Lanny Sinkin's Superferry Event Summary

Summary of recent Superferry developments:

1. Superferry announced delay of further service to Kaua'i until the second boat arrives in 2009.

2. Rather than face the fierce opposition on Kaua'i, Superferry doubled their service to Maui.

3. The announcement of the doubling of service came without notice or discussion with local officials. The Mayor of Maui expressed her displeasure, citing both the failure to consult and the pending traffic impact case that is still unresolved.

4. The Superferry return trip on the second voyage will be from 8 to 11 p.m., i.e. at night when observers looking for Whales will be useless.

5. Judge Cardoza has still not issued a final order in the Maui case that would allow original plaintiffs to appeal his ruling that the Superferry Law is constitutional and the Federal Plaintiffs to appeal the ruling that denied them intervention and denied their motion to disqualify the Attorney General's Office from further participation in the case. Apparently only Superferry gets rush treatment in his court.

6. Superferry sought to extend its bargain fares on the basis that too few people are using the boat. The average ridership claimed is 150 per day, well below projections, far below capacity, and certainly an economic blow.

7. The State Auditor went public with an allegation that the Governor and Attorney General are stonewalling the investigation the Legislature ordered into the decision-making process that led to Superferry being exempted from environmental requirements in 2004.

8. Presence of a feral bee colony near the docking area for Superferry on O'ahu and bees found in radiators of cars on the Superferry (attracted by the sweet smell of anti-freeze) raised concerns that the mite killing bees could be transmitted by the Superferry to other islands.

9. Observers took photographs of mud covered cars coming off Superferry on Maui.

10. The Coast Guard lifted the security zone in Kahului Harbor because no waterborne protest appeared. The zone can be put back in place at a moment's notice should circumstances change.

11. The Superferry Oversight Committee is still getting organized and seems to schedule meetings with minimal notice to the public.

Litigation Update

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on the matters pending before it regarding Superferry.

1. The Court dismissed the emergency motion to prevent implementation of the security zone in Nawiliwili Harbor without prejudice and based solely on the decision of Superferry to suspend service to Kaua'i, i.e . no emergency exists. The dismissal without prejudice means that the Federal Plaintiffs can file a new motion should service be resumed.

2. The Court dismissesd the emergency motion to prevent implementation of the security zone in Kahului Harbor solely on the basis that the Federal Plaintiffs had to file such a motion first at the District Court level because the Kahului Harbor was not part of the initial litigation filed before that security zone existed. The Federal Plaintiffs had argued that the factual and legal issues were all the same, just the geographic location changed.

3. The Court did find that the appeal from the original ruling by the District Court denying a TRO for Nawiliwili Harbor was not moot because the activation of such a security zone was capable of repetition. The Court issued a briefing schedule that calls upon the Federal Plaintiffs to file their initial brief in early February.

4. The Federal Plaintiffs await the final order of Judge Cardoza that denied them intervention in the Maui case and denied their motion to disqualify the Attorney General's Office from further participation in that case based on that office's facilitating and participating in the conspiracy to operate Superferry illegally after the Supreme Court decision. Once the final order is issued, the Federal Plaintiffs can file an appeal taking both issue to higher courts. �