It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that leadership changes at the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation may be coming. Will former chair Colleen Hanabusa succeed Toby Martyn?

The move comes as the board faces scrutiny for its questionable handling of two recent consultant contract awards.

Normally there’s a six-month cutoff to investigate such matters, but OIP made an exception due to the “significant public interest” in HART.

Documents suggest a contract for federal lobbying services was already a done deal before it was put out to bid.

Colleen Hanabusa says she drafted bills and monitored legislation on her own, not because she expected a contract or financial reward from the transit board.

Newly released documents confirm what many suspected: that the contract and its restrictive qualifications were written with the former congresswoman in mind.

The rail authority has also been borrowing on its own to cover its costs and pay its contractors.

The FTA says it “will discuss all possible options” amid rail’s latest, massive cost increases and schedule delays.

The good news is the hard-charging politician is willing to help HART. The weird thing is how it happened.

Rail authority CEO Lori Kahikina provided no details, but said she believes public interest in riding the train is still high.