I’ve learned that The Maui News is under contract negotiation without the employees involved in the discussions. Please tell me that is not true.

We need local news now more than ever. We are isolated. Some people say it won’t matter if we don’t have local journalists because we can just get our news for free from the internet and social media sources. However, vetted news is essential to truth in all its complexity. And what is important to us — land use, development, clean water, election candidates, our Hawaii government, now our COVID-19 numbers and information — will not be covered in depth by Mainland journalists.  The Maui News employees need to be major contributors to the discussion of new contracts.   

I read The Maui News for the local news.  

I appreciate that the bottomline often seems to be the only standard of value. However, The Maui News is an essential part of our lives. Please involve those who are responsible for producing The Maui News in the contract negotiations.   

Renee Riley

Kihei