Dash of Calabash

At HawaiiReporter.com here.

Rich Lowry at National Review Online weighs in on the Akaka Bill.

There will also be a televised debate the night before the one noted in a previous post.

Two articles reflecting on “Admission Day” for the State of Hawaii. Here and here.

The League of Women Voters (LWU) and Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs (HIPA) are, at our suggestion, sponsoring a debate on the Akaka bill and what its passage might mean in and to our Hawaii.

WHEN: August 23, 2005 / Tuesday 5:00pm to 7:00pm

WHERE: Japanese Cultural Center Ballroom
Manoa Grand Ballroom
2454 South Beretania Street, 5th Floor

WHAT: Debate and Discussion on the Akaka Bill

WHY: Inform the public on the provisions of the act, how it might affect you, your family, your property, your future.

WHO:

PRO: Attorney General Mark Bennett, Representing the Governor - Attorney Robert Klein, Board Counsel for Office of Hawaiian Affairs

CON: Constitutional Lawyer Bruce Fein, Representing Grassroot Institute of Hawaii -

Anne Keala Kelly, Native Hawaiian Journalist and Filmmaker

MODERATOR: Judge Michael Broderick, Family Court of the First Judicial Court

WHAT ELSE:

- Questions will be accepted in writing only. Come prepared.

- Please give us feedback after the event about your thoughts and questions.

- Parking is available in the Center, cost with validation is $3.

- No fee to attend but contributions are always welcome. Checks should be made to The League of Women Voters Education Fund. Donations will not be acknowledged.

Please, please make every effort to attend this event. There is much to learn and much to begin to understand. Profound changes in every aspect of your life may be coming. Get a group together and come. Also, please pass this on to every organization or group you work with and suggest attend.

Two articles on the Reason Blog Out of Control on the growing realization around the country that rail isn’t worth the cost. As Honolulu begins recreating the mistakes of other cities, instead of learning from them, those cities are trying to figure out how to get out from underneath the behemoth boondoggles they’ve created. The first article is about the gradual and inevitable death of the monorail in Seattle and the other is about the same outcome working itself out in Atlanta.

The people who think that rail is going to get them to work quicker than driving a car may be in for a surprise. This report from Los Angeles reveals that most people don’t stay with public transit because it takes longer to commute than driving. How many of those people holding signs at Honolulu Hale recently saying “I will ride” will continue to do so when they realize that their commute is, in fact, 40 percent longer when waiting at the station, transferring to a bus for the final leg to their job and walking to work are all factored in? That is why rail transit continues to lose commuter ridership share in the most densely populated city in the nation. Read the article here.

(Hat Tip - Out of Control)

It turns out there is a glut of landfill space on the mainland. The implementation of new techniques and technologies is making landfills increasingly more efficient. Maybe shipping some of Oahu’s trash to the mainland isn’t the awful idea that some claim. As this article notes a new landfill in Idaho wants our garbage. This is the free market at work. Now if we would just let it.

The 91 Freeway High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes in Orange County are proving to be very successful. Ridership is up 20 percent from a year ago. One commuter explains the popularity:

“The money’s not the issue at this point - after a long day at the office, I just want to get home,” said the married father of two teenagers.

Not only is this a boon to commuters but has other benefits as well, monetary ones.

One positive is what the OCTA (Orange Country Transportation Authority) might be able to do with the added revenue: help out those on the freeway who don’t pay tolls.

The fact that a HOT lane solution can generate revenue rather than require huge subsidies as rail would should force it to the forefront as an alterative solution. Whole article here.

John Stossel examines why government mandated wage pricing keeps poor people out of lucrative job markets and keeps them poor. An interesting point for a heavily unionized state like Hawaii. Read the article.