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Friday, January 13, 2023 |
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GE Tax: Audit Shows Tourists Pay 14.1%--not 30%
By Andrew Walden @ 5:21 AM :: 9711 Views :: Rail, Taxes, Tourism, Cost of Living
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...The lie that tourists pay 30% of the GE Tax is front and center as Gov Green and legislators quickly walk back Green’s fake 2022 campaign promise to eliminate the GE Tax from food and medical care....
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Monday, December 26, 2022 |
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Convicted Meth Dealer Asks Federal Court Permission to Take Over Laborer’s Union
By Andrew Walden @ 10:48 PM :: 4044 Views :: Ethics, Labor, Rail, Drugs
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... “If my name sounds familiar it's because my dad was President of the Hawaii AFL-CIO and the Business Manager/ Financial Secretary for the Hawaii Carpenters Union Local 745 for over 20 years.”….
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022 |
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Senate Appropriations Bill: Pork for Rail, Red Hill, Housing
By News Release @ 3:20 PM :: 816 Views :: Congressional Delegation, Military, Rail
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... “We had no idea this was in the works,” said Lori Kahikina, HART’s CEO and executive director ....
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Wednesday, November 30, 2022 |
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Quick Rail Boondoggle Update
By Panos Prevedouros PhD @ 2:37 AM :: 1047 Views :: Rail
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... Honolulu rail is not alone ....
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Sunday, August 14, 2022 |
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Honolulu announces free week of fares for TheBus
By News Release @ 4:00 AM :: 1007 Views :: Honolulu County, Education K-12, Rail
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... starting August 22 to August 26, 2022. The free fare week is timed with the back-to-school jam ....
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Sunday, August 14, 2022 |
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Plague, Frogs, Fire and Cracks: Eleven Years of HART Excuses
By Andrew Walden @ 12:02 AM :: 2298 Views :: Hawaii History, Rail
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... HART excuses are nearly Biblical: Plague, Frogs, Fires, and Cracks -- but the real reason slipped out as COVID shut down Hawaii's tourism industry: “After Wasting Billions to Build Rail, is it worth $160 million a year to operate?” ....
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Friday, July 22, 2022 |
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Ala Moana Satellite City Hall temporarily halts HOLO card service Because they Have too Many Customers
By News Release @ 5:11 AM :: 1228 Views :: Honolulu County, Rail
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... Walk-in customers make up the majority of the 5,790 HOLO card transactions processed in the past fiscal year at the Ala Moana Satellite City Hall ....
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Thursday, June 30, 2022 |
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Honolulu Rail: $9.9 Billion to Go Nowhere
By Selected News Articles @ 2:00 AM :: 1909 Views :: Rail, COVID-19
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... the state of Hawaii has released a report explaining why the rail project will fail no matter where it goes or how much it costs ....
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Tuesday, June 28, 2022 |
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Time to get real about rail
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 6:33 PM :: 1579 Views :: Rail
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... It was sold to the public on the promise that it would only cost about $4 billion, that it would be completed by 2019 and that the general excise tax surcharge associated with it would end by 2022 ....
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Saturday, June 25, 2022 |
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Rail: Feds Urged to be Skeptical of HART 'Recovery Plan'
By Grassroot Institute @ 4:43 AM :: 1313 Views :: Rail
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...HART’s new plan appears to contain “overly optimistic assumptions about revenues, ridership and costs, and this could saddle local taxpayers with unstated liabilities in the future.”....
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Tuesday, June 21, 2022 |
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Why Panos Prevedouros Left Hawaii
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 2:47 AM :: 2596 Views :: Higher Education, Rail, Cost of Living
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... The former chairman of the University of Hawaii’s civil engineering department says aloha ....
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Monday, June 20, 2022 |
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$119M: Another Extension for Rail Management Contract
By News Release @ 4:47 PM :: 1029 Views :: Rail
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... The US$119 million contract is an extension of existing construction and engineering services Stantec is providing to HART and will run through the end of 2026, with the possibility of a 5-year extension to expected project completion in 2031 ....
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Sunday, June 12, 2022 |
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Bill 45: Rail TOD Giveaway to High Tech Tax Credit Schemers
By Selected News Articles @ 3:30 AM :: 1355 Views :: Honolulu County, Development, Rail, Tax Credits
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... The vague language in the proposal lacks any metrics for measuring success, similar to another business-focused tax credit whose value to the state is dubious ...
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Saturday, June 4, 2022 |
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Iwasa Rips Rail Recovery Plan: “Errors that no one seems to care about”
By Natalie Iwasa @ 5:54 PM :: 1710 Views :: Rail, Taxes
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... HART's recovery plan was shipped off to the FTA today with revenue projections that I think are too high ....
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Sunday, May 29, 2022 |
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Transit History
By Tom Yamachika @ 6:00 AM :: 1072 Views :: Hawaii History, Rail
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... Fat chance of the Feds giving us that much now ....
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Friday, May 20, 2022 |
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Questions persist about viability of Honolulu rail
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 7:05 PM :: 1220 Views :: Rail
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... the one thing we can rely on concerning the Honolulu rail project is the long list of unanswered questions ....
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Friday, May 13, 2022 |
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Honolulu Rail: $9.9 Billion to Go Nowhere
By Selected News Articles @ 5:45 PM :: 2004 Views :: Rail
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... HART now says it will cost $9.9 billion to not finish its rail project by 2031 ....
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Thursday, May 12, 2022 |
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'Good Questions' still bedevil Honolulu rail
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 5:08 PM :: 1169 Views :: Rail
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... Iwasa has valuable insights into the operations of the rail project because she also is a non-voting member of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation ....
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Sunday, May 1, 2022 |
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Archegos -Theranos - Honolulu Rail: The Price of Lying
By Panos Prevedouros PhD @ 3:14 PM :: 1690 Views :: Ethics, Rail
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... What do these three multi billion dollar failures have in common? ....
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Wednesday, March 23, 2022 |
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HART: Recovery Plan Does Not Exist (yet)
By Andrew Walden @ 10:21 PM :: 1296 Views :: Rail
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..."We submitted a Recovery Plan to the FTA, proposing to amend the Full Funding Grant Agreement" (not quite) ....
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Tuesday, March 15, 2022 |
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State of the City: Blangiardi Announces Latest Scheme to Get Rail Money Withheld by Feds
By Video @ 7:23 PM :: 2575 Views :: Honolulu County, Homelessness, Rail, COVID-19
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"...We submitted a Recovery Plan to the FTA, proposing to amend the Full Funding Grant Agreement to the following scope: 18.75 miles/19 stations through Downtown, to the Civic Center Station, which is 1.25 miles and 2 stations short of Ala Moana Center...."
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Friday, March 11, 2022 |
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Blangiardi meets with FTA to discuss Honolulu Rail Project
By News Release @ 2:14 AM :: 1806 Views :: Rail
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... Mayor Blangiardi said, “Even though this was a very quick turn-around trip for me, the time I spent with the Administrator was well worth the trip" ....
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Wednesday, March 2, 2022 |
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Blangiardi Appoints Sheet Metal Union Boss to HART Board
By News Release @ 2:16 AM :: 1949 Views :: Honolulu County, Labor, Rail
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"...Art’s management background at Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers Local Union 293 and his experience on the Planning Commission make him the perfect candidate...."
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Friday, January 21, 2022 |
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Honolulu Rate Commission seeks input on TheBus, HandiVan fare changes
By News Release @ 5:29 PM :: 1738 Views :: Honolulu County, Rail
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... The Honolulu Rate Commission will be taking public testimony on proposed fare policy changes affecting TheBus and TheHandi-Van at its January 24th and February 8th meetings ....
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Tuesday, January 4, 2022 |
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New Ethics Comm Exec Director a Pro-Rail Corporate Lawyer and Lobbyist
By News Release @ 4:19 AM :: 1892 Views :: Environment, Ethics, Rail
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... Ethics Commission Chair Melinda Wood stated: “Mr. Harris has the right mix of public policy, litigation, and managerial experience to excel in this role." ....
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Sunday, December 19, 2021 |
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NYT Looks at Honolulu Rail: Why U.S. Infrastructure Is So Expensive
By Selected News Articles @ 3:15 PM :: 2534 Views :: Rail
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... Using the Honolulu rail project as an example, the New York Times wants to know why so many infrastructure projects suffer from such large cost overruns ....
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Sunday, December 19, 2021 |
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The New County TAT Earmarks Aren’t the Real Problem
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 1483 Views :: Rail, Taxes, Tourism
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... these debates are meaningless ....
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Wednesday, December 15, 2021 |
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Blangiardi signs bill to recover lost Transient Accommodations Tax revenue and give it to Rail
By News Release @ 1:34 AM :: 1768 Views :: Honolulu County, Rail, Taxes, Tourism
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...Translation: The Legislature took the counties' share of the state TAT away but let them impose their own TAT. I'm giving it to rail -- so, in effect, other city services have been cut to fund rail but -- like a shell game -- with so many moving parts, the public has been deceived....
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Friday, December 3, 2021 |
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Oahu's new 'tourism tax' will affect residents, too
By Grassroot Institute @ 1:19 PM :: 1969 Views :: Rail, Taxes, Tourism
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... projected revenues from the tax fall short of what the project needs to cover its budget shortfalls ....
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Wednesday, November 24, 2021 |
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Lost Opportunity: Schatz Secures Extension Of $493 Million Honolulu Rail Funding Grant In Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal
By News Release @ 5:08 AM :: 2583 Views :: Congressional Delegation, Rail
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... in yet another failure of leadership, Schatz misses an opportunity to put the rail nightmare behind us ....
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Friday, October 22, 2021 |
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County TAT could further debilitate Hawaii tourism
By Grassroot Institute @ 10:06 PM :: 2070 Views :: Economy, Rail, Taxes, Tourism
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... Hawaii is still in a state of emergency, tourism has slowed, businesses are closing and unemployment is high. The economy will take years to recover ....
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Tuesday, October 19, 2021 |
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More Honolulu Rail Follies
By Selected News Articles @ 3:26 PM :: 486 Views :: Rail
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... there is a teensy disagreement over the value of the land. HART offered Hughes $13.5 million; Hughes thought it was worth “about” $100 million more ....
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Sunday, October 10, 2021 |
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HART Makes Up Its Voting Rules
By Tom Yamachika @ 6:00 AM :: 2291 Views :: Ethics, Rail, Taxes, Tourism
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... The memo concludes that the State did not have the power under the Hawaii Constitution to provide for four extra HART board members. Thus, we can basically ignore the extra folks and conduct business as if they weren’t around ....
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Tuesday, August 31, 2021 |
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New Tax Proposals at the Honolulu Council
By Video @ 5:01 AM :: 2275 Views :: Honolulu County, Rail, Taxes
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... Honolulu rail project get a portion of the revenues? ....
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Tuesday, August 24, 2021 |
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Honolulu Rail Critic Pushes for Middle Street Endpoint
By Panos Prevedouros PhD @ 8:02 PM :: 2217 Views :: Honolulu County, Rail
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... Then on August 3 came devastating confirmation from a respected FTA agent ....
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Sunday, August 22, 2021 |
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Have We Unwittingly Put the Brakes on HART?
By Tom Yamachika @ 6:00 AM :: 1954 Views :: Rail
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...What you might not have seen is the difficulty the HART board is having making decisions....
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Wednesday, August 4, 2021 |
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White House Touts 'Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act' for Hawaii
By News Release @ 11:59 PM :: 2310 Views :: National News, Development, Rail
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"...For decades, infrastructure in Hawaii has suffered from a systemic lack of investment...."
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Sunday, July 18, 2021 |
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Aalto’s Conflicts of Interest Disqualify Him for HART Board
By News Release @ 10:06 PM :: 2713 Views :: Ethics, Rail
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... Aalto's movies given major funding by rail supporters ....
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Monday, June 21, 2021 |
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'Procurement Collusion' -- Hanabusa, HART Reported to Federal Authorities
By News Release @ 4:32 AM :: 3360 Views :: Honolulu County, Ethics, Rail
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... In order to steer a consulting contract to its former Board Chair, Colleen Hanabusa, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART), a federally-funded rail transit project, imposed the following narrowly tailored requirements on bidders ....
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Tuesday, May 18, 2021 |
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Why we need to press ‘pause’ on the Honolulu rail project
By Grassroot Institute @ 6:58 PM :: 2161 Views :: Rail
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... the most expensive megaproject per capita in the world ....
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Friday, May 14, 2021 |
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Honolulu Rail: 27 Alternatives to Plan A?
By Grassroot Institute @ 11:49 PM :: 1509 Views :: Rail
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“...People need to know what the options are and what the costs are, and what the real future of rail looks like....”
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Saturday, May 8, 2021 |
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HART needs to quit being so secretive
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 1:24 AM :: 2028 Views :: Ethics, Rail
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... Marked “Confidential (Not for Distribution),” the document contains analyses of both the original plan for the rail and 27 alternatives ....
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Friday, May 7, 2021 |
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Creating Facts on the Ground: Stadium Authority Rushes Decision to Demolish Aloha Stadium
By News Release @ 3:45 AM :: 3273 Views :: Honolulu County, Development, Hawaii State Government, Higher Education, Rail, Tourism
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... In a special Stadium Authority Board Meeting this morning (Thursday, May 6), the Board confirmed and voted for an early demolition of the existing stadium location ....
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Saturday, May 1, 2021 |
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Secret Document Shows HART looking at 27 possible rail changes
By Grassroot Institute @ 6:40 PM :: 3948 Views :: Rail
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... The document, marked “CONFIDENTIAL (NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION),” says that stopping the rail at Middle Street could lower costs, provide long-term flexibility for route changes and fleet expansion, and benefit from future driverless technologies ....
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Friday, April 16, 2021 |
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How to make lemonade out of the rail project
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 8:19 PM :: 2069 Views :: Rail
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"... Uno said he has come to the conclusion that the rail is neither a construction project nor a transportation project. Instead, it is “a political project” — one in which all concerns about costs, waste and transparency are subordinate to political goals ...."
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Thursday, April 15, 2021 |
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Honolulu $1 billion-a-mile rail boondoggle a warning to Biden ‘Build Back’ plan
By Selected News Articles @ 3:10 AM :: 2165 Views :: Rail
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... “This rail service began as one of those ‘shovel ready’ projects funded by the Obama-Biden stimulus program a decade ago. While never completed, it’s still digging a deeper money pit for taxpayer dollars” ....
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Tuesday, April 13, 2021 |
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‘Plan C’ for rail?
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 7:24 PM :: 2231 Views :: Rail
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... Joe Uno, HART Board member, speaks in his private capacity as a citizen to host Keli‘i Akina about whether a ‘Plan C’ may help salvage the troubled project ....
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Monday, April 12, 2021 |
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Urban Transit After COVID-19
By Selected News Articles @ 7:00 PM :: 2430 Views :: Rail, COVID-19
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... it is premature to commit funding for major new rail transit projects before we have some idea of the extent of transit ridership in the first several years after nationwide vaccinations ....
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