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Nearly a month has passed since wind-driven fires destroyed Lahaina town and leveled 19 homes Upcountry, yet the pain feels raw as ever.
Try as we might to leave our collective sorrow behind, every conversation seems to circle back to the blazes. As an island, we mourn our brothers, sisters and children who succumbed to smoke and flames. We grieve for their loved ones, imagining the immense suffering they are going through. Our hearts go out to the people who lost homes, businesses, belongings and pets. To those whose water systems are contaminated and those who suddenly find themselves out of work or in economic peril due to the steep downturn in the island's economy.
We lament all the history turned to ash.
The impacts are so wide-ranging it is hard to name an aspect of island life that is not affected. The only certainty of Lahaina's recovery seems to be that it will be long and difficult.
The elephant in the room is tourism. The beating heart of Maui's visitor industry has been scorched from the map and large swaths of its paycheck-to-paycheck economy hang by a thread. Did any of the people who urged tourists to stay away also have a plan to restart Maui's economic engine? How many times can our leaders tell people not to come? Even if their hearts were in the right place, the resulting decline in arrivals has extended the fire's hardship to workers and businesses islandwide.
A neighbor stopped us on the street to suggest a repeat of the pandemic-era program that gave $500 restaurant gift cards to island households in need. That could infuse struggling local businesses with some cash and show kindness to a reeling population. While folks savor their free meals, they can discuss ways to pay late rents, mortgages and monthly bills.
Another topic sure to make the rounds in island conversations this weekend is the surprise resignation of Central Maui state Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran. Facing questions about the potential conflict of interest of representing clients in lawsuits filed over the Lahaina fire, the Senate Ways and Means vice chair announced this week he would retire Oct. 31.
His law firm, Takitani, Agaran, Jorgensen and Wildman, and two other firms filed a lawsuit related to the fires earlier this month, and they are actively soliciting clients for more. While it may not be an ethical violation for Keith-Agaran to use his photo on a promotional ad seeking wildfire lawsuits, the optics are terrible.
We were disappointed to learn of his decision to leave mid-term, but also left wondering why he does not quit immediately. No matter how noble Keith-Agaran says his intentions are, lingering for two months throws the door wide open to questions about misuse of power and access.
Maui has enough to fret over. Keith-Agaran has made his choice. The time for him to leave office is now.