The old-fashioned admonition "start bad, end bad" is so fitting to the saga of Superferry. Maybe the modern sensibility is that mistakes and skipped steps can be fixed, covered up or forgotten in the flash of a snazzy marketing campaign, but the truth is, few big projects make it that way. If Hawaii Superferry execs had made sure all the laws had been followed and all the regulatory steps checked off before they ever got in the water, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

It's terrible to think of hard-working Hawai'i folks being laid off in the middle of this economic crisis. It's not their fault that the company that hired them made friends with a set of politicians who knew more about cutting corners than crafting good laws. The Superferry workers now will suffer, along with the farmers and other businesses that were using the ferry to get product to and from Maui.

The burden should rest solely on the shoulders of the executives who pushed so hard to get Superferry running that they ran roughshod over environmental law and the deep aloha 'aina of so many residents. All the press releases about this charity group and that bunch of war heroes who got free rides and drinks doesn't take away the lasting impression of bullies flauting the law.

Likewise, blame the state lawmakers who linked arms and fates with Superferry executives, all of them so thoroughly convinced of their supreme power and unquestionable judgment that they talked themselves into a self-righteous frenzy about the goodness of Superferry and the badness of those who dared question their actions.

Even now, Gov. Linda Lingle is stubbornly defending her actions.

"... we know from the beginning we were correct and accurate, did the right thing ..."

How can?!

Even now, Colleen Hanabusa is saying oh, those judges are threatening the Legislature's power to make more laws like the unlawful Act 2.

"I'm concerned that we are not going to be able to craft laws maybe as deliberately as we have in the past."

How can?!

If Superferry and its myriad fans in state government had played it straight from the beginning instead of demanding and receiving special treatment, the business might have become, over time, something beloved and trusted, like Leonard's Bakery or Big City Diner. Now, go or no-go, its history is tainted, its political supporters upbraided. Superferry is the icon for big money pushing a big idea over little things like community concerns and state law.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.