Not in Time for the Election

Honolulu is voting today on whether to spend $4 to $5 billion on an elevated rail system. The city is hoping the federal government to match local funds, but the mayor is so eager to have the rail line that he wants to start construction before the feds give their approval.

After a campaign in which the mayor used his own campaign funds to pay for newspaper ads slurring rail skeptics, opponents managed to collect enough signatures to put the rail project on the ballot. As it happens, the city published a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), needed for federal approval, just a few days before the election. (The DEIS is dated October 28, but it wasn’t posted on line until November 1st or 2nd.)

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