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Because the Hawaii Carpenter's union is cover for the developer-funded super Pac For a Better Tomorrow, some voters may think their backed candidates care about construction workers.
However, when Councilmember Michelle Anderson asked Maui representative William Kamai if they wanted a condition to require the developer of Wailea 670 to hire Hawaii union labor, the Carpenters Union rep said "no" (3/18/2008 archives).
The recent round of giveaways to the German Helaba Bank owner reduced affordable housing requirements and passed the cost of widening the Piilani Highway from the developer to residents.
Councilmembers Tom Cook, Yuki Lei Sugimura, Tasha Kama and her assistant Kauanoe Batangan facilitated these giveaways. They did not add a condition requiring the developer to hire Hawaii union labor, so there is no such condition.
Helaba bank was also fined by the European Central Bank for "severe fraud."
These politicians also don't enforce the Show Me the Water law for both Wailea 670 and the 1,800-acre Makena Resort development.
Dowling Co. arranged Iao Aquifer water for those 1,800 acres. That aquifer is over capacity, both according to the director of Maui Water Supply and USGS data.
Iao and adjacent aquifers supply Kahului, Wailuku and South Maui. Luxury development almost always drives up costs for the community and costs skyrocket when vital water and other infrastructure is overwhelmed.
If the county decides to go with desalination, the costs will be astronomical (Food and Water Watch, Civil Beat).
Chandrika McLaughlin
Kihei