to Aloha Stadium and for the “core systems,” which consists of the train vehicles and the control center for the rail system. Related Story: Honolulu Rail Transit gets the go-ahead from the Federal Transit Administration News Culture Community Thursday, January 27 2011 4:12 AM