They paved Paradise?

We recently went to the Moku’ula Palace site and saw the beautiful palace rendition from the past on the sign. Sadly, this must have been the inspiration for Joni Mitchell’s song, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Joni’s song is called “Big Yellow Taxi.” It was recorded in 1970, and it’s like a time capsule of information suitable for today’s world.

Three years ago, we made numerous efforts to fund-raise for the restoration project. We left messages, made phone calls and put notes underneath the office door at the 505 location. We e-mailed and tried very hard to track down the Friends of Moku’ula, and yet we never once made contact or had any response to our offers to help. We were surprised because the Hawaiian culture reveres its ancestors, its history and emphasizes a respect for the land.

Two months ago, just for grins, we wrote to the “Friends” on their Facebook page to see what kind of friends Moku’ula really has, only to conclude that with friends like that, the Royal Palace will remain buried for eternity.

Lahaina is celebrated on the sign coming into town as the Capital of the Royal Kingdom of Hawaii, but there’s no clarification on the sign to say that the palace is buried under blacktop.

A few months ago in the Lahaina News, a gentleman from Makawao made mention of the forgotten palace, so I know we are not the only ones with questions about the Friends of Moku’ula.

The worst part of the whole story is that: “They paved paradise and didn’t even put up a parking lot.” Check it out — it doesn’t even sing, right?

IAN COX, Kahana

Glad to see COVID-19 restrictions easing

On behalf of our small and local businesses, we applaud Governor Ige’s announcement to lift statewide limits for social gatherings and social establishments, which the chamber has been advocating for.

As we approach the holiday season, we are all well aware of the many sacrifices that have been made and the challenges faced by all, and the value placed on spending time with family and friends.

We also appreciate the announcement by Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi of his intention to further relieve business and social restrictions by lifting the social distancing rule for Oahu restaurants, allowing them to operate at full capacity.

The relief measures are a welcomed positive note, as we look forward to furthering our state’s economic recovery into 2022.

SHERRY MENOR-McNAMARA, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

County should provide details of home inspection

(The following letter was sent to County of Maui officials.)

As you may be aware, a field inspection occurred last week at the Brown Development in Napili at the direction of Planning Director McLean. I have been informed by residents of Napili that this event has been documented in the County KIVA system government records.

The DSA Report confirms the structure is three stories, and the building plans were designed, submitted and stamped in violation of the Napili Bay District two-story height limitations and using hotel building standards. Hotels do not qualify for SMA Permit exemptions.

Under the Uniform Information Practices Act, please confirm the names of the Planning Department staff members who attended the site meeting along with a copy of their report on the purpose of the inspection and their findings.

Also, a record of the inspection request from the Planning Director.

CHRISTOPHER SALEM, Napili

Reduce the pain of inflation

Many Americans are noticing the rising price of goods, from sour cream to carburetors, as politicians sound the alarm on an inflation crisis.

You may be wondering what single force would cause the cost of a dairy product to go up at the same time as the cost of a car part. The truth is that not all inflation is the same. Each sector has its own issues.

And none of it is solved by less government funding for our safety net, as some politicians have proposed.

Some of it is what we can call pandemic inflation. Because our economy bounced back quicker after the COVID-19 shutdowns than anyone predicted — thanks largely to investments from the American Rescue Plan — people have more spending money, and demand has risen faster than our under-invested supply chain could handle.

This rising demand accounts for price flares in auto manufacturing and lumber, for example. At the same time, you’ll notice prices that had plummeted during the shutdowns returning to pre-pandemic levels (think: plane tickets).

Meanwhile, recent price spikes on other goods that families depend on — like diapers, meat and dairy — can be linked to corporate greed. Decades of corporations monopolizing industries and cutting out competition has given them the power to artificially inflate the prices of these necessities under the guise of “inflation.”

Big business is simply milking this opportunity to claim that they need to raise their prices while they use those profits to engage in stock buybacks — which benefit shareholders and CEOs, not small farmers or the grocers who stock the shelves. With bigger chains hiking up prices, many smaller businesses are going under.

But the price pressures that hurt families the most are not caused by the pandemic — and in fact have been rising for decades.

By far the biggest ticket items on struggling families’ budgets are rent and child care. The housing crisis is so bad that no person earning minimum wage full-time can afford rent in any U.S. state. And the cost of child care costs more than college tuition in 30 states.

The Build Back Better Act being debated in Congress right now would help address our housing supply crisis by building new affordable units with a $150 billion investment. The law would also reduce out-of-pocket child care costs for families, increase labor participation and raise the wages of care workers.

The best thing we can do to offset the pain of inflation — whatever its cause — and for the overall health of our economy, is to raise the standard of living for all of us. That means lowering the poverty rate, raising wages and reaching full employment.

DOMENICA GHANEM, Otherwords.org