I’m thrilled that Oceanic Time Warner Cable will add additional redundancy to their network after the TW Telecom/Wavecom Solutions fiber-optic cable is repaired.

However, this outage could’ve been prevented if Oceanic Time Warner already had this redundancy built into their network infrastructure. They are the State of Hawaii’s largest ISP. So, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that a major outage would cause serious statewide disruptions.

I sent this e-mail to Alan Pollock, and Norman Santos of Oceanic Time Warner Cable yesterday regarding this preventable outage:

“Aloha,

I was mildly affected by today’s fiber outage. All channels simply went black around midnight. Nevertheless, I’m curious if OTW is planning to add some redundancy its network. It simply doesn’t make any sense to reroute most of the neighbor island connections to LA and back to Hawaii until the Wavecom/TW Telecom fiber is repaired. So, I hope in the future OTW procures additional redundant bandwidth through Paniolo or HawTel to avoid this problem in the future.

Aaron”

Robert Wessels, the managing partner of The Villages of Aina Le’a project, now claims the development is on track and they’ve paid their contractors on time. However, Mr. Wessels previously stated   “Some of them are ahead of our ability to draw on the funds,” Wessels said. “The contractors are all getting paid as they submit. … There are some that are later.”. In addition, there was an excellent letter to the editor recently which raised several valid concerns about DW Aina Le’a LLC‘s ability to complete this project.

The developer’s project funding is questionable at best. They’ve lured unsuspecting Asian investors to buy into this development. DW Aina Le’a LLC’s primary financial backer, Capital Asia Group Pte Ltd, has guaranteed a 30% ROI over 2.5 years to whoever invests in The Villages at Aina Le’a project.

These investors are listed as deed holders (about 300) when I checked the Bureau of Conveyances website.

Lastly, Tiffany Edwards Hunt’s commentary regarding Councilman Greenwell’s latest “sunshine law” resolution was spot-on. Resolution 364 would begin the process which may  eliminate the need for the council to comply with this law. The community is already up in arms about the current ineffective, and overreaching county council’s actions. So, this proposed legislation is simply adding fuel to the fire.

The Hawaii County DPW sent me this update regarding the La’aloa Avenue Extension project.

“The current status for the La’aloa Avenue Extension Project: Currently the consultant is addressing the 90% comments from all the reviewing agencies. If all goes well, we plan to begin the process of acquiring the road ROW next month (making the ROW maps, the property descriptions, land appraisals, etc.).”

I previous inquired with the HDOT regarding this project after the WHT published this article:

“Design work for the Laaloa Avenue project was under way, Lee said, but state Department of Transportation officials required some adjustments at the proposed intersection with Kuakini Highway. Those changes mean the county will need to approach the landowners at the intersection again, he said.”

I hope the county can start work on this much-needed mauka to makai connector road soon.

(Related item: Hawaii County Needs To Expedite The Completion Of The La’aloa Avenue And Lako Street Extensions)

HELCO and PGV have not agreed on a new power purchase agreement yet. However, PGV remains hopeful it will happen soon.

(Related item: Puna Geothermal Venture Tour)

There were a couple interesting questions raised here regarding the upcoming Queen Kaahumanu Highway Phase II widening project.

” Is there a finish date written stone? If not, why not?

Goodfellow Brothers has 701 calender days to complete this project. The clock started on July 7th, 2010 (when the design NTP was granted). 701 calender days from that date is June 7th, 2012.

“Has Goodfellows posted a performance bond guaranteeing a finish date? If not why not? “

I’m not entirely sure if the HDOT has mandated that Goodfellow Brothers do this. Nevertheless, I recall the second bid award contract contained a provision which mandated that Goodfellow would be fined if the project was not completed on time.

“Deputy Director for Highways Jiro Sumada said this contract includes a performance clause that requires Goodfellow Bros. to complete the design and construction within 750 days of the notice to proceed, which is expected to come in April. Goodfellow Bros. will be fined $5,000 for every day beyond the 750 days, until the project is completed.“

The first public meeting regarding this project will be held in late August/early September.

Karin Stanton of Hawaii247 attended the recent tour of the Ane Keohokalole Highway project. She wrote an article about this future roadway with several excellent photographs.

I met fellow Big Island blogger Tiffany Edwards Hunt after my tour of the PGV facility on Friday. We had a great time talking for about 45 minutes or so until she got a case of morning sickness. So, I left and headed back to Kona.  Two local females shoplifted from her store shortly after I left. It took the police two hours to arrive and take a report on this incident. The HCPD’s response time in this matter is an absolute embarrassment.

Lastly, I was able to obtain the current court docket for American Motorist Insurance Company’s lawsuit against the Hokulia Community Association, etc (and their counter suit against American Motorist Insurance Company).

(Related item: Update On Hawaii County’s Lawsuit Against 1250 Oceanside Partners And American Motorist Insurance Company)