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Editorial

Trying to help the homeless

Seven years ago, this newspaper ran a picture of a homeless man wearing a red and white Santa hat as he pushed a walker across Kamehameha Avenue. In the caption, the man said he was a U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Persian Gulf War. He said it wasn’t easy being homeless and that he felt alone and unappreciated. When asked what he would like for Christmas, he said he could go for a nice bubble bath. We learned later that one of our readers tracked the man down and paid for a room at a Kahului hotel so he could have that luxurious soak. They provided a bottle of bubbles and ...

The election is over

To the candidates who have taken down their campaign signs, the island says thank you. And to all the politicians who have not gotten around to it, do you mind if we ask what you’re waiting for? While cruising Maui’s increasingly busy roads this week, we spotted campaign signs attached to fences in Paia and Maalaea. Others were still in yards in Kahului and Wailuku. While some touted first-time candidates who may not be aware of island protocols, quite a few were for incumbents who should know better. It is a common courtesy and long-held Maui tradition for signs to come down a ...

First in line for a vaccine

Once a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, demand for it will be enormous. Plainly, there will not be enough to go around, probably for several months. Thoughtful plans will be needed to set priorities for the limited amounts of vaccine that will be available at first. Federal officials have sought and are beginning to receive state governments’ plans for that. Such an approach is wise; state officials know better than anyone in Washington how to set priorities for vaccinations. Plainly, healthcare professionals should be first in line. That category needs to include employees ...

Plenty of votes cast

“They ran out of stickers,” the middle-school-age boy said with a laugh as he and his dad returned to their car in the dark parking lot. After spending about an hour in line to enter the Maui County voter service center at Velma McWayne Santos Center in Wailuku on Tuesday night, they were two of the last to leave. The duo represented the tail end of a line that started forming in the morning and wound in a big circle around the center’s parking lot all day. Voters just kept arriving, even a few who had to be turned away after the 7 p.m. deadline. Last in line entered the center ...

Halloween was scary

Will Halloween be Maui’s Sturgis? If so, island COVID-19 cases will be surging around Thanksgiving Day. Last Saturday, Lahaina was a ghost town compared to the usual Halloween party for 25,000 revelers on Front Street, but there was still a mix of visitors and locals walking the sidewalks and lining up in front of the few open restaurants and bars. By unofficial observation, only about 70 percent were using protective masks. Inside one busy bar where loud music was playing and patrons had to shout to be heard, nobody but the staff was seen wearing masks. That was not an isolated ...

Lots to be decided today

However you slice it, this Election Day stands to be one for the history books both nationally and locally. Set against the backdrop of a global pandemic, the presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden could shape the direction of our country for decades to come. The two offer such divergent views on health care, national policy, climate science, taxation and governing style their supporters can scarcely imagine the world surviving if they lose. Down ballot, the leaderships of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are also in play. In Maui County, we have a slate ...