Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

[joshuatree]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

I always felt people who brought their own cars would actually be for the most part, better drivers. When renting a car, you know the car's not yours, people tend to mess with the car for fun. I know, I have friends who did that and have friends who worked for car rentals back in high school and has all kinds of stories to share about cars that were returned.

So what if this service wasn't a ferry, but a super plane? A cargo plane for cars to roll on and off with pax? Wonder if the EIS thing be any different?

[Miulang]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Overnight I thought of one very significant way the people of Oahu could show their solidarity with the people of Maui (and it would also benefit any Oahu visitors, too) and help dispel the "Honolulu guys get everything" perception.

Many of you know that aside from a small little clinic in Hana, Maui only has one major hospital, which is Maui Memorial Medical Center. It is part of the State Hospital system. One little 231-bed hospital to serve the entire communities of Wailuku, Kahului, Lahaina, Kula, Kihei, and parts in between. For years, we have been trying to get the State to give us at least one more hospital in Lahaina. For years, they have stymied our requests while at the same time, bleeding the profits from our little hospital to subsidize other State-run hospitals in the State.

Last year, an enterprising physician by the name of Ron Kwon (I know him), tried to get a hospital built in Kihei. He actually found a corporation willing to kick in money to help him build it. But the State of Hawai'i, in its infinite wisdom (not), succeeded through the certificate of need process to kill this project.

The residents on Oahu are very lucky. You have many hospitals to choose from, some State-run, others privately run. We on Maui have NO choice. What is exacerbating the situation is we don't have enough nursing home beds, either. So lots of the beds are occupied by our kupuna with no place to go. But for every bed they take up, it means that's one less bed for people who are really sick and need it.

I'm sure you know that some roads on Maui are particularly susceptible to closure due to range fires or traffic accidents. Specifically, I am talking about Lahaina. When that road gets closed down, traffic comes to a standstill. No one gets in or out of the West End of the island. If you have a heart attack, or some other critical injury, an ambulance will not be able to get through. H'piilani Hwy was closed for a day not too long ago by a brush fire (and then sporadically for days afterward) . Thank god no one needed critical care on the west side during that time because they would not have had access to it. We don't have emergency helicopters like you do on Oahu, so the only way to get to the hospital in Central Maui is via an ambulance.

We don't have access to the same specialists that you do; our residents have to fly to Honolulu for treatment. And if they are hospitalized and their families go with them, can you imagine the expenses they rack up?

So if you truly think that everyone in Hawai'i is being treated equally, think again. The Big Island has a similar situation, partly because it is so much larger in size than Maui. But Maui has the second largest population in the State, and we deserve more than one hospital---you who visit and stay in Kihei or Lahaina deserve more than Maui Memorial if you have an emergency. Your life might depend on it.

So if you really really want to help us, write or call the Hawaii State Health Planning and Development Agency. Ask them to either repeal the certificate of need process or modify it so that it more realistically depicts the critical needs for healthcare on the Neighbor Islands. Your life could depend on it if you should get sick or injured while visiting us. And if the State doesn't help the people of Maui get at least one more hospital built, then the people of Maui will move forward and build one or two on its own. And those hospitals will not be part of the State system. They will not help Oahu hospitals, like the one in Kahuku or the one in Waianae, stay open to help the rural people on Oahu.

AIHM If you care about Maui. I have some issues with the direction the leaders want to take, but I agree with them that Maui will get at least one more hospital, one way or another.

Mahalos.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

So? Coasties and KPD are professionals who have a job to do. If they won't do their jobs, then the National Guard can help. If they won't do their jobs, somebody else can do it for them.

Wot you think? You the only guys live Kauai? What about the KAUAI RESIDENT who was on the boat that got turned back? He was bringing his car back to Kauai, but got turned away, sent back to Oahu. Wot? You no like him back home, either?

Is he the only Kauai resident ever to travel to Oahu? Once you guys travel to Oahu, what? No can come back? Too bad the wife and kids, no? Too bad, no can visit mama no more. Papa goin' make before can see the son again... auwē.

Like I said before, THIS IS SO STUPID.

All you protesters, go home. You not protecting my āina. You not doing me any favors. Go get a job, help the economy.

You want to blockade something? Go blockade Pearl Harbor with your stupid surfboard, your stupid plastic kayak. See how the U.S. Navy handles your delusions. Big fun!

Blaine, look at it this way: the Coast Guard, the KPD and the State are doing their job. So the protesters on Kauai think they're doing their job, which is to keep their island safe from the invasive species that are found on other islands and from clogging up their already clogged roads, etc. They didn't have the funds to go the route Maui took with its lawsuits, so they did the only thing they knew how to do. Speak with their bodies. And the more the DOT and HSF flaunted the decisions handed down by the courts, the more angry they became. So they decided it was their job to speak up because they were tired of being ignored. So both sides were doing their jobs, but if HSF had continued to sail into Nawiliwili before the whole issue of the EIS was settled, Hui-R would have continued to do their job of obstructing. And the more protestors who got arrested, the more intense the desire to obstruct. That new Oahu group DMZ whatever would NEVER have gotten involved if not for the fiasco in Nawiliwili. You as a member of the communications industry know how much people are drawn to controversy.

So Gov. Lingle had no choice but to listen to Sen. Hooser's request to step in. To not do so would have been disastrous.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Wow. Finally some good news from HSF. They are offering currently ticketed passengers a deal to fly on Hawaiian for $19 through Oct. 31. So all those people who were disappointed about not getting to see Auntie because of the temporary cancellation of HSF cruises due to the hassles over the EIS will still be able to go...just not with their car. go! has a similar deal.

Hawaii Superferry officials last night announced a partnership with Hawaiian Airlines in which ferry customers could get discounted airfares through Oct. 31.
"Hawaii Superferry is sending all of its ticketed customers a special link by e-mail (today) that will allow them to book a special $19 fare on Hawaiian Airlines," officials said.

"Everything is done online. There's no need to call reservations or exchange ticket confirmations at a ticket counter.

"The special fare will be available through Sept. 7 and travel on the fare is good through Oct. 31."

...In a separate move, go! airlines yesterday offered ticketed Superferry passengers half-price airfare for travel through Oct. 31. Travel must be booked by Sept. 7.

I guess HSF is conceding it might take as long as 2 months to get through the courts.

Miulang

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Seeing the footage shown again on the news last night of all those protesters pounding on private cars and screaming threats and throwing rocks at the occupants -- and their children! -- has once again totally pished me off. I find it stunningly inexcusable that the KPD and the Coast Guard admit to being unable to control those ba*tards.
Most of those protesters have cars, which damage Kauai's and Maui's environments. Maybe we in the the pro-SuperFerry contingent (which is a clear majority of Hawai`i residents) should go blockade those protesters driveways. Heh. At the very least, the media has provided the names of those who were arrested, and we could blockade their homes.

There were good comments in Cynthia Oi's column in today's Star-Bulletin:

But we sure know who's to blame for the ridiculous super-mess. Let us point the fingers of fault.
First there're those damn environmentalists, that lawsuit-filing, tree-hugging bunch of whale-coddling, hair-on-fire alarmists who freak out at the thought of a miconia seed, bee-killing mite or mongoose hitching a ride on a fossil-fuel thirsty, all-terrain vehicle that will tear through what few native forests are left in Hawaii.
Then there're those peevish anti-government activists who like to stir up trouble whenever they can to have something to whine about.
They are closely aligned with the more committed "extremists" who oppose any and all change, clinging fast to a past that really doesn't exist anymore. You know the type, that rabid handful of people aimed at "keeping Hawaii in a third-world state," to quote Sen. Fred Hemmings.
Throw in a mix of Hawaiian groups who feel their culture and way of life are threatened on all fronts, the mine-mine-mine fishers and hunters who don't want an influx of other fishers and hunters picking off their opihi and wild pig, the drivers who foresee Honolulu motorists clogging roads in their sleepy little towns, rental car companies fretting over loss of business, airlines already flying nonprofit runs and insular worrywarts who fear the social fabric of their idyllic communities will be ruined by invasions of churlish urbanites.

Well said, Cynthia!

Overnight I thought of one very significant way the people of Oahu could show their solidarity with the people of Maui

It's extremely presumptuous of you to think we on O`ahu would need to do any such thing.

For years, we have been trying to get the State to give us at least one more hospital in Lahaina. For years, they have stymied our requests

"We"? "Our"? You've been doing all this from your home in Seattle?!? Please prove to us that you personally had anything to do with it.
And please stop trying to fool newbies here into thinking you live in Hawai`i nei.

We don't have emergency helicopters like you do on Oahu

Really? There are no emergency helicopters in Seattle??? I find that very hard to believe.

We don't have access to the same specialists that you do; our residents have to fly to Honolulu for treatment.

The sky is falling! There are no medical specialists in Seattle! And they have to fly 3,000 miles to Hawai`i to find any!!!
Again, Miulang, STOP PRETENDING YOU LIVE ON MAU`I.

Maui has the second largest population in the State, and we deserve more than one hospital

There you go again, faker.

So if you really really want to help us, write or call the Hawaii State Health Planning and Development Agency. [/quote] Yes, and tell them that Seattle has no emergency helicopters or medical specialists, according to Miulang.

So the protesters on Kauai think they're doing their job, which is to keep their island safe (...) They didn't have the funds to go the route Maui took with its lawsuits, so they did the only thing they knew how to do.

And they do that by endangering the lives of children -- the ones who were in the water blockading the SuperFerry and the ones who were in the cars that your beloved protesters threw rocks at and pounded upon.

Lastly, I'm sure everyone has noticed that Miulang has refused to reply to these two very simple questions:
What do you have to say about the 200+ Maui farmers who support the SuperFerry?
What do you have to say about the President of that same group being on the SuperFerry's advisory council?!?

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

I guess HSF is conceding it might take as long as 2 months to get through the courts.

Yes, we all know what your GUESSES are worth.
Like when you "guessed" about dispensing legal advice here, which turned out to be totally and unequivocally FALSE.

[Star of Gladness]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

The truth is that Kauai wasn't conquered in battle. Kaumualii knew he would be defeated and gave up Kauai in advance of Kamehameha's arrival.

Kauai was conquered. But without spilling any blood.



The headline should have read: Airline plan thwarted. Lion Coffee Grounded.

:-)

good one!

I am not a Hawaiian history major so correct me if I am wrong but wasn't Kaumuali'i was allowed to continue ruling Kaua'i? When have the "conquered" been allowed to live and continue ruling?

[infinitypro]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Miulang,

WHAT?! You're suggesting that in order for me to travel as entitled in the state that I am a resident of I must lobby for another hospital on the island of Maui? I understand their concerns and needs, but you're recommending extortion..."Oahu people do this or else." Please stop speaking on behalf of all the people from Maui or the State of Hawaii in general, you're entitled to your opinion, but please don't insinuate that you have a following.

Craig Watanabe,

WHAT?! I have an ego because my vehicle and I reside on Oahu? So, when the same vehicle and I resided on the Big Island did we still have an ego? Here's one thing I learned while living on the Big Island, their vehicles ROCK! The trucks would rival many a rancher in Texas, and those are just the trucks being rocked by the ladies on the Big Island. I've been told by more than one person while living there, it's all 'bout your 'ride'. My ego told me that I don't need rims or tint or anything that makes my car go boom what I do need is reliability, safety, and cleanliness.

I own "BIG GIRL" a stock Isuzu Rodeo, and together we've lived on Oahu, the Big Island and Maui. When I travel without "BIG GIRL" I always upgrade my vehicle, in your theory does this bruise any egos that my rental car is far better than my actual car?

[joshuatree]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

good one!

I am not a Hawaiian history major so correct me if I am wrong but wasn't Kaumuali'i was allowed to continue ruling Kaua'i? When have the "conquered" been allowed to live and continue ruling?

When they concede and admit being a vassal to the conquerer. It's been repeated in history across the globe. Being conquered doesn't always need to mean being driven and tossed off the Pali Lookout. Admitting defeat and paying homage to the conquerer is the same as defeat, just a bloodless defeat.

[Star of Gladness]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Neighbor islands would fear the loss of identity as Oahu bridges the ocean and connects it's demographic strength across all islands. Flying or boating in isn't the issue here, it's that now you can literally drive to another island. That notion gives rise to the fact that there is no physical separation that keeps each island unique and a joy to visit. A drive to Hana to someone from Oahu has become like a drive to the North Shore.

From that perspective and the fact that I've now made the Big Island my home (expatriate from Honolulu) I can see why the neighbor islands feel that the SF has become an intrusion to a way of life.

The automobile itself has become the point of contention not so much it's environmental impact on each island. The car represents an extension of our own ego's. Traditionally when we depart an island to go to another, we leave that extended ego in the parking lot and embark on an adventure.

Now we can take it with us.

I vote this best post on entire thread! Craig you explained it exactly! You should copy this and send it in to the Advertiser and Star Bulletin!

[Star of Gladness]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

When they concede and admit being a vassal to the conquerer. It's been repeated in history across the globe. Being conquered doesn't always need to mean being driven and tossed off the Pali Lookout. Admitting defeat and paying homage to the conquerer is the same as defeat, just a bloodless defeat.

but he was allowed to continue ruling wasnt he?

[infinitypro]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

I vote this best post on entire thread! Craig you explained it exactly! You should copy this and send it in to the Advertiser and Star Bulletin!

Sarcasm right?

I mean seriously is your vehicle an extension of your ego? Is the value of your vehicle the focus of your self-worth?

[joshuatree]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

Overnight I thought of one very significant way the people of Oahu could show their solidarity with the people of Maui (and it would also benefit any Oahu visitors, too) and help dispel the "Honolulu guys get everything" perception......

Miulang

I'm really not sure on how to comment on this one. It sounded more like negotiations, "we'll let you have the ferry if you give us the hospital". Truth be told, even if the ferry was successfully shut down permanently by you anti-anything folks, I would still support Maui getting another hospital. I'm really starting to wonder who actually is worse, Oahuians or Mauians? Just because the state capitol and all the political drones work on Oahu doesn't mean the common Oahuian think like them.

[infinitypro]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

but he was allowed to continue ruling wasnt he?

What is your point with this? If history is correct, and I'm not sure this tidbit is, but it's a good thing Kaumualii conceded to Kamehameha, thereby acknowledging Kamehameha's rule because a Russian man had placed a Russion flag 'claiming' Kauai.

It seems at the time some residing on Kauai lacked foresight. Is history repeating itself?

[joshuatree]

Re: Hawai'i Superferry - Chapter 5

but he was allowed to continue ruling wasnt he?

Yes but as a vassal and owing allegiance to Kamehameha, which part of that don't you get? You're no longer independent, that's being conquered. There are many ways to an end result you know.