Replacing Street Signs; H-Power’s New Boiler
State Sen. Mike Gabbard
Aloha Friends,
The 2013 Legislative Session is fast-approaching and will kick off Jan. 16. I’m interested in getting your input on any ideas you have for legislation. It doesn’t have to be a well-thought out concept, just something that you think should be changed or improved in our government. I’ll consider turning these ideas into bills for introduction.
Please contact me at 586-6830 or sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov if I can help you in any way. Here are some other things I’d like to share with you.
Quick Community Updates
* Campbell Industrial Park Street Signage I received a complaint from a constituent about the absence of street signage in Campbell Industrial Park and contacted the director of the city Department of Facility Maintenance. I got word back that they would be replacing missing street signs at the intersections of Kalaeloa and Malakole, and Kalaeloa and Kauhi by mid-December.
* Kapolei Parkway The City informed us that the section of Kapolei Parkway from the edge of D.R. Horton Schuler’s Mehana residential development to Kamokila Boulevard will be under construction starting this month and be completed by January 2014. The project was delayed because the contractor, Royal Contracting, had problems getting grading permits from the City.
* Renee Shoji Named Outstanding Educator A big congratulations to Kapolei High School teacher Renee Shoji, who was named a 2011-2012 Outstanding Educator by Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Pizza Hut.
H-Power Launches Third Boiler
Several of my colleagues and I congratulated Covanta Energy and city officials with a certificate from the state Legislature at the H-Power facility in Campbell Industrial Park. H-Power recently added a third boiler to its existing waste-to-energy facility, which is managed by Covanta and owned by the city.
The expansion added a second turbine-generator which will allow for combustion of a greater variety of waste, including bulky items. The expansion created 300 additional jobs during its construction period and was finished ahead of schedule and under budget. The additional boiler is capable of burning 300,000 tons of refuse per year, so H-Power will now process 900,000 tons of trash per year. H-Power provides power to approximately 65,000 homes and recovers 20,000 tons of metal for recycling each year. The third boiler cost an estimated $302 million.
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties Opens Kapolei Office
Rep. Sharon Har and I presented Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties a certificate from the state Legislature at the Oct. 20 grand opening for its Kapolei office at Kapolei Commons. Coldwell Banker is a leading residential real estate brokerage company in Hawaii operating five residential real estate offices on Oahu with more than 400 sales associates and employees. They are part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company.
“Listen Story”
My next “Listen Story” will be held at the new Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Kapolei Foodland (Wakea Street at Kapolei Parkway) from 9 to 10 a.m. Nov. 24. This will be my last “Listen Story” meeting of the year, as I won’t be holding a December meeting.
Sen. Mike Gabbard, D, represents District 19 (Waikele-Ko Olina).
