Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, September 3, 2009
BAHAMIAN STIMULUS
5s DOG THE LAND FERRY - TAP, TAP, TAP
Saturday, August 22, 2009
City should have released rail deficit numbers, two councilmembers say
Advertiser Staff
City officials should have been forthcoming about a $500 million shortfall over the city's plans for a commuter rail project, two key City Councilmen said this afternoon.
City Council chairman Todd Apo and Councilman Charles Djou were unhappy that city officials did not release a May 1 draft report to them, but said the project should move forward.
The report was the focus of a page one story in The Advertiser today after it was obtained by two rail opponents, using the Freedom of Information Act.
"If we're going to do rail, we want to make sure we do it right," Djou said. "And doing it right means an open, honest process – everybody's in agreement with that. But I think the integrity of the process breaks down when the administration tells the public and Honolulu City Council one thing and releases a document to the feds in Washington D.C. saying something quite different."
At a separate, simultaneous press conference today, city transportation director Wayne Yoshioka said the city did nothing wrong in not disclosing the May 1 report that said the city's transit-tax revenue will fall $500 million short of what is needed to complete the proposed $5.3 billion elevated commuter line.
Yoshioka said the May 1 report was not final and an upcoming September report will address the $500 million shortfall.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, (D-Hawaii), said today that he is worried about the apparent lack of transparency in the running of the rail project.
Abercrombie said he fears that opponents will have an opportunity to kill the rail project because of the way it is being managed.
"I'm concerned the project is going to be Supperferried," Abercrombie said in reference to the demise of the Hawaii Superferry, a high-speed, inter-island shuttle service. The Superferry left the state after a court ruled it had not completed required environmental studies.
The city today released a statement from federal transit administrator Peter Rogoff, saying, "Today, The Honolulu Advertiser Newspaper published a story highlighting information from an outdated May 1st financial report ... That report no longer reflects the city's financial plan for the project."
Today's page one story in The Advertiser quoted Toru Hamayasu, deputy director of the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, as saying the May 1 report was "an outdated report and no longer accurate."
The city has not released an updated report that it has and said it will not release the new report until it is finalized.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Hawaii Hurricane Fund — Providing Stability in Uncertain Times
By Romy Cachola, 8/11/2009 8:20:34 AM
Faced with a $786 million budget deficit, state and union leaders are looking at ways to minimize the effects of furloughs and public employee layoffs and to balance the budget, including tapping into the $185 million Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund (HHRF).
Historical Background
To better understand the ramifications of raiding the HHRF, we must first review the fund’s history. In 1994, a year after the Legislature established the HHRF, a State briefing revealed several alarming findings about the fund, which included the following:
• The State collected about $80 million annually from hurricane insurance premiums, mortgage recording fees and annual assessments of insurance companies.
• Nearly all of the $80 million was used to buy reinsurance coverage worth $500 million in the Bahamas.
• The $1.7 billion pool to pay for losses was just enough to cover damages by an Iniki-level hurricane. If a hurricane hits metropolitan Oahu, homeowners will likely receive about 50 cents on the dollar for damages, rather than be paid in full.
In 1995 as a State Representative, to address this concern I introduced a bill which became law as Act 32. In lieu of buying reinsurance, Act 32 set up a savings mechanism for the hurricane fund that proposed:
• 1) Floating $500 million in state revenue bonds.
At that time, the rule of thumb for debt service was 10 percent of debt principal, or in this case, $50 million. The $80 million in annual collections less the $50 million in debt service equals an annual savings of $30 million into the reserve fund.
• 2) Securing $500 million loan commitment from the federal government that would take the place of reinsurance, thus allowing the $80 million collected annually to go into the reserve fund.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
By admin - Posted on June 10th, 2009
State of Hawaii Sells $725.3 Million In General Obligation Bonds
The $725.3 million bond sale included $500 million of new money proceeds to fund new capital improvement
projects and $225.3 million of refunding bonds to refinance outstanding debt. The refinancing of existing debt resulted in a reduction in debt service of approximately $100 million per year in fiscal years 2010 and 2011. The overall interest rate
for the bonds was 4.12 percent.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
City should have released rail deficit numbers, two councilmembers say
Advertiser Staff
City officials should have been forthcoming about a $500 million shortfall over the city's plans for a commuter rail project, two key City Councilmen said this afternoon.
City Council chairman Todd Apo and Councilman Charles Djou were unhappy that city officials did not release a May 1 draft report to them, but said the project should move forward.
The report was the focus of a page one story in The Advertiser today after it was obtained by two rail opponents, using the Freedom of Information Act.
"If we're going to do rail, we want to make sure we do it right," Djou said. "And doing it right means an open, honest process – everybody's in agreement with that. But I think the integrity of the process breaks down when the administration tells the public and Honolulu City Council one thing and releases a document to the feds in Washington D.C. saying something quite different."
At a separate, simultaneous press conference today, city transportation director Wayne Yoshioka said the city did nothing wrong in not disclosing the May 1 report that said the city's transit-tax revenue will fall $500 million short of what is needed to complete the proposed $5.3 billion elevated commuter line.
Yoshioka said the May 1 report was not final and an upcoming September report will address the $500 million shortfall.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, (D-Hawaii), said today that he is worried about the apparent lack of transparency in the running of the rail project.
Abercrombie said he fears that opponents will have an opportunity to kill the rail project because of the way it is being managed.
"I'm concerned the project is going to be Supperferried," Abercrombie said in reference to the demise of the Hawaii Superferry, a high-speed, inter-island shuttle service. The Superferry left the state after a court ruled it had not completed required environmental studies.
The city today released a statement from federal transit administrator Peter Rogoff, saying, "Today, The Honolulu Advertiser Newspaper published a story highlighting information from an outdated May 1st financial report ... That report no longer reflects the city's financial plan for the project."
Today's page one story in The Advertiser quoted Toru Hamayasu, deputy director of the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, as saying the May 1 report was "an outdated report and no longer accurate."
The city has not released an updated report that it has and said it will not release the new report until it is finalized.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Hawaii Hurricane Fund — Providing Stability in Uncertain Times
By Romy Cachola, 8/11/2009 8:20:34 AM
Faced with a $786 million budget deficit, state and union leaders are looking at ways to minimize the effects of furloughs and public employee layoffs and to balance the budget, including tapping into the $185 million Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund (HHRF).
Historical Background
To better understand the ramifications of raiding the HHRF, we must first review the fund’s history. In 1994, a year after the Legislature established the HHRF, a State briefing revealed several alarming findings about the fund, which included the following:
• The State collected about $80 million annually from hurricane insurance premiums, mortgage recording fees and annual assessments of insurance companies.
• Nearly all of the $80 million was used to buy reinsurance coverage worth $500 million in the Bahamas.
• The $1.7 billion pool to pay for losses was just enough to cover damages by an Iniki-level hurricane. If a hurricane hits metropolitan Oahu, homeowners will likely receive about 50 cents on the dollar for damages, rather than be paid in full.
In 1995 as a State Representative, to address this concern I introduced a bill which became law as Act 32. In lieu of buying reinsurance, Act 32 set up a savings mechanism for the hurricane fund that proposed:
• 1) Floating $500 million in state revenue bonds.
At that time, the rule of thumb for debt service was 10 percent of debt principal, or in this case, $50 million. The $80 million in annual collections less the $50 million in debt service equals an annual savings of $30 million into the reserve fund.
• 2) Securing $500 million loan commitment from the federal government that would take the place of reinsurance, thus allowing the $80 million collected annually to go into the reserve fund.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
By admin - Posted on June 10th, 2009
State of Hawaii Sells $725.3 Million In General Obligation Bonds
The $725.3 million bond sale included $500 million of new money proceeds to fund new capital improvement
projects and $225.3 million of refunding bonds to refinance outstanding debt. The refinancing of existing debt resulted in a reduction in debt service of approximately $100 million per year in fiscal years 2010 and 2011. The overall interest rate
for the bonds was 4.12 percent.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
YES, TAKEN FOR A RIDE
WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THAT MONEY ??????????????????????????????????????????
KHNL NBC 8 Honolulu Hawaii-Hawaii Superferry ends passenger serviceHONOLULU HARBOR (KHNL) - The Hawaii Superferry will end passenger ferry service and look for ways to lease out the Alakai, Superferry chief executive ...
www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=10037729 - 65k - Cached - Similar pages
MAYBE, MILITARY
Hawaii Superferry: End of the saga?: Financial News - Yahoo! FinanceHawaii Superferry: End of the saga?. - HONOLULU (AP) -- As the Hawaii Superferry sits forlornly in Honolulu's harbor with no legal way to operate in Hawaii ...
biz.yahoo.com/ap/090321/hi_superferry_saga.html?.v=1 - 2 hours ago - Similar pages
NOBODY COULD FORESEE THIS?
KHNL NBC 8 Honolulu Hawaii-Hawaii Superferry ends passenger serviceHONOLULU HARBOR (KHNL) - The Hawaii Superferry will end passenger ferry service and look for ways to lease out the Alakai, Superferry chief executive ...
www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=10037729 - 65k - Cached - Similar pages
MAYBE, MILITARY
Hawaii Superferry: End of the saga?: Financial News - Yahoo! FinanceHawaii Superferry: End of the saga?. - HONOLULU (AP) -- As the Hawaii Superferry sits forlornly in Honolulu's harbor with no legal way to operate in Hawaii ...
biz.yahoo.com/ap/090321/hi_superferry_saga.html?.v=1 - 2 hours ago - Similar pages
NOBODY COULD FORESEE THIS?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
WHOOP! THERE IT IS.
Posted on: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Superferry lobbies for military upgrade
Company spends $210K on lobbyists to obtain funds for vehicle ramp
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer
Monday, March 3, 2008
IT WORKED FOR THE SUPERFERRY, WHY NOT THE LAND FERRY.
ALWAYS AN EXCUSE!CHUMPS... MILQUETOAST...PUSILLANIMOUS DUPES
4/17/2008
Lingle administration criticized for bypassing environmental review
State path set in '04 Awana, ferry talks
Hawaii, ferry at odds in '04 over environment
Print this page
E-mail this article
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 SUPERFERRY SAYS JUMP AND THE LEGISLATURE SAYS, MOOOO.
Audit: Superferry drove state actions
"Except through their high-priced lobbyists, they have not approached many of the senators or representatives who now hold the key as to whether or not they will ever be able to operate," Hanabusa said.
"I don't know who is making these decisions," Hanabusa said, "but it doesn't seem very smart that when they see they are dividing our community -- there comes a point in time when you think someone would step back and say, 'Gee, isn't it time for us to be a good neighbor here? If we want to be part of this community, let's be part of it.'"
The angry protests on Kauai have opened up a political problem for Democratic leaders, and Hanabusa said the Superferry has not been helping.
"Maybe they feel they can threaten to sue us and that will be enough leverage. We have got people who are hurt, so the people are not going to be happy if the Legislature comes back in."
"If people take the time to make a personal effort to ask that the Legislature do some work, we should do some work," Green said.
Mayor says Honolulu rail needs quick start
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
Mayor Mufi Hannemann
Hannemann says ...
... the longer the city waits, the more a transit system will cost. "The best thing that we can do is build it as quick as we can."
Critics say ...
... the mayor's timetable to launch a transit system by 2012 could lead to irresponsible spending and cost taxpayers millions more.
Changes in priorities and political will killed Honolulu's last two efforts to build major new mass-transit systems in 1982 and 1992.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann is determined to prevent history from repeating itself, even if it means beginning construction on a commuter rail system before the federal government commits to funding part of the project.
That move, which leaves a $700 million gap in the project's budget, could allow service to begin from East Kapolei to Leeward Community College as soon as 2012 — barring legal challenges, archaeological finds, construction problems and other potential delays. Full service to Ala Moana Center is expected to begin in 2017.
The longer the city waits, the more transit will cost, Hannemann said. For example, Honolulu could have built a light rail system in the 1990s for $1.8 billion, or half the current proposed price, he said. = 3.6
"To wait for your (federal) full funding grant approval to be finalized, it will take a lot longer for construction to begin," Hannemann said. "The best thing that we can do is build it as quick as we can."
However, rushing the project without federal funding approval is a gamble. If Hannemann is right, Honolulu's new transit system could be running years earlier and for millions of dollars less. If he's wrong, Hono-lulu taxpayers could end up paying millions of dollars more than planned for the 20-mile, elevated commuter rail.
Critics contend Hannemann's timetable is not realistic and could lead to irresponsible spending.
BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser
MASS TRANSIT TIME LINE
Mayor Mufi Hannemann hopes to break ground on Honolulu's commuter rail project in 2009, with the first segment starting service between East Kapolei and Leeward Community College in 2012.
Here's a list of the project's key dates:
Summer 2005: The state allows counties to create an excise tax surcharge for mass transit.
December 2006: Honolulu City Council approves the fixed-guideway project.
February 2007: The council selects the Kapolei-to-Ala Moana Center route.
February 2008: A city-appointed panel recommends the city use steel wheel/rail technology.
Spring 2008: Start preliminary engineering.
September 2008: Release draft Environmental Impact Statement.
June 2009: Release final Environmental Impact Statement.
October 2009: End of EIS process and selection of design/build contractor for phase one.
Late 2009: Groundbreaking for phase one (Kapolei to Leeward Community College).
February 2010: Selection of transit vehicle vendor.
Summer 2010: Enter final design for phase two (Leeward Community College to Ala Moana Center).
Spring 2011: Estimated $700 million federal grant.
Source: City & County of Honolulu
$3.7 billion
Estimated cost to build the 20-mile elevated mass-transit system
$700 million
Amount the mayor hopes the federal government will pay
2011
When Hawai'i finds out how much federal funds it will get
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
WHOOP...THERE IT IS.
Superferry exemption was forced, audit finds | starbulletin.com ...Hawaii Newspaper - Coverage and reports on news, sports, business, entertainment, and events.
starbulletin.com/2008/04/17/news/story03.html - 11 hours ago - Similar pages
Superferry to carry Guard gear to Maui
The equipment will be used to fix damage from last month's storms and floods
By Robert Shikina
rshikina@starbulletin.com
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
THEY MADE IT LOOK GOOD, DIDN'T THEY ????
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
WHERE'S THAT 28 MILLION ????
He said "rumors that this is a done deal are not true."
GET YOUR SPHINCTERS READY FOR NUMBER 2.
I MEAN YOUR COLONS. THOSE FERRYS ARE LONG
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