Here are two columns worth reading.
Ka Leo, the UH Manoa student newspaper: “We deserve better”
Ka Leo takes aim at the UH administration’s handling of the Stevie Wonder concert debacle.
While the community may be upset, students should be furious. Each year, we pour millions of dollars into the university in the form of tuition and student fees. We continue to see tuition rates rise with no reprieve. We face ever-expanding class sizes and witness firsthand how much harder it is to meet academic requirements and graduate in four years.
Students, we deserve better than this.
By the way, did you see the news that UH Manoa’s flagship Hamilton Library is now one of the lowest ranked in the country, right there with institutions as Montana Tech, Green Mountain College, Juniata College, and Birmingham-Southern College.
A friend called me yesterday after learning that Hamilton Library is closed on Saturdays, and most special collections are closed on Sunday as well. So students wanting to actually study at the library and utilize its resources in their academic work pretty much have to write off the weekends. Perhaps this isn’t as important as it once was, given the growth in the digital world, but the rankings in the Princeton survey suggest otherwise.
And Dave Shapiro responds in a column today to those who lament that the court-ordered delay in rail construction will just cost the public money. Dave hits the nail right on the head.
It’s time political leaders and rail officials own up to the reality that the delay and additional costs are nobody’s fault but their own.
They ignored good advice to avoid cutting corners on archaeological and environmental studies, rushed to sign construction contracts years before they were ready to build and failed to write the contracts to protect taxpayers from delays caused by legal snags.
The big rush was a politically motivated gamble by the Mufi Hannemann and Peter Carlisle administrations that went bust.
And if the flawed mentality that got us here doesn’t change, city leaders will be digging the hole deeper instead of digging us out.
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Shapiro’s rant is just more of the same from him. He will never acknowledge the good intent of those of us who support rail and who contributed in various ways to the effort to create an alternative to the automotive bottleneck that westside residents face every work day.
He accuses the City of looking for ways to cut corners on the environmental review when the reality is that a very thorough and well documented environmental review was done, following the advice of the experts at the State and Federal level who had to approve the City’s process and products.
The Supreme Court’s decision will not increase the protections for Hawaiian burials; the work that was underway involved areas that everbody agrees had either very little possibility of having remains because of years of plantation agriculture or because they had already been surveyed.
This is the Court once again micromanaging, changing the goal posts, and substituting its interpretation of how existing law and regulations are to be applied, with often nonsensical results.
In recent years, businesses wanting to hookup to utility lines in State highways have faced the possibility of having to do an environmental review before the hookup would be permitted.
Developers face the possibility of having to do an environmental review before they can get a subdivision of their land approved.
Nobody thought that a full blown EIS would be required for these routine development actions when we were all arguing for the necessity of including formal environmental reviews for the big land use and infrastructure decisions, but the Hawaii Supreme Court’s recent decisions have led us to that place
This series of unprecedented and impractical decisions have not increased protection for the environment or improved the quality of environmental information and analysis available for decisionmakers. Instead, they have dramatically increased the cost and risk of doing business in Hawaii.
Lopaka43 wrote: “Developers face the possibility of having to do an environmental review before they can get a subdivision of their land approved.”
That actually sounds pretty reasonable and I’m surprised they don’t already have to do that.
Either you have no idea what a subdivision is or you are trying to provoke a comment.
I’ll assume the former.
Environmental assessments and impact statements are supposed to insure that policy makers had all the information needed to decide what land use should be approved for a parcel or whether public money should be invested in a project. They are meant to be used in situations in which policy makers have the discretion to approve or not approve.
The owner of property has the right to subdivide if it is allowed under the existing zoning and he or she complies with the applicable standards and rules and regs (drainage, access, utility hookups, etc.). There is no discretion involved in the approval. If they meet the legal requirements, they get the approval.
The decision makers for a subdivision have no discretion and no reason to consult the EA or EIS. By law, they must consult the law, standards, and regs; if the applicant meets the requirements, they are supposed to get the subdivision.
However, the Supreme Court is still requiring the EIS to be prepared before the subdivision can be granted. All it does is add cost without improving the quality of the decision.
Hi Lopaka43:
Maybe this will help to illustrate the issues you raise about the effects on the cost of doing business in Hawaii. (My apologies in advance for the length of this post.)
* * *
Let’s say I’m a proponent for a project to develop housing for blind and hearing-impaired orphans displaced from a tidal wave that wiped out the entire town of Kihei. [And if that doesn’t work for you, substitute whatever idea you have of a project that is for public and community good.]
The project is being proposed as two residential apartment towers on one parcel. I know that buried resources may exist and from community outreach, the lineal descendants have a vague idea that their ancestors MAY have been buried SOMEWHERE in this vicinity.
I am estimating that it will cost blahblah million dollars to build two towers to house 500 orphans. Past practices that have been agreeable to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) included allowing the archaeological inventory survey (AIS) to occur in increments, particularly when the chance of finding significant buried resources is low.
Prior to the Hawaii Supreme Court’s ruling, it is my understanding that a developer could have surveyed one portion of the site and in the absence of significant discoveries could begin working on that portion while another portion is being surveyed. SHPD is the entity that reviews and accepts the AIS, so its concurrence is important and necessary.
The ruling appears to change this practice. Now, my construction strategy and cost estimate must incorporate however long it takes to complete the AIS since work cannot begin until the whole affected area has been surveyed.
While the survey is being completed, there’s a concrete workers strike and a shipping strike, and an earthquake in the Philippines causes the cost of construction materials to double. My projection of blahblah million dollars now allows me to build only 300 apartment units because both labor and materials costs more and my contingency doesn’t cover the entire increase.
In the end, the AIS completed for the entire parcel confirmed the low potential for finding buried resources during construction.
Who benefited here and who lost?
This is my understanding: the ruling that the AIS needs to be completed for the entire disturbed area AT ONE TIME increases costs on the developer side while buried resources are getting no higher level of protection than they had prior to the ruling.
Sophie Cocke has a post today: http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/08/30/16972-rail-ruling-another-black-eye-for-hawaiis-historic-preservation-division/
I tend to agree w/Lopaka43 that the environment (including archaeological and historical resources) is not necessarily getting better protections as a result of the laws.
I left my comments on that piece and I hope the point is not missed that the laws don’t only apply and affect those projects that are often opposed. The HSC ruling (and whatever outcome comes as a result of the next court ruling) will affect the timeline and process for the kinds of projects that are for public good such as schools, libraries, museums, hospitals, and bus rapid transit with high occupancy toll roads (if that’s your thing).
Time to clean house, demand that the Regents of UH do their job, fire those with poor judgment on issues that affect a goal of quality education. Time for City Council to be accountable, dismantle HART and discontinue rail. Mufi and Carlisle out, Caldwell should remain out for his role on rail.
Whatever good intentions rail proponents had were subverted by the illegitimate process sanctioned by Mufi Hannemann. Heavy rail was the choice from the beginning and everything was distorted in its favor. It seems that only in Hawaii can something as socially beneficial as mass transit be corrupted into a environmental and aesthetic disaster. As a community, what’s wrong with us? Why do we let this happen?
Shapiro once again hits the nail squarely on the head.
Shapiro’s flailing hammer misses the nail and the board.
He is always eager to blame Hannemann…for everything and anything. The State court ruled against the State Historic Preservation Division and indirectly the Governor, who signed off on the EIS.
The City (and Hannemann) were fully permitted by the State to proceed.
Just tear it all down and start over, there is no way to “fix” all of the problems Manoa has.
From Shapiro’s column:
“Another FTA memo from 2006 was prescient: ‘We seem to be proceeding in the hallowed tradition of Honolulu rapid transit studies: ‘never enough time to do it right, but lots of time to do it over.”
The above quote has seen a lot of press, but not much attention has been paid to what else was said in the memo, so here you go — more behind the scenes comments from the FTA on the Honolulu rail project. (This is good stuff)
***
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 8:42 AM
To: Sukys, Raymond
Cc: Libberton, Sean ; Fisher, Ronald
Subject: RE: Honolulu’s AA
Ray:
We seem to be proceeding in the hallowed tradition of Honolulu rapid transit studies: never enough time to do it right, but lots of time to do it over.
Toru and Mark Scheibe were here yesterday to deliver the draft AA report. This is the first material they’ve given us since spring, so we haven’t seen anything on the alternatives, costs, ridership, etc., etc. Toru had marked up a somewhat earlier version of the draft report while he was traveling here (by way of Colorado Springs to visit his Air Force cadet daughter). And a
FedEx box with graphics pages to be inserted into the draft didn’t arrive at the PB-Washington office — so no graphics.
We spent five hours walking through the “highlights” of the document and it’s clear that both the document and the underlying work are in rough condition. Discussions on the financial analysis, for example, stumbled into some perverseness in the approach that they’ve used. They have considered a range of possible revenue generation from the excise tax, and estimated the New Starts funding that would be needed to cover the shortfall in local funding: the lower the proceeds from the excise tax, the higher the New Starts request. The large problem with that approach is that they will not know what the revenue stream
from the excise tax will be (because most of its duration will still be in the future and it depends on the future state of the Hawaii economy and the still-uncertain fraction of statewide tax revenues that are generated on Oahu) when they have make the request for New Starts funding. Ooops! And the chapter on transportation benefits has a few tables with island-wide totals followed by many tables of incredibly detailed (and not very useful) numbers like station-to-station rail volumes. It’s missing all the really useful information on the key ridership markets and how the alternatives make transit travel better for those markets.
One thing that seems clear is the rail alternative preferred by the city administration: a “shorter” rapid transit project that drops the last four miles through Kapolei on the western end and terminates at Ala Moana Center on the eastern end. That’s what they think is affordable without an extension of the increment in the excise tax (And the goofy Kapolei-to-Mililani “local funded segment” seems to have disappeared, so we won’t have to deal with the potential segmentation issues that loomed with that idea.)
After more than four hours of muddling through the document, I asked what they wanted from us given that they intend to hand a cleaned-up version of the draft report to the City Council in two weeks. Toru said that he wanted his edits incorporated into the report (and the financial analysis revised) before we review the report, and that it might be another week before we got a real review copy. And that obviously leaves no time for a meaningful FTA review.
So we agreed that they are on their own with the information they’re giving to the City Council and the public to support a decision on an LPA. They are not sure how that’s going to proceed because the Council chair and the mayor are already disagreeing on how quickly the Council can/should act on the decision. And Toru expects that the Council members will be
generating lots of questions that they and PB will be responding to for a month or two. And who knows what Cliff Slater will toss into the mix.
We also agreed that lots of work is probably needed to provide solid grounding (numbers) to support a PE request to FTA and that we will cooperate on that work once an LPA has been identified. Ideally, that work would get started before the LPA so that we don’t lose 2, 3, or 4 months or more waiting for the LPA decision. But they have funding and contractual issues that may prevent any such head start.
I subsequently talked with Sean about the status of FTA’s role in AA reviews. We’ve been saying publicly for the past two years that we’d like to see AA materials as they are produced so that we can head off any obvious problems that will become barriers to PE approvals of LPAs that emerge from the studies. But the reality is that we have not really been involved in many AAs, so Honolulu has lots of company in the way things have gone: local agencies do AAs without any FTA contacts and then submit a PE application with information that may or may not be useful in evaluating their project.
So the Honolulu situation is unfortunate (as is the situation in most AAs) and not amenable to remedy in the next few weeks. Fortunately, DTS says they recognize that lots of additional work is necessary to get solid numbers needed for a PE application. Assuming that’s what happens, we’ll be able to make them cover the bases on costs, ridership, the managed-lanes alternatives, other key topics germane to either New Starts requirements, or NEPA requirements, or both — before we take on any responsibility by OKing them into PE and NEPA. That work will occur between January and June, assuming that the LPA decision happens by the end of this year.
As they say in Hawaii, oy!
Jim
Ian, online access to the library shuts down over breaks now too, which s u c k s
So much has moved into the digital world, which we can only access through the UH library portal with an hawaii.edu login. The UH library crew are awesom. But if you are a UH student or researcher, better get all your materials ready to read over break because there is no way to do so when the library is closed. This has been the case for three years at least.
Also, you can’t turn the damn lights off at Hamilton. They are on 24-7.
This is no way to run a university.
NOT true – online access does NOT shut down. However if you do not register or pay your tuition it is possible that your UH user account doesn?t get updated which would temporarily hinder access.
NOT true – Hamilton lights turn OFF at midnight and on again at 5am every night. Turning parts of the AC off was tried – but mold grew on everything.
It is not by choice that the library shuts down over the breaks – it is because of civil service staff furloughs and Manoa “green days” (invented so the campus could close down when all the workers were on forced “vacation”)
Martha, tuition was paid and there was no access. Maybe the system has improved.
I’m sure it wasn’t by anybody’s choice, but started way before ‘green days’. The first time I couldn’t gain access was Christmas break 2009.
I couldn’t be happier to be wrong about the access. If you are right that is wonderful news.
About the lights, I recall an energy audit of the building in 2009 in which the switches didn’t turn lights off on every floor.
If that has changed, that is also wonderful news. I never see the lights off at any time of night. I hope you are right!
oops. The library crew is awesome, with all letters.
On the topic though, there are tons of construction projects at UH Manoa right now that don’t seem necessary at all. One example is a nice grassy patch in front of Webster that is now ripped up and being replaced with concrete, for some baffling reason.
Hamilton Library’s own Web FAQ page reads more like an Excuses, Excuses page. Somehow, UH consistently complains about not having enough money, but it has millions to pay for its unimpressive administration and bulldozers.
Why isn’t the library open more hours?
The library is open at hours of heaviest use and for as many hours as the Library’s budget will allow. Sinclair Library is open 24 hours a day five (5) days a week, including Saturdays when Hamilton is closed.
How often is the library cleaned and the light bulbs replaced?
The library is cleaned on a daily basis, but it’s hard to keep up with the thousands of people who use the building every day. Routine maintenance and replacement of burned-out light bulbs is conducted on a scheduled basis. Health and safety problems and other emergencies are our first priority; these will be fixed faster if reported directly to a staff member.
Where can I get change if I need it for photocopies?
We regret that we don’t have enough staff or money on hand to provide change. Business Office staff can give change only when you are paying for a fine or service fee. Bill-changers that give coins are located near the CLIC Computer Lab and in the Microforms Room on the firsrt floor of the Hamilton Library. In addition, photocopy machines give change for coins and bills.
What do I do if the photocopy machines run out of paper?
Paper and ink supplies for the photocopiers are checked several times each day, but during busy times of the semester they might run out; please ask at the Circulation Desk to have paper and ink replaced. Photocopy machines are located on every floor of the building.
Why does it seem that books are out of order when I look for them on the shelves?
Some areas of the book stacks are heavily used and books may get out of order. We re-shelve and straighten all areas on a regular basis. If you don’t find a book where you think it should be located, look on the shelf above and below where you think it should be. Also look on the sorting shelves (reshelving area). Check maps for locations.
Sometimes I am really confused about the library in general. I don’t know how to go about researching a topic or even where to find the books and materials.
Please ask for assistance at a Reference Desk or by email for advice on how to find materials or how best to research your topic. The librarians can also guide you to the correct location of collections.
Every time I need a really important book to further my studies – it’s NOT HERE. Either it’s “missing” or “lost” or just doesn’t exist in the stacks.
If you are a UH Manoa faculty, student, or staff member you can request books that the library does not own through Interlibrary Loan. This is possible through the Interlibrary Loan Web page.
I returned a book and trusted you guys enough not to request a receipt. Now the book is missing and I’m not able to get my transcripts until I pay for the book!
All returned library books are handled careful but mistakes do happen. We recommend that you check the stacks in case the book was re-shelved without being checked in. Also, speak to the library staff at the Business Office window about filing out a form to certify that you returned the book.
It is fairly easy to look for books, but it is fairly frustrating when it is not on the shelves or the sorting shelves (the ones that are not checked out).
If you are having difficulty finding a book in the library, ask the staff at any of the Reference Desks. Also, a request may be made to search for (trace) a library item not found in its usual shelf location or on the sorting shelves. Ask at the Circulation Desk for assistance in placing a search on an item. You will be notified by mail if the item is found.
Please, re-buy or replace a lot of missing and lost books. I found a lot of missing books in my major.
We try to replace missing books when we can – depending on the library budget and the availability of the book (many are out-of-print). If you have particular titles you would like us to try and replace, you can forward them to us. Use the Purchase Suggestion form and include a note in the Comment area about why you want us to replace the book.
This comment was emailed by David Kimo Frankel: