Review: City can afford rail
HONOLULU - A consulting company's review says Honolulu has the financial capacity to build and operate a rail line from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.
Porter & Associates, Inc. prepared the report last month for the Federal Transit Administration.
The report says Honolulu's operating and capital financial plans for rail are based on reasonable assumptions regarding future costs and revenues.
But the report cautions Honolulu's general fund and highway fund expenses must grow at slower-than-historical rates in order for the city to be able to subsidize the rail line.
The report says the city could withstand a 10 percent increase in the rail line's cost and survive a lower growth rate for the general excise tax.
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Lingle, Arakawa to attend fest
Former Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, and Mayor Alan Arakawa are among those scheduled to appear at the Hui Holomua Business Fest on Friday at the Grand Wailea.
The event, put on by the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, also will include Office of Hawaiian Affairs Maui trustee candidates; a panel of Maui entrepreneurs; the development team of Pulehunua, a public-private venture in Kahului near Costco; Teena Rasmussen, the county economic development coordinator; and Maenette Ah-Nee Benham of the University of Hawaii.
The luncheon speaker will be Ramsay Taum, who will speak on the conference theme "Native Hawaiian Values Are Good Business Values." He is the president of Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific and former director of external affairs and community partnerships at the School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The daylong event begins at 6 a.m. with a Hawaiian canoe and hookupu ceremony.
The free conference is sponsored by a grant from OHA. Lunch costs $30.
To register for the event, go to the website www.mauihawaiianchamber.org. For more information, send email to kai.pelayo@grandwailea.com or call 874-2426.
