Young Brothers praised for seizing opportunity

The Maui News
Tuesday, August 22, 2006

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

KAHULUI – Sen. J. Kalani English praised Young Brothers Monday for doing something "legislators, the governor and the mayors have not gotten the Department of Transportation to do" – being open about its plans.

Young Brothers still will have to give up space at Pier 2 to Superferry, but it will get other space at the congested harbor. That means it won't have to suspend less-than-containerload shipments into Maui –at least not until the island's continued growth eats up the space the state will be buying.

English said his constituents in Hana and on Molokai and Lanai had been rightly alarmed at the prospect of losing LCL service.

As one example, he said, a Molokai business was looking at costs of shipping rising from $48 to at least $120 per shipment.

He congratulated Young Brothers "for seizing the opportunity" to get the DOT to go public with plans not just at Kahului, but also at Honolulu, Hilo, Kawaihae and Nawiliwili.

Although Gov. Linda Lingle and her department heads avoided mentioning the contentious Superferry, English said the Young Brothers deal is "inextricably entwined" with Superferry.

"I'm very grateful for all the parties," said English.

Mayor Alan Arakawa briefly also praised the work of the parties. He had to leave for another appointment and did not have a chance to answer questions.

"Young Brothers has had to walk a very fine line," said English.

"They were in the middle of a larger issue. Young Brothers never came down in support or opposition to Superferry."

Although the memorandum announced Monday seems to solve Young Brothers' immediate problem at Kahului Harbor and postpones a showdown on LCL shipping, it did nothing to settle the Superferry dispute.

Lingle reiterated that she does not support forcing Superferry to submit an environmental impact statement, as a group of Maui opponents has demanded.

With backing from Maui County, they sued in 2nd Circuit Court. Although they lost the first round, English said Hawaii environmental groups have a history of winning on appeal.

Maui Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Tumpap said the memorandum is "a very creative solution."

"Young Brothers was between a rock and a hard place," she said.

She said she thought Young Brothers would have wanted to drop LCL shipping eventually anyway, but the Superferry "escalated" the issue.

Myles Kawakami, chairman of the chamber, thanked the governor and the mayor for stepping in and said the solution was found "in record time."

Warren Watanabe, president of the Maui County Farm Bureau, said the bureau and the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation "sincerely appreciate the tremendous efforts."

"It is also important to remember this is an interim measure. It provides some much-needed breathing room," he said.

Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=22608

Return to Sen. English Home Page - KalaniEnglish.com

Home Bills and Resolutions About Senator English Committees Community Profiles Newsletter Archive News Archive Capitol Web Site Media Photos

Connect with Senator English

OUR DISTRICT