Ticker: Fed grant funds electric buses in Springfield; Historic ‘Blue Hawaii’ resort hits auction block

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority has received a $7.2 million federal grant that will be used to buy eight new electric buses.

The grant from the Federal Transit Administration this week is the largest in the nation for a regional transit authority this year under the low and no-emission grant program.

The eight new buses to be delivered next year will give the PVTA a total of 23 electric buses out of a fleet of about 180 buses.

The PVTA is hoping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. by 50% by 2050, similar to state and federal goals.

‘Blue Hawaii’ resort hits the auction block

The historic resort where Elvis Presley’s character got married in the 1961 film “Blue Hawaii” will go up for auction at a foreclosure sale on Kauai this month.

The Garden Island newspaper reported the abandoned Coco Palms Resort will be auctioned July 26 on the steps of the Fifth Circuit Courthouse in Lihue.

Coco Palms opened in 1953 next to a historic coconut grove and an ancient Hawaiian fishpond. It has been closed since Hurricane Iniki — a Category 4 storm — slammed into Kauai in 1992. Several attempts to restore the property since have failed.

The property will be sold to the highest bidder in as-is condition. The winning bidder will have to pay 10% in cash, money order or by certified or cashier’s check after bidding.

The 46-acre grounds were once home to Kauai’s last queen, Queen Deborah Kapule Kekaihaakulou. It’s the site of key scenes in “Blue Hawaii,” including the last one where Presley sings the “Hawaiian Wedding Song” and holds his bride’s hand while they board a raft to cross a lagoon.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3hD3Qgg