An April 26 newspaper article reminded us (again) about the disrepair of the dilapidated, sadly ignored Queen Theater in Kaimuki. Like the movie “Groundhog Day”, we watch/read many local stories over and over again. Neglect seems to be an accepted state of affairs. Discussions, planning, proposals, amendments, lawsuits, and then– déjà vu… two years (or 10, or 40) go by and nothing.
A new state prison, bypass roads, the leaky Convention Center and State Capitol, a rebar-exposed World War I memorial, the Ko’olau Stairs, a new leeward high school to remedy overcrowding, Aloha Stadium, HART, Kauai’s Coco Palms, the antiquated Jones Act, a new O`ahu landfill, aging infrastructure, the biennial call for fresh faces/ideas in the legislature, responsible tourism, the plea for “affordable” housing, the obvious need for higher paying jobs to keep folks here with some sense that they’ll be able to retire sans panic.
Lights go out in a Pali Tunnel and it takes six months to replace an electrical transformer. It took four years to repave and upgrade a few miles on the town-side Pali Highway. Yes, everyone’s got their own neighborhood gripes.
A business compatriot who’d visit annually would tell me how he couldn’t understand why every time he’d watch local news or read the paper, the same stories he’d seen a year (or two, or three) ago were still unresolved headlines. Our slower pace is just fine, but some unresolved, age old projects/ideas apparently have no pulse at all. But we’ll study it.
The Queen Theater sits on a high-trafficked street corner in a seemingly ideal spot; it’s been closed for 41 years. The Ko`olau Stairway to Heaven has been closed for 37 years. The Waikiki Natatorium has been closed for 47 years. Leaks plagued the now-gone reflecting pools (and basement repository) at the State Capitol for over 50 years, while the Convention Center has had leaks and other repair issues regularly since 1999. A recommendation to replace the state prison came out in 1998. Ala Wai Canal flood feasibility studies began over 25 years ago.
An East Kapolei High School “plan” has been around since 2014. Regular work has been going on at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) for 20 years. You wanna see a project conceived of and acted upon quickly? You want to be impressed by rapid repairs. Move. It’s simply not happening here. Disrepair? Nah, we routinely diss repair.
Think about it.