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Letters to the Editor

Association fees have no place in Hawaii

Home owner associations and associated-type organizations should be banned in Hawaii. Their practices are predatory and people of Hawaii have already been mistreated and their land stolen by big corporations. No one will be able to live in Hawaii except for the super-rich like Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg. My dream is being stolen because of associations and their predatory fees. My rights as a home owner have been stripped, and because of the bylaws in the associations, I can’t even get a decent payment on my place. Also, the non-profit that helped me with ...

Drive Lahaina roads at least once a week

Thank you for the continued efforts to rebuild Lahaina. I have a few vital concerns about what is happening in the town. The first and most visible is the number of homeless camps at the beach parks across from the police station. The camps are expanding. Now, there are shopping carts, laundry and random tents where visitors and locals used to enjoy the parks. Next is the area at Cut Mountain and the surrounding area. It appears that more cars and trash are just being thrown around. We have a brush fire threat at Cut Mountain and nothing is being done to clean it up. When did ...

Visitors did not start fire and deserve to be welcome

Most of the people living here who wanted visitors to stay away after our horrible fires have quieted down.  It was understandable to a point, but visitors did not start the fire and do not deserve to be anything but welcome.  They come here because they love it here. They are critical to our economy. There is no going back to growing taro and fishing to survive while having no modern conveniences. I have several Mainland friends who wanted to help and donated money to the Maui Food Bank and to individuals. I am not going to ask them to stay away while people here ...

Growing junkyard on Piilani ugly, dangerous eyesore

For months now, there has been a growing junkyard on Piilani Highway in Kihei, across from the police station. This collection of junk vehicles and equipment is on state-owned land. I’m sure it’s a fire, mosquito, environmental, safety and environmental hazard. Many agencies have been apprised of its existence, including the county and state Department of Transportation, and it is visible from the road. There is a daycare right next to it and the children often get swarmed by mosquitoes. I’m wondering if some public attention via The Maui News would help things along, as ...

25 Pacific nations call to end military exercises

On Sunday (June 16), leaders and organizations from across 25 Pacific nations released a joint statement opposing the 27th Rim of the Pacific exercises (RIMPAC) scheduled to begin this week. We issue this statement opposing RIMPAC 2024 due to its threat to our sovereignty, the health of our lands and oceans, and the harm it leads to on peoples around the world. We call upon countries who have identified the atrocities that Israel is committing in Gaza to pull out of RIMPAC in solidarity with Palestine, with Hawai‘i, and with the larger Moananuiākea (Pacific island nations) and we ...

Conduct economic impact report on short-term rentals

Implementing Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed short-term rental legislation could quickly wreak havoc on the Maui economy for years. There will be unrecoverable economic loss for everyone. Families will lose their jobs and have no choice but to leave Maui for better and affordable opportunities. What workforce family can afford or want short-term rental home with one parking stall, huge mortgage payment for such a small home, and HOA fees of $600-$1,200? No one I know.  So what will you have accomplished?  You will have injected economic hardship into the government’s and ...