A Kaua'i Circuit Court judge is expected to hear a request this morning by environmentalists for a temporary restraining order against Hawai'i Superferry operations at Nawilwili Harbor, while a court hearing scheduled for Maui yesterday on an order that has blocked the ferry from Kahului Harbor was postponed until Monday.

The hearing on Kaua'i today is set for 9 a.m. before Judge Randal Valenciano.

On Maui, the hearing now planned for Monday before Judge Joseph Cardoza is expected to decide whether an injunction will be issued to keep the ban on Superferry service to Maui in place until the state Department of Transportation conducts an environmental assessment on state improvements to Kahului Harbor.

The Maui improvements, which include a barge, ramps, fencing and utilities, are part of $40 million in state-funded, ferry-related construction at the Kahului, Nawiliwili, Honolulu and Kawaihae harbors.

Akaku: Maui Community Television is planning live streaming online coverage of the Monday hearing starting at 9 a.m. at www.akaku.org.

State and Hawai'i Superferry attorneys also have until Monday to file a motion for reconsideration of the state Supreme Court decision that ruled that an environmental assessment is necessary. Hawai'i Superferry had asked for more time to file the motion, but the court yesterday denied the request.

On Kaua'i, some residents are preparing for new protests if the ferry does return. Meetings were held Tuesday night and yesterday to mobilize more young people and west-side residents to join the demonstrations. A workshop also is planned for today to teach people how to engage in nonviolent direct action and avoid arrest.

Discussions about the ferry dominate local radio call-in shows, and some people have gotten creative. At least five new songs are airing on local radio that speak to the protests, including one with the chorus "Bye-bye, don't come back."

Kaua'i police have declined to discuss their plans for responding to new protests, saying only they will be working with the Coast Guard and state Department of Land and Natural Resources conservation officers to enforce the new federal security zones in the harbor and a designated "demonstration area" at Kalapaki Beach.

Staff writers Christie Wilson and Derrick DePledge and correspondent Joan Conrow contributed to this report.