Friday, September 28, 2012

Cayetano unveils 'FAST' rail alternative, Hawaii Supreme Court won't reconsider rail ruling, Inouye asks Lingle to take down video, Lanai group won't learn Ellison's price, UH awash in PR, Big Island archeological study delays park, Navy cruiser gets reprieve, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Ben Cayetano
Cayetano's FAST rail alternative
Former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano is proposing a $1.1 billion plan to add express buses and contraflow lanes as an alternate solution to a $5 billion rail line to ease traffic on Oahu.Associated Press.

Honolulu mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano unveiled a transportation plan Thursday that features new Bus Rapid Transit routes, high-tech traffic signal systems to instantly respond to traffic snarls and plans for two-lane underpasses to ease the flow of traffic on Kapiolani Boulevard and other thoroughfares. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano presented his alternative–to-rail transportation plan today, saying the mix of expanded bus service, a two-mile extension of the airport highway viaduct, traffic underpasses beneath congested intersections and other features will cost $4.1 billion less than the planned elevated rail line. Hawaii Reporter.

Honolulu mayoral candidate and former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano on Thursday formally unveiled his mass-transit plan, which he touted as being a cheaper, better and more flexible alternative than the city’s $5.16 billion rail project. Pacific Business News.

Instead of being a candidate running against something, Ben Cayetano is now a candidate running for something. Civil Beat.

After waiting months to reveal deeper details about his traffic plans Honolulu mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano announced his bus rapid transit plan today.  But his opponent says it's too little too late. Hawaii News Now.

It's called FAST, for Flexible Affordable Smart Transportation, and mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano said Thursday it will be one-fifth the cost of rail. KITV4.

The mayor and city council chairman say mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano's bus rapid transit plan would not get federal backing for the current round of funding the rail authority has applied for. KHON2.

Cayetano's FAST website. click here.

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and City Council chairman Ernie Martin reacted quickly and negatively to Ben Cayetano's plan for a new Honolulu transportation plan. Hawaii Reporter.

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by the city to reconsider the court's unanimous Aug. 24 ruling that stopped construction of the $5.26 billion rail project. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Thursday denied a City and County of Honolulu motion for the high court to reconsider its ruling on the city’s controversial $5.16 billion rail project. Pacific Business News.

Hawaii's peak summer tourist season is coming to a close, but visitor traffic is holding its own into fall. Star-Advertiser.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye on Thursday asked Republican Senate candidate Linda Lingle to pull down a web video touting a relationship between the two, and said the video has given him the incentive to actively campaign for Lingle's opponent, Democrat Mazie Hirono. Civil Beat.

A national grant that provides training, test prep and incentives helped four Hawaii high schools make big gains in the number of students taking — and passing — Advanced Placement exams in 2012, officials announced Thursday. Star-Advertiser.

The University of Hawaii has hired two public relations firms with contracts worth $150,000  to supplement the work of 13 PR people already on the UH system payroll.  More than 30 other UH public relations staffers work on other UH campuses and at different UH schools statewide. Hawaii News Now.

The Navy said the Pearl Harbor cruiser USS Port Royal and three others based elsewhere that had been slated for early retirement in March will be kept on duty for an undetermined length of time. Star-Advertiser.
 
Oahu

The company hoping to sell alcohol at the Honolulu Zoo has two more weeks to come up with a better plan. KHON2.

A new device that could rid Kaneohe Bay of invasive algae by 2015 was shown off Thursday by the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.

The latest attack ad from the Pacific Resource Partnership that features footage of Honolulu mayoral candidate Kirk Caldwell raises questions about whether either of the two parties violated Hawaii's campaign spending laws. Civil Beat.

How much can the Pacific Resource Partnership spend on ad time in a single week? Here's a hint: it's a hefty fraction of the $1.3 million the pro-rail trade group spent airing TV ads before the primary.  Civil Beat.

Hawaii

Hawaii County is about to embark on an archaeological survey of its 784-acre Kawa Bay property, a process likely to add months to plans for an oceanfront park there and push any eviction of several Native Hawaiians laying claim to the property into the new year. West Hawaii Today.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie releases funds to bring more doctors to Hawaii. Tribune-Herald.

The Public Utilities Commission’s public hearing on Hawaii Electric Light Co.’s rate increase and biofuel surcharge proposals is a month away, and all sides are digging in for what could be an explosive meeting. Tribune-Herald.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources will vote Friday  on a management plan for the Ka`u Forest Reserve. Big Island Now.

Maui
Federal and state authorities are trying to locate, track and hopefully sink at sea a floating dock that could be tsunami debris from Japan, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman said today. Maui News.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is coordinating with NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard to identify the current location of a 30 by 50-foot floating dock that was last seen on Wednesday, Sept. 19, by fishermen off the north coast of Molokai. Hawaii News Now.

Plans are under way to renovate the Lahaina Center on Front Street into Maui's first outlet shopping center by next summer. Maui News.

Maui's tourism industry ended a strong summer with both increased visitor arrivals and spending in August, according to new data released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Maui News.

Kauai

The annual Legislative Forum hosted by the state Council on Developmental Disabilities wrapped up an unusual week that had four political events crammed into four days. Garden Island.

A federal lawsuit claims teenage employees working at a Panda Express in Kapa‘a were groped and demeaned. Garden Island.

Taxpayers’ money that has already been approved to be spent on private attorneys’ fees on matters related to POHAKU (Productive Optimism Helps All Kaua‘i) diversionary program keeps snowballing: It is now at $35,000. Garden Island.

Lanai

Lanaians for Sensible Growth, which was given approval by Hawaii regulators to intervene in the case of the transfer of utilities to Lanai owner Larry Ellison, have been denied access to confidential documents, including the price of the sale. Pacific Business News.



2 comments:

  1. If Cayetano has a $1B solution instead of the $5B Rail, I'm all for saving $4B for the State of Hawaii.
    Robert Hamilton
    www.hawaiiweddingcoordinator.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. MAUI should be able to burn sugar cane if they want, as they've been doing for 100 years.
    Robert
    Maui Beach Weddings

    ReplyDelete