Was it the name of the event — “Jam the Harbor” — that raised alarm in minds trained to enforce law and order?
Was it the idea of a celebration thumbing the island’s collective nose at Hawaii Superferry with a celebration to mark the one-year anniversary of Kauai being “ferry-free” that was just too much for some to bear?
Was it the prospect of unruly throngs converging at Nawiliwili Harbor that evoked a knee-jerk clamp-down response among the tattered vestiges of the Unified Command?
Or was it simply a case of the cops and parks and recreation staff wanting to protect public safety — and minimize county liability — by ensuring that event organizers follow county rules?
It’s hard to know for sure, unless one has access to the email and phone records of KPD, Honolulu Police Dept., Hawaii Superferry, Gov. Lingle, the Coast Guard, Dept. of Land and Natural Resources and the county Dept. of Parks and Rec.
The end result, though, is the same: the People for the Preservation of Kauai is no longer officially sponsoring any event at Nawiliwili Park on Sunday afternoon.
The group had been planning "Jam the Harbor," a free event that promised music, a potluck, a homemade jam contest, a water parade and keiki games, for several weeks. Its president, Rich Hoeppner, told me yesterday that early on he met with Police Chief Darryl Perry and local Coast Guard officials to share his plans. Neither, he said, had any objections or concerns.
At some point, Rich said, Chief Perry reportedly got a call from the Honolulu Police Dept. “saying it was going to be a horrendous event, but the Chief reassured them that he trusted me and thought it would be fine.”
But on Monday and Tuesday, with the event less than a week away, Rich said he received five or six phone calls from Lt. Kaleo Perez of the Patrol Services Bureau “with question after question about the event.”
In forwarding me an email from Lt. Perez, Rich — a former police chief on the mainland — wrote:
I told him [Perez] I had talked to Chief Perry several times and there was no concern expressed by him. He [Perez] said the word had not got down to him. There seems to be a communication problem internally or somebody has a short memory. There couldn't possibly be a problem with honesty with Police Officers.
Perez expressed concerns about alcohol, different pro/con factions fighting and other things that we have never had problems with at any of our functions.
The group previously sponsored two Superferry-related gatherings at the park, which were scantily attended.
The email — sent at 7:41 a.m. Tuesday morning — went on to include comments from Park Ranger John Martin of the County Parks Section, who apparently was responding to an inquiry from Lt. Perez:
Afternoon Kaleo,
Yes, a permit is required, the fact that [they] never got one in the past does not make it ok. Because they are inviting the public to participate in their event, we will be requiring them to provide us with insurance coverage that shows the County of Kaua‘i as the additional insured. We will also be requiring them bring in portable toilets, the number depends on the amount of people they anticipate will attend. They will be responsible for cleanup and again, depending on the amount of people they expect, we may require them to bring in a dumpster to handle trash.
They will need permission from our office to enter the park to setup a trailer for a stage and they will have to set it up in such a way that the music does not cause a problem to surrounding businesses and Banyan Harbor residents. We will need a schematic of the park, showing where everything will be setup and taking place. We would also like to know what their parking plan is, as we will not allow vehicles to be parked inside the park boundaries.
Normally we require requests for large events to be in our office a minimum of 60 days prior to the event date. If they can come up with everything we need by Wednesday afternoon at the latest, I can process everything for them.
Rich said it would be impossible for him to meet those requirements in time, especially the insurance provision, so the group had no choice but to withdraw its sponsorship of the event.
It’s all a rather interesting turn of events, especially since previous PPK celebrations at the park were decidedly low-key affairs that apparently didn't even register on KPD's radar. And that raises the question: who put the bug in Lt. Perez's ear?
“At this point I have no control over who shows up or what they do,” Rich told me yesterday, adding that he thought more people might come than otherwise would have “because now they’re pissed. What this is is selective enforcement.”
Hmmm. Perhaps any gathering to celebrate public resistance to the Superferry is simply destined to be as spontaneous and unorganized as the original protests that made the ferry turn back a year ago, and stay away ever since.
"thumbing the island’s collective nose at Hawaii Superferry"
ReplyDeleteWell...the island's hippies thumbing their collective noses maybe...
> Was it the name of the event — “Jam the Harbor” — that raised alarm in minds trained to enforce law and order?
ReplyDeleteWas it the idea of a celebration thumbing the island’s collective nose at Hawaii Superferry with a celebration to mark the one-year anniversary of Kauai being “ferry-free” that was just too much for some to bear?
Was it the prospect of unruly throngs converging at Nawiliwili Harbor that evoked a knee-jerk clamp-down response among the tattered vestiges of the Unified Command?
Or was it simply a case of the cops and parks and recreation staff wanting to protect public safety — and minimize county liability — by ensuring that event organizers follow county rules? <
...Or is it that the Powers That Be want to put the chill on anything that might generate anti-tourism press?
(Hint: watch Jaws. No, not the parts where the shark eats people. Watch the parts where the town's politicians and press deal with the shark eating people!)
;)
> Watch the parts where the town's* politicians and press deal with the shark eating people! <
ReplyDelete*Correction: the island's politicians and press.
;)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHawaii Superferry CEO Tom Fargo
ReplyDeleteThey still plan on heading to Kauia, what are your thoughts?
2nd ship coming next May 09.
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/9140/108/
Anon 12:16 PM, that's an interesting video, I'll have to watch it in full later. Noticed Fargo looks tired, usually a sign of sustained stress. About the 125,000 number, replied elsewhere:
ReplyDeleteAlthough, 125,000 divided by 400 would be 313 passengers average per voyage throughout their operations. Highly unlikely. Many of their early voyages were self reported at loads of 100+/- people. They would need to have been carrying regular loads more recently of 500 to 600 people to get that average up to 300 plus. This 125,000 is a meaningless number. It would be interesting to see if the numbers reported monthly to DOT add up to this and how many voyages there have actually been. Aloha, Brad
Thanks, Anon. 12:16, for posting the video link.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that Fargo said he was over here 2 weeks ago meeting with business and community leaders — and I wonder which ones — and now thinks "in the main, the vast majority" favor service. He did not state, however, what he based that assessment on.
It certainly does seem from this interview that they still have Kauai in their plans.
Joan,
ReplyDeleteHe has been speaking with at least two of the Mayoral candidates, one of them told me so. "Vast majority" in favor that he stated is incorrect. All general public polls on Kauai and a strong majority of County candidates are against their return. I still think the County has at least 5 much more important issue than this.
Anytime HSF even talks about returning to Kauai, they are distracting people from much more important issues here, like infrastructure for renewable energy, waste disposal, water department power, wastewater infrastructure, and roads. Kauai does not have the infrastructure to be dealing with any boondoggles like HSF and similar such developments.
Aloha, Brad
FYI: There is another Superferry poll on the Garden Island website today.
ReplyDeleteOh,and the answer choices for the poll are really bizarre. I'd like to see Brad's analysis!
ReplyDeleteKaty,
ReplyDeleteThe choices are graduated, and intend to confuse and break-up the simple No or Yes votes. Also, as before, people voting could be from anywhere in the world, not just Kauai. The votes so far clearly show outside voting. The responses #1 and #4 are the clear Yes choices and so far add up to 49%. I voted choice #3. Choices #2, #3, and #5 are those with reservations on the whole boondoggle. Most important about this unscientific poll is that only one response is clearly a No vote. The other 4 responses are actually worded to be variations on a Yes vote. This is clearly not a statistically accurate poll. Aloha, Brad
Joan,
ReplyDeleteI just want to say you did a good job reporting on the timing and arbitrary nature of these events in expectation of the 24th.
I finally watched that video from KGMB. Interesting interview for the quick questions and incomplete answers and really for what was not said.
Aloha, Brad
see you at the harbor, rain or shine, permits or not. one year superferry free is worth celebrating. the right to assemble is still worth exercising even if the boat is months away from returning.
ReplyDeleteGee, Mauibrad is sounding a little desparate these days. I think he feels it all starting to slip away.
ReplyDeleteEach computer broadcast a unique IP number which is checked to prevent someone voting twice. Therefore if you go to a computer that no one has voted from yet you can vote again. Also IP numbers are often randomly assigned by the internet provider and can change allowing another vote from the newly assigned IP number. Finally one can go through a number of services that assign a new IP number every time you route through the service (http://www.anonymizer.com/) and one can vote as many times as desired. Finally there are war-dialers or demon dialers which are like robot programs that dial the IP anonymizer service, use a new IP and vote automatically and continuously (randomizing the frequency to avoid traffic analysis).
ReplyDeleteBottom line these type of polls known as "Voodoo Polls" are useless as anyone with the limited knowledge articulated above can vote often and continuously shattering any semblance of scientific reliability. On the other hand Voodoo Polls are excellent for partisan propaganda purposes.
The numbers of votes aren't indicative of a demon attack. I think the votes reveal that the number of people on the island actually hell bent on keeping the boat away is tiny.
ReplyDeleteAnon. 12:51, who is to say they are even "on the island?" Folks can be voting from anywhere, even HSF corporate HQ.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous anon. These sorts of polls are worthless aside from propaganda purposes — and to get people to visit the paper's website, which is the real reason why they're done.
Anon 6:43 AM said, "Gee, Mauibrad is sounding a little desparate these days. I think he feels it all starting to slip away."
ReplyDeleteHuh!, sometimes when I get time, I just blog and blog and blog and google and google and google. And then other times I don't have any time to blog at all. I'm actually very happy and confident how things are progressing. The event on the 24th at the harbor is now an official event. Rich and some contributors came through and jumped through all the hoops. It's an official event. About the poll, the percentages have been holding steady for a few hundred votes now, even though it is a bogus poll. See the new videos of LCS-1 at top speed, that thing kicks Austal's ass. We are in the drivers seat, Anon. SEE YOU AT THE HARBOR. Aloha, Brad
At least now they have an excuse when the usual smattering of hard core activists show up - the same ones who show up for every demonstration. You'll look in the paper and there'll be Ken, there's Katy, there's Hale, there's that white chick with the dreadlocks...
ReplyDeleteOK Bradley, I'll rephrase it: It's slipping away from you and you don't knows it!
ReplyDeleteMauiBrad said... "The votes so far clearly show outside voting."
ReplyDeleteHow is it that you know that Mauibrad? Are you using a Ouija Board the rest of us lack access to? Is it another blast from Mauibrad's partisan fantasyland? Or...are you talking about yourself; voting on Maui?
i went to kcc today and used their computers through out the day. each time i logged on, i voted. howzat for scientific?
ReplyDeleteIn the imagination of the anti ferry activists, any sign of ferry approval among islanders is evidence of outside tampering.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Superferry poll, have you ever thought about going to a local beach or park, baseball field or soccer field and asking REAL, local people about the Superferry? The results would surprisde all of you.
ReplyDeleteThe results of going to a local beach or park, baseball field or soccer field and asking REAL, local people about the Superferry would lead to an agonized triple post among this, Katy's and Andy's blog about "False Consciousness."
ReplyDeleteGot that right. Responding in the negative to them is like answering the question: "When did you stop beating your wife?" To them, there is no answer you can give that will justify your stand, only possibly explain it as either weakness, ignorance or wickedness.
ReplyDeleteYour position can't possibly be right because it is not their position.
In past posts and comments, they even said that if the majority of locals could be shown to either want HSF or be neutral to it, it would only show the coersion of their minds by the evil priviledged white community.
I think the HSF is coming sooner or later, in one form or another, with more or less military backing/financial subsidy. It's just a matter of time.
As of late Saturday these statistically insignificant poll results are:
ReplyDelete1)It should return 1217 Votes, 39%
2)An EIS should be completed before it returns 534 Votes, 17%
3)It should never return 883 Votes, 28%
4)Return while an EIS is conducted 336 Votes, 11%
5)Superferry officials should reach out to determine if a return to Kauai will occur 169 Votes, 5%
So even with outside voters allowed, responses 1) and 4) for a quick return only add up to 50% and responses with reservations on a return 2), 3), and 5) add up to 50%. That's pretty good for a polls with biased questions and a sample including those outside the target survey area. My guess, without the Oahu and HSF employee respondents the favorables would be less than 50% and the unfavorables or reservations would be more than 50%.
Anyway, SEE YOU AT THE HARBOR TOMORROW! Aloha, Brad
The anti superferry types have already signaled that they don't intend to be satisfied with the EIS even if it comes out showing a low environmental impact. They are married to their position. It's not about rational issues any more. It's a "movement."
ReplyDeletetoday's gathering at kalapaki will be an insignificant event commemorating a rather significant event.
ReplyDeletethe return of the superferry is wishful thinking on the part of HSF hacks,desperate business leaders and a public looking for a deal.
politicians, like jellyfish, are going with the flow.
the company is loosing money hand over fist; the second ship will hemorrhage more capital and fargo will go down with the ship. with fuel prices rising, the lack of ridership and a faulty design, the HSF/Hornblower enterprise will continue adrift until the defense contractors set it right with an assignment better suited for it's military application.
ho hum, so sad to see it go!
Won't you be shocked if the military does subsidize HSF so that it runs inter-island every other day, or something like that and does mil service the other time?
ReplyDeleteThat is a workable scenario.
I don't think either boat will go away.