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October 18, 2007 WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10
At this point, what more can we possibly say about the Superferry? Today Hawai`i Superferry, Inc. announced that it's laying off—sorry, "furloughing"—249 of their 308 employees at precisely the moment when the state Legislature has begun redefining the word "cynicism" by considering Governor Linda Lingle's request to go into "special session" and write a special bill making it legal for the Superferry to operate while simultaneously writing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Are we supposed to cheer? Or is Kauai just supposed to secede from the state? Do any of the state's public officials have resident's best interests at heart? Sure, state Senator J. Kalani English (D, 6th District) said in today's Honolulu Advertiser that, "From the beginning, the Superferry has had the wrong approach to this. They have always had a problem in being forthright and talking with us straight," but that's a bit harsh: ultimately, it was Lingle who assured us that state law didn't require an EIS of the Superferry. If anyone hasn't been straight with Hawaiian residents on this, it's Lingle.
THURSDAY, Oct. 11
And now for a more personal note. This afternoon, after touching down from my trip back from my week's vacation in Southern California, I turned my cell phone back on and listened to the following voicemail message from Napili resident and Iraq war veteran Grant Steward, the subject of my Oct. 4 piece "A Soldier's Story." I'm going to print Steward's message right now, partly because it provides a useful update to my Oct. 4 story but also because, well, I can: "Just want to thank you for the article. I read it—it was great. There was only one typo and that was over the video game. It was Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. For that long of an article, and it had one typo, that's pretty outstanding [for the record I also misspelled "Fort Hood"]. Anyways, I just want to give you a brief update. I got called by Akaku and they're going to be doing a little special. I'm going to give them some videos that they can take and show on the air—you know, give people a kind of visual of what it looks like over there [in Iraq], through our eyes. And also my wife went and sent [the story] to a few of her friends whose husbands have been having a hard time. And one of the husbands actually, after reading the article, decided to go and talk to the VA [hospital]. I had forgotten to mention to you that if one good thing could happen after all this, it would be to get at least one person to say, 'You know what, I am fine. All I need to do is go talk to someone about it.' So hey, even though I forgot to tell you about it, it happened."
FRIDAY, Oct. 12
Today some people stood along Pi'ilani Highway at Wailea Ike Drive, waving signs and protesting the Wailea 670 plans for 1,400 luxury homes and yet another golf course. It was a nice gesture, but these days, you've got to wave your sign directly in the path of a bulldozer (or Superferry) to get any attention.
SATURDAY, Oct. 13
Sad day for all us Sub Paradise fans. Today was the last day at work for Craig Heath, who bills himself as the white-haired guy who takes our money at the register. Sub Paradise, home of some of the best sandwiches on Maui, has been there since 1990, and Heath has been taking orders since 2002. Alas, the place has been sold to Home Maid Bakery, and Heath is moving on. The irony is that even though I must have ordered close to 50 sandwiches from the guy—usually, but not always, #7: ham and turkey on wheat with everything—he never remembered my name. Then again, apparenlty I wasn't alone. "I have had fun seeing you and trying to remember your names and/or what kind of sandwich or salad you like," Heath emailed Maui Time a week ago. "There are many smiling faces that I will miss."
SUNDAY, Oct. 14
| |  | | | |  | | Governor, why won't you be straight with us? |
Talk about not being straight with us—did you read Lingle's comments in yesterday's Honolulu Advertiser on whatever legal advice she may or may not have received from Attorney General Mark Bennett on the whole question of whether the state needed to force a Superferry EIS? "I think we made a decision based on the law at the time," she told the paper. But the paper also reported that, "The governor said she was not aware of any legal advice on [the] Superferry from the attorney general in her file." This is not a matter of mere semantics—either Bennett advised Lingle on whether he believed the Superferry needed a proper, legal EIS, or he didn't. Of course, there's also the matter of that little qualification that Lingle wasn't "aware" of any legal advice "in her file." There might actually be a legal opinion from Bennett in there, but she's just not aware of it. Or maybe Bennett wrote her an opinion, and she accidentally lost it at home, possibly in a pile of cable bills, grocery lists and pet med prescriptions. It's also possible she decided that it was best to destroy Bennett's advice because it leaned a little too heavily on getting an EIS done before the Superferry started service. In any case, Lingle could clear all this up instantly if she'd just renounce whatever "attorney-client privilege" she held over whatever Superferry legal opinion may or may not exist and just release it to the public. But that would require her to be straight with us, and I'm not sure she's ready to take that step.
MONDAY, Oct. 15
Called Attorney General Bennett's office today, and asked three questions. First, if the AG ever offered Lingle an opinion on the Superferry EIS question; second, when that opinion (if it exists) came out, and third, if I could see it. No response. Guess I'll have to try tomorrow.
TUESDAY, Oct. 16
Still no response. Then again, if Lingle's not being straight with us, why should the AG?
Anthony Pignataro listens, but sometimes does not hear. MTW
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