Boycott Hawaii Superferry News

Fwd: Ferry Again: Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again...

2011-02-05T12:07:00.000-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brad Parsons <mauibrad@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 5:27 PM
Subject: Ferry Again: Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again...
To: Brad Parsons <kauaibrad@hotmail.com>
1. HB191.DOC HB191 Status

Context: ...of Hawaii. The purpose of this measure is to establish the Hawaii state ferrysystem to provide that necessary and essential additional missing link for the ...a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows: "CHAPTER HAWAII STATEFERRY SYSTEM § -1 Definitions. As used ...in this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise: "Authority" means the Hawaii state ferry system authority. "Department" means the department of transportation. ...Director" means the director of transportation. "Ferry system" means the Hawaii state ferry system. "Vessel" ...
Filesize: 26476
Electronic File Date: 1/20/2011 8:26:20 PM

--
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John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Art Critic
-----------------------------
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2010-01-22T14:23:00.000-10:00

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Superferry Files for Bankruptcy

2009-05-30T21:57:00.000-10:00

Hawaii Superferry Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

http://www.financial24.org/market/hawaii-superferry-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-protection/

Hawaii Superferry Inc., which provided high-speed ferry service for cars

and passengers between Hawaii's Oahu and Maui islands, filed

for bankruptcy protection today.

Hawaii Superferry and parent HSF Holding Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy

petitions in Wilmington, Delaware. They cited a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling

in March that struck down a state law permitting the company to operate

before completing an environmental impact statement.

The company, which reported more than $100 million in assets and debts

in its bankruptcy petition, said it will use the bankruptcy to shut down its business

and liquidate the company.

The case is: In re HSF Holding Inc., No. 09-11901, U.S. Bankruptcy Court,

District of Delaware (Wilmington).

HONOLULU ADVERTISER

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090530/BREAKING01/90530039

Updated at 2:46 p.m., Saturday, May 30, 2009

Hawaii Superferry files for bankruptcy

By Bob Van Voris Bloomberg News Service
Hawaii Superferry Inc., which provided high-speed ferry service for cars

and passengers between

Oahu and Maui, filed for bankruptcy protection today.

Hawaii Superferry and parent HSF Holding Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions in

Wilmington, Del. They cited a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling in March that struck down

a state law permitting the company to operate before completing an environmental

impact statement.

Tom Fargo, Hawaii Superferry's president and chief executive officer, said

in a statement at the time that completing an environmental impact statement could

take a year. As a result of the decision, ferry service was immediately shut down

and the company's two high-speed ferries docked in Mobile, Alabama.

The company, which reported more than $100 million in assets and debts in its

bankruptcy petition, said it will use the bankruptcy to close its business completely

and liquidate the operation. Hawaii Superferry was formed in 2002 to provide

high-speed ferry service among the four main Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Maui,

Hawaii and Kauai. The company began carrying passengers in August 2007 on

the Alakai, an aluminum-hulled catamaran that carried as many as 866 people and

282 cars, according to court papers in the bankruptcy case.

The law struck down by the Hawaii Supreme Court was enacted in November 2007

to permit the ferry to keep operating despite a series of successful state court legal

challenges, Hawaii Superferry said in a court filing. The high court ruled that the

law was intended specifically to benefit the company, in violation of the state constitution.

In addition to the court decision, Hawaii Superferry said its business was hurt by

a decline in tourism, a 2008 increase in fuel prices and a price war between airlines

that provided inter-island service in Hawaii.

--
John Tyler, owner.
www.happyswimmers.com for swim lessons an private lifeguard services for pool parties

Learn CPR fun and easy for your family: Click to watch our informative 3 min intro video: why is CPR so vitally important?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fban7dx-AUM

POSITIVE QUOTES OF THE DAY
In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.
John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Art Critic
-----------------------------
Practice thinking about as many people as you can: "I love you, and want the best for you." and watch tensions dissolve, and all relationships blossom new gifts.

SUPERFERRY CASE:: "IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion for reconsideration is DENIED"

2009-05-13T19:52:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, May 13, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Subject: SUPERFERRY CASE:: "IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion for reconsideration is DENIED"
To: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>

The Supreme Court has denied the Department of Transportation's motion

and the request by the legislature to reconsider their earlier decision that

ACT 2 was unconstitutional. The original decision stands.

----- Original Message -----

From: Brad Parsons

Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 4:50 PM

Subject: "IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion for reconsideration is DENIED"

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

"IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion for reconsideration is DENIED"

Here is the Decision on the Motion for Reconsideration:
http://www.state.hi.us/jud/opinions/sct/2009/29035recond.pdf

Here is the Order of Amendment on the original Opinion of March 16, 2009: http://www.state.hi.us/jud/opinions/sct/2009/29035am.pdf

Here is the Amended Opinion of the Majority of the Court from March 16, 2009: http://www.state.hi.us/jud/opinions/sct/2009/29035opam.pdf

Here is the Concurring and Dissenting Opinion of the minority from March 16, 2009:
http://www.state.hi.us/jud/opinions/sct/2009/29035conam.pdf

You can read them all or just read the title here to get the point. This is done...for now.

EIS Study ordered as ferry ends

2009-03-20T12:11:00.001-10:00

Study ordered as ferry ends

Under stricter law, state seeks environmental review for future use

Photo gallery: Hawaii Superferry's Alakai

By Derrick DePledge and Christie Wilson
Advertiser Staff Writers

The state Department of Transportation plans to complete an environmental impact statement for Hawaii Superferry, laying an important plank in the legal groundwork if Superferry chooses to resume operations in the Islands.

Thomas Fargo, Superferry's president and chief executive officer, said yesterday that Superferry is looking for commercial and military charter options for the Alakai and a second catamaran after a state Supreme Court ruling on Monday led the company to cease operations.

The Alakai made its last scheduled round trip between O'ahu and Maui yesterday, where passengers and employees, including many who will be laid off today, expressed sadness and anger about the shutdown.

Fargo said Superferry would retain its company name and a minimum staff to maintain operations in Hawai'i. He left open the possibility the Alakai could again run between the Islands, but said the company has no option but to look elsewhere.

"The problem before us today is there appears to be no short-term solution to this ruling," Fargo said at an early morning news conference at Honolulu Harbor's Pier 19. "To conduct another EIS (environmental impact statement), even with the work done to date, and move it through the legal review that it would have to go through, might take a year or so. And other options don't provide the certainty that's necessary to sustain a business.

"As a result, we're going to have to go out and find other employment for Alakai, for now. Obviously, this is not even close to our preferred and desired outcome. We have believed from the very start, and continue to believe, that there's a clear and unmet need for an interisland high-speed ferry system for this state.

"My hope, our hope, is that the conditions will eventually be such that we can realize that vision here in Hawai'i."

Brennon Morioka, the director of the state Department of Transportation, said state contractor Belt Collins has completed most of the work on the $1.5 million environmental review ordered by the law the court struck down.

The department will essentially start the process over under the procedural framework of state's more stringent environmental review law, known as Chapter 343, but hopes to transfer the bulk of the work already performed into the new document.

Morioka said a completed environmental review could be used by Superferry or any other ferry company interested in the Islands.

"All of the information and all of the studies we have done to this point are all still valid," he said.

Backlash feared

Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club Hawai'i chapter, one of three environmental groups that brought the legal challenge against Superferry, said his group would likely not object to the state salvaging some of the environmental work on Superferry.

Harris said a bigger concern, however, was whether some of the anger over Superferry will lead some to want to dismantle the state's environmental review law. He said it was the decisions by the state and Superferry, and not the environmental review process, that was the problem.

"The DOT and Superferry were told to do an EIS, and if they had done that, we would not have had this situation," he said.

Fargo, in his first public comments since the court ruling, described it as "a terrible decision" but said the company accepts that it is the law.

Under questioning from reporters in Honolulu and Maui, Fargo would not address whether Superferry would repay the state for $40 million in harbor improvements other than to say that the payments were based on fees generated by ferry service. Superferry has paid the state about $2.5 million in fees and taxes since it has been in operation.

Fargo would also not discuss the extent of the company's financial losses or the possibility Superferry might file a lawsuit against the state. He said Superferry proved, after a year in service, that it took adequate steps to protect the environment. He said the ferry was popular with locals and small businesses and was beginning to tap into the tourist market.

Fargo said the company was expecting delivery of a second $95 million ferry soon from shipbuilder Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., and met Wednesday with officials from Virtru Ferries about leasing the second vessel. Virtu operates high-speed ferries between Malta and Sicily in the Mediterranean.

The second ferry was to have started service to Kawaihae early this year, but the company announced in September that it would delay the start of Big Island operations by a year in response to slower demand and the economic recession.

Fargo, after mentioning that the military might want to lease the Alakai, addressed speculation by some activists who have opposed the project that Superferry was designed from the start as a military operation.

"That's absolutely not true," said Fargo, a former Navy admiral. "We certainly wouldn't have gone to the trouble to paint Alakai in the manner that we did, to appoint her with 836 first-class seats, to spend the huge sums of money that we did to establish service here in Hawai'i if that was our goal.

"The goal that's unmistakable was to provide regular and reliable commercial ferry service in these Islands."

Early Superferry executives — and main investor John F. Lehman, a former Navy secretary — had praised the ferry's military utility in initial discussions with the state, including the possibility the ferry could be used to transport the Army's Stryker brigade between O'ahu and the Big Island. The second vessel was outfitted with a vehicle ramp that could make it more useful to the military.

REvisiting the ruling

Gov. Linda Lingle and state House and Senate leaders have said they would ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider aspects of its ruling. The court found that the Superferry was special legislation written for a single company. The governor and lawmakers are concerned, among other things, that the ruling will unduly restrict the Legislature's power.

Fargo spoke to reporters in Honolulu in the morning and then flew to Maui to join company vice chairman John Garibaldi and others for the final voyage.

With three blasts from its horn, the Alakai pulled away from Pier 2C at Kahului Harbor just after 11 a.m. for the return leg home.

As the 350-foot, high-speed vessel maneuvered toward the harbor entrance, passengers and employees crowded the outer decks and waved aloha while a tugboat sprayed water into the air in a traditional maritime tribute.

The Alakai sailed from Ho- nolulu to Maui with 290 passengers and 84 vehicles aboard, including many employees. The return trip carried 398 passengers and 126 vehicles. The vessel is capable of carrying 836 people and 230 autos.

Tracy Knight of Makiki and her family had to cut short a weeklong Maui vacation to catch the ferry back to Honolulu with their two cars. They had arrived Sunday on the Alakai.

"We loved it. We were really bummed. It's very sad. I hope they don't leave for good," said Knight, 34, who works for a liquor distributor. "They were very conscious of the whales on the way over, and everyone really enjoyed it."

Father-and-son classic car owners Butch Meyer, 65, of 'Ewa Beach, and Duane Meyer, 38, of Ha'iku, Maui, were taking their prized vehicles to Honolulu on the ferry. The elder Meyer's 1932 Ford sedan was refurbished on Maui, although the work was not quite finished before he had to catch the last ferry.

"I hate that it shut down. I love the ferry. It's one of the best things for us," he said, referring to car enthusiasts.

Duane Meyer, who owns a towing company, said he used the ferry on a regular basis to transport his souped-up 1965 Ford Mustang to car shows. He said he would have to ship the Mustang back to Maui on a Young Brothers barge at four times the cost of using Superferry.

"This is stupid. They should let the people decide and not some stupid judges," he said.

Holding tears back while directing cars into the vehicle check-in area at Kahului Harbor, port utility operator Corrine Dutro-Ponce planned to join co-workers on the Alakai for the final sailing. "It's like a death," she said.

Dutro-Ponce joined the Superferry in its early days in July 2007 and lived through the ups and downs of a legal battle that ended with Monday's ruling.

"It was hard, but we stuck it out and we always had hope we would survive, and we still have hope that it will start again," she said.

Dutro-Ponce was uncertain about her job prospects. "I'll have to fight for a job like everyone else," she said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.

In your voice

Read reactions to this story

LeftMyHome wrote:

punatiki, get your facts straight. Matson barges are towed at about 8 knots and Alakai tops out at about 37. By my math, if Alakai went 10x faster they would go 80knots, which is about what a Nimitz class carrier and Navy subs can do. Not to mention that the hydroplane ferry service in 70's never had issues with whales and they traveled up to 40knots. Invasive species is a bogus argument, cars on barges and cruise ships pose the same risks from tire tread and ballast water but no one makes a stink about them.

since the ferry traveled at speeds up to 10 times faster than the Matson barges and offered a much easier vector for inter island invasive species.
03/20/2009 7:45:10 a.m.

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punatiki wrote:

The court ruling just proves political muscle does not trump the Law. The SF may have had the permission of Lingle, but the ENTIRE government is comprised of 3 branches - each having checks and balances on EACH other. Anyone thinking the court should NOT rule on the Law needs a refresher course in civics.

Before the ship was even built the SF management was TOLD they would be sued if they proceeded without an environmental statement. A statement was required since the ferry traveled at speeds up to 10 times faster than the Matson barges and offered a much easier vector for inter island invasive species. They ignored it and hid inside Lingle's skirts. To me at least the management is to blame for the lost jobs.

I was bought up to obey the Law, and the Law has spoken. Act 2 was illegal.

The concept of the SF is a great grand idea, shoved down our throats by politics, which eventually blew up in their own faces.

Too bad, Hawaiian Power Politics rears its ugly head again.

03/20/2009 7:30:14 a.m.

The court ruling just proves political muscle does not trump the Law. The SF may have had the permission of Lingle, but the ENTIRE government is comprised of 3 branches - each having checks and balances on EACH other. Anyone thinking the court should NOT rule on the Law needs a refresher course in civics. Before the ship was even built the SF management was TOLD they would be sued if they proceeded without an environmental statement. A statement was required since the ferry traveled at speeds up to 10 times faster than the Matson barges and offered a much easier vector for inter island invasive species. They ignored it and hid inside Lingle's skirts. To me at least the management is to blame for the lost jobs. I was bought up to obey the Law, and the Law has spoken. Act 2 was illegal. The concept of the SF is a great grand idea, shoved down our throats by politics, which eventually blew up in their own faces. Too bad, Hawaiian Power Politics rears its ugly head again.

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HIBusinessBoy wrote:

The government made poor judgement. The worst of it is they let some small local non profit push them around. Instead of fighting back and keeping them at a distance this showed our state that our government and Lingle are week and don't know how to fight back.

This so called decision the supreme court made could affect old and new laws about doing business in hawaii is just a smoke screen. The bottome line is the enviornmentalist picked on a fresh entity in hawaii and won. If the super ferry was that important to the economy and the people of hawaii the government would have fought harder. They took for granted that Act 2 would do it but they kept picking away at it in court till they got what they wanted to hear and here we are.
03/20/2009 7:29:06 a.m.

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LeftMyHome wrote:

This is truly sad for Hawaii but I would expect nothing less from a state that caters to a small, uneducated, vocal minority. I was born and raised in Honolulu but move to California a few years ago to get away from stuff like this. What most people don't realize is that Matson, NCL and the Navy cruise along at almost the same speed if not greater (Navy battle groups) than that of Alakai so speed is just a cover up. The real reason is that these groups are more interested in never having any progress or economic growth in the state because they are scared little cockroachs who never want change! Well it looks like they get it, not to mention sending the state even further into the financial toilet. I hate to say it but I don't think I will ever move back home, which I love and miss dearly. I hope for the future of the state, that the citizens can vote in some strong politicians. BTW the most vocal activist on Kauai is retired LAPD who was asked to retire early, sounds local to me.
03/20/2009 7:28:08 a.m.

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haynboy wrote:

All this confirms to me is that JUDGES and our Judicial System is keeping an eye out for the INTEREST of the RICH and POWERFUL!

Easy to stop the FERRY just as it is setting a killer free!(giving killers weak sentences)
03/20/2009 7:27:57 a.m.

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The Hawaii Superferry Alakai sailed to its berth in Honolulu Harbor yesterday on its last scheduled trip.

BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

SUPERFERRY FACTS

• The Alakai is a 350-foot, high-speed catamaran, capable of carrying 836 people and 230 autos.

• Superferry had 236 employees; most will be laid off today.

• From April, when Superferry had it first full month of operation, through the end of 2008, it carried 207,000 passengers and 60,000 vehicles.

RECENT ALAKAI BOARDINGS

November: 18,890 passengers, 5,100 autos and 621 commercial vehicles

December: 16,590 passengers, 4,868 autos and 586 commercial vehicles

January: 13,312 passengers, 3,718 autos and 622 commercial vehicles

Source: Hawaii Superferry

Ferry passengers Lionel Toro of 'Ewa Beach and his family members disembark after the final trip from Maui to O'ahu. Joining Toro were his nieces, from left, Jamee Toro, Shayna Toro and Kaimanalani Hopfe, and behind them was his stepsister, Maria Hopfe. They made the trip yesterday to support family members who worked for the Superferry.

BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

The Hawaii Superferry's chief executive said there's a possibility that the military might lease Alakai.

REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

Two of the ship's crew prepare for arrival in Honolulu. It was the last day of work for most employe

BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

Ship officers monitor the Alakai's approach as the vessel inches up to its berth at Honolulu Harbor.

BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Superferry To Announce Future Thursday morning 6:30am

2009-03-18T18:50:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 6:45 PM
Subject: Superferry To Announce Future Thursday morning 6:30am
To: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>

http://www.kitv.com/money/18963282/detail.html

Superferry To Announce Future

Thursday (Live on TV - 6:30am)

Options Include Leaving, Waiting, Supreme Court Reconsideration

HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Superferry will hold a news conference on Thursday morning to announce it future plans.

Island Television News This Morning will carry that news conference live from Pier 19.

Possible options for the Superferry include packing up and getting out of Hawaii for good, wait the months it would take to complete a new environmental review in hopes of resuming service here, or seeking reconsideration by the state Supreme Court.

The governor said she hopes the Supreme Court will take another look at it's ruling that the law was unconstitutional to allowed the Superferry to operate while completing its environmental review.

"The Legislature is looking at perhaps requesting a reconsideration along with us. Ask the Supreme Court to take another look at this beyond the Superferry issue. There are larger implications from the decision," Lingle said.

The governor said the Supreme Court decision is too broad because it said the Legislature can never do anything to favor one group over another but that is what lawmakers do every day.

Superferry makes its last round trip for now to Maui to return stranded vehicles and customers to their homeports on Thursday.

--
John Tyler, owner.
Toll free 866-530-4117

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Serving California, Arizona, and Hawai'i Founded in 1991

POSITIVE QUOTES OF THE DAY
-----------------------------

In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.
John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Art Critic
-----------------------------

Practice thinking about as many people as you can: "I love you, and want the best for you." and watch tensions dissolve, and all relationships blossom new gifts.

BREAKING NEWS — Superferry Draft EIS finds significant impacts

2009-01-08T18:53:00.001-10:00

BREAKING NEWS — Superferry Draft EIS finds significant impacts

By Coco Zickos

Published: Thursday, January 8, 2009 2:22 PM HST

After many months of waiting, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was made available to the public today, revealing many impacts the Superferry could have on the four main Hawaiian islands if operation were to continue.

The EIS assesses the direct impacts the ferry could have to the islands caused by new construction needed to support a large-capacity ferry vessel, and indirect impacts, such as affects on Hawaiian waters and cultural practices.

The report declares that the cumulative effects of the Superferry would significantly and adversely affect traffic within the vicinity of Nawiliwili, Kahului, Kawaihae and Honolulu Harbors. The large-vessel ferry could potentially impact the number of endangered humpback whales, the dispersal of inter-island invasive species and the traditional cultural practices conducted on the islands, the EIS said.

The comprehensive report declares that cultural activities within the vicinity of West Harbor in Kahului would significantly and adversely be impacted due to "new harbor improvements." New pier construction at Kawaihae Harbor would also result in significant and adverse impacts, including those to nearby Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Park, obstructing views and affecting not only the rock walls of the heiau, but ceremonial activities as well, due to noise and construction.

Indirect impacts noted in the report include activities such as fishing, surfing and diving, including the potential loss of natural resources as stated in the cultural impact analyses.

The only reportedly beneficial impact reviewed in the environmental draft is that the large-capacity ferry vessel would provide to all harbors a "superior" mode of transportation for disaster planning and emergency response. The statement concludes that the vessel would increase the capabilities and response times of first responders and relief efforts.

To view the EIS in its entirety and to leave comment, visit the Department of Transportation's Web site, hawaii.gov/dot/harbors

For full coverage of the Draft EIS, see Friday's edition of The Garden Island.

ABCNEWS.com: The Mission: Send 1,000 Love Letters to Complete Strangers

2008-12-30T07:07:00.001-10:00

I found this special news story on ABC News.com and thought you'd enjoy reading about it and the intention behind it. It's pay it forward in action, and is inspiring to me.

Aloha,
John

Subject: ABCNEWS.com: The Mission: Send 1,000 Love Letters to Complete Strangers

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6542201&page=1

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Dwight L. Moody - "I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I've met."

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by his own will.

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Superferry's interisland service depends on court ruling

2008-12-09T15:59:00.001-10:00

HONOLULU ADVERTISER Tuesday, December 9, 2008

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081209/NEWS09/812090362/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT

Hawaii Superferry's interisland

service depends on court ruling

Service may be halted if high court rules against law that let ship operate

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

The state Supreme Court, whose ruling last year led to a three-month shutdown of Hawaii Superferry, will decide whether the interisland service can continue in a new case to be heard next week.

The court will decide whether Gov. Linda Lingle and the Legislature violated the state Constitution last year with a new law that allowed Superferry to resume operation while an environmental review of the project is completed.

A ruling could have an immediate impact on whether Superferry can operate between O'ahu and Maui. It could also influence the separation of powers among the governor, the Legislature and the courts.

The Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, the nonprofit groups that brought the legal challenge that temporarily stopped Superferry last year, have asked the court to declare the new law unconstitutional.

Arguments before the court are scheduled for Dec. 18.

The Supreme Court ruled in August 2007 that the state should not have exempted the Superferry project from an environmental assessment. A Maui court subsequently halted ferry service to Kahului Harbor, while public protests kept the ferry from returning to Kaua'i.

Lingle called a special session of the Legislature, where lawmakers passed a bill that allowed the ferry to resume operation under conditions designed to protect the environment while an environmental impact statement is prepared. Lingle signed the bill into law, and the Maui court allowed the ferry to return to Kahului Harbor.

Many political observers thought the legal challenges were largely over, but the court's willingness to hear the appeal so soon raises the possibility that Superferry may again be stopped.

"This case is now a case of even greater public importance," Isaac Hall, the Wailuku attorney representing the environmental groups, said in court filings.

violations alleged

Hall's main arguments are that the new law violates two parts of the Constitution: Article I, Section 21, which bars the state from making any irrevocable grants of special privileges; and Article XI, Section 5, which says the Legislature can only exercise power over state lands through general laws.

The constitutional restriction on special privileges, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau, is meant to ensure the state acts on behalf of all people and not for the sake of the elite. The provision limiting the Legislature's power to general laws over state lands is designed to prevent sweetheart land deals for private interests.

Lawmakers, mindful of the constitutional restrictions, were careful not to mention Superferry by name in the new law, and instead described a "large capacity ferry vessel."

But Hall argues that the new law was "conceived, cut and tailored" solely for Superferry, a special law that gave Superferry access through an operating agreement to state land at Kahului and other harbors.

Hall also argues that the new law deprives the environmental groups of a vested right, given by the Supreme Court's ruling last year, for an environmental assessment under the state's environmental review law. The new law removed the large-capacity ferry vessel from under the state's environmental review law and created a similar — although not identical — process to conduct an environmental impact statement by next summer.

Hall argues that the new law "amounts to a legislative and executive revision of judicial decisions."

Lawmakers were guided when drafting the new law by the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Robertson v. Seattle Audubon Society. The ruling found that it was not unconstitutional for Congress to change timber harvesting rules in federally managed forests in response to legal challenges by environmentalists, who had argued that the old rules threatened endangered northern spotted owls.

The ruling found that Congress did not direct results in the legal challenges under the old law, but instead replaced the legal standards with new provisions.

Lawmakers in Hawai'i essentially did the same thing with Superferry.

State lawyer counters

Dorothy Sellers, the state solicitor general, argues in the state's legal briefs that the governor and lawmakers acted within their authority to create new public policy.

Sellers said the new law is not an irrevocable grant of special privileges for a ferry company because it expires when the environmental impact statement is accepted by the state or, at the latest, by next summer.

The new law is not a special law involving legislative power over state lands, Sellers argues, because the operating agreement is between an executive-branch agency — the state Department of Transportation — and a ferry company. The ferry company also does not have an exclusive right under the agreement and must share state harbors with other users.

Sellers said Hawai'i courts have not addressed the meaning of general law as it applies to Article XI of the Constitution, but the Supreme Court has upheld a legislative act designed to respond to a singular circumstance. In Bulgo v. County of Maui in 1967, the court found that it was constitutional for the Legislature to pass a law tailored for Maui calling for a special election to replace the chairman of the board of supervisors, who had died shortly after re-election and had not begun his new term.

Sellers also argued that the environmental groups have no vested right to an environmental assessment for Superferry under the state's environmental review law because the August 2007 Supreme Court decision was not the final judgment in the case.

The appeal, Sellers said, is "an assault on the inherent, essential power of the Legislature to speak for the people and to revise the public policies of the state as the Legislature determines necessary."

Last year, lawmakers were not enthusiastic about returning in special session to help Superferry but agreed because of the potential benefits of interisland ferry service. Lawmakers found that the ferry was an alternative mode of transportation that could help move people and cargo between the islands and could be an asset in disaster relief.

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), said she believes the Legislature acted properly. She wishes, however, that the state House, Lingle and Superferry had agreed with the Senate and supported an environmental review of the project before the court ruled that such a review was required.

Hanabusa predicted that justices would decide the appeal based on an Article XI test of whether the new law is general or special.

'a major problem'

If the court were to issue a broad ruling limiting the Legislature's power, Hanabusa said, lawmakers may have to consider asking voters to amend the Constitution.

In 2006, for example, voters approved a constitutional amendment that allowed the Legislature to define what constitutes the continuous sexual abuse of a minor under 14. The court had ruled that a law defining continuous sexual abuse was a violation of the right to due process because jurors were not instructed that they had to be unanimous about which specific acts amounted to continuous abuse.

"If the Supreme Court comes back and says that we don't have the right to make exceptions to the law, for whatever reason, then we're going to have a major problem," Hanabusa said.

Irene Bowie, the executive director of Maui Tomorrow, said the environmental groups deserve a real environmental assessment of Superferry, not what their attorney has described as a "pseudo-process that falls far short" of the state's environmental law.

"I think that this has been an illegitimate process. I don't think there's any real results that we'll come away with on this," Bowie said of the new law. "We would absolutely like to see this done over again in the proper way."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

The New Book, Fargo on the Big Island, and Confronting Act 2

2008-11-12T07:59:00.000-10:00

The New Book, Fargo on the Big Island, and Confronting Act 2

There is a lot going on right now:

1.) The book on this is catching fire. There have been some interesting phone conversations and e-mail's exchanging hands between the islands about the book.

2.) Fargo went to speak to the Kawaihae community on Sunday. They were expecting him there for at least a couple of hours. He started getting peppered with difficult questions, like about DU, so he got short and left after only an hour before a number of people in the small audience could ask their questions. The flaming about this in e-mails from those in attendance is noteworthy. Why would a person take a time consuming round-trip to go over their from Oahu and then only stay for an hour? Here is the only article on the event: "Superferry Update; Questions remain unanswered at Kawaihae meeting."

3.) HSF announced yesterday they are offering 2 for 1 deals but only to military personnel. I wasn't even going to recognize this story, but others have, so I'll just say ridership must be low. Otherwise, the preference doesn't surprise me.

4.) Lastly Joan Conrow has a fairly decent blog entry today on word about the new book, Superferry Chronicles. I found the comments to her blog entry to be especially enlightening. One or two of the comments there clarify the size of the crowd at Nawiliwili Harbor in August 2007; it was somewhere between 1000 and 1500. Those comments also clarify the filled and overflowing auditorium at the beginning of the event when the Governor's Unified Command came to speak in Sept. 2007.

But what I found especially interesting was that one of the anonymous commentors asks if people have read what Ken Stokes has written on the issue? Surprisingly, I had not, so I looked it up. I was surprised with what I found. This is important because it relates to a similar type of evaluation that could be used by others with an influenced Act 2 EIS. Here are my responses to Ken's 2006 post on this subject:

"...Well, we'll take it in order:

1. Claim- "Ironically, concerns about the energy efficiency of inter-island transport have only recently entered the debate amid claims these boats would actually generate more emissions than inter-island jets, though the available data (see below) suggest the opposite is true."

Response- HSF burns 15 times more petroleum based fuel to cover the same route than an Hawaiian Air jet. Even if you brought the maximum number of people transported to the same for each, a jet airplane is at least twice as efficient as HSF using no more than 1/2 the fuel that HSF takes to transport the same number of people the same distance. This is mainly so because the boat has 4 diesel engines moving through more water resistance and these planes have 2 jet engines moving through less resistant air. One could question whether one pollutes the air more than the sea and vis-a-versa, but I would think the petroleum carbon is released into the environment nevertheless. From an economic standpoint, a jet plane is much more efficient than HSF, assuming there is not really the need to move cars quickly interisland.

2. Claim- About the traffic, and "300 vehicles" split evenly going north and south.

Response- A key point here is that they don't all come and go in one day. They accumulate over a number of days in the beginning, as people are here for a number of days, weeks; ie. visitors and construction workers. The accumulated daily average total, assuming uninterrupted service, would amount to more like 1000 to 2000 additional cars on the island. These roads, esp. between Wailua and Kealia, cannot handle that kind of influx.

3. Claim- As for "the added risk and impact" of invasive species "must be fairly small."

Response- Well, first of all, we don't know, and certainly an economist would not know. Maybe a biologist or a DOA or DLNR officier might have a better idea on that. What we do know is that Kauai does not have the size of invasives populations that Oahu and the Big Island, and that even Maui have. Those would include the mongoose, fire ants, varroa mites, and coqui frogs, among others. All of those have been spreading between the other islands, but not to Kauai, except for the coqui in small numbers.

Just one example I'll mention. The Nene geese are well established on Kauai, at least on the Northshore. I see and hear them on the land and at low altitude all the time. That is not the case on the other islands. THIS IS the beautiful state bird. If the mongoose gets established here, you can kiss the Nene and other egg-laying endangered native species goodbye.

4. Claim- "And, regarding threats to whales...the Superferry's "mitigation" responses to these challenges probably makes this boat less of a threat than the hundreds of "whale watch" tour boats...Again, there is some risk here, yet probably not large."

Response- "Less of a threat" how so? When whale watch boats have infrequently had accidental collisions with whales, they almost never result in the whale's death, as the whale watch boats are relatively small and moving slowly. Inertia, mass and velocity, are what determine the threat of fatal collisions between boats and whales as has been documented about every couple of months in places like the Canary Islands. So far, the ferry here has not operated consistently or at all in Jan., Feb., or Mar. last season. It remains to be seen what its track record will be operating daily during the height of the whales season here, assuming it can handle the Winter sea conditions and not run into other mechanical problems again as it did last Winter.

5. Claim- "Conceivably, the ferries could be a win-win…As in: keep the travel AND cut the [CO2] emissions."

Response- It's not a win for the company, because they have not and probably never will actually cover all of their costs, much less the significant costs they have been able to formally externalize to the State. As for less CO2 emissions, I am not convinced that burning 400 gallons of jet fuel releases more CO2 to the environment than burning 6000 gallons of diesel fuel to cover the same route.

Aloha, Brad

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Superferry begins seasonal voyage into seasickness

2008-10-16T12:43:00.001-10:00

Superferry begins seasonal voyage into seasickness

by Larry Geller

As we head into Winter, the seas around Hawaii will begin to get choppy. Bouncing in the middle of it all is the Hawaii Superferry, now with increased passenger load, headed for another barf-filled season. It's inevitable and predictable. Here's possibly the first report of the season, with thanks to Dick Mayer.

Blogs started as personal "journals," and many still are. So it's interesting to see this account of a Superferry voyage as part of a blog post on a Maui vacation:

So we just got back from our vacation on neighbor-island Maui (not neighboring and NOT outer island). We took the Superferry (huge mistake) and stayed at the all-suites Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. Hung out in Wailea the whole time and had a blast. Since we already live on a tropical island, wasn't sure how "vacation-y" it would feel, but it was so much fun. We can't wait to visit more islands.
First, the Hawaii Superferry. We chose to take the Superferry because we thought it would be a fun experience and a convenient way to take our car. Wrong. I was so seasick, I made frantic calls on the Superferry to the reservations desk to cancel my return trip. It was 3+ miserable hours. Joe and kids did okay, but we (foolishly) sat in first class at the bow (front) of the ship which made it extra rocky! Joe returned on the ferry with the car, and the kids and I flew back. It was about the same price and only a 34 minute plane ride.

This is news that is not filtered through a newspaper that runs Superferry ads, it's real. The author talks about all the al fresco dining on Maui, and ABC stores, so I think we're looking at a genuine tourist experience.

Technorati Tags: Hawaii Superferry, seasickness, Barf-o-Meter

Permalink posted by Larry @ 10/14/2008 11:11:00 AM

POSITIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY
-----------------------------

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

-- Chinese proverb

Second Superferry on budget and ahead of schedule for Hawaii Delivery

2008-09-30T19:20:00.001-10:00

Well folks,
Now they're not even hiding the fact the new SF is to benefit the military.... see the inconspicuous last line of the news report...

Second Superferry on budget and ahead of schedule for Hawaii delivery

Associated Press

MOBILE, Ala. — Hawaii Superferry's second catamaran is nearing completion here.

The new vessel, destined to link Honolulu and the Big Island next year, left Austal USA's ship shed on the Mobile River into a floating dry dock Monday.

Austal President Joe Rella called the launch "ahead of schedule and on budget."

The vessel, which has not yet been named, will head back to Austal for final work before sea trials begin later this year.

Austal reports it is ahead of schedule on its contracted March delivery date, and on budget for "the largest aluminum catamaran vessel delivered in the U.S."

The vessel is about 20 feet longer than the 350-foot Alakai because of a stern ramp added for military use.

Maui ocean resources finding way onto ferry

2008-09-20T10:35:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Subject: Maui ocean resources finding way onto ferry
To: Dick Mayer <dickmayer@earthlink.net>

HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN Saturday, September 20, 2008

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/honolulu-star-bulletin/TN5AD7TAO1I5M16BO

Maui ocean resources finding way onto ferry

By Gary T. Kubota gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU » Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares said she was "gravely" worried about attempts to take prohibited resources from waters around the Valley Isle and bring them aboard the Hawaii Superferry.

"I am appalled by the reported amount of marine resources that are leaving our island with Superferry passengers," she said.

During a state oversight task force meeting yesterday, enforcement officers reported that in the first half of August, they found passengers trying to take aboard 63 pounds of opihi, 60 pounds of fish and 43 pounds of limu.

Tavares said in a written statement that she wants state agricultural and conservation officials to continue inspections beyond December.

State conservation enforcement officers have been assigned to work with Superferry employees to inspect passenger belongings through the end of December and to assist the task force in preparing a report.

The task force report is expected to be presented to the Legislature by January.

Tavares said state enforcement officers are needed to conduct the inspections.

"The years of education and training they bring to the operation cannot be replaced by a handful of hours of training that Superferry employees receive," she said.

State conservation enforcement official Randy Awo said there has been a rise in the volume of ocean resources that passengers have tried to bring aboard the Superferry, including fish, limu and opihi.

In response to Maui residents' concerns, a state executive order banned using the Superferry to transport many ocean resources.

Superferry official Richard Houck said he felt his employees were capable of doing the inspections and the taking of ocean resources has been small.

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Court appeal hangs over Superferry

2008-09-17T14:23:00.001-10:00

Court appeal hangs over Superferry

Three groups are challenging a law that allowed the ship to begin interisland trips

Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Sunday, August 24, 2008
By Ken Kobayashi

One year after a Hawaii Supreme Court decision that led to a temporary halt of Superferry operations, the interisland service enjoys increased ridership and plans to expand to the Big Island next year.

The legislative power over the lands owned by or under the control of the State and its political subdivisions shall be exercised only by general laws, except in respect to transfers to or for the use of the State, or a political subdivision, or any department or agency thereof.

The Superferry survived thanks to the state Legislature, which passed a law that essentially negated the high court's ruling of Aug. 23, 2007. But the Superferry must still overcome a remaining legal hurdle to continue its twice-daily service between Honolulu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Three environmental groups - the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow Inc. and the Kahului Harbor Coalition - have filed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the law, called Act 2.

If the groups prevail, the Superferry would be not be able to use the Kahului Harbor improvements built for the ferry until a review is completed on the impacts of the Superferry on the environment, a process that could take months.

While state and Superferry lawyers defend the law, one environmental lawyer said the challenge has merit.

"Ultimately, I think the Supreme Court will take very seriously this type of appeal," said David Henkin, staff attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental group not involved in the case.

Tom Fargo, Superferry president and chief executive officer, declined to speculate on what might happen if the Maui groups prevail. "It's impossible for me to comment on a hypothetical situation like that," he told the Star-Bulletin. "Nobody's crystal ball is that clear."

A ruling on the appeal is not expected for weeks, perhaps months.

Environmental Impact

The heart of the legal dispute is whether the state should conduct an environmental review of the Superferry operations before its 350-foot Alakai can bring passengers and cars to Maui.
The high court ruled that the state erred in determining in February 2005 that the Superferry operations were exempt from the review, which must be done under state law prior to the start of the activity.

The high court's unanimous opinion came five days before the ferry's planned inaugural voyages to Maui and Kauai.

The Aug. 23 ruling by the five justices set off a tumultuous week that included Superferry officials moving the start date two days ahead of schedule at a reduced $5 fare; Kauai protesters preventing the Alakai from docking at Kauai's Nawiliwili Harbor; and Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza issuing a court order on Aug. 27 halting Superferry operations to Maui.

Two months later on Oct. 31, state lawmakers convened in a special session to pass a law that said the "unique and critical importance" of the ferry service warranted a change in the environmental laws. The law required the state to conduct an environmental review of the operations by preparing an environmental impact statement, but also allowed the Superferry to resume operations.

Act 2 was signed two days later by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Cardoza lifted his order Nov. 14. The Superferry's Alakai later resumed sailings to Maui. Sailings to Kauai remained on hold after Coast Guard officials recommended suspending service because of security concerns.

Draft Being Prepared

The environmental impact statement is a keystone of the state's environmental protection laws. For the Superferry, it requires a study of the service's impact on "the economic welfare, social welfare and cultural practices of the community and state" as well as on marine animals and plants, traffic, public safety and control of invasive species.
It also allows the public to express concerns about the proposed projects, according to state law. And it must consider ways to minimize any "adverse effects" and alternatives to the proposed action.

The state is preparing that statement, not only for Superferry operations on Maui, the subject of the legal dispute, but also for Kauai and the Big Island.

State Transportation Director Brennon Morioka said 11 public hearings have been held around the state from March to May and hopes to complete the impact statement by June or July.

A draft statement is scheduled to be completed in October or November, at which time the public will have 45 days to comment on the draft. The state would then address those comments in preparing the final impact statement, he said.

Legislature's Role

The completion of the statement, however, will not resolve the legal dispute, according to Isaac Hall, the three Maui groups' lawyer, who calls the current effort to prepare an environmental statement "bogus."
Hall said that if Act 2 is declared unconstitutional, the state must redo the environmental impact statement because laws require that the state prepare the statement before the operation starts.

"If you prepare an EIS while the action is undertaken, it jeopardizes the validity of the statement," he said. "It's likely you'll tolerate more of the adverse impact of the project."

An environmental impact statement normally takes two or three years to prepare, Morioka said. But he also said the state might be able to rely on some data collected in the current process, which would shorten the time if the state had to redo an impact statement.

Whether the state has to start all over in preparing an impact statement, however, depends on the Maui groups' appeal of the law.

Some legal observers say they face an uphill fight. The rationale is that because the Legislature passed the state laws requiring an environmental review before a project gets under way, the lawmakers are free to change the law.

It's a point emphasized in the state's legal briefs.

"The judicial branch of government construes and interprets the laws that are relevant to disposition of a case, but does not itself legislate or make laws," Deputy Attorney General Dorothy Sellers said.

"The Legislature speaks for the people," she later added.

But the Maui groups cite two state constitutional provisions: Article 1, section 21 and Article 11, section 5. Hall argued that the provisions prohibit state lawmakers from passing a special law to benefit a single business enterprise, particularly when dealing with state lands, site of the Kahului Harbor improvements for the Superferry.

The reasoning is that the Legislature should be passing laws for the general welfare of the public and should not be cutting special deals on behalf of a single business, Hall told the Star-Bulletin.

Although the law refers to a "large capacity ferry vessel company," Hall argued that it's clear that Act 2 deals solely with Superferry.

Henkin said he believes the Maui groups have raised a "very serious claim, one that has a lot of appeal in terms of making sure our environmental laws can be effective in protecting us from unwise decisions ahead of time."

The State's Position

The state responded in its legal brief filed last week that Act 2 does not violate either constitutional provision. Superferry's legal brief incorporated the arguments by the state.

The law did not give anyone an "irrevocable grant" prohibited by Article 1, section 21 because Act 2 specifies it will be repealed on the 45th business day following the end of next year's legislative session or when the environmental impact statement is completed, whichever is earlier, the state argued.

The state also said Act 2 does not provide "special benefits and immunities" for the Superferry alone because the law applies to all large-capacity ferry vessels. The law also did not deal with exercising control over state lands, the state argued. Act 2 simply exempted large ferry vessels from the laws requiring an environmental review before a proposed activity, the state said.

The Maui groups failed to establish that it is "unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt (or by any standard)," the state said.

Rise in Ridership

While the appeal has been simmering, Superferry officials are touting an increase in ridership. They celebrated its 125,000th passenger last week and continued to plan for expanding to the Big Island and Kauai.
The Alakai carried 36,600 passengers between Honolulu and Maui in July, about a 40 percent increase from June, according to Superferry officials. The number of vehicles was 9,200, a 36 percent increase over June.

"Ridership is still very good," Fargo said. "I would say we're just about where we expected to be." He said they are targeting May to start service from Honolulu to Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island using a second ferry, whose construction is about 80 percent complete.

For Kauai, he said, Superferry officials wanted to first establish a reliable track record of service to Maui, hear from Kauai residents and make sure they get reliable information about the interisland operation.

Fargo said they didn't have a firm date for the Kauai service, but said it would be after the state completes its impact statement.

During the now twice-daily trips to Maui, Fargo said, the Superferry has been "very diligent" about complying with environmental laws. No major issues involving violations of the law have surfaced, he said.

"Our goal is to meet and exceed the (environmental protection) standards because we believe them to be important also," he said.

Looking to High Court

But the final word on whether the state's current environmental review is adequate rests with the Hawaii Supreme Court, which a year ago yesterday shocked the state and Superferry officials.
With its ruling issued just days before the Superferry's inaugural voyages, the high court made clear that environmental laws must be followed, regardless of the potential harm to the business.

The appeal is with the Intermediate Court of Appeals, but Hall said he will ask that it be transferred to the high court because the appeal deals with matters of "great public importance" and whichever side loses in the Intermediate Court will likely ask the high court to review the ruling.

Hall said he has until early next month to respond to the arguments by the state and Superferry, the final legal briefs for the case.

He would not comment on whether he has a better chance with the five justices who would be considering the constitutionality of a law that shot down their decision.

Henkin doesn't think so. "I'm confident the justices are not going to be caught up in any kind of personal connection to round 1," he said. "I'm sure they will look at round 2 and give a neutrally fair and dispassionate decision."

WHAT'S THE LAW?

The two state Constitution provisions cited by the Maui groups challenging the state law that allows the Superferry to operate before an environmental impact statement is completed:
Article 1, section 21 - Limitations of Special Privileges

The power of the State to act in the general welfare shall never be impaired by the making of any irrevocable grant of special privileges or immunities.
Article 11, section 5 - General laws required; exceptions

Key dates in the superferry legal battle

» Aug. 23, 2007: After hearing arguments earlier in the day, the Hawaii Supreme Court unanimously rules that environmental laws require the state to review the impact of the Superferry operations on the environment. The ruling overturned a 2005 decision by Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza.
» Aug. 24, 2007: Superferry officials announce they are moving up the scheduled launch by two days, and one-way fares will be reduced to $5 a person and $5 a vehicle.

» Aug. 26, 2007: Superferry's Alakai departs Honolulu to Kahului Harbor and returns, but the afternoon cruise to Kauai is met by protesters in the waters of Nawiliwili Harbor. Alakai returns to Honolulu Harbor.

» Aug. 27, 2007: Cardoza issues an order banning Superferry operations to Maui until the state conducts an environmental review. (The Maui court case does not directly apply to Nawiliwili Harbor, but Superferry and state officials follow the Coast Guard's recommendation in suspending service to Kauai because of security issues raised by the protest.)

» Oct. 31, 2007: The state Legislature passes Act 2, allowing the Superferry to operate while the state prepares an environmental impact statement. Act 2 says, "It is clearly in the public interest that a large capacity ferry vessel service should commence as soon as possible."

» Nov. 14, 2007: Because of Act 2, Cardoza lifts his ban on Superferry operations to Maui.

» Dec. 13, 2007: Superferry resumes service between Honolulu and Maui, although it is later disrupted by high waves and repairs.

» Feb. 29: Sierra Club and two other groups file formal notice that they will appeal Cardoza's ruling. Like all appeals, the case goes to the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, the state's second-highest court, but the three groups will ask that the appeal go directly to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

» Aug. 18: The state and Superferry file legal briefs defending Act 2.

Superferry Military Link

2008-07-30T14:32:00.001-10:00

from reporter Joan Conrow's blog, Kauai Eclectic

Superferry Military Link

I just checked out Larry Geller's Disappeared News blog and he has a very interesting post that confirms something that many of us have believed all along: the Hawaii Superferry is indeed intended for military purposes.

Larry quotes a report in today's edition of BYM Marine and Maritime News that contains this nugget:

Austal was recently awarded a new contract to provide additional features and equipment on the second Hawaii Superferry to facilitate its use by the military. This follows on from the long term charter, since 2001, of the Austal built 101 metre vehicle-passenger catamaran "WestPac Express" by the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) based on Okinawa, Japan. As an adapted commercial vessel "WestPac Express" has demonstrated the enormous flexibility, cost savings and efficiencies achievable by commercial fast ferry technology over conventional air or sea transport.

As you may recall, the company had sought federal funding to equip the second ferry with ramps that would allow the military vehicles to easily access the ship. Other documents indicated that Austal also wanted to add desalination and sewage treatment plants and widen the hull to facilitate military uses. The total price tag was $5 million.

The article also states that Austal USA, which built the Alakai, continues to participate in the process to secure the lucrative Navy contract to build Joint High Speed Vessels for the military. It states:

The Austal JHSV Team's low risk, proven technology solution combines the expertise of Austal USA, Austal Ships (Australia) and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS).

Austal USA's Mobile, Alabama shipyard is unique in having the proven infrastructure and trained workforce in place to design, construct, deliver and service 100 metre+ high speed ships in the US. Austal USA recently launched the 127 metre trimaran LCS-2 "Independence" combat ship for the US Navy and has under construction the second 107 metre Hawaii Superferry catamaran high speed vehicle-passenger ferry. In 2007 Austal USA delivered the first Hawaii Superferry "Alakai" for intra-island service in the Hawaiian islands.

Thanks, Larry, for picking up that bit of "news."

Fwd: [boycottsuperferry.org] Superferry legal update

2008-07-16T11:32:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Tyler <mysticseaswimmer@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Subject: [boycottsuperferry.org] Superferry legal update
To: superferryimpact@yahoogroups.com

SUBJECT: SUPERFERRY APPEALS

SOURCE: RICHARD HOEPNER richoep@aloha.net

POSTED: 11 JULY 2008 - 7:00am EST

Superferry legal update

image above: poster of routes for Superferry posted on www.aloharents.com dated 6/12/08

by Richard Hoeppner on 9 July 2008

After the heart attack in May, along with the triple by-pass open heart surgery, the healing has been incredible, and I am just about back to a normal routine.

Legal developments are looking very positive. Dan Hempey has filed a brief that is brilliantly written to the Hawaii Supreme Court on Judge Valenciano's decision denying an injunction in our local court. Isaac Hall has filed his brief with the Hawaii Supreme Court on the Maui case that Judge Cardoza ruled superferry(sf) could not operate until an EIS was completed. That of course was overturned with Lingle's special session of the Legislature that resulted in Act II which exempted sf from Hawaii Environmental Protection Act(HEPA).

Hall's brief was spectacular in it's argument that Cardoza's decision could not be overturned by a legislative body, and that Act II itself violated both the Hawaii Constitution and the US Constitution.

Dan and Isaac have communicated and are working in concert on the two similar cases. Dan has filed an emergency appeal requesting the Supreme Court take the Kauai case directly, bypassing the appeal courts. Isaac has filed something similar requesting expedited service because Cardoza stated in his decision that there was a high probability that irreparable damage could result in sf operation without an EIS.

I have read both briefs and we are totally confident that the Hawaii Supreme Court will require sf to suspend operations until an independent EIS is completed. Our biggest problem on Kauai is budget. People for the Preservation of Kauai(PPK) has dissolved it's partnership with 1000 Friends of Kauai because it restricted PPK's ability to actively campaign against issues or persons going before the voters.
We therefore no longer have 501c3 status and donations are not tax deductible.

This primarily affected large contributions, but we are actively seeking smaller contributions to supplement our legal fund. We have won many battles but the war is not over. Please donate whatever you can without claiming the IRS exemption, to keep the legal battle afloat, to insure that sf will not be afloat to Kauai.

Checks can be made out to: People for the Preservation of Kauai, and mailed to PPK treasurer: Judie Lundborg, 4865G Nonou Rd., Kapaa, HI, 96746.

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Oahu men who allegedly took Maui rocks each fined $3,050

2008-07-11T11:08:00.001-10:00

Oahu men who allegedly took Maui rocks each fined $3,050

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Three Windward O'ahu men accused of illegally taking rocks from a Maui conservation district last year each will be fined $3,050, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources decided this morning.

Land board members, however, set in motion the possibility of a later presentation of the case before a hearings officer, which could reduce or increase the amount of fines.

On Aug. 28, Charlie K. Bright, Ralph Chun and Victor Fonoimoana allegedly took 934 river rocks from the Paukukalo Shoreline, placed them in three pick-up trucks, covered them with tarps and then drove to the Hawai'i Superferry's Kahului Terminal for a return trip to O'ahu.

The men were motivated to travel to Maui to replenish rocks for a church imu by the Superferry's offer of special $5 fares, Bright told the branch chief of the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.

"Our bishop told us to come to Maui to get imu rocks because ours is old already, about 10 to 12 years old," Bright was quoted as saying in a report to the land board. "When they had the $5 ferry fares, our bishop said this is one good time to go to Maui to get new rocks. So we came to Maui. We went to Paukukalo because our bishop knew about this place. We use the rocks to kalua pig for the Boy Scouts to support them through our fundraisers. We had good intentions. It was for a good cause. We didn't know it was illegal or that we needed a permit."

The trucks remain in state custody until the fines are paid. The rocks are still stored on Maui, Sam Lemmo, who is head of the office of conservation and coastal lands.

Attorney Thomas Otake, who represents Bright, told the board that the men had written permission to take rocks from land belonging to a private landowner.

But Otake acknowledged that about 200 of the 900 rocks did come from public conservation land.

"They didn't do it for any financial gain," Otake said.

He called the men "as good as they come."

Former city prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, who represents Chun and Fonoimoana, told board members that he did not want to make a presentation today because of the possibility of criminal charges.

Board member Timothy Johns told Kaneshiro that attorney fees for his clients to go through a contested hearing could run well past the $2,000 fine imposed today, as well as the additional fines to cover administrative costs.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.

A Very Good List of Superferry Articles in chronological order.

2008-07-09T15:30:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DM

Aloha, Here is a great list of HSF articles:

SOURCE: http://www.maui-tomorrow.org/issues/superferry/superferry.html

The following articles track the progress of one of the

most controversial issues facing Hawai'i residents today.

(Most recent first)

Superferry lobbies for military upgrade
Company spends $210K on lobbyists to obtain funds for vehicle ramp
Hawaii Superferry has spent $210,000 since last summer to lobby for federal money to install features on its second high-speed catamaran to make it more attractive for military use. Lobbyists hired by Superferry approached the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Defense to help pay for a vehicle ramp and other improvements. The ramp would allow the new catamaran to load and unload vehicles at most large piers instead of relying on shore-based ramps and barges.

Vehicle inspections net contraband
Hawaii Superferry vehicle screeners continue to intercept 'opihi, lobsters, dead bees, fishing nets and muddy trucks at ports in Honolulu and Maui. State officials say the number of restricted items uncovered by screeners has grown with the increase in passengers aboard the new interisland ferry, which reported record bookings in May.

Lingle keeps lid on Superferry records
The Lingle administration, citing attorney-client privilege and executive privilege, has declined a request by The Advertiser to publicly release hundreds of e-mails and other documents related to its decision to exempt the Hawaii Superferry project from environmental review. State lawmakers had asked Lingle administration officials last year to disclose what, if any, legal advice they received before they exempted the project in February 2005. But the administration would not discuss the matter because of attorney-client privilege. Lawmakers wanted the information to determine whether the Lingle administration considered the legal risks before issuing the exemption.

Superferry operated in May at 29% of capacity
The Hawaii Superferry's 350-foot Alakai operated at less than a third of its capacity in May, its first full month of operations, members of the Hawaii Inter-Island Ferry Oversight Task Force were told Friday. Terry O'Halloran, Superferry director of business development, said the high-speed ferry hosted 21,882 passengers and 6,003 cars in May. However, that is only 29 percent of the ferry's capacity. Those figures average out to about 250 people and 70 vehicles per voyage, well below the ferry's capacity of 866 people and 282 vehicles per trip.

Audit: Superferry drove state actions
Lingle administration criticized for bypassing environmental review
The state may have compromised its environmental policy because of pressure from Hawaii Superferry executives who were worried about financing for the interisland ferry project, the state auditor has concluded. The auditor found that an internal June 2005 deadline imposed by Superferry executives "drove the process" and pushed the state Department of Transportation to bypass an environmental review. The deadline, according to the auditor, was tied to Superferry's agreement with Austal USA to secure financing to pay the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder to construct two high-speed ferries. Maritime Administration officials told the auditor they did not set the June 2005 deadline as a condition of the loan guarantee.

$842 million upgrade to Hawaii harbors approved
The state Aloha Tower Development Corp. has been tapped to make $842 million in improvements to Hawai'i's commercial harbors over six years for the Department of Transportation. Lawmakers passed a bill yesterday essentially making the ATDC the development arm of the Transportation Department's Harbors Division. The DOT calls the bill "landmark legislation" that was badly needed because the agency is consumed with managing harbors and lacks resources to upgrade aging and cramped harbor facilities on such a large scale.

Ride 'really, really rough' – Superferry sails, but voyage not smooth; many suffer sickness
After a two-month layoff for repairs, the Hawaii Superferry returned to Kahului Harbor on Monday with a load of passengers facing no protests except the one in their bellies.
"It was one of the most miserable rides I've ever had," said Kim Lane of Seattle.
She and other family members were part of the first set of passengers disembarking from the 350-foot Alakai after it arrived at Kahului. They said they dealt with high swells and rough seas for most of the three-hour-plus sail between Oahu and Maui. Those conditions caused many passengers to fall ill. Terry O'Halloran, Superferry director of business development, disputed the report of many passengers being severely ill on the voyage, although he admitted the Honolulu-Kahului leg was rough.

Superferry returns to service
Hawaii Superferry will return to service Monday, soothing some concerns about interisland travel options in the wake of this week's shutdown of Aloha Airlines passenger flights. However, Superferry president and CEO John Garibaldi yesterday said the sooner-than-expected return of the company's high-speed catamaran Alakai is not related to the Aloha situation. The vessel, capable of carrying 866 people and 282 cars, was in drydock for repairs for six weeks and wasn't expected to resume Honolulu-to-Maui voyages until April 23. It is now back at Pier 19 at Honolulu Harbor and ready to sail, Garibaldi said.

Kaua'i group appeals Superferry rulings
Claiming that Hawaii Superferry profits do not trump federally mandated environmental requirements, attorneys filed an opening brief in the Intermediate Court of Appeals this week. Dan Hempey and Greg Meyers, attorneys for 1,000 Friends of Kaua'i, filed the appeal of two September 2007 rulings greenlighting the Hawaii Superferry despite its lacking an Environmental Assessment. Hawaii Superferry had claimed it would face financial strain if forced to stop operations while completing the EA.

Lessons of history lost on Superferry
In just a matter of months, the Hawaii Superferry has gone from heavy hype and polished promises to weather-beaten underdog status. The Alakai is sitting in drydock undergoing repairs like a formerly promising race horse back at the farm healing shin splints. The vessel has been there since the middle of February and is estimated to stay there through most of April. Didn't Superferry officials say they would have to take their business elsewhere if they stayed out of service for very long? Hmmm...

Kaua'i opposition to ferry still strong
About 120 Kaua'i residents met with state Department of Transportation officials yesterday and most opposed the return of the Hawaii Superferry to the Garden Isle. The Superferry began service between O'ahu and Kaua'i in August but was soon turned back by protesters on surfboards and in kayaks who blocked the entrance to Nawiliwili Harbor. More than six months later, opposition remains strong here, at least from those who attended two meetings yesterday at Kaua'i Community College.

Superferry in drydock till April 22
Hawaii Superferry is extending its drydock period through April 22 while the company continues repairs to its $85 million catamaran, the Alakai. The 350-foot high-speed vessel has not been operating since Feb. 13, and by the time the interisland ferry returns to service, it will have been out of service for more days than it has been running since its Dec. 13 relaunch.
Hawaii Superferry originally announced it would be in drydock until March 3 to strengthen the metal surrounding the auxiliary rudders after cracks were found. When the aluminum hull sustained damage during the drydocking process, the company delayed the restart of service until March 25.

Ferry opponents appeal Nov. decision, say lawmakers' action was 'special legislation'
Hawaii Superferry opponents filed an appeal of a court decision that has allowed the 350-foot ferry to operate while the state prepares an environmental assessment of ferry-related Kahului Harbor improvements. At issue now is whether Act 2 is unconstitutional. During a special session last year, the Legislature passed the act allowing "large-capacity vessels," such as the ferry, to operate an interisland service pending the completion of an environmental review. The Maui Tomorrow Foundation, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition have successfully argued in court that an environmental assessment is required for the ferry. Now the ferry opponents contend that Act 2 unconstitutionally circumvents Hawaii's environmental law and is aimed at helping a single business.
See also – Foes fight ferry's environmental OK

Rough sailing forces Superferry on early break
Hawaii Superferry, plagued by weather and equipment-related shutdowns and low ridership levels, said yesterday it will place its vessel into dry dock for nearly three weeks for maintenance and recertification by the U.S. Coast Guard. 02.09.08

Check the latest news from the DOT at the Hawaii Inter-Island Large Capacity Ferry Vessel-Oversight Task Force page

Superferry toughing out winter weather
How long can the Hawaii Superferry hang on? That's a question many are asking after eight straight days of canceled voyages due to bad weather, vessel repairs and other setbacks the company has suffered since its Dec. 13 relaunch.
Since then, it has been operating with only a third of its anticipated passenger load, and rough seas and other problems have led it to cancel its daily roundtrip between Honolulu and Maui a total of 14 days. Company filings with the Public Utilities Commission indicated the ferry anticipated being out of service only 10 days a year because of foul weather, maintenance and other issues.
Hawaii Superferry president and CEO John Garibaldi said the ferry is averaging about 150 bookings a trip, while the planned passenger load was 410. The Alakai can carry 866 people and 282 cars. 02.03.08

$350,000 tugboat service needed to support Superferry
The state Department of Transportation said 10 weeks of daily tugboat service — at a cost of $350,000 — is needed at Kahului Harbor to support Hawaii Superferry operations. The tug service is necessary to keep a state-owned barge snug against the end of Pier 2C during ocean surges and to provide safe loading and unloading of passengers and vehicles, according to a request filed Friday to exempt the contract from state procurement rules. Without the assistance, the state could be liable for damage claims by the Superferry of $18,000 a day if it cannot meet its obligation to provide barges with mooring systems to enable ferry operations, the request said.
01.23.08
Read the ferry traffic report here (PDF file)

U.S.S. Superferry?
01.20.08
Hawaii Superferry — now running (weather permitting) between Oahu and Maui, thanks to a gubernatorial and legislative override of a State Supreme Court ruling — has been officially touted as a way to bring ohana together and provide a transportation alternative. However, in light of the U. S. Navy's current push to quickly expand its fleet with a new type of fast and versatile vessel, Hawaii Superferry (HSF) — chaired by former Navy Secretary and 9/11 Commission member John F. Lehman —may also be using Hawaiian waters to demonstrate the performance of its Austal USA catamaran, the Alakai, and prove its efficacy for military purposes.
At stake are U.S. defense contracts potentially worth billions, and possible sales to foreign navies, according to a defense industry consultant in San Diego who asked not to be named. The Superferry is being tested in Hawaii to qualify the design for military contracts and also for sale to the navies of India and Indonesia, the consultant said.

Superferry traffic far below estimates
'Emergency situation' cited by company in letter to state agency
01.18.08
The Hawaii Superferry is in an "emergency situation" with so few passengers that its ability to continue running between Oahu and Maui is imperiled, according to a letter written last month by attorneys for the Superferry.
The Superferry vessel Alakai, which can seat 866 passengers, is averaging only 150 passengers per day, far below its planned ridership of 410, according to the Dec. 21 letter from Superferry attorneys Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel. The letter was sent to the state Public Utilities Commission requesting an extension of the Superferry's $39 one-way promotional fares through June 5.
Attorney Audrey Ng wrote that Hawaii Superferry "must increase its business immediately" to address weak bookings, interisland airline competition and continuing litigation and protests; to pay for fixed expenses as well as to compensate for repeated delays; and to start a second Maui trip.

Hawaii Superferry Postpones Second Voyage Between Maui and Oahu
01.14.08
In consideration of Mayor Tavares' concerns, Hawaii Superferry today announced it is postponing its second voyage between Maui and O'ahu. The company anticipates starting the second voyage later this spring.

Fighting invasive species in Hawai'i
01.14.08
Invasive species have been a problem in Hawai'i since the first Polynesians set foot on these Islands, bringing rats and pigs that centuries later continue to threaten fragile and unique ecosystems. The onslaught of imported pests has only multiplied as subsequent arrivals introduced new plants, animals and bugs to Hawai'i - sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose.
The recent controversy over the Hawaii Superferry, the state's newest mode of interisland travel, spotlighted the invasive-species issue and exposed weaknesses in prevention and control programs that are likely to be discussed during the upcoming 24th Legislature, according to state Rep. Clifton Tsuji, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
"Hawai'i is a welcome wagon for invasive species, and we have an obligation to preserve the ecology that has evolved over the centuries," said Tsuji, D-3rd (South Hilo, Puna, Kea'au). "We have to really meet these invasive species head-on, out front, and not become reactionary."

Hawai'i, ferry at odds in '04 over environment
01.06.08
Staff at the state Department of Transportation told Hawaii Superferry in October 2004 that a statewide environmental assessment would be required for the new interisland ferry service. But Superferry executives resisted and, within two days, scaled back the project in a calculated attempt to get an exemption from the state's environmental review law, state records show.
Some in the department not only thought Superferry should be responsible for doing an environmental assessment — one described it as the "right thing to do" — but also seriously considered doing an environmental review of the state's $40 million in harbor improvements for Superferry.

Superferry announces second trip to Maui
01.05.08
Hawaii Superferry's announcement Friday of a second round-trip voyage this month between Maui and Oahu riled critics, who questioned the ferry's traffic impacts and the greater risk of nighttime whale collisions.
"It's timing is really bad for Maui, proving once again that this is for Oahu people, not Maui people," said Karen Chun, Web master for Save Kahului Harbor, which organized ferry protests last month.
The second trip between the islands doesn't help Maui residents because they couldn't go to Oahu, spend some time there and return the same day, Chun said.

Mayor Tavares addresses Superferry expansion

Superferry Oversight Task Force report (PDF file)

Ferry halts for third day
12.28.07
Strong winds and high seas have pushed the Hawaii Superferry back into port for the third straight day today and could keep it there tomorrow, officials said. While ferry officials canceled hundreds of passengers' trips between Maui and Oahu this week, they say that they expected days like this during the month of December.
"When we came into this market, we knew that there would be days that we would be canceling due to sea conditions," said Terry O'Halloran, Superferry director of business development. "From the data we've gathered, December historically has the highest sea conditions." O'Halloran declined to say how much money the Superferry is losing because of the cancellations.

Superferry Finally Sails
12.20.07
But as the high-speed vessel neared its destination, the idyllic excursion transformed into a spectacle never before seen on Maui. A swarm of helicopters hovered over the crowded harbor as U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats knifed through the choppy waters, circling a floating orange perimeter fence surrounding Pier 2. Flanked by Maui Police Department and Coast Guard officials, more than 100 residents descended on Kahului Harbor with an arsenal of homemade banners and signs.

Riding the Superferry
Read two viewpoints from people who gave the ferry a trial run, and check out some photographs of the Kahului Harbor activity when the ferry came to Maui.

View the Coast Guard map and rules of the security zone that will be enforced whenever the ferry is due to arrive at the harbor.

Superferry protesters shift focus
12.16.07
Protesters of the Hawaii Superferry made their largest showing yet Saturday morning and likely their last for the foreseeable future, organizers said. Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow, announced that they instead intend to contest the high-speed ferry's operations with an appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court - which previously ruled that an environmental assessment should be completed on the ferry operation using state harbors.

Damage at Kahului Harbor forces a second cancellation of the Superferry's Maui route
12.05.07
The Hawaii Superferry was forced to cancel its startup Oahu-Maui run for the second time due to damage to Kahului Harbor improvements from wave action. This time, mooring posts tied by lines to the docking barge were pulled from the pier by unusually high waves Monday. It will take at least three days to reset just one of the posts.

Rally for Maui – Let Your Voice Be Heard has been rescheduled to Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007. Due to an operations delay Hawaii Superferry announced today that damage to their barge in Kahului Harbor is greater than previously thought and the ferry's start date has been moved back. Updated information on Rally for Maui will be available on this site and at www.savekahuluiharbor.com
(see also Maui rally planned to oppose Hawaii ferry)
(view the Coast Guard map and rules of the proposed security zone)

11.28.07 – Security for ferry upsets protesters
Hawaii Superferry opponents are crying foul over the Coast Guard's security plans for the ferry's return to Maui next week. Maui Tomorrow Executive Director Irene Bowie said the security zone around the Superferry is broader than she expected and appears to be overkill given the absence of civil disobedience on the Valley Isle.
"I'm stunned by the heavy-handedness of this," she said. "I think with this there's going to be a lot more people alienated."
Vessels and surfboards could be confiscated and violators arrested on a felony charge if a security zone is breached around the Superferry as it completes its Oahu-Maui transit into Kahului Harbor starting Dec. 6, the Coast Guard warned yesterday in announcing security plans for the ferry's return.
A protest at the harbor is scheduled for Dec. 8. Gov. Linda Lingle said she does not have concerns about protests on Maui. "Generally speaking, I think people will respect the law," she said.

11.16.07 – Hawaii Superferry readying for protests
As the Hawaii Superferry prepares to sail again after winning challenges in court and at the state Capitol, the company now faces its most daunting obstacle -- more protests in the water. The Coast Guard has been thrust into the middle of the emotional showdown and is now being forced into the difficult, unusual and possibly dangerous task of arresting Americans. Coast Guard personnel previously failed to provide safe passage for the vessel as protesters heckled and splashed them with water. But the Coast Guard has repeatedly warned it will take immediate action next time around.

11.16.07 – Superferry's Kahului barge breaks loose
Just after a Maui judge said the ferry Alakai could soon resume operating in Kahului Harbor on Wednesday, the docking barge that serves the ferry snapped a mooring cable and began pounding the end of Pier 2. Only minor damage was inflicted before harbor tugs were able to first stabilize the barge and then move it up against the side of Pier 2, away from the end of the dock where an early-winter swell apparently was more than it could handle.
The incident opened a question about the viability of the ferry operations at Kahului, which is subject to severe north swells during the winter months. The occasions were reckoned to be few. But the huge barge got in trouble in the first north swell it encountered, and it wasn't a big swell

11.15.07 – Ferry to get back in the flow
Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza lifted an injunction yesterday against the Hawaii Superferry, clearing the way for it to resume operation. Cardoza declined to overturn recent state legislation authorizing large-capacity ferry vessels such as the Superferry to operate in Hawaii during an environmental study.
Attorney Isaac Hall, representing citizen groups Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition, said his groups might appeal Cardoza's decision to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
(see also – Politicians applaud judge's ruling and Special legislation? Judge didn't think so)

11.07.07 – Maui judge to hear Superferry motion on Nov. 14
Nov. 14 is the earliest the Hawaii Superferry could be cleared to resume sailings to Maui. At a hearing today in Maui Circuit Court, Judge Joseph Cardoza picked that date to consider whether to dissolve a preliminary injunction that has kept the high-speed, interisland ferry from calling at Kahului Harbor.

11.01.07 – Superferry might return in 2 weeks
Legislators approve measure, protesters say they will be back
The state Legislature gave final approval yesterday to a bill allowing the Hawaii Superferry to sail while an environmental study is completed.
Gov. Linda Lingle is expected to sign it, and the Superferry's top executive says he is hopeful the service can be running again by Nov. 15.
Superferry Chief Executive Officer John Garibaldi says there still are some procedural hurdles to overcome, but the company will immediately begin work on its restart plan.
A Kauai protest leader said his group expects the bill will result in more crowds and more protesters when the Superferry returns to the neighbor islands.

11.01.01 – House gives final OK to Hawaii Superferry bill
The state House yesterday gave final approval to a bill to help Hawaii Superferry resume service as several lawmakers asked Gov. Linda Lingle and Superferry executives to join them in trying to heal divisions over the project. The House voted 39-11 in favor of allowing the ferry to resume service under operating conditions to protect whales and deter the spread of invasive species while the state conducts an environmental review. The state Senate passed the bill 20-5 on Monday. Lingle is expected to sign the bill into law. Superferry executives hope to hire back the 249 workers furloughed last month and restart ferry service by Nov. 15.

10.31.07 – Legislature bails out Superferry – Casting sustainability aside, the legislature exempts high-speed ferry from keystone environmental review law
The Hawai`i State Legislature, operating on a threat from Hawai`i Superferry that they will leave the state if they are not granted a special privilege to circumvent Hawaii's environmental law, passed a bill permitting the Superferry to begin operations before an environmental review is complete. Throughout the special session called by Governor Linda Lingle expressly to bail out the Superferry, the Sierra Club argued that the session sets an unfair and dangerous precedent, damages Hawaii's three-decade old environmental protection act, and may expose Hawaii's environment to irreparable harms.

10.30.07 – Final vote for Hawaii Superferry nears
A compromise bill that would allow Hawaii Superferry to resume service while the state conducts an environmental review is ready for a final vote tomorrow after the state Senate approved it yesterday and state House committees moved it to the House floor.
The state Senate voted 20-5 in favor of the bill but several senators voted with reservations because they were uncomfortable about coming back into special session to overturn the courts and help Superferry. The House committees sent the Senate's version to the floor without any changes, but only after lawmakers spent much of the afternoon and evening questioning Gov. Linda Lingle and the Superferry's president on the circumstances that led to a special session.

10.23.07 – House passes Hawaii Superferry bill as is
The state House yesterday defeated a proposed amendment to a Hawaii Superferry bill that would have required the ferry to slow down to under 13 knots in shallow waters to protect whales and wash the undercarriages of vehicles to prevent the spread of invasive species.
The amendment by state Rep. Hermina Morita also would have required Superferry, instead of the state, to pay for an environmental impact statement that would be regulated by the state's Public Utilities Commission.
But the House rejected Morita's amendment and passed the original Superferry bill that was introduced at the start of special session, moving it to the Senate.

10.23.07 – Maui opposes Hawaii Superferry bailout
A state Senate panel yesterday witnessed an eruption of pent-up anger and frustration from people on both sides of the Hawaii Superferry controversy. A raucous crowd of about 400 attended the second stop of a three-island series of informational meetings on a draft bill that would allow the interisland ferry to operate while the state conducts an environmental study.
The Maui meeting was particularly charged because the draft bill and a special session expected to be convened to pass it would undo a successful 2 1/2-year court challenge filed by Maui residents pushing for an environmental assessment.
Read a report from inside the Maui hearing on Tuesday, 10/23

10.19.07 – Group pushes rules on ferry
Maui environmentalists who successfully sued to stop the Hawaii Superferry are proposing 29 conditions that the Legislature must include in any new law allowing the Superferry to resume service. Proposed conditions include requiring passengers to say if they were using the Superferry to go camping on another island, and then only allowing passengers who have permits to camp in federal state or county parks to be allowed.
Also, the Superferry would be required to post a $40 million bond to pay the state for the money owed it for state harbor improvements in case the ferry leaves the state.
Senate President Colleen Hanabusa met with the environmentalists yesterday but did not promise to include any of the conditions in the bill now under consideration. Republican Senate leader Fred Hemmings called the environmentalists' proposal "ludicrous."
The Legislature plans to go into special session next week to consider a bill to allow the Superferry Alakai to operate while an environmental study is done.

10.19.07 – Activists oppose Hawaii Superferry reprieve
Environmentalists from Maui warned state lawmakers yesterday of the potential for irreparable harm if they allow Hawaii Superferry to resume service before an environmental review is conducted.
"We are totally opposed to this bill. We do not want to see it passed," said Isaac Hall, the attorney for Maui Tomorrow, which was among the groups that persuaded the state Supreme Court that an environmental review of the project is necessary. A Maui court ruled that Superferry could not use Kahului Harbor on Maui until the review is completed.

10.14.07 – Hawaii ferry spent $175,000 on lobbying
Hawaii Superferry officials spent more than $175,000 over three years on lobbying and campaign contributions, including dozens of donations to Gov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and other key state legislators.
"You're talking about an extremely large sum of money even by national standards," said Craig Holman, a campaign finance expert with Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group. "At the very least, they are trying to buy access, and at the worst they are trying to buy influence."

10.09.07 – Maui judge: Superferry can't operate during environment study
A Maui judge said Tuesday he won't allow Hawaii Superferry to sail between Honolulu and Kahului while the state studies the environmental impact of the interisland ferry service.
Hawaii Superferry officials have said they would have to leave the state if they're not allowed to operate while the environmental review is carried out. But Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza said state law requires that an environmental study be conducted beforehand.
"The purpose of the law is to protect the environment, not to protect economic interests," Cardoza said.
(read Cardoza's full decision by downloading a PDF file here)

10.09.07 – Hawaii Superferry's woes likely to continue
Even if today's Maui court ruling allows Hawaii Superferry to resume service to Kahului Harbor, the company may still face stormy seas. Maui groups worried about the potential environmental impact of the Hawaii Superferry so far have prevailed by relying on the state's legal system. But if Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza sides with the company and the state Department of Transportation, observers say the vessel likely will be met by protests when it reaches Kahului.
"I can tell you the Superferry certainly would not be greeted with open arms. I don't know if people would jump into the harbor and block them," said Karen Chun, a canoe paddler who has long been involved in issues surrounding the state's development of Kahului Harbor.
"There is a level of anger not just directed at the Superferry, but it could be a catalyzing force."

10.07.07 – No smooth political sailing for Hawaii ferry
As state lawmakers discuss a possible special session to help Hawaii Superferry, several observers said they cannot recall a comparable example where the Legislature returned to save a development project in the midst of such intense public controversy.

09.27.07 – Superferry heading to high court -- again
Legislative leaders want to see the Hawaii Superferry succeed so are poised for a special session
Kauai group drops suit, will pursue appeal
Transportation chief frets over ferry setback

09.27.07 – Hawaii harbor users could get ferry tab
If the Hawaii Superferry leaves the state, other harbor users will have to pick up the tab for $40 million in ferry-related improvements at four ports, according to Department of Transportation officials.

09.16.07 – Superferry sets its own deadline
The company's CEO says information is needed to determine whether it can survive

09.15.07 – Big Island man objects in Superferry procurement issue
Two men have filed objections over the Transportation Department's request for exemption from the state's procurement code in awarding a contract to conduct the environmental assessment for the Superferry's use of state harbors. On Thursday, Jeff Sacher of Kawaihae and Rob Parsons of Haiku filed the objection with the state procurement officer through their lawyer, Wailuku attorney Lance D. Collins.

09.15.07 – Maui ban on Hawaii Superferry extended
Judge Joseph Cardoza yesterday agreed to extend the ban on Hawaii Superferry's use of Kahului Harbor, via a preliminary injunction, at least until he reaches a decision. Cardoza had issued a temporary restraining order to that effect on Aug. 27, but such orders cannot be extended beyond 20 days. Although a similar case is pending in Kaua'i Circuit Court, the vessel is being allowed to resume service to Nawiliwili Harbor on Sept. 26.

09.12.07 – Governer Lingle stresses public safety in Superferry's resumption of service to Kaua'i
Click here to read the summary of state law consequences
Governor Linda Lingle today announced today that the Hawai'i Superferry will resume service to Kaua'i starting Wednesday, September 26 on a temporary daylight schedule. The Governor also stressed that federal, state and county law enforcement agencies will strictly enforce a temporary security zone established at Nawiliwili Harbor by the United States Coast Guard.

09.11.07 – Biologist says risk of Superferry colliding with whale is 'very high'

09.10.07 – Hawaii Superferry a threat to whales, court witness says
Marine biologist Hannah Bernard was the sole witness to testify today in the first day of a Maui Circuit Court hearing to decide whether the Hawaii Superferry can operate while the state conducts an environmental assessment of ferry-related projects at four state harbors. Bernard said the Superferry's 350-foot catamaran and other large, fast-moving vessels are a particular threat to humpback whales and other species.

09.03.07 – Failure to complete study set Superferry on doomed course
The Hawaii Superferry presents a classic case of how not to do business in Hawaii. Three years ago the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and Kahului Harbor Coalition asked the Hawaii Superferry and the Lingle administration to complete an environmental review of the Superferry. Unknown environmental and public safety risks, concerned neighbor island communities and a clear reading of the law demanded it. The review would have occurred while other planning proceeded. The administration and Superferry corporation, however, decided to gamble and chose to skip this mandatory environmental disclosure process. A unanimous Supreme Court decision – announced just hours after oral argument – called their bluff.

08.23.07 – Hawaii Superferry Stopped in Nawiliwili Harbor

Superferry ordered to do environmental assessment
08.23.07
The Hawai'i Supreme Court this afternoon ruled that the state should have conducted an environmental study on its improvements to island harbors for the Hawaii Superferry operation scheduled to start next week. The decision is a major legal setback for the Superferry, but Superferry lawyers were not immediately available for comment as to whether the operations will start as scheduled on Tuesday.

08.15.07 – Aloha, Citizens for Superferry Sanity;
We have exchanged information, inspiration, and fellowship during the past two and a half years as this big-money, pet project has made its way like a snake through the grass, heading for our shores. It has been great to share mana'o with so many worthwhile, dedicated, creative and fun-loving fellow citizens.
In a week the Hawaii State Supreme Court will be hearing our oral arguments on the main point we have all been making. This misbegotten beast of a project needs to obey the law and comply with Chapter 343 HRS regarding environmental review. The fact that the Court is requesting oral arguments is a positive sign that our legal appeal is being taken seriously. Also in our favor is the fact that we were able to get a favorable declaratory ruling from the State's own Environmental Council in February that an environmental review of the Hawaii Superferry was needed.
Those of us on Maui who are the plaintiffs in these legal appeals now need your kokua. The four groups which have been involved in these efforts have raised over $30,000 for four separate legal efforts. We will need to augment that with another $20,000 soon.
We appreciate that some of you have generously contributed to these legal efforts in the past. We also appreciate that some of you are contemplating your own legal actions. We, however, humbly request your support in this time of impending resolution of our legal challenges.
If you are willing and able to donate (it's tax deductible!), please send contributions (check or MasterCard/Visa) to:
Maui Tomorrow Foundation Inc., PO Box 299, Makawao, Hawaii 96768
Or contact Irene Bowie, Maui Tomorrow Executive Director
(phone: 808.268.0303 or e-mail: director@maui-tomorrow.org )
Mahalo nui loa and IMUA!
Lucienne de Naie & Ron Sturtz, for Maui Tomorrow

07.15.07 – Hawaii Superferry foes eager to go to court
With harbor improvements for the Hawaii Superferry reported to be on track, the only apparent threat to the start of the interisland ferry service is two pending court cases with hearings set for next month. Both challenges involve questions about the need for adequate environmental impact studies on the publicly funded port projects for the new service, which will transport passengers and vehicles between Honolulu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island. The best hope for the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition to delay Superferry operations rests with an appeal of a July 2005 ruling by Maui Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cardoza.

07.02.07 – Superferry case goes to Hawai'i Supreme Court
The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear Oral Argument on whether the Hawai'i Superferry was illegally granted an exemption from Chapter 343 of the Hawai'i revised statutes which requires an Environmental Impact Statement for projects using public funds. This is an appeal of 2nd Circuit Court Judge Cardoza's earlier ruling. The case has been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on August 15, 2007.

05.31.07 – Maui Tomorrow and County of Maui Move Forward with their Case
Judge Joel August ruled that the Hawaii Department of Transportation's FONSI (Finding of NO significant impact) for the changes at Kahului Harbor was insufficient. He stated specifically that the examination of traffic issues was inadequate.
This is the case in which Maui Tomorrow, the Kahului Harbor Coalition and the County of Maui have joined together as plaintiffs, charging that the State's Environmental Assessment was incomplete. Judge August asked that the parties come before him on Thursday, August 2 to determine what relief measures can be required.
Although this decision does not directly involve the Hawaii Superferry "ship", the necessary traffic study will have to examine the impact of the HSF operations bringing up to 280 vehicles into the affected area two time each day (mid-mornings and evenings), and the loading of up to an additional 280 vehicles onto the ferry.
Furthermore, it is expected that there will be many other vehicles (taxis, busses, rental vehicles, etc.) delivering and picking up Hawaii Superferry passengers. The traffic study will also have to consider the closing of the road between Pier 2 and Pier 1 because that was caused by the Superferry's need for space. Finally, to get a proper analysis of traffic impacts, it will be necessary to include the huge 450 residential housing unit and commercial center that is soon to be constructed on the site of the Old Kahului Shopping Center (where Ah Fooks burnt down).
Read more about this issue: State traffic assessment fails a test and see photos at: Anti-Superferry demonstrators clog Maui traffic

03.30.07 – Souki again sinks Superferry EIS
Maui Rep. Joe Souki has blocked a second bill in the 2007 Legislature that would have required an environmental impact statement on the Hawaii Superferry, repeating his argument that it's unfair to pick on a single harbor user. Souki, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, refused to schedule Senate Bill 702 for a hearing by the committee, effectively killing the bill. It would be wasteful since the state already will prepare an impact statement on the Kahului Harbor 2030 master plan, he said.

03.11.07 – Kahului Harbor EIS needed a decade ago
An environmental impact statement is needed to identify and propose mitigative measures on traffic increases on congested Kahului roadways, on the need for space in land-tight Kahului and Lihue, on a need for safety measures to separate cargo from passengers, on the potential for introduction of unwanted pests, not only aboard the Superferry but in cargo and on passengers from cruise ships, overseas containers and Young Brothers barges.

03.09.07 – Revised bill could delay Superferry
First hailed as a compromise on the controversial Hawaii Superferry, a bill that passed the Senate is now being called "problematic" by ferry officials. And if it becomes law, they said, the interisland service cannot start this summer.

03.06.07 – Superferry EIS is right and legal thing to do
By Sens. J. Kalani English, Gary L. Hooser, Russell S. Kokubun and Shan S. Tsutsui
With the Hawai'i Superferry scheduled to begin operations in July, a cursory review of the Neighbor Island harbor facilities shows that negligible improvements have been made to these areas. There are no bathrooms, no ticket booths, no security screening areas and no vehicular "wash down" facilities. At Kahului and Nawiliwili there will be a "tent" put up as a passenger holding area, and portable toilets will be provided. There will be no parking provided at all, and minimal, if any, improvements made to the adjacent roadway infrastructure.

02.25.07 – Refuting the Myths: Hawaii Superferry facts add clarity to the murky debate
by Ron Sturtz, President of Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc
Many people have asked that I provide a factual overview of the potential environmental impacts of the Hawaii Superferry, and the status of current legal challenges. I hope that the following facts - in response to a few well-intentioned and passionate, but misinformed letters, editorials and news reports – will be helpful to the discussion.

02.23.07 – State Environmental Council Issues Opinion: Superferry Exemption from EIS is wrong
The State Environmental Council, the advisory commission to the Office of Environmental Quality Control, issued an opinion on Thursday that "the State Department of Transportation erred when it granted to the Hawaii Superferry an exemption from the requirement to do an Environmental Impact Statement." In a 9:1 vote, with one abstention, the Council stated that the exemption granted by the DOT failed to take into consideration the cumulative and secondary environmental impacts of the Hawaii Superferry project.

02.23.07 – Hawaii Superferry Operational Plan & Commitments

02.15.07 – 'Big concerns' over Superferry remain
A joint Senate committee approved a bill requiring an environmental impact statement be prepared on the Hawaii Superferry, although senators said significant legal issues need to be addressed. Senate Bill 1276 was approved by a joint session of the transportation and environment committees, after the committees went to Maui and Kauai last weekend to receive public comment that was virtually unanimous in favor of requiring an EIS.

02.12.07 – Maui testifiers unanimous, want EIS for Superferry
Public misgivings about this summer's scheduled launch of the Hawaii Superferry resurfaced Saturday during a joint Senate committee meeting while a bill to demand an environmental study of the interisland ferry appeared to pick up steam. With public testimony statewide on a bill to require an environmental impact statement for the ferry running 13-to-1 in favor, Maui state Sens. J. Kalani English and Shan Tsutsui predicted Senate Bill 1276 would advance out of the Senate Transportation and International Affairs and Energy and Environment committees en route to debate on the Senate floor.

02.11.07 – More On Super Shibai
Senator Gary Hooser's blog offers comments on Superferry

02.10.07 – EIS has strong support from Kaua'i
The majority of residents who testified at a meeting on Kauai threw their support behind a Senate bill that would require Hawaii Superferry conduct a detailed environmental impact statement before beginning ferry operations in July. More than 120 people crowded into the historic County Building to hear all or part of the Senate committee hearing convened to discuss the bill. Those attending voiced concern the ferries might collide with federally protected marine life, increase traffic congestion, and bring more crime, homeless people and drugs to Kaua'i.

02.08.07 – Senators told ship could hurt humpbacks
A state Senate joint committee was warned Wednesday of the likelihood that the Hawaii Superferry would strike and injure humpback whales during normal operations between the islands. An expert witness brought in by the Pacific Whale Foundation provided data on what the effects of the ferry operations could be, said Sen. Shan Tsutsui, whose Central Maui district includes Kahului Harbor.

Pacific Whale Foundation Testifies to Protect Whales
Pacific Whale Foundation President and Founder Greg Kaufman traveled to Honolulu to testify before two Hawaii State Senate Committees on the need for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to allowing operation of the Hawaii Superferry. Kaufman's testimony before the Senate Transportation and International Affairs Committee, and the Energy and Environment Commiteee, was in support of Senate Bill 1276, which would require an EIS for the Superferry.

01.19.07 – Who will win: Hawaii Superferry or four state senators?
This week, shipbuilder Austal USA will launch the first of two 353-foot aluminum catamaran ferries in Mobile, Alabama for a series of open sea trials. They will deliver the first vessel to Hawaii Superferry in early spring. Also this week, the state Legislature begins its 2007 session. Four outer-island state senators will be sponsoring legislation to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before the inter-island fast-ferry venture commences, currently projected for this summer.

01.14.07 - Superferry to launch Thursday
This week will mark a milestone for Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama when it launches the first of two Hawaii Superferry craft from its south ship shed on the Mobile River. Work is under way in Mobile on the second vessel, scheduled for delivery in early 2009.

01.07.07 - Superferry review sought
Four influential Neighbor Island state senators, who believe Hawai'i Superferry has not convincingly explained its possible effect on the Islands, will try to require an environmental impact statement before the scheduled launch of ferry service between O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i in July. The senators want a more thorough review of the Superferry even if it means delaying the launch.

12.13.06 - Ferry compromise encouraged
An attorney for Maui County said she's "hopeful" that various groups can get together and resolve their differences rather than engage in a legal dispute over the proposed interisland Superferry.

12.08.06 - State harbors chief grilled by judge over Kahului plans
The question before the court is whether three citizen groups and Maui County have a legitimate claim in a lawsuit seeking to require the state Department of Transportation to prepare a full environmental impact statement on the environmental effects of harbor expansion - including improvements for the Hawaii Superferry.

11.21.06 - Slowing down could reduce whale injuries
It's distressing to see the increase in the number of collisions between ocean vessels and humpback whales. Researchers say we've had six collisions so far this year, up from four last year. And while that number might seem small, that increase should initiate discussion for speed limits in certain segments of our waters, with the hope of reducing the number of these accidents.

11.19.06 - Kahului judged too busy for Superferry
Kahului Harbor can't meet all the future demand of cargo ships, cruise ships, the interisland Superferry and other users, said Maui Planning Director Mike Foley. The harbor is already too crowded, and there won't be enough room to accommodate increased traffic brought by barges, ferries, recreation vessels, small boats, fuel imports and storage.

11.16.06 - Planner: Kahului Harbor is not enough
When the public at large got its first chance to offer suggestions for the next Kahului Harbor master plan, the state was told to expand its horizons - to plan not just for the island's only commercial port but for maritime needs generally.

07.26.06 – Ship of fools
Some Hawai'i residents tell Superferry officials to shape up or ship out

See also:
Save Kahului Harbor

Honolulu Advertiser today: Superferry lobbies for military upgrade

2008-06-18T08:35:00.001-10:00

HONOLULU ADVERTISER Wednesday, June 18, 2008

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS09/806180395/1001

Superferry lobbies for military upgrade

Company spends $210K on lobbyists to obtain funds for vehicle ramp

By Derrick DePledge Advertiser Government Writer

Hawaii Superferry has spent $210,000 since last summer to lobby for federal money to install features on its second high-speed catamaran to make it more attractive for military use.

Lobbyists hired by Superferry approached the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Defense to help pay for a vehicle ramp and other improvements. The ramp would allow the new catamaran to load and unload vehicles at most large piers instead of relying on shore-based ramps and barges.

Superferry paid Blank Rome LLC, a prominent law and lobbying firm, to try to obtain federal money through the National Defense Features program to cover the cost of improvements to its second catamaran under construction at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. The defense program covers the installation of militarily useful features on commercial ships if the owners agree to make the ships available to the military during emergencies.

Superferry also may eventually retrofit the Alakai, which is now in commercial passenger and cargo service between O'ahu and Maui, with a vehicle ramp and other improvements. The improvements to the catamarans, if completed, would make the vessels self-sustaining and better suited for military assignments here and abroad. The second ferry is scheduled for delivery next February.

"Our customers have found that the current barge loading system is easy to use, fast and convenient, and works well for both cars and large trucks," Superferry said yesterday in response to questions from The Advertiser. "Adding a ramp to the vessel, in addition to our barges, would provide additional flexibility.

"We are looking at several options for improvements to be made under this program and ramps is one of them."

lobbying activities

The federal lobbying expenses, the most Superferry has spent with Blank Rome since it hired the firm in 2004, came during the time when Superferry was fighting for its survival in the Islands after court challenges and public protests. The state Supreme Court ruled in August that the state should not have exempted the project from environmental review. The state Legislature approved a bill, signed into law by Gov. Linda Lingle, that allowed the ferry to operate while an environmental impact statement is being prepared.

Superferry said yesterday that the lobbying activities at the federal level were unrelated to what was happening in the Islands and were about exploring available federal funding opportunities under the defense program.

Superferry's consideration of vehicle ramps on its catamarans validates the work of staff at the state Department of Transportation's harbors division. Staffers had argued in 2004 that Superferry should install a quarter stern ramp on the first catamaran because it would have saved the state on initial capital investments for shore-based ramps and barges, would have been less intrusive for other harbor users, and would have given the vessel more flexibility at Maui's congested Kahului Harbor.

Superferry countered that the ramp would add too much weight to the catamaran and hamper travel speed and load and unload time at harbors, which could reduce consumer convenience and the project's profitability.

The Department of Transportation's initial position was that the state would not pay for shore-based ramps and barges because other harbor users could request that the state buy or build their improvements. The state, however, ultimately agreed to $40 million in harbor improvements for the project that is supposed to be repaid by Superferry over time.

Harbors' staff made a pitch for Superferry to install a vehicle ramp in late 2004 but Superferry refused, according to documents released to The Advertiser under the state's open-records law. A Department of Transportation staffer, describing a meeting in the governor's offices with Bob Awana — then Lingle's chief of staff — and Superferry executives and department officials, wrote in an e-mail: "Decisions made: We need to pursue EXEMPTION; and HSF will not provide any ramps on vessel."

Mike Formby, the department's deputy director for harbors, said yesterday that there are pros and cons to adding vehicle ramps at this point. On-board ramps would give the catamarans more flexibility, but would likely not be as wide as the existing shore-based ramps that allow for easy loading and unloading. The ramp and barge configuration has caused problems at Kahului Harbor, where a tug has been necessary to keep the barge up against the pier during ocean swells, but has worked well at other harbors.

"While ramps will introduce flexibility into the system, they will also introduce some operational constraints," Formby said.

Dick Mayer, a retired economics professor who lives on Maui and has been active against the ferry, said the vehicle ramps and other improvements would make the catamarans more marketable elsewhere. "Those actions would place the investment made by the people and state of Hawai'i in jeopardy because the Superferry would be more easily able to leave," he said.

military component

Superferry executives had touted the military utility of the catamarans when they were initially describing the project to the state. A September 2004 document from Superferry, obtained by The Advertiser under the open-records law, discussed the growing training needs of the military in the Islands and said the catamarans would have strengthened vehicle decks to handle heavy military vehicles, helicopters, ammunition and other equipment.

John Lehman, a Superferry investor and former secretary of the Navy, and a Superferry executive told Pacific Business News in March 2005 of the ferry's potential to move the Army's Stryker brigade and other military equipment between O'ahu and the Big Island.

Sean Connaughton, administrator of the federal Maritime Administration, which provided federal loan guarantees for ferry construction, told a Maui court last year of the military utility of the ferry as part of the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement program. The program is a partnership between the military and the maritime industry to provide the military with sealift capacity during war or national emergency.

But Superferry executives have downplayed the military use of the catamarans since the court challenges and protests. Thomas Fargo, Superferry's president and chief executive officer and a retired Navy admiral, said when he took over the company in April that the success of the project would be built on commercial passenger and cargo business.

Several activists who oppose the project have been fixated on Superferry's military connections and have raised suspicions about whether it can be commercially profitable.

The Superferry catamarans are similar in design to Austal's WestPac Express, which has been contracted by the military as a support vessel in the Pacific.

Blank Rome's federal lobbying reports on Superferry for last year and the first quarter of this year have undergone substantial revision. The initial report for the last six months of last year, filed in February, showed less than $10,000 in lobbying income from Superferry. A second report in February raised the figure to $40,000. A third report, filed in May, put the figure at $120,000.

Blank Rome's lobbying report for the first quarter of 2008, filed in April, initially reported $30,000 in lobbying income from Superferry. An amended report, filed in May, raised the figure to $90,000.

The firm explained that the changes were made after the discovery of additional lobbying work on behalf of Superferry and because of the expenses from a subcontractor working with the firm on Superferry.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Lingle keeps lid on Superferry records: Administration cites both attorney-client and executive privilege

2008-06-11T13:30:00.001-10:00

Corruption, Corruption~~

Lingle keeps lid on Superferry records

Administration cites both attorney-client and executive privilege

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

The Lingle administration, citing attorney-client privilege and executive privilege, has declined a request by The Advertiser to publicly release hundreds of e-mails and other documents related to its decision to exempt the Hawaii Superferry project from environmental review.

The documents include e-mails from late 2004 from a deputy attorney general assigned to the project that discuss an environmental review.

A December 2004 e-mail from a state Department of Transportation design engineer to a project consultant, previously released to the newspaper under the state's open-records law, suggests the deputy attorney general's legal analysis supported those within the department who were pressing for a review.

"Our attorney ... feels that one statewide comprehensive document is necessary that would cover the improvements as well as the cumulative operational impacts," the design engineer wrote.

State lawmakers had asked Lingle administration officials last year to disclose what, if any, legal advice they received before they exempted the project in February 2005. But the administration would not discuss the matter because of attorney-client privilege.

Lawmakers wanted the information to determine whether the Lingle administration considered the legal risks before issuing the exemption.

The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously last August that the exemption was an error, a decision that led to further court challenges and public protests that halted ferry service. Gov. Linda Lingle signed a bill passed in a special session of the state Legislature that allowed ferry service to resume while a statewide environmental review is completed.

In the weeks after the Supreme Court's decision, Lingle and Barry Fukunaga — the former harbors and Transportation Department director and now the governor's chief of staff — said Superferry was being singled out and treated unfairly and described the court's ruling as a dramatic change in the state's environmental review policy.

But documents released under the open-records law have shown there was significant debate within the administration about an environmental review and explicit warnings by staff of the legal and public-relations consequences of exempting the project.

executive privilege

State Attorney General Mark Bennett's office, in a written response to questions from The Advertiser, said the state routinely declines to release information requested through the open-records law because of attorney-client privilege.

Bennett's office could not recall the administration specifically citing executive privilege to decline an open-records request, but said the term can in some circumstances be used interchangeably with the deliberative process privilege, which is a well-defined exception to the open-records law. The deliberative process privilege protects documents to avoid the frustration of a legitimate government function.

Executive privilege, which is rooted in the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government found in the U.S. Constitution, protects material compiled to advise chief executives such as the president or governors.

According to Bennett's office, executive privilege is "justified on the ground that the quality of advice and the candor of policy discussions would be greatly impaired if the private discussions and reports of advisers were given a public airing."

State Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), who wanted an environmental review of Superferry, said the administration's decision not to release all of the documents is disappointing.

"It seems clear that there was a legal analysis and the Lingle administration needs to provide that," he said. "And, I would think, that if the legal analysis supported their position, they would have provided it already."

appeal also denied

The Advertiser requested the documents to help reconstruct the state's decision to exempt the Superferry project from environmental review after the project became the subject of statewide debate last year.

The Lingle administration would not release records from Bennett and his deputies, citing attorney-client privilege. The state Office of Information Practices denied an appeal by the newspaper to revisit a 1991 ruling that found that advice and counsel from the attorney general to state agencies is protected by the privilege and excepted from the open-records law.

The administration agreed to release thousands of documents from other administration officials — 21 boxes in all — in increments over the past six months. On Thursday, the administration provided a log that briefly describes additional documents being withheld because of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege. The newspaper has appealed to the Office of Information Practices for the release of some of these documents.

The newspaper has asked the OIP to review the content of several of the documents to determine whether attorney-client privilege and executive privilege are being properly claimed. The newspaper has argued that it is in the public interest of government transparency for the administration to release these select documents.

The Lingle administration also has provided thousands of Superferry-related documents to Marion Higa, the state auditor, for a performance audit of the administration's handling of the Superferry project that was required under the law that allowed ferry service to resume.

Higa has complained about the administration's use of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege to restrict her access to additional material.

Lawmakers had considered asking the Lingle administration to voluntarily waive attorney-client privilege as part of Higa's audit but removed the language from the bill after objections from the governor's office.

Several lawmakers, however, worried that the administration would liberally assert the privilege and prevent a full accounting of what happened.

"In hindsight, maybe giving them the benefit of the doubt was not the best thing to do," said state Rep. Marcus Oshiro, D-39th (Wahiawa), who aggressively questioned administration officials about Superferry last year. "I had hoped for and expected them to be more forthcoming and fess up to what most of us believe anyone would do, and that would be to request a legal opinion from their legal counsel."

Oshiro, an attorney, said he does not see any justification for the administration to withhold a legal analysis of whether an exemption was warranted, or discussions about strategy related to an environmental review, because of attorney-client privilege. He said, since the decision itself has been ruled an error by the Supreme Court and is no longer the subject of any Superferry lawsuits, the only reason for the administration to withhold the documents is to avoid embarrassment.

'they really messed up'

Oshiro described the administration's use of executive privilege as even more extraordinary. He said executive privilege is rarely invoked nationally and he can recall no previous time it has been used in Hawai'i to deny lawmakers or the public records linked to a public-policy decision.

"Either way, they really messed up on this one," he said. "If they did not ask for a legal opinion, they were negligent. If they did ask for a legal opinion and they did not follow that, they were grossly negligent."

Bennett's office, in the written response to the newspaper, said executive privilege is a necessary part of state executive power and has been applied to governors by the courts. The office said the courts focus less on the nature of the records sought and more on the effect of the records' release in discouraging candid discussions within government agencies.

Bennett's office cited a 1991 opinion in Times Mirror Co. vs. Superior Court in California that protected a governor's appointment calendars from public disclosure to the Los Angeles Times.

"The deliberative process privilege is grounded in the unromantic reality of politics; it rests on the understanding that if the public and the governor were entitled to precisely the same information, neither would likely receive it," the court found. "Politics is an ecumenical affair; it embraces persons and groups of every conceivable interest: public and private; popular and unpopular; Republican and Democratic and every partisan stripe in between; left, right and center.

"To disclose every private meeting or association of the governor and expect the decision-making process to function effectively, is to deny human nature and contrary to common sense and experience."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Ferry Hawaiian activist harrassed by KPD, tazers and shields sought in budget

2008-05-06T22:52:00.000-10:00

SUBJECT: POLICE OVER-REACTION

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@earthlink.net

POSTED: 6 MAY 2008 - 4:00pm HST

County Council Budget - On KPD items

image above: Illustration by David Dees with insertion of Hawaiians in foreground by Juan Wilson

by Juan Wilson on 6 May 2008

The Kauai County Council will meet at 5:00pm on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at the Old County Building. On the agenda will be budget items for the Kauai Police Department that will include a line item for twenty-five riot shields for $4,800.

The paramilitary arming, upgrading and equipping our police department continues. It is rumored that Chief Darryl Perry is seeking to obtain a bulletproof SUV for his use.

What kind of police department do we want? Peace keepers or Blackwater USA? Please come out and let our council and police department know.

WHAT:
County Council Budget Meeting

WHERE:
Old County Office Building - Council Chambers

WHEN:
5:00pm on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

WHY:
Because you care.

SUBJECT: POLICE OVER-REACTION

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@earthlink.net

POSTED: 5 MAY 2008 - 7:00pm HST

Don't Busta Move Dayne!

image above: Dayne Aipoalani faces KPD at Superferry gate on 8/18/07. Photo by Juan Wilson

by Juan Wilson on 5 May 2008

On Wednesday, April 30th an anti-GMO meeting was held in Hanapepe at the United Church for Christ. Among the sixty or so people attending were Richard Hoeppner, of People for the Preservation of Kauai, and Dayne Aipoalani, of the Kingdom of Atooi. Dayne was with his wife Toni and twenty month old daughter Alana.

Dayne and Richard have known each other and worked together. Richard is a retired police detective and Dayne wanted to have the Kingdom of Atooi marshals get some formal police training, especially in conflict resolution, and mediation.

The two have also worked against the Superferry coming to Kauai and against Syngenta spraying herbicides next to Waimea Canyon Middle School. Dayne and Toni had become alarmed because neighborhood children had become sick and even one of their own had become ill after Syngenta spraying.

The anti-GMO meeting broke up about nine p.m. The Dayne and the family got in their truck and headed to the parking lot exit to get on the highway going west and home to Kekaha. When he got to the stop sign, at the highway, Dayne noticed a darkened police cruiser parked next to Hanapepe Park. It turned on its lights and pulled up to the stop sign opposite him.

Suspecting something, Dayne did not pull out onto the highway, but waited for the police car to move first. It didn't. Fifteen seconds went by. Suddenly the cop car turned right onto the highway heading west. Dayne followed him.

As Dayne pulled away he noticed two vehicles emerge from the church parking lot and follow behind his truck. A SUV and a sedan. At this time Rich Hoeppner was preparing to leave the church too. Rich drove east towards Kalaheo.

As Dayne continued west there was little traffic as he came to Moi Street. But there another police cruiser was parked. It fell into line behind him and the two unmarked vehicles. In less than a minute Dayne was passing the National Guard facility on the makai side of the highway. Three police cruisers joined the parade.

The police cruisers all at once turned on their flashers and in front of Salt Pond Store pulled Dayne over and boxed him in. Police swarmed Dayne's truck. From the unmarked SUV four SWAT police emerged in camo and vests. They carried gas canisters and other special equipment.

The police team was lead by police officers Steve Sueoka and Detective Hank Barriga. Dayne knew he was in trouble because of Sueoka's role in the August 2007 Superferry demonstrations. In December of last year KPD Chief Darryl Perry recognized Sueoka for his exceptional assistance of the United States Coast Guard during that time.

After Dayne's car was surrounded by the police and SWAT team there was a lot of yelling. Sueoka said; "You are under arrest!"

Dayne said; "What for? What did I do? Wait a minute."

When asked to get out of his truck Dayne did not understand why. He got on his cell phone and called friends for advice and help.

Richard Hoeppner got a call as he was passing Kalaheo. He turned the car around and headed for Salt Pond Store.

Sueoka continued; "We have a warrant."

Dayne answered; I'm not getting out of the car until I know what's going on."

Sueoka showed Dayne the warrant. As it turned out the warrant the police were carrying was for failure to show up at a plea hearing on the charge of impersonating an officer. During the August Superferry demonstrations Dayne carried a badge identifying himself as an officer of the Kingdom of Atooi. He never claimed to be a KPD policeman.

He was surprised by the police action because of a meeting he had to discuss the issue of Kingdom of Atooi marshals and their responsibilities. The meeting was in Lihue with Chief Perry on November 8th 2007, attended by KPD officer Roy Asher and others. It was understood by Dayne that a line of communication was opened with the KPD and that they would contact him if questions regarding the issue of the Atooi marshals needed attention.

Moreover, the warrant regarding the plea hearing was not applicable because Dayne had demonstrated to the court that he was at the hospital emergency room at the time of the hearing. Dayne provided the court with paperwork for a medical excuse concerning his failure to appear. It seems the court had excused him without correcting the warrant paperwork.

This came out in the exchange between Sueoka and Dayne. Sueoka said that if Dayne had paperwork with him to prove his excuse there would be no arrest.
Dayne did not have the documents in the car. Referring to all the men and material used in the arrest proceeding Dayne countered;

"Why didn't you just call me on my phone to come in and take care of this matter?"

As spoke Dayne pointed out that his cellphone number was prominently written on the warrant. "

Sueoka had had enough; "We have a warrant for you! We have to execute our order!"

By this time Rich Hoeppner had made the last leg of his way to Salt Pond Store on foot. The police had closed the main highway near the store. Some of Dayne's people from the Kingdom of Atooi had also arrived to witness the scene. More police arrived. Toni thought there might be as many as thirty policemen by that time.

Police were breaking up any groups of passerby greater than three in number. No public assembly was allowed for local people. Richard, a haole, was able to get to the front of Salt Pond Store when one policeman asked him if he wanted to get a newspaper or something. Richard used that as an invitation.

"Yeah, I need a newspaper".

Richard asked the policeman if that wasn't Dayne's truck in the middle of all the trouble. Then Richard was confronted by another KPD officer, D. Martin, who called out that;

"We know who you are. I saw you at the Superferry!"

Martin told him to get his paper and get out of there.

The police proceeded to yank open the doors on Dayne's truck. Police officers tried, unsuccessfully, to pull Dayne from his truck. SWAT team members pushed cans of tear gas in Dayne's face. They opened up the back to expose Alana. Dayne was concerned his wife and daughter would be caught in the middle of a violent confrontation. He sensed that the actions of the police seemed to be an attempt to provoke him into making a mistake. They had overwhelming force at the scene.

Dayne decided to comply with the order to leave his vehicle. He told Sueoka and Barriga that he would get out of the truck if they did not harass his family, adding;

"I'll go with you guys, but I'm not under your jurisdiction." Dayne was never read his rights when they took him down.

Dayne was brought to the Lihue station, booked and given a copy of the arrest record. The bail is set at $2,175. Immediately friends and family tried to call the 24/7 bail bondsmen on the island to free Dayne. Toni and Richard found that none would respond that night.

While in Lihue an unidentified police officer asked Dayne about the Iolani Palace occupation by sovereignty advocates on Oahu. He was casually asked how many of his people were there. Dayne was not freed that night.

Later the police took the arrest record from him. Dayne was taken to the Kauai Correctional County Center (KCCC) and spent the night in jail without bond. Richard was up all night trying to free Dayne.

Toni drove home quite upset. She was not followed but got a call shortly from a friend who had spotted two police cruisers parked in the dark down her street watching her house.

The next morning a guard at KCCC also asks Dayne about the Iolani palace incident. Apparently sovereignty activists anywhere in the state were being connected to the palace occupation. Later Dayne was transferred to court; not in his own clothes but in an orange jumpsuit in shackles on his hands and feet. Toni and Richard Hoeppner were at the court the next morning and were very upset. Before the the judge, Kathleen Watanabe, Dayne stated;

"There was no notification of a court date after I missed my plea hearing".

The judge said that no notification was necessary. A plea of not guilty was entered and a jury trail on the impersonation of an officer was set for June 30th. Toni had pulled together the bail money. After some more legal hassles Dayne was finally free to go home around three in the afternoon.

Sometime after, early Friday morning, that Richard had a heart attack. He was flown to Oahu and is still in the Staub Hospital. Dayne sister Keikeilani went over to visit him. Richard is scheduled for a triple-bypass operation on Thursday. He is in Room #302. You can call him at 1 (808) 522-4000.

One lesson to be learned from this behavior by the Kauai Police Department is how seriously the connections between the anti-Superferry, anti-GMO and the sovereignty movement are taken by Hawaiian authorities. Dayne is involved with all three and he is Hawaiian. This makes him a danger to the status quo.

In addition, Hawaii State Attorney General Mark Bennett is deeply involved with not only the conspiracy of the State with the Superferry Corporation to avoid the law, he is also facing a disenfranchisement of the State of Hawaii to manage Hawaiian government land. The recent Hawaii Supreme Court decision to deny the State "ownership" of ceded land is a fundamental problem for the whole apparatus of control.

The Kingdom of Atooi has made a direct challenge to title of ceded lands on Kauai that is right under the feet of the westside GMO companies and the PMRF easement agreement that was negotiated with the State. Challenges to the status quo are certainly simmering.

If you carefully follow the events of the night it becomes clear that the KPD was stalking Dayne Aipoalani with a great deal of manpower, equipment and expense.

That kind of police action might be appropriate for arresting an armed murderer or to bust a meth factory, but not to execute a warrant on a failure to make it to court on a charge of carrying a "phony" badge. This huge KPD effort was over a failed court appearance where there was a medical excuse on record.

It is further evident to me that the police were trying to taunt Dayne, to make him angry, to make him make a mistake - the result could have easily provoked a violent response by the police. This kind of baiting is unforgivable behavior for a force of professional "peace keepers".

God forbid you are on their list for your activities and have an open can of beer at the beach or are having a fight with your spouse. Don't tase me bro!

SUBJECT: POLICE OVER_REACTION

SOURCE: KOOHAN PAIK kosherkimchee@yahoo.com

POSTED: 5 MAY 2008 - 7:00pm HST

We don't need KPD in riot mode

image above: Is this the future face of the Kauai Police Department? From peacegonewild.blogspot.com

by Koohan Paik on 5 May 20008

Besides being the man who spearheaded the anti-superferry movement with his legendary petition, Rich is the Chief of Police for the pacifist sovereignty group, The Kingdom of Atooi. Sadly, the group's members have lately been a target of intense harrassment by the Kauai Police Department.

Just last Wednesday, Rich was so upset over having witnessed a level of injustice against one of it's leaders, Dayne Aipoalani, that his heart gave out within thitry-six hours.

(He's thankfully in shape, though, currently in a Honolulu hospital awaiting surgery.) Those who don't like to draw a causal connection between the police
harrassment and the heart attack must still acknowledge that this is a textbook case of a stressful situation being followed up by a near-fatal health condition.

It all happened last Wednesday night after the GMO talks by Drs. Pang and Valenzuela, at the Hanapepe United Church of Christ. Dayne, Rich's friend, was
present at the meeting to voice his belief that there is indeed a causal connection linking the west-side pesticide spraying with the sick children and teachers. His daughter goes to one of the schools that was evacuated.

While driving home from the meeting with his wife and daughter, Dayne was stopped by a large number of cops in perhaps a dozen or more cars, who had apparently staked him out. Some were in full-on riot gear. They tried to provoke him into arrestible behavior, but to no avail. They ended up shackling and hauling him off to jail on a contempt warrant for missing a court appearance.

Rich Hoeppner saw Dayne get apprehended and followed him and the KPD guys to the jailhouse, where he advocated for his friend.

Never mind that Dayne had a doctor's excuse for missing his court date, and that the excuse was indeed in the records.

This kind of amped-up take-down shake-down is totally uncalled for.

YOU DO NOT NEED A PACK OF COPS, SOME IN RIOT GEAR, TO SERVE A BENCH WARRANT ON A PETTY MISDEMEANOR.

The event was extremely jarring to Rich, who happens to be an ex-Chief of Police himself and has therefore thought a great deal about right-and-wrong and appropriate police protocol. Given that, you can imagine his pulse quickening as he witnessed an innocent man terrorized by so-called "police enforcement officers."

Later, the next night, Rich was struck by the heart attack and airlifted to Honolulu.
Should we let our community slip mindlessly into a militarized police state? Do we need to give tasers, shields, bullet-proof vests and riot gear to these individuals who are indistinguishable from smarmy thugs?

It'll be Clockwork Orange right here in "paradise." Though we are now faced with so many important struggles on our tiny island, we must stand up and speak out against this. Once it's done, turning back will be near impossible.

see also:
Island Breath: Protect and Serve - Not terrify! 4/5/08

Time to jump ship?

2008-05-02T19:15:00.001-10:00

Time to jump ship?

Superferry manufacturer under fire

By Kristin Hashimoto

Thursday, May 1, 2008 9:54 AM HST

Former Austal employees allege the Hawai`i Superferry's Alakai is operating with manufacturing defects. They also warn that her sister ship, currently under construction, will have similar problems.

Austal is a 20-year-old Australian ship building company that is working on private and government marine vessel projects and Wayne Jenkins is a class-A welder who used to work for the company in Mobile, Alabama. He has been fired for being "disloyal to the company" after he voiced his concerns about these defects on Katy Rose's Hawai`i public radio talk show. Jenkins has a wife and young son.

While working on the boat, Jenkins noticed some of the work that was supposed to be done by the specially certified and tested class-A welders was being done by unqualified employees. "There was second class welders welding a butt weld. It's just two pieces of plate being joined together. Fitters that were fitting the stuff weren't certified to fit two pieces of plate together . . . ," said Jenkins.

When he was asked to make a wide half-inch weld to join two plates, Jenkins questioned his supervisor. He was told to keep welding.

"I've seen a lot of stuff that's not been done right," said Jenkins in reference to construction of the latest addition to the Hawai`i Superferry (HSF) interisland fleet. According to Jenkins, a half-inch weld is too wide and can create welds that are structurally compromised.

Conversely, Bill Pfister, vice president of government programs at Austal said, "You can close in a half inch wide gap. That's a pretty wide gap, but you can do it."

On a ship that is completely comprised of aluminum metal plates and pieces, each weld contributes to the overall soundness of the ship.

In February, the Alakai was dry-docked for repairs. "When they (Austal employees) went over there (Hawai`i) to work on it, I was told what happened. I was told the welds broke, and it was running for a week while it was leaking," said Jenkins.

Pfister's, response to Jenkins allegations of unqualified welders working on more complex joints was " . . . No, that's just not so. That's the kind of allegations our competitor would use, or we would use on them. That's just bogus. The welders are all qualified. The ships are built in accordance with design and construction standards . . .," said Pfister.

While Jenkins did not work on the Alakai, he did work on the sister vessel and saw these welds for himself. "My concern is it can hold up to 850 people on there, if it's not structurally qualified . . . People's lives are more important than covering it up," said Jenkins.

"There's a fine line between someone who's got their own agenda and a whistleblower," said Pfister.

Jenkins was one of a small handful of nearly 1,100 employees at Austal that was a union member. The shipyard remains non-unionized. However, the Sheet Metal Union Chapter 441 has been trying hard to gain ground with the workers at the plant in Mobile. Their latest vote to unionize the yard, ended with workers voting 3-1 against the union.

This is not the first time Jenkins had been fired. The first time, he joined the local sheetmetal workers union, Chapter 441. Through their efforts, the National Labor Relations Board got him reinstated. However, this time, Jenkins won't go back to Austal even if the company asks him to return.

Regardless of the union agenda that Pfister alludes to, there are still real concerns about manufacturing errors. When asked about the Alakai's leaking rudder, Pfister replied, "It wasn't a design flaw, it was a manufacturing flaw."

"We sent a guy to take a look . . . maybe two months before they went into drydock. They (HSF) tried temporary repairs. A standard fix is using cement. The leak was near . . . high speed rudders . . . we took out the rudders and filled it with cement. Those kinds of temporary fixes are normal and safe," said Pfister.

Lt. John Titchen, information officer at the U.S. Coast Guard 14th District, related, "We cleared the boat." Inspectors and the Coast Guard believe the ship is safe. Alakai has been awarded their certificate of inspection and passed their annual inspection. He also commented that there was nothing "noteworthy about the temporary repairs."

An inspection can last one to two hours or span eight to 10 hours. Inspectors ripped away insulation in the ship and examined welds. They used various tests such as the dye penetrant test to evaluate the viability of seals. Inspectors examined inserts, rudder, hull, among other things, and deemed the ship and its repairs, "satisfactory." Nine different inspectors, a marine engineer, and a class society director in addition to members of the Coast Guard all walked the ship and found nothing amiss.

However, the rudder repair affected rideability, making the ship's ride rougher than normal. The ship also consumed 5 percent more fuel as a result of not having the rudders to steer the ship at high speeds. It was a costly repair in more ways than one. "Things that they discover within the first year is our nickel. That's the warranty," said Pfister.

The allegations Jenkins made are similar to findings in corrective action reports filed by the Navy from May 2005 to May 2007 on another vessel manufactured by Austal at the same shipyard. In August 2007 an article by Sean Reilly for the Newhouse News Service reported that the Navy had concerns about Austal's work on a Littoral Combat Ship. Some of the concerns the Navy listed were botched welds and employees doing work for which they were not qualified. Reilly obtained these government records under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Austal's own inspector found problems with the vessels during manufacturing. Teresa Hart is a certified level two inspector specializing in ultrasonics, magnetic particle and liquid penetrants. She is qualified to conduct visual inspections and to supervise welding, and was hired by Austal to provide quality assurance even though there was no department handling that facet of the manufacturing process. "Even when they were trying to hire me, they told me they didn't want a quality assurance department or manager," Hart said.

While onsite in Mobile as the Alakai was under construction, Hart noticed problems with some of that ship's welds. They "just weren't right," she said. ". . . there were welds missing, that's a pretty big deal and I thought, well, surely they'll bring somebody in and they'll catch it. It's never normal to miss a weld." Hart told a supervisor about them at the time but was told that her work was restricted to another ship.

While the ships didn't have a lot of quality assurance people eyeing each process and weld, Hart explained that Austal used x-rays to insure the structural integrity of the joinery. Still, Hart was concerned. As her clamors about quality control grew louder, she was terminated in March 2007, five months after she was first brought onboard. Reason? "They told me I wasn't a team player."

Aside from the problems with Austal's shipbuilding, Wayne Jenkins also weighed in on the working conditions. "I've been in some holes (of the ship) that's been pretty filled with smoke and dust and they brought no kind of fan to help assist the process," he said.

Workers are provided with respirators. Still Carolyn Slay, another fired employee, reported, "When I go home and blow my nose, all that comes out is black from the ash." Slay said her skin also breaks out in rashes and complained that the work environment was unfriendly to black employees. She reported that she saw nooses hanging in the workers area, and the "n-word was scribbled on the walls." Slay also claimed that pay scales were unequal for women and men, and black employees versus Caucasian workers.

Slay confirmed that unqualified welders, worked on welds at the Austal shipyard.

While Austal experiences its own employee turnovers, HSF is doing its own shuffling. On Monday HSF appointed Admiral Tom Fargo to take the helm as new President and Chief Executive Officer. John Garibaldi is now Vice Chairman and will continue to serve on the board of directors for the company.

HSF currently makes one voyage daily from O`ahu to Maui and from Maui to O`ahu. Beginning May 9, a second voyage will be added four days a week operating on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Visit http://www.hawaiisuperferry.com for schedules.

Superferry not for cargo

2008-05-02T10:27:00.001-10:00

A common rant on this forum is "after a hurricane the Superferry will be needed to move emergency people and cargo."

But the truth is, after a hurricane, Superferry will likely be grounded for several reasons.

First, the ocean will be filled with floating debris from logs and branches to wood building material. This flotsam could easily damage Superferry's relatively thin aluminum hull and also get sucked into its waterjets.

Second, pier facilities for docking and unloading will most certainly be damaged if not washed away completely.

The primary method for moving emergency supplies and personnel after a natural disaster is by air.

It is only necessary to clear the runway of debris and if that cannot be done, the military has perfected methods of pushing cargo on skids out the back of airplanes while flying low. Large cargo helicopters are also plentiful on Hawai'i.

Day-to-day moving of relatively small and lightweight cargo is most efficiently done by air. Large or heavy items are most efficiently moved by slow-moving barge. Superferry is designed for high-speed trafficking of people and vehicles, it is not designed for moving cargo cheaply.

One carrier that moved 85 percent of the cargo is out of business. Aloha's void will soon be filled. Superferry is not a long-term solution.

Homeless, drugs, criminals, frogs, snakes, bugs and weeds aside, Superferry is only running at about 1/4 capacity and this reader does not understand how it can remain a viable business for much longer.

T.L. Cameron
Boulder Creek, Calif.

Superferry Spends Large

2008-04-30T20:13:00.001-10:00

From Joan Conrow's blog: KauaiEclectic

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Musings: Superferry Spends Large

I know the sun rose today, because that's what it does every morning, right? But I swear it actually got darker when Koko and I were out walking, and the sky looked like it wanted to rain so badly it could cry.

I'm headed over to Honolulu this morning, so this will be a quickie post — and all about the Superferry — starting with a referral to Ian Lind's blog, where he reports that Hawaii Superferry disclosed less than 6 percent of its 2007 lobbying costs.

If you've been wondering how much it costs to buy the kind of influence HSF has — at least, the reportable kine spending — the answer is $379,431.52. That the amended filing occurred at all is due to Ian, who complained to the Ethics Commission that significant expenses were missing from the original report. HSF initially claimed the company had spent just $21,791.56, which we all know doesn't buy diddly. Then Dan Mollway guys apparently put the squeeze on HSF to comply.

Ian's posting prompted Larry Geller at Disappeared News to write an open letter to Mollway wondering if the Ethics Commission is planning a formal hearing into the matter, since the state lobbying law provides for administrative fines against those who "Willfully file[s] a statement or report containing false information or material omission of any fact."

This filing, which occurs many months after the company got its special session legislation seems to me yet another indication of the disingenuousness that characterizes the HSF business model.

And you have to wonder, how come the dailies weren't on this? After all, Ian first wrote about the discrepancy back in May 2007.

Ian has another post today about the Argent Group, and its role in securing the federal loan guarantees for HSF. It'll be interesting to dig into the documents he's linked when I have some time.

Meanwhile, a report in Marine Daily News notes that Austal USA, which built the big boat, has launched the Independence, its prototype Littoral Combat Ship. It states:

As the prime contractor, and the only shipyard with a track record of building large (over 100 metres in length) high speed aluminum vessels in the USA, Austal is confident of its ability to deliver a low risk JHSV [Joint High Speed Vessel] platform to the US Navy and Army.

But no, the Superferry — the largest high speed aluminum catamaran constructed in the US — doesn't have anything to do with the military.

Military version of Superferry

2008-04-30T12:59:00.001-10:00

RE: Military version of Superferry

From "Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers"

http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=211623

Austal Launches LCS2

4/29/2008 9:49:42 AM

The launch of Independence (LCS 2) closely follows the recent delivery of the first Hawaii Superferry vessel. A 107 metre vehicle and passenger carrying aluminum catamaran, Hawaii Superferry is Austal USA's largest construction project to date and is the largest high speed aluminum catamaran built in the USA. A second identical ferry is currently under construction and is scheduled for launch in September 2008.

The recent purchase of an adjacent 100 acres of land and the award of $33.7m in funding from the US Navy for shipyard development will see Austal USA commence construction of a Modular Manufacturing Facility (MMF) in 2008. The first phase is due for completion in mid-2009 and the resulting production line will enable the construction of three large aluminum vessels per year. The funding is provided through "Infrastructure Improvements at Gulf Coast Shipyards" for eligible shipyards with current defense contracts. Phase 2 of the construction is expected to begin shortly thereafter and will double Austal's shipbuilding capability to six large vessels per year.

In addition, Austal was recently awarded one of three Preliminary Design Contracts for the US Navy and Army's Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). Austal will submit a proposal for the Detailed Design and Construction Contract in mid 2008 leading to the selection of a builder for the JHSV class of vessels.

As the prime contractor, and the only shipyard with a track record of building large (over 100 metres in length) high speed aluminum vessels in the USA, Austal is confident of its ability to deliver a low risk JHSV platform to the US Navy and Army.

The JHSV requirements and concept of operations are similar to those of the Austal-built 101 metre WestPac Express, which has been serving the Third Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan for more than six consecutive years.

Audit: Superferry drove state actions

2008-04-17T09:43:00.001-10:00

Audit: Superferry drove state actions

Lingle administration criticized for bypassing environmental review

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

PDF: Superferry state report

The state may have compromised its environmental policy because of pressure from Hawaii Superferry executives who were worried about financing for the interisland ferry project, the state auditor has concluded.

The auditor found that an internal June 2005 deadline imposed by Superferry executives "drove the process" and pushed the state Department of Transportation to bypass an environmental review. The deadline, according to the auditor, was tied to Superferry's agreement with Austal USA to secure financing to pay the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder to construct two high-speed ferries.

The federal Maritime Administration, which approved a $140 million loan guarantee for ferry construction, wanted confirmation that no environmental assessment of harbor improvements would be required because of the risk that environmental concerns could jeopardize port access. But Maritime Administration officials told the auditor they did not set the June 2005 deadline as a condition of the loan guarantee.

"In the end, the state may have compromised its environmental policy in favor of a private company's internal deadline," state auditor Marion Higa concluded. "It remains to be seen whether these decisions will cost the state more than its environmental policy."

The performance audit was required by state lawmakers as part of a law passed in special session last fall that allowed Superferry to resume operations while the state conducts an environmental impact statement. Legal challenges and public protests had halted ferry service after the state Supreme Court ruled in August that the state's decision to exempt $40 million in state harbor improvements from environmental review was in error.

The auditor's main finding was that the June 2005 deadline was not imposed by the federal government, but related to an agreement between Superferry and Austal. The audit questions whether the state did "sufficient due diligence to verify whether the deadline was valid for the reasons Hawaii Superferry Inc. claimed."

John Garibaldi, Superferry's chief executive officer, said yesterday that Superferry has consistently portrayed the June 2005 deadline as necessary for both federal and private equity financing. He described the agreements with the Maritime Administration, Austal USA and primary investors J.F. Lehman & Co. as interrelated.

"They were all dependent upon each other. No one stood on its own," Garibaldi said. "I think that's what we tried to express to people."

Garibaldi declined to comment on other findings in the audit because he had not yet seen a copy.

similar accounts

The auditor's descriptions of the chain of events that led the state to exempt the project from environmental review in February 2005 are similar to reports in The Advertiser in September and January.

The auditor and the newspaper received many of the same documents, which were screened by the Lingle administration for attorney-client privilege and executive privilege before being released. The administration is preparing a privilege log for the auditor and the newspaper to describe the documents that have been withheld. The Advertiser requested the documents under the state's open-records law.

Most significantly, the auditor — like The Advertiser — emphasized a late December 2004 meeting at the governor's office that included the governor's then-chief of staff Bob Awana, department officials, and Superferry executives.

Staff in the department's harbors division had wanted to require a statewide environmental assessment of the project and to get Superferry to install a stern ramp on the vessel to give it more flexibility at Kahului Harbor on Maui. But Superferry executives, according an account by a department staffer, told the state that anything but an exemption was a deal-breaker and that they would not install any ramps.

"Decisions made: We need to pursue EXEMPTION; and HSF will not provide any ramps on vessel," one department staffer told colleagues afterward in an e-mail.

The auditor concluded that department e-mails showed a decision was made at this meeting, although who made the decision is not revealed.

"Current and former department officials and employees who worked on the ferry project were either unable to recall who made the decision at that meeting or chose to invoke executive privilege when asked who directed the team," the auditor found.

The department, in its written response to the audit, rejected any inference that a decision was made at the governor's office directing the department to pursue an exemption. The auditor countered that the department's e-mails about the meeting "are self-explanatory."

"Ultimately, a decision involving the governor's office was made that directed the 'ferry project team' to pursue scenarios that would exempt the ferry harbor work from environmental review," the auditor found.

Fukunaga's decision

Awana, who resigned last year, told The Advertiser in January that he had no role in the decision. Barry Fukunaga, who was then the department's deputy director of harbors and is now Gov. Linda Lingle's chief of staff, has said he made the decision in consultation with his construction and engineering staff and then-department director Rod Haraga. The department also consulted with the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and county planning agencies.

Fukunaga told The Advertiser in writing last year that he did not discuss his deliberations or his eventual decision with Lingle, Awana or state Attorney General Mark Bennett.

The audit is also similar to The Advertiser's reporting last September on the Maritime Administration's loan guarantee for Superferry. Maritime Administration officials told the auditor that loan guarantees are typically exempt from environmental review because they just provide financing for ship construction. The vessels typically use port facilities already in place.

Maritime Administration officials told the auditor that harbor improvements for Superferry could have triggered an environmental assessment that could have limited ferry access to ports. So the Maritime Administration added a condition that Superferry provide confirmation that no environmental assessment was required.

"MARAD's position was that it was not willing to finance the construction of any vessel that might be unable to operate because it has no port," the auditor found.

The audit recommends that the Legislature empower a state agency to enforce environmental review laws and require agencies to update exemption lists every five years. The auditor found that the public has little involvement in the exemption process other than the right to file a lawsuit to challenge an exemption.

Higa had complained to lawmakers that she missed a March deadline for a preliminary draft of the audit because of significant delays in obtaining documents from the Lingle administration. Higa repeated those complaints in the audit and said her staff would be preparing a second phase of the audit for a later report.

Higa described the Lingle administration's cooperation as "slow and incomplete, at best." The department called that description "wholly untrue" and said any delays were based on requests by Higa that the attorney general found were "unreasonably broad in scope."

The department chose not to comment on many of Higa's conclusions. Mike Formby, the department's deputy director of harbors, said last night that the administration's wants the opportunity to review the second phase of the audit.

"I think what we wanted to do was reserve the right to see the full report, because it's really risky to look at half the report and respond knowing that they're out there still doing field investigation, interviews, reviewing documents," Formby said. "And basically, they look at the response you gave, and they go out and look for a way to rebut your response."

Where’s the Aloha Airlines special session?

2008-04-16T07:08:00.001-10:00

Where's the Aloha Airlines special session?

I ask one simple question: Why was no "Special Session" of the Hawai'i Legislature, or an "Emergency Session" of the Legislature called to keep afloat Aloha Airlines, a 61-year-old loyal transportation company with thousands of longstanding employees affected; whereby we all know a Special Session was called for a "large capacity ferry vessel company" not even yet in business, with mostly part-time employees with little if any benefits and a company evading at every opportunity its kuleana to the environment and generations to come?

Could it be that our present governor cares more about helping the neo-con investors of Superferry, and their positioning for private military contracts, and the use of the ferry for future strategic military use, than caring about the thousands of Aloha workers, their families and all the related business loss?

Where is the Special Session for Aloha, Lingle all the while feigning your sympathy for the workers? So much hypocrisy and lies surround you and the Superferry dealings. Impeachment is an honorable path here, though not on the table in this corrupt political system, mirroring the U.S. Congress and Bush/Cheney (And I used to be an avid Republican).

And Mayor Bryan Baptiste, honestly, I and so many people wished you would have stood up to Lingle on Superferry, as did the Maui mayor forbidding county employee use of the ferry. I didn't understand your in-absentia style on this huge impact of an issue to us. May God bless all of us on this issue and our individual learnings.

John (Tyler) Cragg
Anahola

--
John Tyler
toll free 866-530-4117
See
www.jtacpr.com for CPR and First Aid training

www.happyswimmers.com for swim lessons at home and lifeguarding
enrollment/booking link: http://happyswimmers.com/enrollform.html

Serving Los Angeles, San Jose, and Hawai'i Founded in 1991

Superferry CEO drafted Lingle letters of support to Washington

2008-04-11T18:51:00.001-10:00

Source: http://capitolnotebook.honadvblogs.com/2008/04/11/sincerely/

Friday, April 11, 2009

Probably from Honolulu Advertiser reporter, Derick DePledge's own Blog.

Garibaldi drafts letter for Lingle:

Sincerely

The Advertiser has received thousands of documents from the Lingle administration — 21 boxes — as part of a request under the state's open-records law for material related to Hawaii Superferry.

The documents have led to two stories in the newspaper in January, with a third on the way, hopefully this month. Some of the documents provide interesting insight into the executive branch.

For example, there is an e-mail from John Garibaldi, Superferry's chief executive officer, to Linda Smith, Gov. Linda Lingle's senior policy adviser, in January 2005. Garibaldi thanked Smith for quickly contacting U.S. Department of Transportation and Office of Management and Budget personnel on behalf of the project.

At the time, Superferry was awaiting formal approval from the federal Maritime Administration for a federal loan guarantee on the construction of two high-speed catamarans.

Garibaldi, in his e-mail to Smith, attached a draft letter of support for the project for the governor to sign and send to then-OMB director Joshua Bolten. (Bolten has since become White House chief of staff.)

"We would appreciate the issuance of the letter as soon as possible," Garibaldi wrote.

Lingle drafted a letter, on executive letterhead dated the very next day, that was nearly verbatim to what Garibaldi had provided.

The main differences involved Lingle's first person account of the importance of the project.

From the Garibaldi draft:

I began working with the Hawaii Superferry principals soon after my election and quickly realized that support of this project should be one of my highest priorities.

To that end, I directed all parts of my government, including my personal staff, to work with Hawaii Superferry to assess the viability of their business plan.

We have concluded that they have a viable, strong business plan that will have a high probability of success.

As a result, I have directed my Department of Transportation to give its highest priority attention to identifying the needs for port facilities to accommodate this ferry service on the Islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai.

In support of that requirement, I have committed the State to providing these port facilities on an expedited basis and have included in my budget that is being submitted to the legislature for next fiscal year a total of $40 million.

From the Lingle draft:

I have directed my Department of Transportation along with members of my senior staff to work closely with Hawaii Superferry, Inc. to give priority attention to identifying the port facilities needed to accommodate this ferry service on the Islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai.

Further, I am seeking the development of port facilities on an expedited basis and have included $40 million for Harbor infrastructure improvement in my budget for the next fiscal year specifically for this project. This budget request has been submitted to the state legislature and is pending their review at the present time.

Asked about the practice, Russell Pang, a spokesman for Lingle, noted that the Garibaldi draft was revised before being sent out. He said it is not uncommon for the governor to receive drafts of letters from people or groups who want her signature and support.

"From time to time, organizations do submit for the governor's consideration a draft," Pang said.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 1:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Ride ‘really, really rough’

2008-04-08T07:36:00.001-10:00

Ride 'really, really rough'

Superferry sails, but voyage not smooth; many suffer sickness

MAUI NEWS Tuesday, April 8, 2008

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/502298.html?nav=10

CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer claudine@mauinews.com

KAHULUI — After a two-month layoff for repairs, the Hawaii Superferry returned to Kahului Harbor on Monday with a load of passengers facing no protests except the one in their bellies.

"It was one of the most miserable rides I've ever had," said Kim Lane of Seattle.

She and other family members were part of the first set of passengers disembarking from the 350-foot Alakai after it arrived at Kahului. They said they dealt with high swells and rough seas for most of the three-hour-plus sail between Oahu and Maui. Those conditions caused many passengers to fall ill.

Terry O'Halloran, Superferry director of business development, disputed the report of many passengers being severely ill on the voyage, although he admitted the Honolulu-Kahului leg was rough.

He said it had been a good voyage. The vessel was bounced by swells and strong trade winds in the channels between islands, but it was "much calmer" on the downwind Kahului-Honolulu return trip.

Passengers arriving in Kahului said many of them were puking during the ride.

"The crew was really trying to keep things clean, but there were vomit bags all over the place," said passenger Monica Bishop in describing her ferry ride.

"You open the bathroom door and there's puke on the sink," said Brian Driscoll, a ferry rider from Fargo, N.D., who said he was among those who avoided illness.

"There were sick people all over the place," he said.

Lane quickly added that Superferry crew members were friendly and cheerful, despite showing signs of seasickness themselves.

"It was really, really rough. . . . It was so bad you thought you were going to fall out of your chairs," said Bishop, who rode the ferry with her husband, Doug, and four children. The family plans to move from Oahu to Maui and decided to use the next week and a half looking for a place to live on the Valley Isle.

Immediately after coming ashore, a Bishop son declared he would not return to Oahu on the ferry. He eventually relented after his father, a former sailor, agreed to ride it again despite Monday's bumpy sail.

"They're going to ride it again for redemption," Monica Bishop joked.

The Bishops noted they had paid a "little extra" to ride at the front of the ferry, hoping for a smooth sail. "Instead you paid extra to get a little sick," Doug Bishop said.

The Alakai went out of service Feb. 13 and into dry dock for repair of auxiliary steering rudders that had developed cracks where the rudder posts enter the hull.

The repairs were prolonged when a tug damaged the ferry's hull while aiding it into dry dock, and again when the ferry was damaged in the dock.

O'Halloran declined to describe what happened in dry dock, but said Monday, "It all got repaired. It's in great shape."

Late last week, the Superferry announced it would renew its voyages to Maui, extending a special $39 one-way passenger fare and $55 one-way vehicle fare for travel through June 5. The ferry departs Honolulu at 6:30 a.m., arriving at 10:15 a.m. in Kahului. It departs Kahului at 11:15 a.m., with a 2:15 p.m. scheduled arrival at Honolulu Harbor.

O'Halloran said Monday's load of vehicles and passengers was expected to be light as it returned to an interisland travel market in turmoil following the failure of Aloha Airlines a week ago.

"Reservations are open through the first week in January," he said.

He would not reveal passenger numbers but said he met a number of people taking advantage of the ferry's ability to carry vehicles, including a Maui woman who was purchasing a car on Oahu and an Oahu resident who expected to buy a used car on Maui.

The Bishops' 16-year-old son, Greg, said he looked forward to a return voyage in a week or so.

"I thought it was fun, and I'd ride again," he said.

When the Superferry first launched last August, it was greeted at the Kahului Harbor with protesters waving handmade signs. Demonstrators criticized the state's decision to allow the operation without an environmental impact statement and claimed the vessel presented a threat to whales.

Monday saw neither signs nor protesters.

Irene Bowie, executive director of the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, showed up for the ferry arrival mostly out of curiosity.

Bowie said she was surprised to see the Coast Guard accompanying the Superferry into the harbor given the lack of protesters.

"All of this at a cost to taxpayers," she said. "I think it's either overkill or paranoia."

A Coast Guard spokesman confirmed that the federal agency had sent out an 87-foot patrol boat and a 25-foot rigid-hull vessel to accompany the ferry into the harbor starting from about a mile offshore.

"This is a very common occurrence for the Coast Guard," said Petty Officer Michael De Nyse.

When Superferry resumed service in November, the Coast Guard declared a security zone over virtually all of Kahului Harbor, but eased the restriction to a 100-yard standoff distance after a week of operations.

De Nyse said he could not comment directly in response to Bowie's criticism that the Coast Guard presence Monday was excessive. He did say the agency's actions were a means of ensuring safety of the ferry, its passengers and individuals who might be in the water when the Alakai sailed into harbor.

Maui's protest of the Superferry mostly has been held on Kahului streets and in the Wailuku courts.

Hawaii Superferry still has not announced any plans to resume sailing to Kauai, where service was suspended because of protests at Nawiliwili Harbor.

On Monday, retirees Francine and Gaudie Bugtong came to the Kahului shore to welcome the Superferry. Gaudie Bugtong took photos of the ferry with his cell-phone camera.

"Someday I like to try to ride," he said.

Francine Bugtong said she was curious about the fuss over the ferry and wanted to take a closer look.

"For me, it's interesting and it's nice. I'd like to ride it someday too."

Sonny Kaupe of Kahului happened to be shoreline fishing with granddaughters Shanice, Macie and Destiny when the ferry arrived. "As long as I can come out here and fish, I'm OK with it," Kaupe said.

Texas visitor Bertha White was enjoying the Kahului ocean view before heading to Lahaina.

"I think it's a great idea to have this here," she said. "It's worked in the northeast of the United States, and I don't think there'll be a problem here."

Bowie said her group and others will continue to fight the Superferry's presence in Hawaii. Maui Tomorrow, the Sierra Club and the Kahului Harbor Coalition were plaintiffs in a 2004 civil suit that went to the Hawaii Supreme Court. The high court issued an Aug. 23 decision requiring the state Department of Transportation to prepare an environmental assessment on $40 million worth of harbor improvements needed to accommodate the ferry operations.

The day after the Supreme Court ruling, Hawaii Superferry announced it would initiate service to Maui and Kauai on Aug. 26, offering a $5 fare special. On Maui, 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza issued a restraining order Aug. 27 and later issued an injunction blocking ferry operations until the state Transportation Department could prepare an environmental assessment.

On Kauai, protesters in the water prevented the Alakai from entering Nawiliwili Harbor on Aug. 27, and Superferry ceased its operations to both islands.

When Cardoza ruled the ferry could not operate until an environmental assessment was completed, Gov. Linda Lingle called a special session of the state Legislature to approve a law to allow the Superferry to operate while the Transportation Department prepares an environmental impact statement.

Bowie said the citizens groups are concerned about the potential for ferry passengers and their vehicles spread to invasive alien plants and bugs; for the high-speed ferry striking humpback whales; and for disembarking vehicles increasing congestion. In a separate case, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition won a court order requiring the state to monitor traffic flows when the ferry is in port.

The community organizations claim that the new state law allowing the ferry to operate while an EIS is prepared is unconstitutional.

"All the issues remain," Bowie said.

• Staff Writer Harry Eager contributed to this story. Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.

Serving Los Angeles, San Jose, and Hawai'i Founded in 1991

Superferry returns to service Monday

2008-04-05T21:28:00.001-10:00

See highlighted items below.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/NEWS01/804040382/1001

The Honolulu Advertiser     April 4, 2008

Superferry returns to service Monday

By Christie Wilson, Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

Hawaii Superferry will return to service Monday,
soothing some concerns about interisland travel
options in the wake of this week's shutdown of
Aloha Airlines passenger flights.

However, Superferry president and CEO John
Garibaldi yesterday said the sooner-than-expected
return of the company's high-speed catamaran
Alakai is not related to the Aloha situation.

The vessel, capable of carrying 866 people and
282 cars, was in drydock for repairs for six
weeks and wasn't expected to resume
Honolulu-to-Maui voyages until April 23. It is
now back at Pier 19 at Honolulu Harbor and ready
to sail, Garibaldi said.

"She came out of drydock a week ago, so our
intent, with our $85 million investment, was to
get her back working as quickly as possible.
Aloha had nothing to do with our return to
service," he said.

"With all the trials and tribulations over the
past six or seven weeks, we're eager to get back
in service."

More than half the company's 300 employees were
furloughed while the Alakai was in drydock, and
most will be back on the job by Monday, Garibaldi said.

Hawaii Superferry has extended its promotional
one-way fares of $39 per passenger and $55 per
vehicle for travel through June 5, with the fuel
surcharge waived.

The Alakai is scheduled to depart Honolulu at
6:30 a.m. daily and arrive at Kahului Harbor at
10:15 a.m. The return voyage is scheduled to
depart Maui at 11:15 a.m. and arrive in Honolulu at 2:15 p.m.

Before going into drydock, Superferry was              NOTE:   It was actually going at about
carrying only a third of its anticipated passenger    16% of capacity. How can

load. The ferry also suffered from the HSF even think that there will be enough

effects of rough winter seas that resulted in 14 traffic for two voysges each day to Maui?
days of cancellations since its relaunch Dec. 13.

Although the Aloha shutdown caused upheaval for
the air carrier's passengers and employees, the
situation could prove advantageous to the new
interisland ferry as more people appreciate the
need for a transportation alternative. A
predicted rise in interisland airfares also could
work to Superferry's benefit.

At the time the company established its pricing
in 2004, roundtrip interisland airfares were
close to $200 and higher. By comparison, a
roundtrip on the Superferry was priced at about
$100, plus a fuel surcharge.

When newcomer go! airlines sparked a fare war
with Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha in 2006, tickets
dropped to as low as $19 - even $1 in rare
promotions. The cheapest airfares remained at
about $40 to $50 up until the end of Aloha
passenger service on Tuesday.

Garibaldi said that when the high-speed ferry was
under development as a business concept from 2002
to 2005, the state had two principal interisland
air carriers, and Superferry's objective was "to
provide another option for people to travel in a
different mode that was complementary to the
airlines."

"The Superferry was always a very, very sound
option for people. It's just unfortunate we got
into somewhat of an unrealistic marketplace that
didn't reflect the reality of the situation. If
you have an interisland airline losing tens and
hundreds of millions of dollars in a short time,
it's something that's not sustainable," he said.

A former executive with both Aloha and Hawaiian,
Garibaldi said he was saddened but not surprised
by the past week's events.

"These are difficult times with the credit
market, and Hawai'i historically has been able to
have only two airlines. When you have a third,
something is going to happen eventually. ... It's
unfortunate that it took a toll the way it did,"
he said.

Superferry is still hoping to start a second
daily roundtrip to Maui by late spring, Garibaldi
said, and eventually return to Kaua'i, where
opposition to the ferry has been most passionate.

"People have seen ideas about our service
clarified, and there's been a real benefit coming
out of the oversight task force" set up by a new
law allowing the ferry to operate while an
environmental review is conducted.

"We're confident that over time, we'll be serving all four islands."

Superferry is planning to begin service to
Kawaihae on the Big Island when a second ship
goes into service next year.

Kauai opposition to ferry still strong

2008-03-20T11:16:00.001-10:00

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Mar/20/ln/hawaii803200349.html/?print=on

The Honolulu Advertiser Thursday, March 20, 2008

Kauai opposition to ferry still strong

By Diana Leone, Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E - About 120 Kaua'i residents met with
state Department of Transportation officials
yesterday and most opposed the return of the
Hawaii Superferry to the Garden Isle.

The Superferry began service between O'ahu and
Kaua'i in August but was soon turned back by
protesters on surfboards and in kayaks who
blocked the entrance to Nawiliwili Harbor.

More than six months later, opposition remains
strong here, at least from those who attended two
meetings yesterday at Kaua'i Community College.

The speakers were concerned about the safety of
whales and other marine life, the transport of
invasive species from island to island, traffic
and crime.

"I can guarantee you if the ferry comes back to
Kaua'i it will never get to its dock in
Nawiliwili Harbor," said Rich Hoeppner, chairman
of People for the Preservation of Kaua'i, a group
opposed to the ferry.

Although speakers were passionate in their
comments to Mike Formby, deputy DOT director for
harbors, and other state officials, they didn't
have much positive to say.

If there were Superferry supporters among the 40
or so people in the first meeting, they didn't
testify. A night meeting with about 80 people
attending also drew mostly negative comments.

Superferry operations between O'ahu and Maui were
halted last year after the state Supreme Court
ruled that the state had to conduct an
environmental assessment of the ferry's impact
before it could sail. The Legislature later met
in a special session and passed a law that
allowed the Superferry to operate while the
environmental study is conducted.

The company's 350-foot, high-speed catamaran
operated for several weeks in December and
January but was put in drydock for maintenance
and repairs on Feb. 13 and is expected to return
to service April 23.

The two meetings yesterday were intended to give
Kaua'i residents an opportunity to ask questions
about the environmental assessment the state is
conducting with the help of consultant Belt
Collins.

At one meeting, Sandra Herndon said she was among
Kaua'i residents who petitioned Gov. Linda Lingle
for an environmental study regarding the
Superferry two years ago.

"What I'd like to ask now, if it is possible for
Belt Collins to deliver an independent study,"
Herndon said, adding that the company seemed to
be "intertwined with the Superferry corporation."

The economic model that assumes Hawai'i will need
more large harbor space "to continue to import
all its food and goods" will crumble under the
rising price of oil, said architect and planner
Juan Wilson, representing the organization Island
Breath.

The state needs improvements in small harbors for
fishermen and small boats, "not a
40,000-horsepower, 40 mph football field," Wilson
said.

Superferry President and CEO John Garibaldi, who
was not at the meeting, said yesterday in a phone
interview that repairs of the Alakai are going
well and he remains "cautiously optimistic" that
the vessel will resume service to Maui on April
23 as planned. He declined to say how much the
repairs cost but said much of the cost has been
borne by the ship's maker.

Garibaldi said although the company hopes
eventually to resume service to Kaua'i, it won't
even broach that subject for months at soonest.
He said the company is focused on resuming
service to Maui.

State and Belt Collins officials didn't respond
to speaker comments at the meeting, which is part
of a series being held on every island this month.

They said they will use ideas gathered from the
testimony in focusing on the environmental study,
Formby said. The draft environmental study is
expected in October, which will be followed by a
formal 45-day comment period and a final document
in spring 2009, he said.

Reach Diana Leone at dleone@honoluluadvertiser.com.

http://starbulletin.com/print/2005.php?fr=/2008/03/20/news/story05.html

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ferry furor flares

By Tom Finnegan tfinnegan@starbulletin.com

PUHI, Kauai » Kauai opponents will not be
welcoming the Hawaii Superferry any time soon.

Yesterday about 150 people came to Kauai
Community College for two public meetings held as
part of the environmental impact study being done
by contractor Belt Collins. Every speaker said
the Superferry's ship, Alakai, should not return
until the study is finished.

And a vast number of speakers, both in the
afternoon and evening sessions, said that no
matter what Belt Collins issues as part of its
report, the company and the state's credibility
will always be questioned, and the ship will not
be welcome.

"This is a sham," said Rich Hoeppner. "I
guarantee you if the ferry comes to Kauai, that
ferry will never get back to its dock at
Nawiliwili."

Hoeppner, part of the Thousand Friends of Kauai
group that sued the Superferry and the state over
the environmental study process, said that
hundreds have told him they will swim out to
block the ship's return, despite repeated threats
from the U.S. Coast Guard and the state.

"That's not a threat," he said between the meetings. "That's a guarantee."

Other speakers directly addressed the process.

Anne Ponohu said that if Belt Collins found the
Superferry would pose no significant impact to
the state, a federal lawsuit would be coming.

"We will be watching you closely," she added.
"The impacts on Kauai are obvious and well
documented."

Many others addressed concerns that state and
county taxpayers will wind up picking up the tab
for trash cleanup, new bathrooms, security,
invasive species prevention, traffic mitigation
and other issues.

Local attorney Daniel Hempey, who represents the
Thousand Friends of Kauai, worried that the ship
could bring infectious diseases and put strains
on Kauai's hospitals because of all the
seasickness passengers have previously
experienced. And, who, Hempey asked, will keep
passengers from getting drunk aboard the ship and
driving around Kauai?

Ken Taylor asked why the study presents only two
possible actions: not allowing harbor
improvements, and letting the Superferry use them.

Other alternatives should be proposed, including
whether another type of vessel should be used, or
whether different ports should be fitted to
accommodate the Alakai.

Those questions are the point of the meetings,
said Dennis Chun, a member of the Inter-island
Ferry Oversight Task Force.

"This is a time where you can bring your
concerns, and that is the contractor's job,"
added Chun, a University of Hawaii professor and
one of the many residents who paddled out on a
surfboard to block the Superferry in August.

© 1996-2008 The Honolulu Star-Bulletin | www.starbulletin.com

Forward

HI Superferry: U.S.S. Superferry? by Joan Conrow

2008-03-17T23:21:00.001-10:00

HI Superferry: U.S.S. Superferry? by Joan Conrow

Honolulu Weekly
U.S.S. Superferry?
Unwitting Hawaii residents may be getting a military ship in civilian camo
By Joan Conrow / 1-16-2008

Hawaii Superferry — now running (weather permitting) between Oahu and Maui, thanks to a gubernatorial and legislative override of a State Supreme Court ruling — has been officially touted as a way to bring ohana together and provide a transportation alternative.

However, in light of the U. S. Navy's current push to quickly expand its fleet with a new type of fast and versatile vessel, Hawaii Superferry (HSF) — chaired by former Navy Secretary and 9/11 Commission member John F. Lehman —may also be using Hawaiian waters to demonstrate the performance of its Austal USA catamaran, the Alakai, and prove its efficacy for military purposes.

At stake are U.S. defense contracts potentially worth billions, and possible sales to foreign navies, according to a defense industry consultant in San Diego who asked not to be named. The Superferry is being tested in Hawaii to qualify the design for military contracts and also for sale to the navies of India and Indonesia, the consultant said.

The Navy is seeking to develop two new types of craft: the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). Both boats are intended to be smaller, faster and more versatile than existing naval ships. They are specifically designed to operate in both the open ocean and the shallow near-shore, or littoral, waters of nations the Pentagon views as emerging threats, such as China.

The Superferry is very similar in design and specifications to the Sea Fighter, the only LCS prototype that has been launched and gone through sea trials, and the Westpac Express, one of two demonstration JHSV currently in use. Among the Superferry's virtues is its versatility, which makes it a contender for both the LCS and JHSV initiatives. U.S. Navy and Army representatives have toured the Alakai throughout its construction as part of the ongoing evaluation of potential JHSV platforms, according to a June 2007 announcement about HSF's sea trials on Austal USA's website.

Lehman already has spoken publicly about the company's plans to run military equipment and personnel from Oahu to the Big Island in much the same manner that the Westpac Express ferry serves the Marine Corps in the Western Pacific. The logistical plan was touted as a faster and cheaper way for soldiers stationed on Oahu to train on the Big Island when the Stryker Brigade comes to Hawaii. "The Superferry is strong enough to take Stryker vehicles," Lehman told Pacific Business News (PBN) in March 2005. "HSF provided the Army with a cost analysis and expects to negotiate a long-term contract," PBN reported.

On January 7 of this year, HSF carried Hawaii National Guard heavy equipment to Maui for removal of storm debris. While providing passenger and cargo service between Oahu and Maui, the Superferry's owners are able to conduct sea trials aimed at demonstrating the high-speed craft's endurance and performance in rough open seas and littoral waters. Its need to quickly accrue time in the water could explain why HSF plans to offer a second daily run to Maui, even though it's presently carrying only a third of the passenger load it projected, according to documents filed with the state Public Utilities Commission.

While using Hawaiian waters as a proving ground, HSF has been able to develop and test its prototype vessel with little financial risk to investors, thanks to a federally guaranteed loan of $143 million that covers much of the $190 million cost to build the two fast ferries, and $40 million in state support for related harbor projects.

Meanwhile, the state's controversial decision to allow the ferry to run while a full Environmental Impact Statement is being conducted — a process that could take up to two years — effectively ensured the vessel would be operational in time to compete for a JHSV design contract that will be awarded later this year, as well as for LCS design contracts two years later ."In an accelerated procurement environment, it would give [Congressional appropriations] committees great comfort in granting money for something up and running," said an Oahu-based legislative insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The procurement environment is indeed heating up. Over the next five years, the Navy plans to buy eight JHSV, which also will be used by the Army and Marine Corps. Not envisioned as combat ships, these crafts would be used to quickly transport several hundred troops and their equipment across the open sea. They're also expected to be able to operate in shallow waters and access harbors without relying on tugboats, piers and cargo cranes.

"Will it [the JHSV] have other abilities? Of course. But the high-speed transportation requirement is the heart of this program," Capt. Patricia M. Sudol, the Navy's program manager for support ships, boats and craft, and the officer in charge of the Navy-led joint acquisition program, told the Weekly in an interview. Sudol said the Navy envisions the JHSV as a modified version of existing commercial high-speed ship designs, which means it won't have to meet the rigid construction and self-defense standards required for warships. For that reason, the vessels are projected to be relatively low cost, with the first one targeted at $150 and the remaining seven at $130 million each. One firm will be chosen to produce all eight JHSV, she said.

The Navy also wants to acquire 55 LCS by 2013, a goal that is already three years behind schedule, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Lara Bollinger said in a press release. These vessels are intended to operate close to shore, hunting submarines and destroying underwater mines. They also could serve as offshore platforms from which to launch helicopter attacks and other missions on land, and recover the inflatable combat boats used by special operations forces.

The LCS program is a key element of the Navy's strategy to expand its fleet. A Sept. 13, 2007 article in The Washington Post quotes Navy spokesman Capt. John T. Schofield as saying the ships are "needed to fill critical, urgent war-fighting gaps."

But cost overruns are mounting on the two LCS prototype vessels currently under construction, and performance problems plague the Sea Fighter, the only demonstration LCS that has hit the water.

The LCS prototypes, by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin and initially slated to cost $220 million each, now are expected to come in at a combined total of more than $600 million. Early last year the Navy asked Congress to allow the tab for the second two ships to go as high as $460 million each. But the Senate appropriations committee balked and cut funding for the program, citing delays, design changes and cost overruns of more than 50 percent. "The Navy's littoral combat ship has suffered from significant cost increases and has had to be restructured by the Secretary of the Navy," Hawaii Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee, told The Washington Post. As a result, the Navy cancelled contracts for the second two ships.

The Sea Fighter, the other LCS contender, has been developed by San Diego-based Titan Corp. under an exclusive $59.9 million contract from the Navy's Office of Naval Research. U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter of San Diego, former Chairman and now Ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, secured funding for the vessel's design and construction because "deployment of the Sea Fighter can demonstrate and validate many of the Navy's operational concepts for littoral warfare, and more specifically reduce risk in the Littoral Combat Ship program," according to an announcement on the Congressman's website.

The Sea Fighter, a high-speed, shallow draft catamaran, is made of aluminum, like the Superferry, and the two craft are eerily similar in size, design and performance characteristics. In addition, both the Sea Fighter and Superferry, like the craft leased to the JHSV program, were built to commercial standards, in response to the military's move toward using "off the shelf" technology. This approach allows the Navy to use commercial high-speed vessel training courses for the crew, thus allowing the ship to proceed directly from new construction to deployment, according to a US Navy website.

In effect, the Sea Fighter presented a less-expensive LCS surrogate with which to test various operational aspects of the program. It was launched in February 2005 and formally accepted by the Navy in July 2005 after successfully completing sea trials. But the vessel has since been repeatedly dry-docked due to problems with its propulsion system, and has a worrisome tendency to "fish-tail" under certain conditions. Additionally, Nichols Brothers, the Washington State company that built the Sea Fighter, shut down last November, citing financial problems and a pending lawsuit.

Some Navy officials have expressed fears that Hunter and other lawmakers might consider the smaller Sea Fighter design an acceptable substitute for the larger and far more costly Littoral Combat Ships. And if LCS costs keep rising, officials say, that could be a valid concern. "So the issue will be, can the Navy continue to do more with less," Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., a senior member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, told the Weekly in a recent interview. "There is real skepticism in Congress at this time," Dicks said.

But Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., chairman of the House Armed Services Projection Forces Subcommittee, said during a committee hearing last year that, rather than replacing the LCS, the Sea Fighter would be a "bargain" ship that could "easily operate alongside the LCS and provide our fleet force structure with an increased complexity making our future . . . Navy less vulnerable to the enemy," he said.

Rep. Hunter's list of 30 funding initiatives for 2008 contains just one endorsement--for the Sea Fighter. Attributed to HSF Chairman John Lehman, it states: "This kind of innovative ship, built with commercial off the shelf technology, is the future of an affordable surface Navy."

In addition to investing $58 million equity capital in the Hawaii Superferry project, J.F. Lehman & Company — a New York-based private equity firm led by its namesake — has been making acquisitions that could support LCS and JHSV contracts. These include Atlantic Marine Holding Company, a leading provider of repair, overhaul and maintenance services for commercial seagoing vessels and U.S. Navy ships. The company owns and operates two strategically located shipyards in Jacksonville, Fla., and Mobile, Ala., and leases a third facility at the Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville.

Hawaii Superferry's military objectives — and the value of its heavyweight connections — may not be known for certain until the Navy awards the JHSV contract sometime this year and Congress decides how much it's willing to pay for the LCS program. But if Lehman's canny prediction, two years ago, that the ferry would effect a paradigm shift in the way business is conducted in Hawaii is any indication, he and his company know exactly where things are headed.

HW sidebar Four of the 10 members of the Hawaii Superferry Board of Directors have strong ties to the Navy and defense industries.They include its chairman, John Lehman, the former Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan. Lehman is a founding partner of J.F. Lehman and Company, which invests primarily in marine and aerospace defense projects. The company invested $58 million equity capital in the interisland ferry project.Lead Director Tig Krekel, who is currently vice chairman of J.F. Lehman, is the former president and chief executive officer of Hughes Space and Communications and the past president of Boeing Satellite Systems. Krekel also is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who spent five years as a naval officer, where he served as an aide in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon. Director George A. Sawyer, a founding partner of J.F. Lehman, is former assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy, Shipbuilding & Logistics. He was also a submarine engineer officer in the U.S. Navy, and is a member of the American Society of Naval Engineers and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.Director John W. "Bill" Shirley is the former program manager of the U.S. Department of Energy, Naval Reactors Division, Seawolf and Virginia Class Submarines. He has 34 years of experience in senior positions at the Navy Division of Naval Reactors. Shirley now works as a private consultant, giving preference to J.F. Lehman Partners.Two of the remaining six directors — C. Alexander Harman and Louis N. Mintz — are employed by J.F. Lehman.

Oahu Superferry EIS meeting very low turn out; Kaua'i needs to turn out strong.

2008-03-17T19:26:00.001-10:00

SUBJECT: HAWAII SUPERFERRY EIS

SOURCE: JONATHAN JAY jonathan@dakauai.com

POSTED: 15 MARCH 2008 - 10:30am HST

Oahu Superferry EIS Meeting:
Kauai can do better than that.

image above:om Mitrano of Belt Collins, the state's consultant for an EIS , gave instructions to people
at a meeting at Farrington High School on Ohau. Photo by Richard Walker

by Jonathan Jay on 15 March 2008

Lets see if tiny Kaua`i with less than 1/12th the population of Oahu, can get 12 TIMES MORE people to this meeting than Oahu mustered.Oahu had only 12 participants in two public sessions.

WHAT:
Informational Meeting conducted by HI DOT on Superferry EIS

WHEN:
Two meetings held on Wednesday 19 March 2008
One from from 2:00pm. to 5:00pm.
and another from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

WHERE:
at the Kaua'i Community College Performing Arts Center.

2 HSF meetings draw 12 people on Oahu
by Leila Fujimori on 15 March 2008 in The Star Bulletin

Only a dozen people attended the two Oahu informational meetings on the Hawaii Superferry's environmental impact statement yesterday.

"Neighbor island residents are much more aware than they are on Oahu" of harbor activities, said Mike Formby, deputy director of the state Harbors Division. "They are aware of when passenger ships are in, cargo ships are in, when milk's arriving. They seem to have a general awareness and consciousness."

Formby also said recreational activities are permitted in neighbor island harbors but not in Honolulu Harbor.

The state, required to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Hawaii Superferry, is holding meetings on six islands to provide information about the process.

The EIS will address, among other things, three proposed new berths to accommodate a second vessel: one each in Honolulu Harbor, Kahului Harbor on Maui and Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island.

Nuuanu resident Lovey Lung, 45, hoped to learn why the Superferry's vessel was damaged and whether the company is financially viable since it suspended operations due to weather and repairs. She fears it might ask the Legislature for more money to finance its operation. "As taxpayers are we going to pay for it?"
A hunter said he hoped the Superferry will sail to all the neighbor islands so he could transport his truck and dogs. A condo dweller from the harbor area complained of noise.

Thirty people attended a March 4 meeting on Molokai, to where the Superferry has no plans to sail, compared with yesterday's four at the 2 p.m. session and eight at the 6 p.m. meeting at Farrington High School's large auditorium.
The Superferry suspended operations several times since starting service in December. It is undergoing repairs to damage to its hull, Formby said.
EIS meetings are set for Monday at Maui's Baldwin High School Auditorium, 2 to 5 and 6 to 9 p.m.; and Wednesday at Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center, 2 to 5 and 6 to 9 p.m.

SUBJECT: HAWAII SUPERFERRY EIS

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@earthlink.net

POSTED: 4 MARCH 2008 - 8:00am HST

Hawaii Superferry EIS finally begins

image above: Traffic lined up at Superferry from http://macprohawaii.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

HI DOT HSF EIS Meetings on Kaua'i

WHAT:
Informational Meeting conducted by HI DOT on Superferry EIS

WHEN:
Two meetings held on Wednesday 19 March 2008
One from from 2:00pm. to 5:00pm.
and another from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

WHERE:
at the Kaua'i Community College Performing Arts Center.

by Rachel Gehrlein on 29 February 2008 in The Garden Island News

Informational public meetings on the Superferry's Environmental Impact Statement conducted by the Hawai'i state Department of Transportation for the Hawai'i Superferry are under way.

"The meetings are intended to give the public an opportunity to give their input," said Mike Formby, DOT Harbors Division chief. "It's an opportunity to engage the community."Formby said there will be two meetings, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman, said the EIS will address the secondary impacts, such as whales and other endangered species, that could be affected by the Superferry.

Under Act 2, the law that passed in the Legislature last year, the Superferry is allowed to run provided certain conditions are met while the environmental study is being done.

The conditions include operating restrictions during what some call a truncated account of whale season, as the act cites it as January through April, though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has included the whale season months of November and December.

According to the Division of Land and Natural Resources, up to 10,000 humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters every year from November through May.

The act was passed out of a special session called by Gov. Linda Lingle following Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza's ruling that the ferry couldn't sail during its court-ordered Environmental Impact Study.

Belt Collins, the firm hired by the state and awarded a $1 million contract to complete the EIS on the Superferry, is supposed to report its findings to the DOT.
"Right now, Belt Collins is looking for subcontractors and gathering experts to conduct studies," Formby said. "In a year-long process, we are about two months in."

The Superferry is required to avoid the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary within 100 fathoms or less during those months.

"This project has brought mixed opinion," Ishikawa said. "This meeting would be the proper venue for those to voice their opinion."

Although the Superferry does not service the entire state, meetings will be on the Big Island, Kaua'i, Lana'i and Moloka'i.

"We want to know their feelings," Formby said.

Course Change on Stryker unlikely despite environmental harm

2008-03-07T20:51:00.001-10:00

Vol. 13, Issue 64 - Tuesday, March 4, 2008

OUR OPINION

Course change on Stryker unlikely despite environmental harm

THE ISSUE

A draft environmental review says Hawaii is the best location for a Stryker brigade.

SIGNIFICANT environmental consequences aren't enough for the Army to relocate a Stryker brigade it began to establish in Hawaii nearly seven years ago.

Despite findings that threatened and endangered species, air quality and natural habitats along with cultural resources would suffer, the Army has decided national security needs and the state's geographic advantages trump those concerns.

Barring further legal challenges, it appears the combat team's 4,105 soldiers and 1,000 vehicles -- including more than 320 eight-wheeled, 19-ton armored Strykers -- will be based permanently in the islands.

Hawaii's congressional delegation and military officials say they are certain harm will be mitigated. Residents will have to take them at their word since few have the wherewithal to make sure that happens. The Army would do well to allay fears and mistrust developed over the years in a state that has accommodated an overwhelming share of military operations.

A supplemental environmental study the Army conducted found that the Stryker would have significant effects in the islands. The second study was required by a federal court that found the Army violated the law when it did not adequately consider other sites for the brigade in the first go-round.

The supplemental review determined that the brigade would increase noise, soil erosion, habitat impairment, malignant weeds and hazardous wastes at all the sites, Hawaii, Alaska and Colorado, though the degree of environmental harm would be most substantial here.

However, in judging other factors -- housing shortages, training ranges, deployment schemes and the feasibility of stationing other types of combat units in Hawaii and costs -- the Army picked the islands.

The financial benefits have been persuasive and will remain so as the state's economy, particularly in construction, begins to soften. Almost $700 million in 28 construction projects are planned or in the works for the brigade on Oahu and Hawaii island. Local business also welcome spending by thousands of soldiers and their families.

Stryker opponents had argued that economic benefits would have come anyway since the Army needed to upgrade facilities and had planned to bring in one kind of unit or another, if not the Stryker brigade, and that the environmental trade-off was too great.

While an argument can be made that Hawaii's unique environment should be given greater consideration, its strategic location -- and the millions of dollars the Army has already spent for Stryker projects here -- makes a course reversal improbable.

"Ding Dong, the witch is dead . . . . " Superferry Death Knell?

2008-03-01T09:35:00.001-10:00

"The Witch is Dead . . . " Superferry Death Knell?

"Ding Dong, the witch is dead . . . . ",/ Superferry Death Knell?

read on about "Superferry in Drydock"

Subject: HSF drydock....the rest of the story

From sources/eyewitnesses close to the HSF dry dock:

When HSF was being positioned to enter the floating dry dock facility it went aground on a sandbar. A tug was used to move it off the sandbar, during the move the tug pushed a 20' x 20' dent into the side of the HSF. HSF encountered a few more bumps in trying to position itself. When they finally got the vessel in the floating dry dock, they went about putting blocking into place. The goal is the set the vessel perfectly on these blocks. The key to the blocks is the must be set directly under each frame of the vessel. Failure to do so results in pressure on unsupported plate and massive damage. This procedure is critical for any dry dock and the utmost care is taken. Hsf entered the floating dry dock, blocks were in place and lines were fastened from above to keep the vessel in place. The dry dock was raised (water level lowered). However, attendants failed to slacken the lines. Pressure mounted, the lines snapped, causing one side of the facility to break off and fall onto HSF, causing major damage. It gets worse. When the lines snapped the vessel shifted and the blocking missed the frames, causing damage the entire length of both hulls. The hull is now structurally damaged, dented and serpentine. The USCG has ordered massive work to be done.

As of this writing negotiations are under way with USCG to formulate a plan of repair. The damage is so extensive, no one is sure when or if it will ever get out of dry dock.

One long-time worker at an adjacent boat yard stated: "I don't think that vessel will ever be put back into service".

__._,_.___

DOT sets meetings on Superferry EIS

2008-02-29T07:39:00.001-10:00

KAUAI News

DOT sets meetings on Superferry EIS

by Rachel Gehrlein - THE GARDEN ISLAND

Informational public meetings on the Superferry's Environmental Impact Statement conducted by the Hawai`i state Department of Transportation for the Hawai`i Superferry are under way.

"The meetings are intended to give the public an opportunity to give their input," said Mike Formby, DOT Harbors Division chief. "It's an opportunity to engage the community."

Formby said there will be two meetings, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman, said the EIS will address the secondary impacts, such as whales and other endangered species, that could be affected by the Superferry.

Under Act 2, the law that passed in the Legislature last year, the Superferry is allowed to run provided certain conditions are met while the environmental study is being done.

The conditions include operating restrictions during what some call a truncated account of whale season, as the act cites it as January through April, though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has included the whale season months of November and December.

According to the Division of Land and Natural Resources, up to 10,000 humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters every year from November through May.

The act was passed out of a special session called by Gov. Linda Lingle following Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza's ruling that the ferry couldn't sail during its court-ordered Environmental Impact Study.

Belt Collins, the firm hired by the state and awarded a $1 million contract to complete the EIS on the Superferry, is supposed to report its findings to the DOT.

"Right now, Belt Collins is looking for subcontractors and gathering experts to conduct studies," Formby said. "In a year-long process, we are about two months in."

The Superferry is required to avoid the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary within 100 fathoms or less during those months.

"This project has brought mixed opinion," Ishikawa said. "This meeting would be the proper venue for those to voice their opinion."

Although the Superferry does not service the entire state, meetings will be on the Big Island, Kaua`i, Lana`i and Moloka`i.

"We want to know their feelings," Formby said.

Want to Go?

Meetings on Kaua`i

will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

and 6 to 9 p.m. March 19 at the Kaua`i Community College

Performing Arts Center.

• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.

URGENT! BILL TO WEAKEN EIS LAW! PLEASE ACT NOW!

2008-02-28T07:18:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Judy Dalton <dalton@aloha.net>
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:09:56 -1000
Subject: URGENT! BILL TO WEAKEN EIS LAW! PLEASE ACT NOW!
To: Judy Dalton <dalton@aloha.net>
URGENT & EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!
Sorry , but just got notice of this Hawaii State Legislative hearing
to be held at 10am this (Thursday) morning. PLEASE send a quick note
with talking points below with the message to VOTE NO on SB2808 SD1.
This bill proposes to take the teeth out of the EIS law - HRS Chapter 343!
* Please vote NO onSB 2808 SD1.
* SB 2808 SD1 undermines our three-decade old environmental
review law by creating a new type of exemption.
* The measure is unnecessary, as the Department of Transportation
already has the authority to exempt projects from environmental
review if they are truly minor.
* The public's right to learn about and comment on the
environmental impacts of potentially damaging projects will be curtailed.
* For certain projects, decision makers will not have the benefit
of an environmental review in deciding whether to grant permits.
* Keeping SB 2808 alive--even with a defective date and other
"safeguards"--only allows for legislative game playing later.
Senators will have no guarantees that the final bill will be in a
form they agree with.
* No changes should be made to our environmental review law until
the comprehensive review of the law is complete. To do otherwise
risks a piecemeal approach that will create more problems than it solves.
* With all the discussion of sustainability by the Senate,
reducing environmental review oversight is a big step in the wrong direction.
Please contact Committee members on list below, or if you're in a hurry
<mailto:sentaniguchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov,senhee@Capitol.hawaii.gov,sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov,senkokubun@Capitol.hawaii.gov,sennishihara@Capitol.hawaii.gov>click
here for an email addressed to all committee members in one letter.
Name Phone Email
Chair Brian Taniguchi 586-6460
<mailto:sentaniguchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov>sentaniguchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Vice Chair Clayton Hee 586-7330
<mailto:senhee@Capitol.hawaii.gov>senhee@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Sen. Mike Gabbard 586-6830
<mailto:sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov>sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov
Sen. Russell Kokubun 586-6760
<mailto:senkokubun@Capitol.hawaii.gov>senkokubun@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Sen. Clarence Nishihara 586-6970
<mailto:sennishihara@Capitol.hawaii.gov>sennishihara@Capitol.hawaii.gov
This bill to gut HRS 343 is moving in the senate and appears to be
poised to pass out of the (final) Judiciary committee tomorrow. See
hearing notice below.
THE SENATE
THE TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2008
COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY AND LABOR
Senator Brian T. Taniguchi, Chair
Senator Clayton Hee, Vice Chair
NOTICE OF DECISION MAKING
DATE: Thursday, February 28, 2008
TIME:10:00 a.m.
PLACE:
Conference Room 016
State Capitol
415 South Beretania Street
PBS, JDL
<http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/Bills/SB2808_SD1_.pdf>SB 2808, SD1
<http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/CommReports/SB2808_SD1_SSCR2519_.pdf>(SSCR2519)
<http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus.asp?query=SB2808&currpage=1&showtestimony=on>Testimony
<http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/lists/getstatus2.asp?billno=SB2808>Status
RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.
Exempts from environmental assessments, state or county lands that
include the use of existing streets, roads, highways, or trails or
bikeways for limited purposes, or a modification or disposal of
highway access rights or use, occupancy, or work within a public
highway right-of-way to serve private development outside the highway
right-of-way, under certain conditions. (SD1)
ENE/TIA, JDL
--
John Tyler
toll free 866-530-4117
See
www.jtacpr.com for CPR and First Aid training
www.happyswimmers.com for swim lessons at home and lifeguarding
enrollment/booking link: http://happyswimmers.com/enrollform.html
Serving Los Angeles, San Jose, and Hawai'i Founded in 1991

--
John Tyler
toll free 866-530-4117
See
www.jtacpr.com for CPR and First Aid training

www.happyswimmers.com for swim lessons at home and lifeguarding
enrollment/booking link: http://happyswimmers.com/enrollform.html

Serving Los Angeles, San Jose, and Hawai'i Founded in 1991

20 second Video of Superferry's Wild Ride

2008-02-06T21:17:00.001-10:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Tyler <mysticseaswimmer@gmail.com>
Date: Feb 6, 2008 9:15 PM
Subject: Save Kahului Harbor : George Peabody's Video of Superferry's Wild Ride
To: mysticseaswimmer@gmail.com

John Tyler has sent you a link to a blog:

Blog: Save Kahului Harbor
Post: George Peabody's Video of Superferry's Wild Ride
Link: http://savekahuluiharbor.blogspot.com/2008/02/george-peabodys-video-of-superferrys.html

Karen Chun said...

One of the things that is puzzling me is that supposedly the one million people on 'Oahu felt they absolutely could not live without the Superferry, but hardly anyone is using it! Where are all the folks who pressured the legislature to overrule environmental law and common sense?

I'm beginning to think it was a PR lie.

Today, the first day of running after Superferry left people stranded on Maui, we saw something like 90 vehicles leaving Maui including the National Guard. This was much more than usual so I think maybe a lot of people flew over to get their vehicles off Maui and back to their homes.

I wonder how cheap that turned out to be and if they also were stranded over here, waiting, waiting....for the Superferry to come back and get them?

Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares forbid county employees on County business to use County funds to take the Superferry until it does an EIS. Smart woman, our Mayor. Air flight costs less than and our people don't get stranded on 'Oahu!

--
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Superferry Repairs Keep Ship In Harbor

2008-02-02T08:34:00.001-10:00

More lies from Superferry...blame it on the weather, rather than broken rudder...

When does Superferry actually tell the truth????

Superferry Repairs Keep Ship In Harbor

Coast Guard Says Vessel Must Undergo Sea Trials

POSTED: 9:57 am HST February 1, 2008

UPDATED: 11:08 am HST February 1, 2008

HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Superferry announced on Thursday afternoon it was resuming service to Maui on Friday, but canceled those plans several hours later.The Coast Guard said the Superferry must undergo "sea trials" before it gets the green light to resume service.A representative for the Superferry said there was an "unexpected delay" in the completion of repair work. A public relations firm representing the company said the vessel has been out of service since Sunday because of bad weather.

On Wednesday, the company confirmed there were cracks involving an "auxiliary rudder." Work crews started making the repairs on Thursday."Sea trials are conducted basically to check and ensure that the vessel's integrity is worthy," Petty Officer Luke Clayton said. "So, even if it's something that seems minute, if the marine inspector sees it as being an important piece of the vessel in order for it to operate, then it needs to be fixed in order to resume operations."The Superferry maintained that it was the weather and not the repairs that kept it from sailing between Sunday and Wednesday. The company said the repair work is expected to be complete on Friday.The Superferry said it contacted passengers about the cancellation. It expects to resume service on Saturday, weather permitting.

Previous Story:

January 31, 2008: Superferry Repairing 'Surface Cracks' On Auxiliary Rudders

The backstory is coming out: HSF and DOT knew in 2005

2008-01-30T19:38:00.000-10:00

In casse you missed Derrick DePledges blog yesterday...
http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/capitolnotebook2008.php/2008/01/29/superferry_in_context#comments
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Capitol Notebook
A behind-the-scenes look at state government and politics from Capitol Bureau reporters Derrick DePledge and Treena Shapiro. Share insider tips or ideas with the bureau at 525-8070 or via e-mail.
Reach Derrick at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and Treena at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Posted on: January 29, 2008 at 8:59:45 pm
Superferry, in context
The Advertiser has been going through thousands of pages of documents -- 11 boxes and counting -- to try to reconstruct the state's decision to exempt Hawaii Superferry from an environmental review.
Our story Sunday included a reference to a Feb. 11, 2005, e-mail from Barry Fukunaga, the then-deputy director of harbors at the state Department of Transportation, to a colleague. The e-mail describes a telephone call Fukunaga received from Superferry president and chief executive officer John Garibaldi:

State documents show that the department's harbors division staff, in early planning, wanted to avoid constructing major harbor improvements until Superferry proved viable after a few years.
But the department's preferred improvements at Kahului Harbor, where there were potential conflicts between Superferry, Young Brothers' barge operations, canoe paddlers and other harbor users, involved activity that would potentially trigger an environmental assessment.
The stripped-down plans for a barge and ramp for Superferry at Kahului's Pier 2 were seen by the department as interim, a fallback position to qualify for an exemption and meet the project's target launch date. Yet Superferry was so concerned about a trigger that executives pushed the department not to mention the preferred improvements at the harbor.
Fukunaga, in an e-mail to a staffer less than two weeks before the final decision to exempt the project from environmental review, wrote: "Garibaldi called me, he received his letter today and is concerned that identifying both the preferred improvements and the alternatives establishes a linkage and requires our doing the environmental reviews for everything.
"I informed him that we did not see it that way. In any event he is going to confer with his legal. We'll see."

We knew that by Feb. 23, 2005, Fukunaga made the official decision to exempt the project from environmental review and did not refer to the state's preferred pier improvements at Kahului Harbor.
But we did not know the exact chain of events. Documents released to The Advertiser on Monday provide more context.
Fukunaga sent out letters to Superferry, county agencies and others in early February 2005 describing permanent pier improvements between Pier 1 and Pier 3 at Kahului Harbor that the department thought it could complete before ferry service started. The improvements -- essentially the construction of a new Pier 4 -- would have involved an environmental review.
The barge and ramp plans for Pier 2 were an "interim, short term arrangement" that would be exempt from environmental review and meet the timetable for launch if the preferred work was not finished.
Soon after Garibaldi's phone call, however, Fukunaga sent out correction letters that claimed his earlier description of the new pier was for a separate project "unrelated to current improvements planned for Hawaii Superferry."
3 comments • Permalink • Report offensive comment
Comments:
Comment from: Koauka [Visitor]
The decision makers, led by Barry Fukunaga, have no understanding of maritime and harbor operations at all.

And that is why we are in this situation today. Congrats Barry on your promotion to Chief of Staff.
And dont forget, remember to micromanage your friends at DOT!

Of course dont forget Aunty Linda, her mantra is get the job done.

And that's why we are in this situation today.
Permalink 01/30/08 @ 00:52
Comment from: SunnyK [Visitor]
Why was Rod Haraga even brought in from the mainland when the "big" decisions went to Fukunaga? Another scape goat? Auwe!
Didn't someone from DLNR/SHPD rubber stamp the go ahead as well...without appropriate maritime archeological assessment or land survey? Who was in charge at that time? Peter Young and Melanie Chinen?
Permalink 01/30/08 @ 05:40
Comment from: Karen Chun [Visitor] · http://www.SaveKahuluiHarbor.com
After telling us in the 2025 Kahului Master Plan that Pier 5 (slated for Superferry and cruise ships) would not be built because Army Corps of Engineers had determined the surge would make it impractical to position and moor vessels, it is disgusting to think that they knew then they really were going to build it with all its attendant problems.

Even though they are fast-tracking Pier 5, we cannot wait 6 more years with the defective Superferry barge having to be moved to a working freight dock (Berth 2B) due to winter surge. We knew this would happen and DOT did too. DOT didn't listen to the harbor pilots in 2005 when they told them that it was impossible to moor anything on the end of pier 2 (the barge's home) during the winter. We need that piece of junk out of Kahului Harbor now

Our freight hit a crisis point in 2003. DOT's own predictions showed this but they did nothing to increase our freight space. What they did, instead, was to triple cruise ship dockings, giving them preference over freight. Then, to make things even worse, they took over 24% of our interisland freight dock for the Superferry. Calculations based on the 2025 dock usage predictions showed that 43% of increased berth use came from cruise ships and 17% from the Superferry. With the Superferry barge parked at a freight berth, their impact is more.

Even at these old numbers over 50% of new dock demand has been driven by 2 companies operating passenger ships.

These bad decisions took our already tight freight situation and turned it into a crisis. I've seen the coal freighter waiting outside Kahului Harbor for 3 days while cruise ships tied up for 35 hours at a time, using the dock as a sort of ocean front hotel space.

It is time to realize that we cannot accommodate passenger ships in Kahului Harbor. We need them out of there today not in six years. DOT could do this with a simple policy change:

FREIGHT FIRST

Get the cruise ships (who are experiencing financial difficulties and taking Pride of Aloha away from Hawai'i) and the Superferry (which has so few customers it can't even cover its fuel costs) out of Kahului Harbor right now

Let's rethink this hurried plan to expand Kahului Harbor inward (at the expense of turning basin safety) and solve our immediate problem with a no-cost policy change. Even if HSF sues the State, it can't possible cost the 1/3 of a billion dollars that we're paying to build them a dock.

Then let's take the breathing room this policy change provides and obtain some federal money so we can do Kahului expansion right - go outward not inward.
Permalink 01/30/08 @ 07:45

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