Big Wallaby wrote:I'm trying to remember the stated reason the wackos are trying to stop it. I mean, other than the fact it's someone trying to provide a helpful service to the citizens of Hawaii.
Have you got a week? I'll try to do the Reader's Digest version.
When the concept was first put forward nothing much was said. A rumor on the cocunut telegraph stated when the Superferry came to Maui the area for the canoe clubs would be shut down. They went nuts!! As it turned out it was a rumor but the damage had been done. The canoe clubs and the Sierra Club demanded a Environmental Impact Study be done and sued. A Maui judge ruled they had no standing and tossed the suit. They appealed to the state supreme court.
Meanwhile the state said no EIS was required as no other harbor user had ever done one. The Superferry got their federal guaranteed loans and started building their boats in Alabama and the state built $40 million in harbor improvements to support the ferry.
So, jumping ahead two years. Improvements get done, first boat gets built and makes its way to Honolulu. On Friday before the first trip is scheduled, the supreme court rules the groups do have standing. The Superferry, probably due to some fast legal advice, offers $5 fares starting Saturday for both people and vehicles. They get two days of trips in before the original judge on Maui pulls the plug and stops everything.
The latest ruling says the EIS will be done before the ferry can sail. And, he also said the state was wrong to do the improvements so the ferry can't use them.
State government is now trying to change the law to get them back on the water. Stay tuned for late breaking developments.
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