Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

This is a bit of a rant, with pictures. I know I might be overdoing this a bit, but where else will this be discussed?

After posting yesterday’s article, Banana Republic: Hawaii’s neglect can cost lives (10/31/2010), I had a few more thoughts that I might have included in the original article.

Hawaii’s culture of no maintenance, let it rot, is very pervasive. There are plenty of examples.

Back in October, 2008 I posted this picture of the solar water heating on the rooftops of Mayor Wright public housing. I didn’t know it at the time, but the system wasn’t working. Yup, it has not been maintained. See: Housing residents plead for hot water (Star-Advertiser, 10/23/2010)

You may also remember the debacle back in 2007 at the state-owned Kalakaua Homes public housing project:

Nine of 35 elevators in several public housing projects — nearly 25 percent — have been out of service for months, resulting in long waits for elderly and disabled tenants and creating serious health and safety dangers at the facilities. [Honolulu Advertiser, Elevator parts are available after all, 6/20/2007]

Even after publicity forced the state to face up to its neglect, it claimed that repairs could not be made because of lack of parts. Investigative reporter Jim Dooley (see above article) just picked up his phone and located some parts for them. Piece of cake. For Jim Dooley, no thanks to the state.

And here is one of my favorite pics. You remember, the bus shelter with the busted roof. Those waiting for buses get rained on. And the water is filthy. It’s been like that for years. This picture is from 2008. I should get a fresh one, because the shelter is now covered with multi-colored graffiti and is even more of an eyesore.

Sidewalks like this can be found not far from the city center. This one was actually cleaned up after I posted the picture. I should go back and check. There are more like it.

With a little maintenance a very expensive sidewalk repair could be avoided.

Here’s a pic of the Chinatown bridge with the railing crumbling into the river. The city isn’t going to fix it. They’re going to paint over it, I was informed. See: Chinatown bridge railing neglected and crumbling (9/22/2010).

Nor is the no-maintenance culture limited to city or state government. Here’s a very sad picture of the Falls of Clyde, sitting near the Aloha Tower Marketplace and very visible to tourists. If you know and love tall ships, the condition of the Falls of Clyde can make you cry.

The masts and rigging have been removed. It’s rusting. Rotting bulkheads have to be fixed or replaced.

From a 2005 article:

“… a ship is like a house — it falls into disrepair if not maintained, and repairs are more expensive the longer they're neglected. The work now being done on the ship is the first in about two decades, and the ship was last in dry dock in 1981.”

My pic was from 2008. Check it out in the harbor today. The neglect has been extreme and will be hard to remediate.

More recently, a proposed 48% rent increase at privately-managed Keola Hoonanea housing hit the news. It should have been obvious to the management that residents, primarily elderly and many with disabilities, could not pay the increase. Had the property been maintained over the years, such a shocking demand would not even have been contemplated. The proposed increase was unrealistic anyway since residents couldn’t pay it. They organized and got it rescinded. Now what?

There are certainly more examples of this culture of neglect. We should work to reverse it. There are many examples of properties that are well-maintained over the years. It pays off.

Hawaii can do it. My suggestion is to get after the new governor and mayor, get them to do a needs assessment and put together a realistic budget to keep our island in shape.

Oh, one last thought. Keeping infrastructure in good repair in difficult economic times is not easy, but it’s not rocket science either. The state is planning a $200,000 - $500,000 investment in making Hawaii a launching point for space tourism. Whether or not you believe that can actually happen (it’s starting already in New Mexico, not here), who would want to risk their lives believing that the launch facility will be properly maintained? Couldn’t that money be used to create ongoing programs of sound infrastructure maintenance?

And don’t let me get started on the need to keep elevated rail in good repair…

Speaking of which, I had intended to mention when I wrote my last post on the new safety rules for dams and reservoirs that in researching that story, the state guys told me that every dam in the state has some sort of deficiency that needs to be corrected.

So when are they going to fix the dams?

Permalink posted by Larry @ 11/01/2010 06:05:00 AM