What the mayor, the council, and the legislature refuse to do is ask federal officials to conduct a fair and open review of the rail project’s costs, technology, and even the alignment to determine what can be accomplished with available funding. The review should include the current project, conversion to at-grade rail at Middle Street, and conversion to urban magnetic levitation starting at Aloha Stadium. I have testified that urban maglev can complete the 20-mile plan within the current $6.8 billion funding. If the legislature approves a two-year surcharge extension, the maglev could even accommodate the east and west extensions of the alignment (i.e., the locally preferred alternative) with an $8 billion budget. Ignoring maglev now would be unethical, continuing the debacle created when a maglev also was ignored in 2008.