Real Estate & Property Law

A Lucasesque View Of The Superferry Saga

By Robert Thomas (inversecondemnation.com)

The saga of the Hawaii Superferry has always seemed to be touched by George Lucas.

A certain segment of Hawaii's population has from the get-go considered the interisland vehicle ferry as nothing less than the Death Star: a whale-killer, a transporter of invasive alien species, and harbinger of a militarized imperialist government. (Others don't view it so malignantly, just as a much needed and long overdue alternative to interisland transportation, or as a refutation of Hawaii's reputation as a horrid place to conduct a business...but work with me here).

If Superferry I -- in which the Hawaii Supreme Court dealt what seemed to be a crippling blow to the Lingle administration's fast-track environmental exemption was Episode IV -- then the Legislature's reaction to the decision by passing Act 2 seemed like The Empire Strik[ing] Back.

We now have reached what appears to be the end of the tale, however, as the Hawaii Superferry announced it has suspended operations after the Hawaii Supreme Court declared Act 2 unconstitutional under article XI, § 5 of the Hawaii Constitution because it was not a general law. Sierra Club v. State Dep't of Transportation, No. 29035 (March 16, 2009).

The Return of the Justices? 

We just hope there isn't a three part prequel in the works.

Full post as published by inversecondemnation on March 17, 2009 (boomark / email).