Housing needed for all Maui residents

It is time for Maui County to stand up for the people of Maui County who collect our trash, clean our hotel rooms, mow the grass in our parks, scan our purchases at the supermarket, cook our meals at restaurants, and all others who take care of the routine, daily work needed in Maui County.

We can talk about housing our doctors, police officers, teachers and other professionals who need homes, too, and developers with some support from government will build homes for them. But when developers are asked to build homes for the refuse collectors and like workers, most say that they cannot because they cannot make a profit.

A very few developers are committed to build housing units for those earning less than 80 percent of Area Median Income, or about $80,000 per year.

This is the classic situation when government needs to step in to assure that a public need — affordable homes in this case — is met for the common good of all the people.

As our political candidates for mayor and County Council seek our vote on November 8th, I ask this question to them: will you publicly commit to use the funds of Maui County and its excellent bond rating to build homes for the refuse collector, the hotel housekeeper, the parks caretaker, the supermarket cashier, the restaurant cook and all others who perform the common work needed to make life on Maui “No Ka ‘Oi?” And if yes, the second question is: how do you plan to build these homes?

STAN FRANCO, Wailuku

Hokama has to explain non-bid contracts

I have no idea why Riki Hokama is back running again for the County Council seat. We are facing a council race that has a former councilmember who I personally watched push for and pass highly questionable non-bid contracts worth millions of dollars to a federally indicted businessman’s company, whose attorneys expect criminal charges to be filed in the coming weeks (see the Civil Beat article https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/08/wastewater-company-at-center-of-bribery-scandal-won-big-maui-contracts/).

According to an Aug. 23 article by Honolulu Civil Beat on Hawaii Corruption (and coincidently during Hokama’s tenure as the powerful chair between 2015-17), H2O Process Systems received over $12,000,000 worth of non-bid single-source contracts.

Mr. Choy is at the center of an ongoing federal investigation into bribery of government officials, including cash bribes to indicted and soon-to-be-imprisoned ex-Maui Senator J Kalani English.

According to the latest records from the Hawaii Campaign Spending website, former Councilman Riki Hokama received, in the 2016-18 period, $10,000 in donations from Milton Choy and his family and associates while the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, including a 5/25/2018 $2,000 donation from Choy’s 19-year-old daughter, Lacie Choy.

We cannot afford another scandal in our local government due to corruption, and Riki Hokama has to answer for his questionable work and substantial campaign contributions from an indicted and corrupt business.

SEAN LESTER, Kihei

State should help lower electricity costs

(The following letter was sent to Gov. David Ige.)

I am writing to respectfully request that you declare a state of emergency by proclamation under Hawaii Revised Statute Chapter 127A-14. Chapter 127A-13(2) grants you the power to “relieve hardships and inequities, or obstructions to the public health, safety, or welfare found by the governor to exist in the laws.”

A suspension of Act 23 (2020) that bans the use of coal across the State must be deemed an emergency until Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) is able to procure and distribute cost-effective renewable energy resources consistent with intent of Act 23.

In March of 2022, HECO announced electricity bills would increase for Oahu customers an estimated 10 percent and an increase for Hawaii Island and Maui County customers by approximately 20 percent.

This past Sunday, on August 7, 2022, HECO announced a second and additional 7 percent increase in residential electricity prices on Oahu. The increases are based on the cost of oil at approximately 30 cents per kilowatt hour compared to 6 cents for coal.

Per HECO, it has had to turn to oil as a result of a delay with renewable energy projects. However, HECO’s reliance on oil results in residential households and businesses left to carry the burden.

The soaring oil prices due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and rising inflation were unknown factors in 2020 when Act 23 was approved. The fact that Hawaii’s families are already doing what is necessary to reduce their energy uses while still paying the most in the nation for household electricity is unsustainable.

An emergency suspension on the shutdown of the AES plant is necessary until supply chain issues and other factors delaying renewable energy projects are resolved.

The State’s goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by preventing the use of coal was based on the intent of striving for clean and renewal energy for Hawaii.

However, until renewable energy projects are online to provide cleaner sources of energy and long-term price stability, the continued use of fossil fuels, like oil, does little to support the State’s goal of reducing emissions and improving air quality standards.

Thank you for your attention to this emergency request. Should you have questions or concerns, I am available to meet with you to discuss this matter in further detail.

SEN. KURT FEVELLA, State of Hawaii, District 19