The Star Bulletin ran a commentary by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann today, [Rail development will improve city ] where he touted the many benefits of Transit Oriented Development (TOD).  According to Mayor Hannemann, TOD specifically,

“» Restores a sense of community among families and neighbors

» Preserves and creates affordable housing

» Add parks and plazas; preserves public views and opens new ones

» Creates networks of pedestrian-friendly and bike-friendly streets

» Creates a rich urban setting that is safe, exciting and full of housing, employment and social opportunities for all segments of our population. Increases pride in area.”

From the comments following the article, Kailuachris3 said, “We need to get vehicles off the street- not more buses but a true alternative mass transit system.” Hawaii1st wrote, “I agree with you Mr. Mayor that rail and TOD is needed to eliminate traffic congestion.”

To read more about developments in the city’s rail transit project, click the image above.

Lingle is in Washington for the 2010 National Governor’s Association Annual Winter Meeting and will return to Honolulu tomorrow.

Next week Mayor Mufi Hannemann will also be meeting with FTA officials to discuss the Honolulu rail project. Tonight at 6 p.m. (HST) Mayor Hannemann will deliver his annual state of the city address.

Between, catching live acts from Kolohe Kai and Augie T, judging the art contest, and entering drawings to win a computer and an iPod, there’s no wonder that ‘hundreds attended.’ Not to mention the fact that there was a green screen studio set-up allowing students to watch themselves ride virtually inside Honolulu’s future train cars.

Students ride in virtual train. Click image for story link Photo: Say Yes to Honolulu Rail System Blog

In this month’s issue of Amtrak’s Arrive Magazine, Vice President Joe Biden has written the cover story, Why America Needs Trains. Biden, the Delaware statesman, supports rail travel across the nation and his sentiments echo Oahu’s rail support. Nicknamed ‘Amtrak Joe,’ he recounted riding more than 7,000 round trips on Amtrak throughout his career. With each commute at 110 miles, the Vice President has logged the better part of 1million miles on the nation’s railways. It’s fair to say that the locomotive engine has a place in his heart. He wrote,

“But my support for rail travel goes beyond the emotional connection. With delays at our airports and congestion on our roads becoming increasingly ubiquitous, volatile fuel prices, increased environmental awareness, and a need for transportation links between growing communities, rail travel is more important to America than ever before.

In Honolulu, stalled highway traffic burns away some of the most expensive gasoline from our vehicles and threatens the stability of our atmosphere. The growth of West side communities physically and economically are only inching along at the pace of an H1 commute. Indeed, on Oahu, as in America at large, the need for rail travel is abundant. At Mayor Hannemann’s rail address in October, the video began with a family waking at 4;30am to prepare for their daily commute to school and work, compromising the value of their time together.

Biden began riding the Amtrak shortly after he was sworn in as a Senator. “It was the only way that I could have been a Senator at all,” he wrote. “I had to be able to get home to spend evenings with my two sons after we lost their mother and sister in an auto accident a month earlier.” The safety and reliability of rail mass transit, allowed Biden to fulfill his duties as statesman and also be present in his role as father.

Today, President Obama made his State of the Union address and will travel tomorrow to Florida to speak on the FTA’s high-speed rail plans.

Mayor Hannemann at the State of the Rail address in October.

“The bottom line is that the FTA and the USDOT see nothing at this point to stop our project from continuing to go forward.  The FTA and USDOT are committed to continue working with the City to help make rail transit a reality for Honolulu,” said Mayor Mufi Hannemann according to a city & county press release.

Hannemann met today with U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff and other federal transportation officials to discuss the Honolulu Rail Transit Project in Washington, D.C. today.

“Secretary LaHood assured us of the continuing co-operation of his department on our rail project,” said Hannemann.

Hannemann provided the DOT Secretary with a briefing on the project.  The presentation included the city’s efforts to work with federal agencies to address their final concerns before the FTA releases the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement.

“It was noted that 13 state agencies have commented on the project’s EIS, and that the City has worked to address their concerns,” Hannemann said.

A part of the Mayor’s presentation to the Secretary and the Administrator included a report that the actual collections of the General Excise tax dedicated to the rail project are at 99.5% of what the City has projected in its financial plan, noting that the conservative nature of the City’s project financial plan is weathering the current economic downturn despite more significant reductions in collections from the General Excise Tax.

The FTA indicated that it will continue to work with the City as it refines its current financial plan.  The FTA has had independent financial consultants reviewing the City’s financial plan

since the City completed its Alternatives Analysis in 2006.  Rogoff said that over the next several months the City will work to get a better fix on both its costs and revenues, and that the FTA is aware of Honolulu’s potential for lowering its cost as it develops more engineering details. Rogoff also indicated that if there was any decision to change the alignment from an elevated system to an at-grade system the FTA would have to start the environmental review process all over again, and that process would take much longer than 6 months.

Hannemann discussed FTA’s general concern about rail projects that rely too heavily on federal funds that pay for bus service.  Hannemann assured the Administrator that the City would not compromise bus service.  The Mayor said that as the City proceeds with preliminary engineering, any funding that is currently dedicated to bus service should remain in place as the city builds on the current $90 million savings that was realized from the Kiewit contract, from private participation in station development and additional contract savings in the second phase contract that is now out for bid.

“Hawaii’s construction industry is pinning its hopes for 2010 on Honolulu’s rail transit project after a year that saw the bulk of the activity grind to a halt,” reported Janis Magin recently of in a 2010 Outlook for Pacific Business News. “The first phase of the Honolulu rail system, scheduled to break ground in Kapolei in January. It’s a $480 million job that will employ 4,000 people by next year.”

On November 18th, 2009, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann held a press conference for the signing of the Rapid Transit Stabilization Agreement (RTSA) with local Labor Unions to ensure local laborers are hired, and produce high quality work, on time and on budget. The mayor also stated that the agreement will avoid slowdowns and work stoppages.

Mayor Hannemann speaks at a rail transit press conference in October.

According to a City & County Press Release, Mayor Mufi Hannemann is in Washington DC today “to meet with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and various other federal officials regarding Honolulu’s rail transit project.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, Senator Daniel Akaka and Hawaii’s congressional delegation ensured that Honolulu’s rail transit project will receive $30 million included in an omnibus spending package. The money will help pay for preliminary engineering and design of the transit system.

“Once again, the leader of Hawaii’s congressional delegation has come through for us,” Hannemann said. “Senator Inouye’s outstanding leadership has been instrumental in moving forward this rail transit project that is vital to our island’s economy and its future.”

Also in the D.C. area, the Washington Dulles Airport is in the final stages of completing a new AeroTrain that will travel “through underground tunnels between most of the airport’s terminals and will greatly reduce the time it takes to get around the airport,” according to a Fairfax Times report.

Virginia’s Loudon Times – Mirror also reports that by this time next year, the “new rail system will be shuffling 6,755 passengers an hour by train” through the airport.

Aerotrain cars at the Dulles airport. Photo from Fairfax Times.

According to the story:

Honolulu’s construction sector saw a 10 percent loss of jobs from October 2008 to October 2009, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Honolulu’s construction sector lost 2,600 jobs during the period and now employs 23,100.

Additionally, during Mayor Mufi Hanneman’s press conference for the Rapid Transit Stabilization Agreement (RTSA) on November, 18th,  Ronald Taketa of the Hawaii Carpenters Local 745 said 45% of his union is unemployed.

Yet, amid the bad news about the last year, Mayor Hanneman said that the city can expect 4,000 jobs to be created directly from the rail project alone in 2010. Also, the Economic Development Research Group has reported that “an estimated 30,000 jobs are supported per billion dollars of spending” on federally supported transportation projects.

The right choice is obvious, “No other single project in Hawaii, in the public or private sector, can create as many jobs or generate as much economic activity during this recession” said City and County of Honolulu Managing Director, Kirk Caldwell.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann with Opalavision cast

Several episodes were aired at the Green Aloha Concert last Friday night, which starred Henry Kapono, a long-time supporter of the City’s recycling campaigns.  One episode followed fourth-graders at Hokulani School as they explained how their cafeteria leftovers are tossed into a nearly 20-foot long bin full of hungry worms and vermicast (aka worm poop).  After seeing the clip, you might be inspired to get your own composting bin started!

The Opalavision cast is made up of young local actors – Ari Dalbert, Brandi Taylor, Cody Gomes, Darah Dung, Jonah Hookano and Tamara Rapp.

With a very modest promotional budget, emphasis was on event marketing.  A free community concert was the perfect opportunity to launch Opalavision.  Watch this clip as the actors are introduced on stage at the concert.

Tune into www.opala.org or The Green Channel (332) to view these episodes.  The best part? It’s interactive – you can choose which episode you want to watch anytime!

-Kayla Samascott

And now… the retreat! We kicked off the year in January with a two-day retreat at the Turtle Bay Resort.

Turtle Bay Resort Looking Luscious!

Talk about a great place to be excited and nervous at the same time. It’s so gorgeous there!

We all were assigned roommates by Char and didn’t know who they were until we opened the door to our room. I was lucky enough to be roomies with Elizabeth, who I found out has more than a few things in common with me. We started out on our laptops comparing notes on how much work we were trying to squeeze in before the retreat got started, then found out we have a mutual friend in common – on the mainland! What a small world. But then that happens on an island, doesn’t it?

Me and fellow Fellow Nikki reconnecting at the opening reception.

The fun kicked off with a cocktail reception so we could all mix and mingle and get to know each other. There were a few friendly faces including Liann, who’s my high school classmate; Kevin, who’s married to one of my best friends from school; Chris, who I work with all the time; Nikki, who I worked with on a project; and several of my Forty Under 40 classmates from 2007. An amazing group of people, and they all turned out to be fun too!

The rest of the weekend was a blur of exciting and inspirational speakers including Dick Gushman moderated by PCF ’06 Evan Leong and his lovely wife and partner PCF ’07 Kari Leong. If you don’t know Evan and Kari, check out their show Greater Good where they get Hawaii’s most influential business leaders to open up about what makes them tick. For instance, you can learn more about Dick from his interview with Evan and Kari here.

PCF Class of 2008. What a good lookin' group!

The next day including time with Mayor Hannemann to learn “Mufi’s Maxims”, or his twelve points to leadership success including being courageous, saying thank you, leading by example, living with core values, leaving your surroundings better than you found them, being prepared, having balance and keeping family first.

Next up was a session with renowned leadership trainer Glenn Furuya from Leadership Works with a focus on island-style leadership skills using Eastern and Western principles. Ramsay Taum shared Hawaiian principles of how ancient leaders took care of the land to impress upon us the importance of taking care of others. Then we got to listen to and talk with David Heenan, who was awesome! He gave us copies of his latest book, Flight Capital, which is an interesting discussion of the exodus of our brightest talent to other countries. Very interesting reading, so I hope you check it out. You can listen to Evan and Kari’s interview with him here.

The rest of the retreat was spent discussing our topics for the year. I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but that gives you the gist. I can’t wait to start sharing those days’ adventures with you! Stay tuned…