TRANSPORTATION

SUPERFERRY OPERATES MORE CLEANLY THAN TUGS

I see a lot of flak being thrown at the Superferry for various reasons. The latest is due to it being allowed to operate without a completed Environmental Impact Statement.

Have you seen the Superferry operate? Its modern catamaran hull and design allow it to plow the waters with hardly a wake. Compare that to the deep draft cargo ships pulling in and out of Honolulu Harbor that get turned 180 degrees by tug boats before pulling in alongside the pier. Watch that operation, and all the muck and mud that gets pulled up from the bottom from the tugs' screws, and tell me which is having the most environmental impact.

It's funny how everyone suddenly looked to the Superferry to take up the shipping slack when Aloha Airlines went belly up suddenly (without an EIS), but as soon as that issue was resolved, the special interest groups jump back on the bandwagon.

It's amazing anyone wants to do business in Hawai'i and put up with these political games.

STIMULUS

WHAT ABOUT MONEY FOR GREEN PROJECTS?

I wonder if anyone else feels that the state's $1.86 billion economic stimulus package is missing some important projects? Namely, the addition of solar panels for government buildings and bikeways in urban Honolulu.

Both of these projects have been suggested, requested and, in the case of the former, overwhelmingly voted for. These green projects will not only stimulate one-time construction, they will also save the state a great deal of money in the years to come. Moreover, these items encourage sustainability and would fit nicely in line with Gov. Lingle's platform concerning our overdependence on imported oil.

Call me simple, but that's all I want for Christmas.

GOVERNOR DID NOTHING AS ECONOMY SOURED

As horrible situations in both the local and national economy unfolded, what did Gov. Lingle do? Nothing, nothing, oppose rail, agree with McCain that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, do nothing, refuse to meet with the president-elect on helping states with economic recovery, do nothing, and then hold a press conference to announce she's releasing money for projects she should have released months ago.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann saved the naval shipyard, organized job fairs, helped plan a fundraiser for Aloha airlines employees, got rail passed, and met with Obama's team to lobby for federal money for counties. And to think that economic development is supposed to be the purview of the state! Someone better tell the governor that!

PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS SHOULD HELP NEEDIEST

Great to see Gov. Linda Lingle junk the Trickle-Down Delirium in favor of the tried-and-true Rooseveltian public works projects. Tax cuts for the wealthy (a.k.a. trickle-down economics) are precisely what caused the housing and stock bubbles that are bursting all around us today: rich people with too much money to spend, running up the prices of houses and stocks.

But where is the money for public/subsidized housing? The speed at which these infrastructure projects have appeared makes me wonder who was consulted. "People" are infrastructure, too. For $6.2 million projected to be spent on a dubious "ferry facility" in Ma'alaea we could build 120 "cabins" on government land to get people out of the rain for the next 50 years.

Or we could subsidize the rent for 1,000 people for one year, to make use of existing underused rental and hotel units. But that would really require some new thinking.

Better to just throw money at big contractors so maybe their union workers will buy some plate lunches in your neighborhood when they are there building useless projects. Same ol', same ol'.

There are 10,000 people in this state sleeping in cars and it is time to do something about that. We need new thinking.

OBAMA

NEW ADMINISTRATION OFFERS MORE OF SAME

President-elect Obama's "Change You Can Believe In" is shaping up to include a continuation of President Bush's foreign policy, as campaign rhetoric and wishful thinking meet the real world.

Thought you were getting someone like Dennis Kucinich for secretary of defense? Think again: It is Secretary Gates redux.

"Out of Iraq in 16 months" might have been a useful campaign catch phrase to lure the left, but now it is variations of the familiar "as conditions on the ground dictate."

The change in the executive branch is amounting to the appointment of a host of Clinton-era retreads and pols schooled in Chicago politics which, by the way, is where Obama cut his political teeth.

But, true believers, take heart — remember the president-elect is from Hawai'i.