Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Musings: Don't Look, Don't Find

A few drops of rain fell from a sky that was white and gray when Koko and I went out walking this morning. The fragrance of angel’s trumpet and citrus mingled with the stench of decaying rooster, and the birds, which seem always to wake enthusiastic and cheerful, belted out a rich medley of songs.

Nearing home, I found myself eyeball to eyeball with a fierce orange sun, which shimmered through thin streaks of pink and pearly white, casting the trees in gold and causing the thick clouds above Waialeale to assume the purple tones of an old bruise.

Aunty Nani Rogers is facing the prospect of some bruising court costs following a legal challenge of the unneeded and poorly conceived Coconut Plantation and Coconut Beach resorts. She and 1000 Friends of Kauai wanted the county to require the developers to do an Environmental Assessment of the projects, which together would add some 538 hotel and condo units to the heavily congested Coconut Marketplace area.

They lost, and are appealing. Meanwhile, the county and Coconut Beach have been awarded court costs of $10,187.04 and $21,466.66, respectively, and Coconut Plantation is trying to get $7,265.34. Needless to say, the situation is creating a bit of stress for Nani, a tireless advocate for iwi kupuna and the kanaka maoli culture who joined the case out of concern over how the resorts would impact burials in the area.

It’s a bit chilling to think that when citizens go to court against the government, which finances its legal defense with our tax dollars, they could end up with some serious court costs, even if their attorneys are working pro bono. But if you go through all the hearings and still hit a brick wall, as so often happens in the “process,” court is often the only option.

That’s where Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney Alan Murakami will be this morning, asking Judge Kathleen Watanabe for an injunction to stop the widening of Kuhio Highway in Wailua.

He contends that an EIS and Burial Treatment Plan must be completed before construction begins because the area is a previously identified burial site. The Kauai-Niihau Island Burial Council also needs to determine the boundaries of the burial site, and how much of it should be protected.

An underlying problem is that plans to widen the highway, add another lane to the cane haul bridge and build the bike path are being viewed as separate projects. So even though they’re all impacting the same area, their cumulative effects are not being considered.

The county is taking a similar approach to the Path, dealing with each segment as if it were stand-alone, rather than related to all the others.

It’s all part of an effort to minimize the likelihood of identifying significant impacts that could force changes in the project or give interested parties more of a say in what happens. Just as the military addresses gays in its ranks through the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” state, county and federal governments approach burials and environmental concerns and other possible hinderances through the mindset of “don’t look, don’t find.”

Meanwhile, a new report has found more questionable practices associated with Hawaii Superferry:

Between 2004 and 2009, the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, a federal agency that supports the U.S. shipbuilding industry and merchant marine, made just one loan from its troubled Federal Ship Financing Program, also known as Title XI. The borrower was Hawaii Superferry Inc., a politically connected company that hired a former chief counsel and deputy administrator of MARAD, among others, to lobby the agency. In 2005, Hawaii Superferry got a taxpayer-guaranteed loan for $139 million to build and operate a pair of high-speed ferries in the fiftieth state. Just four years later, the company filed for bankruptcy, listing assets of a mere $1 million.

The two ferries have a book value of only $2.8 million, and were delivered to MARAD. They were used recently to aid the relief effort in Haiti.


Wow, an investment of $139 million nets products worth less than $3 million. Such a deal.

A related story addresses the military component of that big boondoggle:

{T]he company’s lobbyists at Blank Rome LLP reported being paid $210,000, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, to lobby for inclusion in a Defense Department program that would pay to have improvements made to the Hawaii Superferry’s two high speed catamarans that would make them more militarily useful.

The increased lobbying activity came when Hawaii’s Supreme Court was considering a suit that ultimately shut down Hawaii Superferry on environmental grounds.


Overall, the Superferry was a highly successful scam, screwing taxpayers at both the state and federal levels. Seems some of its shortcomings might have come out in an EIS that delved into finances before we made such a big investment.

But when you don't look, you don't find.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is the right of every citizen to protest what they think is wrong. When they "hire" an attorney and take it into court, it enters a different arena, a professional one. Professionals get paid to protect one and defend another. That is also our system. Once you enter that system, the stakes get higher. In this case, a cruel lesson for Rogers.

Anonymous said...

It’s a bit chilling to think that when citizens go to court against the government, which finances its legal defense with our tax dollars, they could end up with some serious court costs, even if their attorneys are working pro bono.

On the plus side, it encourages activists to consider the merits of their claims and discourages them from suing as a form of protest or to drive up the cost of whatever it is they are opposing. Also, it protects taxpayers from footing the bill for frivolous nuisance suits.

Anonymous said...

if you bring a weak or stupid case, yes you run the risk of paying for hassling the other side


$139M + whatever the operator threw in, a few years later cited as down to $1M + $3M in ships. pretty much a nightmare. at least the machines look like they are doing something constructive at the moment


dwps

Anonymous said...

The "book value" is a completely meaningless number. It's the original cost minus depreciation, amortization, and any number of other "expenses" taken against the assets over time by the company. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual value of the boats.

Anonymous said...

Hope Alan Murakami advised his clients of the possibility of losing and having to pay costs.
Seems A M doesn't have a good record in these kind of cases.

I liked the thinking of the guy on your radio show.
he seemed to have less ego involved.

Anonymous said...

That was not a frivolous suit. The state and county are wrong A LOT and if people are afraid to sue they'll just get away with thumbing their nose at the public. Also, Alan has won many cases. maybe you just don't know about them.

Anonymous said...

"state and county are wrong A LOT"

--cite your instances or is this a generalization based on your perception of the world?

Anonymous said...

I liked the thinking of the guy on your radio show.
he seemed to have less ego involved.
Hello, the guy was Alan Morikami

Anonymous said...

Now here's some investigative reporting that needs to be done as the wheels begin to fall off.
" Palmeira said in court she had not received adequate representation” from Murakami and Frankel, that the attorneys did not disclose certain documents to her and failed to address some pertinent issues, and that they may have a conflict of interest in the case."
Garden island news

Anonymous said...

"state and county are wrong A LOT"

"--cite your instances or is this a generalization based on your perception of the world?"

Ka Loko, Superferry, KPD lawsuits, Capt. Andy, . . .

Anonymous said...

Nancy McMahon (SHPD) in Brescia case....

Anonymous said...

Yes, that bad lawyer Alan Murakami, should be replaced with that good lawyer, Alan Murakami who was on the radio. LOL

So, she fires competent lawyers with a track record of impressive wins (and some losses) - who were working for her for free? Unless replacement lawyers were lined up in advance, this sure does not sound like a smart move on the plaintiff's part.

Anonymous said...

im sure she'll get lots of fan mail if the delay of her bungling around prevents the road widening/ expansion


"state and county are wrong A LOT"

-- that one where the county took it in the face from the koloa monkey pod tree developer always sticks out in my mind. that was a preventable and embarrassing loss...but not so much a "misunderstanding" of the law as much as pathetic administrative mismanagement just "asking" for it (much like the county getting constantly kicked in the head with those sexual harassment suits and simply continuing to pay out of the nose for them, in lieu of taking some steps to stop it which would of course risk upsetting local political patronage protocols and stakeholders therein)


dwps

Anonymous said...

"--cite your instances or is this a generalization based on your perception of the world?"

Howz bout dis - The K.C Lum 6 month County Council initiated AG investigation for intentionally altering a government doc with intent to deceive which turned out to be a sheet-feed error (which was obvious from the beginning)and the AG dropped the case. Then this!

"In an ironic twist in an investigation to determine whether former police chief K.C. Lum altered government evidence by omission, an affidavit showing cause to search his property had omissions of its own.

A 43-page affidavit that was supposed to state the probable cause of the search and seizure of Lum’s property in September 2006 was missing its second page, which Deputy Prosecutor Albert Cook called an “oversight.”

In this case the Council did not ask for an investigation of Albert Cook - go figgah!

Anonymous said...

If memory serves Lum's house was raided by the AG right before the primary election. I'm sure the timing of this raid had no effect on the election. Personally I would consider a candidate's house being raided as an endorsement. NOT! It was a political conspiracy by the county council to discredit a political opponent. It worked and the citizens paid the tab for a politically motivated investigation.

Anonymous said...

"with those sexual harassment suits and simply continuing to pay out of the nose for them, in lieu of taking some steps to stop it"

--ain't that the truth!

Anonymous said...

"was missing its second page"

-- are you fing kidding? the affidavit generated by a disbelief of fax error had itself a missing page via fax error? man..if that aint irony..

i'll cross my fingers you totally made that up..

seems the duty of smart people to vote locally is especially important here


dwps

Anonymous said...

don't worry - the good ole boys will always WIN!

Mark my words - we will SURVIVE!

Anonymous said...

"Aunty Nani Rogers is facing the prospect of some bruising court costs following a legal challenge... "

I suggest that now is the time for all of those that supported and encourged Nani to step up and help her with the expenses. Joan, Malama Kauai, Kaiulani et al.

Anonymous said...

dwps said, "I'll cross my fingers you totally made that up.."

No need to engage in magical thinking. Here is a verification link.

http://thegardenisland.com/news/article_c6ea523d-2fb5-5c37-a46d-20ede95725a1.html

Since you have such faith in TGI I am sure it will suffice, if still in doubt call the AG and talk to the horses mouth!
Just because you don't want to believe something does not make it untrue!

Anonymous said...

it was not needed, your note seemed believable, but thank you for the link anyways. a bizarre footnote to that episode for sure


dwps

Anonymous said...

dwps said "a bizarre footnote to that episode for sure" and not the last footnote nor even chapter, blow-back aplenty just around the corner