 Aloha, I'm Kayleigh Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute. A few years ago I did an interview for a Hana Kako TV show with Lavonda Atkinson, a cost engineer and whistleblower on a San Francisco project that extended part of the city's existing subway. And that was about two miles at what she said was at a billion dollars a mile. Now after looking over the problems with our own rail project, she had this advice for Hawaii, cut the cord. Well, I'll tell you, back then in February 2015, the estimated cost for the Honolulu rail was six billion dollars. Atkinson said that was just too low. Atkinson also said she would be surprised if the rail were finished in under 30 years for under 20 billion dollars. Now I have to confess that initially I thought she was exaggerating. But now when I look back at the largely ineffective battle by the Honolulu authority for rapid transit, to control its costs, it occurs to me that she might have been right. A recent analysis by the Federal Transit Administration found that the project is costing more than hard anticipated. Well, this of course is no surprise. In 2012, the city's funded agreement with the FTA put the cost at 5.28 billion dollars, and completion date then was 2020. But the latest estimate is now 9 billion dollars, and completion date is 2025. And those are optimistic figures. Well, at their most recent meeting, heart board members openly struggled with the fact that the FTA is requiring them to update their budget to reflect an additional $134 million in cost. Already, the FTA has signaled its lack of faith in the project by withholding federal funds, absent a recovery plan, and settling a November 20th deadline, or setting a November 20th deadline for the city to come up with $44 million. That's the initial payment on a $214 million obligation to heart. Well in short, it's an absolute mess. Worse, when the estimated cost of the rail was only about $3 billion back in 2006, we were promised that no city funds would be used for the project. Marking the threat from the FTA could cause it to break that promise. The city is saying it needs a deadline extension now, because it can't get the money in time from bonds. But you know, if the FTA holds to its word, the city will have to repay the $44 million marking the first time it has had to use its own funds for the rail. Now the question is whether that would be the last time. There's still a long way from 2025, and there's no guarantee that the rising costs of the rail will stop. Hart's newest plan is to pursue a public-private partnership, an idea that Honolulu's civil beat characterized as, quote, magical thinking. Would you bet that we can go seven years without another trip to the state legislature for more funding? Think about it. Back in 2015, Atkinson told me we needed to stop and look at what people really needed for mass transit before sinking any more money into rail. Her insights helped us to develop our campaign at grassroots for an independent forensic audit to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse. We call it audit the rail. And we need to keep campaigning for one, since an effort by the state auditor to examine the rail's finances seems to have stumbled over the lack of cooperation from Hart. Frankly, we need more truth and transparency. The policy of grit your teeth and ignore the cost and get through it might be a good one for politicians, but it's not good for Hawaii and its citizens. Ehana Kako, let's work together. I'm Keli E. Akina with the Grassroot Institute.