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Letters to the Editor

Letter: ABC special misrepresents facts about Maui, Lahaina

I watched the ABC special “Lahaina Rising.” I have no doubt about the connection between that show and the dramatic drop in Maui tourism since it aired the end of June. It clearly depicts tourists as unwelcome. The show inferred that anyone who identifies as a “local,” certainly anyone who is part of Lahaina Strong, is of Hawaiian ancestry. That is simply not true. Recent government statistics indicate only 6 percent of Hawaii residents actually have Native Hawaiian ancestry. Most others who identify as locals are descendants of the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos who came ...

Letter: Child sex assault worse trauma to be endured

Try as I may, I can’t truly imagine the depths of hell it must be to have a power outside oneself that could force anyone to endure and experience a traumatic reality where one’s life is turned upside down and traumatized. To me, the evilest of all is a child who has experienced one of the most frightening acts when her body was used by another person against her will, just because he was more powerful than her. Then she’s forced to let the seed this evil scum left to germinate within her for almost a year, which is a lot longer feeling timeframe when you’re young than ...

Letter: No urgency evident for water problems

I read with interest the declaration of a water shortage for much of Maui that appeared in the paper Sept. 6. Here are a few observations. Each day on our morning walk, we see lots of irrigation running into the gutter, irrigation heads leaking, systems running even in the rain. No one checks. We see unoccupied homes running their irrigation multiple times per day, even in the rain and in high wind. No one checks. We find leaky fire hydrants and water leaks in median areas and across sidewalks. When I try to report such things, weeks go by before anything is done, if it ever ...

Letter: Maui at a Crossroads

* FROM TODAY’S FRONT PAGEPHOTO OF THE WEEK SUBMITTER Aloha, I just saw Art Filizar’s photo of Lahainaluna vs. Molokai on Facebook and saw your email address to submit pictures to. I took a lot of pictures of this rainbow by the old pineapple fields across Honoapiilani Hwy from Supermarket Times, just north of the lower road. This one really made a statement to me. Maui is at such a crossroads right now and tensions are running high. I see this rainbow doing its job, bringing joy, beauty, and rain to the lands. But I positioned it going into a discarded shopping cart … I see ...

Letter: Blessed, proud, and grateful

As we raise our neighborhoods from the ashes, I am so blessed, proud and grateful. My sincere wish, give our seniors (us) a new West Maui Senior Center )Kaunoa). It would be the pono thing to do! To place their o’hana within the Lahaina Historic District. Imagine it - between our beloved library, and our keiki’s next door at KAM III? Give them (us) an ocean view and breeze, a refuge where we are safe amongst ohana friends, and our beloved Kaunoa staff. This much, I feel, is their due, for the generation of wisdom, sacrifice and love. Aloha Robbie Wares Lahaina

Letter: Older adults on Maui lucky to have Kaunoa as resource

Special thanks to Kaunoa Senior Services for their exceptional support of the August 24 AARP Maui Aging in Place workshops. Together, we engaged over 200 individuals in six free workshops to help them plan for their successful aging. Thanks to the generous hosting and staff support from Kaunoa Senior Services, we were able to offer this event free of charge. Older adults on Maui are lucky to have Kaunoa as a resource. I also want to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the Maui aging network. Their willingness to spend their Saturday sharing their resources and ...