Malia Zimmerman
HONOLULU -- Protesters emboldened by a recent Hawaii Supreme Court decision halting part of a new intra-island ferry service have now pulled the plug on the entire service. And that threatens the majority of state residents who want to be able to travel cheaply and conveniently between three of Hawaii's main islands, according to a recent posting on pro-development blogsite Hawaii Reporter. On Monday a circuit court judge, acting on a Supreme Court-issued Temporary Restraining Order, shut down the service between Honolulu and Maui, LNL reported. Then on Tuesday the U.S. Coast Guard announced it could not provide safe passage for the run to Kauai. That prompted Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to ask Hawaii Superferry to suspend operations to Kauai as well as Maui, leaving air travel as the only way of geting between the islands. In a piece entitled: "State and Federal Agencies Abandon Rule of Law," Hawaii Reporter founder and editor Malia Zimmerman slammed state government and the Coast Guard for caving in to a noisy minority. "[M]ore should and must be done to get the Hawaii Superferry back on track and prevent the business from going bankrupt because of government incompetence," Zimmerman wrote. She also criticized the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision timing after more than one and a half year's deliberation. "The...Justices...waited until two days before the Superferry began operating to drop that bombshell, further complicating the Superferry's operations and its passengers travel plans," she noted. Zimmerman concludes with a plea to restore what's likely to prove a very popular travel option. "The question is whether the state and federal governments will uphold the rule of law to ensure the majority wins or if they will give in to the vocal minority and allow chaos to triumph over law and order," she wrote.