Breaking News

Letters to the Editor

So much hate in world, but Hawaii has aloha

Recently, a couple of surfers went to Mexico and were later found dead in a well there, where other bodies were also found. Gangs killed the surfers for car tires. Parts of South and Central America are also very dangerous. Thugs kidnap for ransom, and will kill if not paid, especially if you are American. Africa is also very dangerous. Remember the Benghazi killing of Americans at the U.S. Embassy? In Malaysia, you will face the death sentence if caught with a small amount of marijuana. Hawaii is like no place in the world. Nobody has ever been killed because of their religious ...

Start looking around and paying attention

You don’t see it. I get it. We live in extraordinary times. When your “in it,” so to speak, it’s hard to witness accurately.  Maui is in decline.  If we do not pull our heads out of the sand, those that are left will inherit an elephant graveyard.  The kids are gone. No, not yours and mine. We knew where they would raise their kids with the decisions we made 30 years ago.  I’m talking about the Cali, Oregon, Wash state, Denver, Salt Lake City, Vegas, Phoenix and Providence kids; the 18- to 26-year-olds that bolster our visitor industry and breathe life into ...

Short-term rentals should be banned

I was a planner with the County of Maui for 18 years and I don’t have an answer to the housing crisis. But I do know this: Short-term rentals should be banned in the residential districts before they are banned in the apartment districts. STRs in the residential districts are way more disruptive to the neighborhood serenity than in the apartment districts. But the bottom line is this: They should all be banned everywhere. That’s what hotels are for. Paul Fasi Kula

Mobile home parks answer to affordability?

Mayor Richard Bissen wasted no time with his bill to quickly phase out thousands of short-term vacation rentals. I’m anxious to hear the mayor’s vision of how Maui residents can afford to rent or purchase one of these properties. A one- or two-bedroom condo can easily sell for $750,000. With a mortgage payment of over $4,500 plus the always-rising monthly HOA fees in the high three figures, what young, growing Maui family can afford this living expense? The mayor’s proposed rental conversion bill will bring years of costly litigation with an uncertain outcome. It provides no ...

Stop this bottomless flow of our tax dollars

I feel strongly that FEMA and our local officials are letting Lahaina fire survivors down. The more people I talk with, the more people know of this situation. It is the fact that there are many homeowners who graciously due to community love have offered a rental property to the program to house those affected by the Aug. 8 fire. Unfortunately, there are far too many vacant homes that the owners are collecting monthly rent in the thousands of dollars. How is it possible, that homeowners are taking our tax dollars on a rental that FEMA can’t find an occupant for? I was ...

Kahului school bullying taken lightly by staff

My daughter goes to Kahului Elementary School. She was sexually harassed by two boys. It was taken lightly. They got a phone call home and not sure if they got detention or were suspended. Two girls bullied my daughter. They got a talk and apparently got talked to. Now, my daughter is being pushed by a boy and school will handle it. Yeah, sure. I need help. I don’t feel the school staff is handling it like they should. Waipuulani Kaluau Kahului