"Progress" comes to Kaka'ako?

[kimo55]

Booooo and auwe to Lingle for being fully anti small business.
as if it's not hard enuff to run a business here in antismalbusiness Hawaii, lingle is, against the wishes of alll concerned, forcing thru a completely uneccessary redevelopment project on Queen St.
This will effectively close down many companies who have been doing business here for decades. 3rd generation companies.
And they will be forced to pay a share of the redevelopment costs!
60 to 90 thousand dollars each!
Then, to add insult to injury, after two years, the parking situation will be hell; all customer parking will be gone. And, in the interim, customers and employees will have to pay for parking off site a few blocks away.
this scenario is reprehensible.

[Miulang]

"Progress" comes to Kaka'ako?

So the Guv has upset local small business owners in Kaka'ako by proposing a $15.6 million upgrade of about 2 blocks of Queen St. running through town.
What's going to happen to all the parking that will be lost when the 2 blocks get widened so more cars can pass through, and how many of those cars will stop to patronize the businesses that front the street? How many additional pedestrians will the proposed sidewalks bring to the area?

What's even worse, the small business owners in the impact area also have to share some of the cost of the improvements. The Governor's office hasn't really given the small business owners any reason the improvements are going to help them make more money. Maybe more of the small businesses will close or relocate out of the core area and make way for more "yupscale" development. That may be the "unspoken" reason for the plan.

Miulang

[kimo55]

Re: "Progress" comes to Kaka'ako?

sorry babe.
beat ya by one minute.

[Miulang]

Re: "Progress" comes to Kaka'ako?

So da admin going merge da 2 threads togeda den, yeah?

In any case, I tink Victoria Ward in cahoots wit da Guv on dis one. Dey get da most to gain if all da small businesses disapeah, you no tink? Dat way dey can buy out all da small businesses and redevelop da area into one mega mega mall. Heh. Dey cannot keep tenants in Ward Centre as it is!

Miulang

[1stwahine]

Re: "Progress" comes to Kaka'ako?

The sad thing about it all is that we can grumble and show our disappointment on what she or any politician is doing. All the back door promises and deals of who is in cahoots going on, is not in our favor. They could care less about the regular people, the working class, the ones who really are trying to keep big asshole companies taking over the entire State. They're talking big bucks and unfortunately, it won't be going to the good of the people. Nope, the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer! Shame on you Gov. Lingle! You just lost my vote!

Lynn Vasquez
momthreesoliders

Note: yeah, I'm the mom of that "tough" soldier you met in Iraq!

[shaveice]

Re: "Progress" comes to Kaka'ako?

yup, i agree. it's sad and it sucks but it appears that the guv is either bull headed or paying off a debt/favor owed. no doubt, the victoria ward folks are behind this.

what a convenient way to squeeze people out legally. so much of "democracy" works this way.....

(thanks for posting these types of stories. sad as they are, we need to make very public what the government would like keep hidden....)