Hui-R Open Letter

An Open Letter to John Garibaldi, CEO,
and the investors of Hawaii Superferry, Incorporated.

Mr. Garibaldi:

We feel it is necessary to address your comments describing Kaua'i people involved in this week's nonviolent protests as a "minority dissident group". While the people of Kaua'i may make up only about 5% of the population of the State of Hawai'i, we are however 100% of the population of our beloved island home.

Our Kaua'i majority has been well represented by a number of our elected officials, who also attended the demonstrations earlier this week:

Our Kaua'i state Senator, Gary Hooser, has been exemplary in communicating our request for a lawful Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for your ferry operation.

Mina Morita, state Representative from Kaua'i, has also been extremely supportive in the effort to obtain an EIS.

On the local County level, our Kaua'i Council was first in the state, followed by Maui and the Big Island, in passing a resolution calling for an EIS. Kaua'i Council member JoAnn Yukimura, along with newly elected Council member Tim Bynum, continue to be vocal and active in their reasonable requests for an EIS.

And finally, at the resident level, over 6,000 Kaua’ians signed a petition to Governor Lingle calling for an EIS.

Mr. Garibaldi, if you had been witness to Monday's protest on the ground, you would have observed nearly one thousand peace-loving Kaua'i people from all walks of life and many different races. Families together, parents carrying their babies. Young and old, wealthy and humble, we all took time from our busy lives to chant aloud: "FOLLOW THE LAW, SHOW US YOUR EIS!"

We would like to direct your attention to several local newspaper articles which illustrate the broad and diverse base of community support for our movement:

On Tuesday, August 28, the Honolulu Advertiser published an article by Jan TenBruggencate entitled "Groups unite against Superferry".

Also on Tuesday, Honolulu Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna wrote "Stop 'local' card with Superferry" -- describing what we also see as 'living local': "asking hard questions, going to court, holding protest signs and treading water in Nawiliwili Harbor."

On Wednesday, August 29, The Garden Island newspaper of Kaua'i published an article by Nathan Eagle entitled "Action unites many" which described our common cause.

Mr. Garibaldi, it now stands clear that you made a grievous error in accelerating the launch date of your ferry service. It was truly this action which galvanized the resistance in the Kaua'i community. The result was a tremendous popular uproar, the demonstration of which has now been documented in the news media.

We commend you for taking responsibility for your displaced and stranded customers, and returning them to their port of origin. We suggest that you take one further step and issue a formal statement of apology to both your customers and the Hawaii Supreme Court for disregarding the court's ruling of Thursday, August 23rd and deliberately confusing a matter of the rule of law.

The truth about the Kaua'i protests is that the courageous actions of a few were made with the deep support of many. We demonstrated the resolve and tenacity of our diverse island community by resisting your anti-democratic rush to commence operations. The people of Kaua'i are not fools. We have clearly observed the collusion of state government officials with your commercial interests, resulting in the violation of Hawai'i state law. We demand a democratic process, in which public input from Kaua'i residents is included in the evaluation of your ferry operation's environmental, cultural, and social impacts.

In closing, we would like to bring your attention to an incident which occurred here this week. On Tuesday, August 28th at about 5:15 pm, eyewitnesses reported two uniformed Hawaii Superferry employees dumping bloody fish carcasses and chunks of fish over the Nawiliwili harbor jetty seawall into the bay. When confronted and advised that there were surfers in the bay, and that the fish remains might attract dangerous sharks to the area, your employees reportedly shrugged and said, "So"?

Is this the kind of responsible corporate behavior which we should expect from Hawaii Superferry?

Me Ke Aloha,

Who We Are

Hui-R is a coalition of concerned individuals, stepping forward from the diverse rainbow of our island community:

We are people of Kaua'i, uniting to protect our beloved ocean island home.

We are the response of a people whose voice has fallen on the deaf ears of government and corporations.

In addition to other legal actions, our call is to take direct action through peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience.

If you are of the same mind, then YOU are who we are.

Home Who We Are Our Message Public Meeting

Superferry Civil Disobedience Media Coverage

Open Letter to Hawaii Superferry

	An Open Letter to John Garibaldi, CEO, and the investors of Hawaii Superferry, Incorporated.
	Mr. Garibaldi: We feel it is necessary to address your comments describing Kaua'i people involved in this week's nonviolent protests as a "minority dissident group". While the people of Kaua'i may make up only about 5% of the population of the State of Hawai'i, we are however 100% of the population of our beloved island home. Our Kaua'i majority has been well represented by a number of our elected officials, who also attended the demonstrations earlier this week: Our Kaua'i state Senator, Gary Hooser, has been exemplary in communicating our request for a lawful Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for your ferry operation. Mina Morita, state Representative from Kaua'i, has also been extremely supportive in the effort to obtain an EIS. On the local County level, our Kaua'i Council was first in the state, followed by Maui and the Big Island, in passing a resolution calling for an EIS. Kaua'i Council member JoAnn Yukimura, along with newly elected Council member Tim Bynum, continue to be vocal and active in their reasonable requests for an EIS. And finally, at the resident level, over 6,000 Kaua’ians signed a petition to Governor Lingle calling for an EIS. Mr. Garibaldi, if you had been witness to Monday's protest on the ground, you would have observed nearly one thousand peace-loving Kaua'i people from all walks of life and many different races. Families together, parents carrying their babies. Young and old, wealthy and humble, we all took time from our busy lives to chant aloud: "FOLLOW THE LAW, SHOW US YOUR EIS!" We would like to direct your attention to several local newspaper articles which illustrate the broad and diverse base of community support for our movement: On Tuesday, August 28, the Honolulu Advertiser published an article by Jan TenBruggencate entitled "Groups unite against Superferry". Also on Tuesday, Honolulu Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna wrote "Stop 'local' card with Superferry" -- describing what we also see as 'living local': "asking hard questions, going to court, holding protest signs and treading water in Nawiliwili Harbor." On Wednesday, August 29, The Garden Island newspaper of Kaua'i published an article by Nathan Eagle entitled "Action unites many" which described our common cause. Mr. Garibaldi, it now stands clear that you made a grievous error in accelerating the launch date of your ferry service. It was truly this action which galvanized the resistance in the Kaua'i community. The result was a tremendous popular uproar, the demonstration of which has now been documented in the news media. We commend you for taking responsibility for your displaced and stranded customers, and returning them to their port of origin. We suggest that you take one further step and issue a formal statement of apology to both your customers and the Hawaii Supreme Court for disregarding the court's ruling of Thursday, August 23rd and deliberately confusing a matter of the rule of law. The truth about the Kaua'i protests is that the courageous actions of a few were made with the deep support of many. We demonstrated the resolve and tenacity of our diverse island community by resisting your anti-democratic rush to commence operations. The people of Kaua'i are not fools. We have clearly observed the collusion of state government officials with your commercial interests, resulting in the violation of Hawai'i state law. We demand a democratic process, in which public input from Kaua'i residents is included in the evaluation of your ferry operation's environmental, cultural, and social impacts. In closing, we would like to bring your attention to an incident which occurred here this week. On Tuesday, August 28th at about 5:15 pm, eyewitnesses reported two uniformed Hawaii Superferry employees dumping bloody fish carcasses and chunks of fish over the Nawiliwili harbor jetty seawall into the bay. When confronted and advised that there were surfers in the bay, and that the fish remains might attract dangerous sharks to the area, your employees reportedly shrugged and said, "So"? Is this the kind of responsible corporate behavior which we should expect from Hawaii Superferry? Me Ke Aloha,

	Who We Are Hui-R is a coalition of concerned individuals, stepping forward from the diverse rainbow of our island community: We are people of Kaua'i, uniting to protect our beloved ocean island home. We are the response of a people whose voice has fallen on the deaf ears of government and corporations. In addition to other legal actions, our call is to take direct action through peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience. If you are of the same mind, then YOU are who we are.
	Home Who We Are Our Message Public Meeting Superferry Civil Disobedience Media Coverage Open Letter to Hawaii Superferry

An Open Letter to John Garibaldi, CEO, and the investors of Hawaii Superferry, Incorporated.

An Open Letter to John Garibaldi, CEO,
and the investors of Hawaii Superferry, Incorporated.