What do you like like about the draft Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan? What don’t you like? What’s missing? What could be improved? Tell us what you think at a Hawaii 2050 community meeting on your island.
It’s as easy as 1-2-3…1) Download the draft plan from www.hawaii2050.org and read it 2) come to a meeting listed below 3) let us know your thoughts on the draft Plan at the meeting.
HONOLULU – Members of the Hawai‘i State Senate’s Ways and Means Committee (WAM) will tour sites on the island of Kaua‘i on September 27, 2007, to review the results of previously funded programs, and to acquaint committee members with upcoming projects or requests for Capital Improvement Funds. (more…)
The draft Hawai’i 2050 Sustainability Plan is now open for public review and comment!
We want to hear from you about the plan - what you like, what you
don’t like, what makes sense, what’s missing, and what could be improved. Hawai’i 2050 is a citizen-based planning process that builds upon the wisdom and desires of our communities. It is designed to be the “People’s Plan”. (more…)
Honolulu Star-Bulletin Editorial
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.
This editorial was published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Monday, September 24, 2007.
By Honolulu Advertiser Writers Will Hoover and Treena Shapiro
The purpose of the Hawai’i 2050 Sustainability Summit in Waikiki yesterday morning was to unveil the long-awaited draft plan — compiled after more than a year of community gatherings by the state sustainability task force — designed to chart a viable and lasting course for the Islands over the next four decades. Continue Reading
This article was printed on Sunday, September 23, 2007, in the Honolulu Advertiser.
By Honolulu Advertiser Writers Kevin Dayton and Jan TenBruggencate
Planners and developers in Hawai’i sometimes talk about a “tipping point,” where pressure builds until unexpected and rapid change happens.
The controversy over the Hawaii Superferry may be a sign the state is teetering at such a point, a time when significant numbers of people here feel they can’t escape the effects of more tourists and residents, more cars, houses and hotels. Continue Reading
By Honolulu Advertiser Government Writer Derrick DePledge
Gov. Linda Lingle announced last night that she would hold a public meeting on Superferry at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall. Several other administration officials, Kaua’i Mayor Bryan Baptiste and Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara also will attend and answer questions from residents. Continue Reading.
This article appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser on Tuesday, September 18, 2007.
By Honolulu Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor Christie Wilson
State officials continue to defend an environmental exemption granted to $40 million in Hawaii Superferry barges, ramps and other equipment at four ports, saying the work should be treated no differently than other recent harbor projects that were exempted. Continue Reading
This article was printed in the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday, September 9, 2007.
By Hawaii State Senator Will Espero
Why should we spend money to save energy? Because…gas pump prices have nearly tripled since 2002 while oil companies continue to report profits of $700-800 billion each….Hawaii depends more on foreign oil for its energy and has higher rates than any other state…as we near peak oil production, the oil companies are going to explain further increases in fuel costs as due to the need to spend billions in drilling beautiful natural landscape….the investment saves substantial sums over the long term, freeing up financial resources….taking action now is the only real way to shield Hawaii from higher prices in the coming long-term foreign oil crunch. (more…)
By Hawaii State Senator Will Espero
First of a two part series
August was a bad month for the financial services industry. Exotic mortgages over the last several years have come home to roost. The result? The industry laid off more than 40,000 workers during the month and asked the federal government for a bailout, to which the White House replied, fix your own problem.
By Hawaii State Senator Will Espero
Legislative work is not a “four month a year” job as many mistakenly believe. The hustle and bustle of public input is gone, but Interim is when we meet to find ways to improve our communities. Many of us continue efforts on our subject committees as members; review progress with agencies, programs and projects funded by the Legislature; and work on large scale policy and planning efforts. Last month I was elected Chair of OMPO, the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, which coordinates federally funded (more…)
By Hawaii State Senator Russell Kokubun
David Shapiro’s Aug. 22 column (”Sustainability panel creates own roadblock”) misses the point of the statewide public opinion poll commissioned by the Hawai’i 2050 Sustainability Task Force and the work of the task force itself.
The poll was designed to help the task force gauge the public’s attitudes toward sustainability and our long-term future. Sustainability is a complex, multi-dimensional issue, and we needed an in-depth, objective poll that examined a variety of issues. (more…)
By Hawaii State Senator Colleen Hanabusa
The Star-Bulletin’s recent editorials on our state’s approach to its prison population make an interesting pair. Reading them together, I must question whether the facts play any role in the editors’ opinions.
In “Prison release scare came from legislators” (August 8, 2007), the editors accuse the Legislature of frightening the public. The facts do not support that conclusion.
Let us be clear as to who suggested that the bill would threaten public safety. The governor, in her July 10 Statement of Objections to the (more…)
Those opposed to the Superferry constitute a diverse group united by a common cause.
By Honolulu Star-Bulletin Writer Diane Leone
The Hawaii Superferry has yet to unite the islands by water, but it is succeeding in bringing together a diverse collection of farmers, environmentalists, teachers, students, surfers and other individuals in an effort to force an environmental review. Continue Reading
This article was published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Thursday, September 6, 2007.
