HONOLULU AUTHORITY FOR RAPID TRANSIT (HART)
The Rail Project
Future Leadership on The Chopping Block
It's not clear whether the recent departures are part of HART Interim Executive Director Lori
Kahikina's earlier drive to save cosst by streamlining the agency.
Nearly half the agency's staff was purged under that effort, and the severity of the cuts
concerned rail's federal overseers. Kahikina, however, said the move was justified with so
little construction work happening on rail's final four miles to Ala Moana.
Kahikina has a one-year contract in the interim role that runs through December, and the
HART board's Human Resources Committee has been reviewing her job performance in
closed session on a quarterly basis. Recently, the committee has met to discuss an
“employment agreement for the executive director and CEO.”
HART Sheds More Staff, Including Its Latest Chief Financial Officer
The changes come amid the HART board's private discussions on future leadership at the agency
By Marcel Honore, Honolulu Civil Beat, September 10, 202
<https://www.civilbeat.org/beat/hart-sheds-more-staff-including-its-latest-chief-financial-officer/>
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Companies facing a reduced market share from lower consumer demand or a downturn in
the business cycle may be forced to reduce operational output. This reduction may include
laying off employees, selling equipment or assets and closing underperforming business
facilities. Companies may need to take additional measures depending on the
consistency of business losses and whether their initial reduction methods have
lessened the impact of operational losses. [Emphasis Supplied]
What Are the Effects of Profit or Loss in a Business Organization?
By Osmond Vitez, CHRON, February 12, 2019
<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-profit-loss-business-organization-824.html>
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PANOS PREVEDOUROS
I like Lori a lot and I have worked with her a little bit on environmental issues and waste
disposa. While transportation may not be her strength, I think she can manage big things, and
that could be helpful. It may be a wise interim appointment for now. Her appointment as one
of HART's better choices. She's very familiar with the city, with a lot of local companies, and
she's a graduate of UH engineering — she has a lot of things going for her.
However, I don't know, this project has so many problems, nobody can perform miracles.
[Emphasis Supplied]
Lori Kahikina, City Environmental Services Director, is named interim chief of Honolulu Rail Project
By Gordon Y.K. Pang, Honolulu Star Advertiser, December 29, 2020
<https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/12/29/hawaii-news/lori-kahikina-city-environmental-services-director-is-named-interim-chief-of-honolulu-rail-project/>
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SHOULD ALA MOANA REMAIN THE PRIZE?
A Final Destination Driven by Full-Funding From Feds
The $10 billion-plus project is over budget and its opening long delayed.
Kahikina said it's clear to her that the FTA expects the project to go the entire 20-mile, 21-
station route from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center as part of the Full Funding Grant
Agreement that provided a $1.55 billion federal share of the project. The rest of the project is
being funded largely through state excise and hotel room taxes, with a significantly smaller
portion from city property taxes.
Lori Kahikina, City Environmental Services Director, is named interim chief of Honolulu Rail Project
By Gordon Y.K. Pang, Honolulu Star Advertiser, December 29, 2020
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BUILD YOUR TEAM!
WISDOM FROM HERB BROOKS
You win with people, not with talent. So the quality of the people is very important in
building your team. I always looked for people with a solid value system. Then I recruited
kids from a cross-section of different personalities, talents, and styles of play. My
recruiting key - I looked for people first, athletes second. I wanted people with a sound
value system as you cannot buy values. You're only as good as your values.
Every single one of those players was chosen for a specific reason. I've seen them, I've
watched them, and I coached a lot of them.
What is courage? Let me tell you what I think it is. An indefinable quality that makes a
man put out that extra something when it seems there is nothing else to give.
Let me start with issuing you a challenge: Be better than you are. Set a goal that seems
unattainable, and when you reach that goal, set another one even higher.
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Herb Brooks, is a notable American ice hockey player who later became a coach, is
incredibly the most inspiring man you could ever look up to. Herb Brooks is known for
his leading responsibility in the men's Olympic ice hockey team. Herb Brooks formed a
team made up of college kids and went to defeat the Soviet Union back in 1980. His
team won the gold at Placid Olympic Games, known as The Miracle On Ice.
Herb Brooks The Iconic Ice Hockey Player And Coach, Kidadl Team, February 19, 2021
<https://kidadl.com/articles/herb-brooks-quotes-from-the-iconic-ice-hockey-player-and-coach>