Another HART decision, another controversy
It’s likely par for the course that a controversial, multibillion-dollar public works project will continually draw controversial decisions. If so, then Oahu’s long-debated rail system is moving right on par.
Much had been written about the $1.4 billion hiring of Ansaldo Honolulu JV to design, build and operate the rail system. Concern swirled that its financially strapped parent company, Finmeccanica SpA, might sell AnsaldoBreda, the joint venture’s minority partner that’s tasked with building the rail cars and had trouble in a Los Angeles rail-car deal. But multiple financial protections secured here appear solid.
Now comes news that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation will pick Daniel Grabauskas as its rail CEO. Grabauskas was forced to step down as general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 2009 amid partisan-politics turmoil.
A vote on Grabauskas’ hiring, at $287,000 annually, will be held 10 a.m. Thursday at HART’s public meeting at the Mission Memorial Annex conference room, 550 S. King St.
No doubt more info on Grabauskas will emerge before, during, and well after that meeting.
A kiss is still a kiss, as time goes by …
The now-famous photo of the homecoming kiss between the uniformed Sgt. Brandon Morgan and partner Dalan Wells is quickly becoming a symbol of a societal shift, judging by reactions to its posting on the "Gay Marines" Facebook page. Nothing but the repeal of the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy could have made possible its unabashed publication, an enormous American flag in the background.
The buzz about this is reminiscent of the time when stories about women rising on the employment ladder were fodder for the media as well. When such things as photos of kisses fall off the scale as "newsworthy," that’s when we’ll know things have really changed.
