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New high-tech Matson
ships will service HawaiiWith a bottle of Maui sparkling wine, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and his wife, Margaret, christened a new, high-tech diesel container ship this past Saturday that will make the Hawaii-to-Long Beach route.
The MV Manukai, ordered by Matson Navigation Co. and built at the Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, is the first new container ship for Matson in this century. It is one of two new ships that the company will build to service Hawaii.
The MV Manukai and its sister ship are a significant investment in the future of Hawaii's transportation infrastructure, Inouye said. The ship cost $110 million to build and has the capacity to carry 2,600 containers.
Sea trials for the 712-foot Manukai began this week, and the container ship is expected to begin Honolulu-West Coast service this fall.
Blundell blasts Democrats
Freshman state Rep. Brian Blundell (R, Lahaina-Kihei) got an eye-opening lesson in politics in his first year from last week's veto override of six bills by the Legislature's ruling Democrat majority.Blundell said none of the 15 GOP members in the 51-member House was invited to join in the discussions of the special session, and they were not given any say or input. By doing so, he said, the majority party disregarded 30 percent of state House districts controlled by Republicans.
He said the majority's failure to rise above politics has degraded the legislative process of the state "to mere political despotism."
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