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Protecting Your Future - Today
Maui Tomorrow has been influential for more than a decade in promoting concepts that make for "Smart Growth" within and surrounding a community. We will continue to ensure that the law of the land is followed and promote the will of the people as guiding principles in future land use planning decisions.
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Hawaii Environmental Law Guiding Principal
"What makes a government ‘sustainable’ is when its citizens are propelled by values and principles to do the right thing."
- Don Seidman, author of "How"
"United We Serve" is a nationwide service initiative that will help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own "do-it-yourself" projects. United We Serve is an initial 81 days of service but will grow into a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to promote service as a way of life for all Americans. Use the link below to learn more...
Unique conditions require taking care
May 17, 2009
Maui News editorial
The islands are like no other place on the planet. History, isolation, a multiethnic population and direct personal and economic ties with nature create conditions that can be formidable challenges for business.
Since the birth of the territory and later the state, now 50 years old, outside forces have played as big a role in the economy as local decisions. Sugar and pineapple prices at first, war later and a reliance on tourism and its associated real estate sales all have been largely beyond island control.
The fragility of an island economy requires government and private-sector decisions to be made only after thorough consideration of every detail involved. That's particularly true when entrepreneurs come in from the outside.
There's no better example than the Hawaii Superferry, which would have allowed Maui's farmers and businesses to sell products and services in a market with a population 10 times the size of our island. Blinded by the economic and lifestyle possibilities, decision-makers failed to consider a state law designed to protect the islands' natural environment and the passionate opposition ignoring the law would arouse. State officials committed to spending $40 million for harbor accommodations to be paid back by the Superferry operation. Investors, including Maui Land & Pineapple Co., came up with the necessary capital.
The very last act in the Superferry saga came last week. The Hawaii Supreme Court repeated a ruling that a law allowing the ferry to run was unconstitutional. Three days later, the Superferry auctioned off all of its equipment at Kahului Harbor. Weeks before the Superferry's Alakai sailed off to the Mainland. Unable to operate in Hawaiian waters, the Superferry went looking for a buyer of the Alakai and a sister ship under construction.
That apparently leaves the state to absorb the cost of the harbor improvements. The death of the Hawaii Superferry also leaves behind a warning for all current and future elected officials: Even the most potentially beneficial business ventures must follow the law and any agreement or permitting must consider the unique complexity of the islands' natural, social and economic environment.
* Maui News editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher, Joe Bradley.
