INDEX - HAWAII TRANSPORTATION

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SUBJECT: SUPERFERRY STORY SEPTEMBER 26TH

SOURCE: LANNY SINKIN lanny.sinkin@gmail.com

POSTED: 26 SEPTEMBER 2007 - 6:45pm HST

Superferry Schedules and TRO


image above: the new nose on the Superferry is the nose of a US fighter with Vulcan machinegun

by Lanny Sinkin on 26 September 2007

There will be no Superferry trip to Kaua'i on October 1st.

1. The attorney for Superferry told the United States attorneys in the Coast Guard case that the reservations would no longer be taken for October 1 and that the message on the telephone saying the suspension was through September 30 would be changed.

2. The Coast Guard committed to giving four days notice to the US Attorneys regarding any future journeys by Superferry to Kaua'i. The US Attorneys will make sure that I know.

3. Given all the uncertainties, I decided to file the TRO again and did so. Current schedule is brief from US Attorneys due noon on Monday, my reply brief due at noon on Wednesday, Hearing before Judge Gillmor, 11 am Friday.

4. Tonight's news had a report that Superferry is now opening reservations for Friday next week. I passed that information along to the US Attorneys who are going to try to check it out. If true and remains in place, we will have to request the judge change the schedule for the TRO hearing, which is also scheduled for next Friday.

5. My telephone call to the attorney for Superferry is not being returned, so I am working through the US Attorneys to get information about just what is going on.

Long day, so this notice is getting to you late.

Aloha,



SUBJECT: SUPERFERRY STORY SEPTEMBER 26TH

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com

POSTED: 26 SEPTEMBER 2007 - 12:00pm HST

Superferry does another take back on service

by Juan Wilson on 26 September 2007

Interesting. A friend called me a few minues ago and indicated that the www.hawaiisuperferry.com website is no longer taking reservations for an Oahu to Kauai trip at noon on October 1st that was available early this morning.

Has someone had a change of heart... again? It seems the Superferry Corporation is in some gigantic internal battle between "go" and "no-go" factions and just can't keep the story straight as to what it is planning.

Maybe they are playing a good-cop/bad-cop game to confuse everybody. Whatever.... As of moments ago, when I tried to book the exact same trip as this morning, I got this message:

I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the HSF board room.


SUBJECT: SUPERFERRY STORY SEPTEMBER 26TH

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com

POSTED: 26 SEPTEMBER 2007 - 8:00am HST

Superferry stumbles forward toward confrontation

image above: screenshot of 10/1 booking made today for a trip for two in a car from Oahu to Kauai

by Juan Wilson on 26 September 2007

It is hard to understand the thinking of the Superferry folks. It has been hard for them to come up with a consistent policy on operations, This problem began on August 26th when they first ran into serious resistance trying entry into Nawiliwili Harbor on their maiden run. They have been flailing back and forth. Their service intentions have been on again and off again several times.

After Bush's chat with Lingle on August 8th the Bush-Cheney administration thought everything was go for the Superferry start last month. Since then Bush-Cheney must have been very disappointed with the Governor's stomach for a war on Kauai.

Obviously, there are differences in management style and policy within the corporation. This has left them appearing nervous and aggressive at the same time, like a cornered dog.

This has been a public relations nightmare for their representatives and consultants. It seemed that after the Governor's meeting with the public on Kauai on 22 September, some cooler heads prevailed.

There was an announcement by the Governor and the HSF Corporation that, although they thought they had the right to operate to Maui and Kauai, they would not do so until the court cases on those two islands were resolved and it was determined whether ferry service could go on while the required Environmental Assessment was done. The major news media picked this up and cheered this reasonable approach.

At the end of last week I thought that the best course for the Governor was to go along with an injunction in the Maui and Kauai cases that would stop the Superferry through the EA. This would get her off the hook for the inevitable confrontation at Nawiliwili Harbor that could destroy her political career.

But that is not the way the "Big Boys" behind the Superferry want to play this out.
They want to demonstrate that the Superferry can do the job they are interested in: Putting down insurgencies anywhere in the Pacific.

I can imagine Dick Cheney put a gun to Lingle's head and whispered something nasty in her ear about weakness in the face of public pressure. "To hell with Yom Kippur".

I'm also sure neocon HSF Chairman John Lehman put the screws to John Garibaldi to show no compromise with the riffraff whining about saving the whales and the environment.

Bottom line:
The train wreck is scheduled for the afternoon of Monday October 1st at 3:00pm. As of today, you can book a roundtrip for two with a vehicle leaving Honolulu and arriving on Kauai for $481.77.

Time to go back to Plan A.
The results of the Superferry entering Nawiliwili Harbor in with police-state security zone, while ignoring the court cases to determine its future, should wreck what little reputation these bozos have left.


SUBJECT: SUPERFERRY STORY SEPTEMBER 25TH

SOURCE: LANNY SINKIN lanny.sinkin@gmail.com

POSTED: 25 SEPTEMBER 2007 - 10:00pm HST

Ferry to try and begin service October First

image above:Hawaii Superferry at Open House at Pier One in Nawiliwili Harbor on 19 August 2007

by Lanny Sinkin on 25 September 2007

Today, Greg Meyers, attorney on Kaua'i, told me that Superferry was taking reservations for Kaua'i beginning on October 1. I went to the web site, www.superferry.com and confirmed that information. I called the Superferry telephone line and heard a message that said operations were suspended until September 30.

This information is contrary to what I believed to be the case. I thought that the Superferry cancellation announcement meant that they intended to wait until the courts resolved the outstanding issues. My belief was based on a newpaper report in the Star-Bulletin on Saturday, September 22 that said:

"[Superferry} will not likely restart the Alakai's service to the Garden Isle until court cases on both Maui and Kauai have been completed, said Hawaii Superferry Chief Executive Officer John Garibaldi last night."

The Star-Bulletin wrote an editorial on September 24 with a subtitle "Officials have annouced that Alakai won't sail to Kauai until legal issues are resolved." That editorial began: "Suspension of the Hawaii Superferry's runs to Kauai until legal challenges are resolved depressurizes a heated conflict that had been threatening to escalate further on the Garden Island."

I apologize profusely to the people of Kaua'i. I have left you undefended because I underestimated the deviousness of the Superferry management. Mr. Garibaldi said "not likely" to restart before court cases were resolved. He put down a false trail that produced a false sense of relief on the part of everyone concerned about what was going to happen in the waters of Nawiliwili Harbor. He even fooled the editors of the Star-Bulletin. I regret that he fooled me, too.

Note that Superferry has not announced the resumption of service. That is because they do not really care about whether they have a lot of passengers or not. They preferred stealth preparations with the Governor, the Coast Guard, and all the other law enforcement agencies to prevent the people of Kaua'i from planning their resistance and to prevent me from seeking a TRO. I assume that they planned to announce service resumption to Kaua'i at the end of the week or on the weekend, so that the people would have little time to prepare and I would have a very difficult time getting in front of a judge.

As my offering of ho'oponpono to the people of Kaua'i for my mistake, I will correct the problem tomorrow. I plan to fly back to Honolulu and refile the TRO based on the web site taking reservations and the telephone message regarding the September 30 termination of suspension.

I ask for your prayers and your rededication. As our Arab friends are fond of saying, when you see a large sand storm coming, pray to Allah and tie up your camel.

You will find that you have even more help this time than you did last time.

Aloha,

Lanny

P.S. I have already placed a call to Superferry's attorney to confirm that service to Kaua'i is scheduled to resume on October 1 and also plan to call the Superferry management tomorrow to confirm. In the meantime, I will spend tonight preparing new papers to be filed tomorrow.


Postponing ferry trip was the right move
Honolulu Star Bulletin Editorial on 24 September 2007

Suspension of the Hawaii Superferry's runs to Kauai until legal challenges are resolved depressurizes a heated conflict that had been threatening to escalate further on the Garden Island.

Ferry company officials deserve a nod for recognizing that canceling the restart of trips to Nawiliwili Harbor, which had been set to resume Wednesday, would help to defuse the tension over the Alakai's operations.

Opposing parties now have some breathing room and Gov. Linda Lingle should use the opportunity to broker a compromise that would allow the ferry to sail while a Supreme Court-decreed environmental assessment is conducted.

Whether such a settlement can be reached is unclear because the legal challenges on Kauai and Maui are proceeding on different courses. However, both lawsuits could force the ferry to stay in port on Oahu until environmental reviews are completed. That would financially disrupt the company, which had received assurances from the Lingle administration that it did not need the review to transport passengers and vehicles between islands.

Company officials canceled service on their own without consulting with the governor or the Coast Guard, which was to provide security at Nawiliwili where protesters said they would attempt to block the ferry despite warnings of arrests.
The announcement Friday came a day after a rowdy public meeting the governor held on Kauai that had opponents, supporters and about 150 ferry employees flown in from Oahu competing to be heard. The meeting did little to calm the situation and company officials acknowledged it "was a consideration" in their decision.

The group seeking the reviews, 1000 Friends of Kauai, was relieved by the suspension because it will allow the court to possibly resolve the case at a hearing Thursday and lessen the potential for friction.

No one will benefit from disorder. No one will benefit from Hawaii's suffering another black eye. No one will benefit from a clash that will further divide residents.


See also:

Island Breath: New of September 25 9/25/07
Island Breath: News of September 21 & 22 9/22/07
Island Breath: News of September 20th 9/20/07
Island Breath: News of September 19th 9/19/07
Island Breath: News of September 18th 9/18/07
Island Breath: News of September 16th & 17th 9/17/07
Island Breath: News of September 14th & 15th 9/15/07
Island Breath: News of September 13th 9/13/07
Island Breath: News of September 12th 9/12/07
Island Breath: News of September 11th 9/11/07
Island Breath: News of September 10th 9/10/07
Island Breath: Superferry Concerns 9/10/07
Island Breath: KOH Petition to USCG 9/5/07
Island Breath: HSF Slice & Swath Technology 9/5/07
Island Breath: News of Oahu animosity 9/5/07
Island Breath: Maritime Administration & EIS 9/3/07
Island Breath: Support from Oahu's DMZ 8/30/2007
Island Breath: DMZ - Stop the Strykers 7/2/07
Island Breath: Maui Case & Timeline 8/29/07
Island Breath: A Hawaiian's View 8/29/07
Island Breath: We Win Round Three 8/28/07
Island Breath: Plea to Reps and TRO 8/27/07
Island Breath: Rounds One & Two 8/23/07
Island Breath: Boycott the Superferry 8/17/07
Island Breath: Superferry Preparations 8/10/07
Island Breath: Hui-R Superferry Meeting 7/26/2007
Island Breath: Not So Super Ferry 7/24/07
Island Breath: Superferry Invasion 7/22/07
Island Breath: Superferry Noise 7/18/07
Island Breath: Superferry Delayed 5/25/07
Island Breath: Still No Superferry EIS 3/31/07
Island Breath: Superferry EIS Effort 3/25/2007
Island Breath: Superferry EIS Bill hearings 2/26/07
Island Breath: Superferry Promotion 2/24/07
Island Breath: Superferry Launched 1/28/07
Island Breath: Superferry in Trouble 12/12/006
Island Breath: Superferry Reference 11/6/06
Island Breath: Superferry Resistance 11/1/06
Island Breath: Superferry & Military 10/13/06
Island Breath: Superferry History 10/3/06
Island Breath: Stop the Superferry 8/29/06
Island Breath: Superferry Meetings 8/13/06
Island Breath: Superferry Redux 6/23/06
Island Breath: Superferry Problems 11/14/04

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