Kokua Line: Why are lights out in Pali tunnels?
Question : Both of the short tunnels on Pali Highway are in the dark, and the sign announcing the outage has also gone missing. I'll refrain from smart-aleck remarks, but this seems a serious situation that needs attention. Do the responsible folks know and have a plan to fix it ?
Answer : Yes. You are one of multiple readers who have expressed this safety concern in recent weeks, with some saying the lights have been out for quite a while. We raised your questions with the state Department of Transportation on Feb. 27, and after following up on Wednesday heard back later that day. Here's the response from Shelly Kunishige, a spokesperson for the department :
'HDOT has posted electronic signs alerting motorists to the lights in the Pali tunnels on Oahu being out. For safety we recommend that drivers use their headlights when traveling through the tunnels even in daylight.
'HDOT is working with Hawaiian Electric to investigate concerns with the power supply and lights in the short tunnels on the Pali Highway. This will involve installation of power monitoring equipment in mid-March and a surge suppression system in June. In the interim, we will be turning on an emergency circuit that can partially power the short tunnel lighting (10 lights in the Kailua-bound tunnel and six lights in the Honolulu-bound tunnel ).
'The long tunnel lights have been restored following a timing schedule programming error that turned them off during the night. HDOT staff will be manually commanding the long tun -nel lights as we work to resolve the timing schedule programming.'
Q : Regarding the state trying to expedite the hiring of laid-off federal workers, isn't the city doing the same thing ?
Don 't miss out on what 's happening !
Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE !
Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA.
A : Yes, Honolulu's municipal government announced it's streamlining the hiring of laid-off federal employees to fill vacant city positions. Learn more at. For convenience, here's the link to the state's effort, which we mentioned in a previous column : .
Q : The federal government gives a preference in hiring to military veterans, attracting them to apply, and now they are getting laid off in droves. Auwe !
A : U.S. military veterans comprise about 30 % of the federal workforce, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and they are not immune from the mass layoffs imposed by the Trump administration, as you pointed out. As for the hiring preference, you can read more about that at.
Q : Please print the Hawaii phone numbers for our congressional delegation. Not all of us are online.
A : Here are local contact numbers as listed on the senators' and representatives' websites, where additional contact information is available, including phone numbers to their Washington, D.C., offices and options to send email or letters.—Sen. Mazie Hirono, 808-522-8970 or 844-478-3478 (toll free ),—Sen. Brian Schatz, 808-523-2061,—Rep. Jill Tokuda, 808-746-6220,—Rep. Ed Case, 808-650-6688, Auwe These mass federal layoffs are going to drive everything to 'online service, ' which is fine for most people, but good luck if you have even the slightest complication in your case, form, request, etc.—the computer can't handle it ! And now the person who could have helped you is being laid off ! Auwe !—A reader Mahalo Many thanks to the young man who lifted my heavy purchases into the trunk of my car at Iwilei Costco. He was with his mother, who approached very gently, so as not to startle me, as I struggled to lift a case of canned goods from the cart. I appreciate their kindness.—A reader------------Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813 ; call 808-529-4773 ; or email.------------
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Factbox-Los Angeles, progressive beacon at center of anti-Trump backlash
By Costas Pitas LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Protests in Los Angeles against raids on suspected undocumented immigrants have turned into the strongest domestic backlash against President Donald Trump since he took office in January. Here is how the Democratic-leaning city and state of California vary from Trump's Republicans and his support in the U.S. heartland. PARTY POLITICS Nationwide, Trump won around 2.5 million more votes than his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the November presidential election but in Los Angeles, Harris won by a margin of roughly two to one. Of the 50 U.S. states, California backed Harris by the fifth largest margin. California is also home to several top-level Democrats, including Harris herself, and long-time former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Governor Gavin Newsom is a Democrat, as is the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Both have complained about Trump's tactics this week. The party raises millions in the state from wealthy donors and grassroots supporters, sometimes in a single day. DEMOGRAPHICS At 27.3%, California has the highest foreign-born population of any U.S. state, compared to 13.9% of the total U.S. population, according to a 2024 Census report. Nearly half of Angelenos are Hispanic or Latino and some 35% of the city's total population is foreign-born, according to the American Community Survey, with many cultural and business ties to Mexico, which is only about a two-hour drive south. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS Faced with persistently bad air quality, especially in cities with strong driving cultures such as Los Angeles, California has developed some of the strictest environmental regulations in the country, opposed by many Republicans. A landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 in California is in the crosshairs of a battle between its Democratic leadership and the Republican-run federal government, also because many other states replicate California's first-in-the-nation action. In May, the Republican-run Senate in Washington voted to ban the plan and it is now awaiting Trump's signature. He is expected to sign it this week, according to industry officials. HOLLYWOOD American movies and television are one of the most visible U.S. exports, emanating from an LA-based industry that had been hailed by liberals for boosting diversity but criticized by some conservatives for creating films that include LGBT stories. In May, Trump suggested a tariff on movies produced in foreign countries to protect a domestic industry that he said was "dying a very fast death." But when China retaliated by saying it would curb American film imports, he prompted laughter at a cabinet meeting by a response that signaled his derision for Hollywood: "I think I've heard of worse things."
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
GM to invest $4 billion in U.S. manufacturing plants amid tariffs
DETROIT — General Motors plans to invest $4 billion in several American plants, including adding production of two popular Chevrolet vehicles that are currently built in Mexico. The Detroit automaker announced the plans Tuesday, as there have been few indications of progress in trade talks between the Trump administration and Mexican leaders. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump implemented 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and 25% tariffs on many auto parts imported into the U.S. GM said the investments add assembly of the Chevrolet Blazer and Chevrolet Equinox that are currently produced in Mexico to two other plants in the U.S. and convert a large idled plant in Michigan — formerly expected to build all-electric trucks — to make gas-powered vehicles. The investment and moves will likely be hailed as a win for Trump's policies and automotive tariffs, which took effect for imported vehicles in April and many auto parts in May. "We believe the future of transportation will be driven by American innovation and manufacturing expertise," said GM CEO Mary Barra said in a release. "Today's announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to build vehicles in the U.S and to support American jobs. We're focused on giving customers choice and offering a broad range of vehicles they love." GM has been analyzing its North American production footprint for months amid the tariffs, with executives saying they weren't going to make any decisions — instead taking a "wait and see" approach — until they got further clarity on the regulatory environment, including the auto levies. GM CFO Paul Jacobson said late last month during a Bernstein investor event that the tariffs wouldn't probably be "as bad as the market reacted to." He said potential trade deals with other countries and the automaker's ability to mitigate some costs of the tariffs were promising signs. The Detroit automaker previously said it expected to be able to offset between 30% and 50% of the North American tariffs without deploying any capital in the short-term. GM CEO Mary Barra during the Bernstein event said the company is "going to see us be very resilient and, again, strengthen our business as we move forward — in some cases, seize opportunities where the vehicles are so successful." Those opportunities now appear to include pulling back additional spending on electric vehicles. The Orion Assembly plant in suburban Detroit, which will be retooled for gas products, was expected to be its second EV-exclusive plant in the U.S.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Trump is about to kill California's EV rules
President Donald Trump plans to sign a trio of resolutions Thursday to revoke California's nation-leading vehicle emissions standards. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( author of a resolution to nix the state's electric vehicle sales mandate via the Congressional Review Act, and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) confirmed that the White House has scheduled the signings at 11 a.m. on Thursday. Trump's signature will finalize his administration's months-long effort to thwart California's authority to set stricter electrification rules for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks, along with higher standards for heavy-duty diesel engines. Republican lawmakers promised to quickly roll back Biden-era EPA waivers that give California the power to enforce its rules after Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in February that his agency had sent them for review. That move opened a window of 60 days in session for Congress to vote on resolutions and avoid the Senate filibuster. But Senate sign-off on the maneuver stretched until last month, just days before the CRA deadline, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and moderate Republicans debated internally over whether to overrule Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who — along with the Government Accountability Office — told lawmakers the waivers were not subject to CRA. Trump's EPA revoked an earlier version of California's vehicle emissions rules through an 18-month regulatory process during his first term, but Republicans' vote last month to expedite the rollback through Congress marked the first time waiver approvals have been considered subject to CRA since President Bill Clinton signed the law in 1996. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has promised to fight the decision, saying last month that he plans to sue once Trump signs the resolutions. Spokespeople for Bonta did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said the state is ready to defend its rules. 'If it's a day ending in Y, it's another day of Trump's war on California. We're fighting back,' Villaseñor said in a statement. California has maintained a unique ability among states to set stricter-than-federal air quality standards since President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act in 1970. State officials and environmental groups argue the carveout is necessary to combat the region's worst-in-the-nation smog, and the authority has underpinned its climate and environmental protection goals. The revocations would also impact a dozen other blue states that have adopted the rules, though some, including Maryland and Vermont, had moved to delay implementation. Republicans and industry groups argue that the waivers constitute a nationwide electric vehicle mandate because of California's market and the fact that other states do not need EPA approval to follow them. Congressional Democrats have framed the decision to overrule the parliamentarian as akin to destroying the filibuster and have promised to use CRA in the future to undermine Republican priorities, like oil and gas leases, not previously considered reviewable. Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
