Support the Maui Jim Maui Invitational

Why does the Parks and Recreation Department give so much trouble to Kemper Sports, the promotor of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

Yes, they make a lot of money. Tickets are expensive and hard to get for locals. But the county and State of Hawaii get more back — $15 million of revenue to the businesses on Maui for the three days before Thanksgiving, when the hotels and restaurants may not be doing too much business.

They give hundreds of thousands to non-profits. There is 36 hours of television, with every commercial beginning and ending mentioning Maui. Then there is all the mentioning on ESPN of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

The teams that come here really look forward to the trip. When they recruit, they mention Maui to the players, so they go with that college. Teams love it because they get the aloha spirit from everyone.

A luau, beaches and sun… what other tournament gives all the teams surfboards?

We have to remember that they could go someplace else, cheaper. No large airfare costs or hotel rates that are high, plus a bigger venue than our small, 2,500-seat Lahaina Civic Center. The center gets a lot: a full cleaning, repainting, and the gym floor gets redone.

For those who remember, we lost the Hula Bowl. Let’s not lose the Maui Invitational, just because the Parks Department thinks that they are taking advantage of Maui.

They need time to prepare for something that brings a lot of Maui magic to everyone that attends or watches. So let’s work together with them and think of what they give us — not what they make.

STEVE ASHFIELD, Lahaina

School appreciates Rotarians’ donations

King Kamehameha III Elementary School would like to extend a huge mahalo to the Lahaina Sunrise Rotary Club for their continued support for all these years. Each year, they provide Student Dictionaries for every third grade student.

To John Crewe, Josh Deardorff, Annie Vance and all the Lahaina Sunrise Rotarians, thank you for your generosity to our school. It is very much appreciated.

CLAIRE TILLMAN, PCNC, King Kamehameha III Elementary School

Enforce the ban on aerial fireworks

To all Maui residents, recently we have experienced a really bad fire here on the Lahaina side, possibly started by fireworks (as they have been seen in the sky over the last month in that direction).

We are in a very, very dry area where a fire could involve people losing their homes or worse. It is time to start enforcing the law about the use of large illegal fireworks. How about some large fines or having to do road cleanup for public service?

This puts our Fire Department and first responders at risk. They could even die under these extreme circumstances. It also puts an expensive burden on the community.

It also affects people, babies, elders, people with health problems and our pets. Two years ago, after New Year’s Eve ridiculousness, it cost us nearly $2,500 at the vet, because our pet almost died and was so traumatized from the noise that lasted literally hours from fireworks going off in the middle of our street.

We love our Police Department and ask if they would patrol the streets more on New Year’s Eve and start giving out citations (as the illegal fireworks are clearly visible).

It is in the best interest of the people who live here, especially with the chance of more really bad fires.

Maybe our new mayor will help with this situation.

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

Thoughts on the Election Day wildfire

Apologies! The letter to the Lahaina News, “What you should know before voting,” omitted the sentence acknowledging its author, Rev. Ruben Diaz. What this former senator from New York and I agree on is the importance of leaders enacting God-pleasing policies.

Both personally and as a nation, warnings from scripture describe the outcome for rebellion against God. “Terrible flames scorching everything!” Though talking about Divine Judgement, it made me think of Lahaina’s wildfire on November 8.

Hawaii’s state motto statute is “The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness.” Yet, we are perpetuating a culture of Death. Passed and pending Hawaii legislation legalizes killing the unborn, entertains ideas of killing a baby after birth, terminates life with physician-assisted suicide, and attempts to end the life of childhood innocence with explicit sexualized education. Claimed as freedoms and rights, the ideals are presented as lofty and compassionate, but the result is death.

Often in scripture, the land reflects the condition of people’s hearts and minds. Does Maui’s drought conditions, with dried-up land producing weeds and thorns, reflect our attitudes and actions? Could the fire in Lahaina on Election Day serve as a warning to us and our newly elected leaders?

Thanks to excellent firefighters, Lahaina’s blazing wildfire is under control and disaster averted. However, there is an unquenchable fire from which only Jesus can rescue us.

God gives us all a chance to change and do what is right in His sight. With that comes the Lord’s wonderful promises of restoration. When we do things God’s way, people and nature will thrive.

Consider the words originally spoken by Queen Ke’opuolani: “The life of the land is perpetuated in the righteousness of Jesus Christ!”

Jesus did say, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it more abundantly, till it overflows.”

MICHELE LINCOLN, Lahaina