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LETTERS for the week of Oct. 9-13

By Staff | Oct 9, 2023

The people have spoken on delaying tourism

Governor Green, can someone please explain why you do not recognize and act on a petition signed by over 1,400 people to delay tourism in West Maui? You are not listening to the people who voted you in office.

You have selective hearing; a small number (200) of business owners that persuaded you to open up on October 8th.

The people have spoken. Time is needed to grieve and provide for the residents who lost everything and their children, who have no school to attend.

I am amazed that your eyes have not been open by this petition.

ROBERT POTTER

West Maui

Let Maui tourism recover at its own pace

There has been a lot of passionate debate about when to reopen West Maui to tourism in the wake of the Aug. 8 fires in Lahaina that killed almost a hundred people and destroyed thousands of homes and nearly a thousand businesses.

Proponents of reopening say Maui desperately needs the revenues to help island residents get back on their feet. Critics of reopening, on the other hand, contend that survivors need more time to grieve, and that it would be insensitive and even offensive to have tourists traipsing through their communities while recovery efforts have barely begun.

Lost in the discussion is an important question: should the government have the last word in creating a tourism timeline?

My answer is no. Everyone in the area should have their own timelines for when they want to re-engage with the tourism industry — if they want to participate in the tourism industry at all. After all, not everyone wants to work in a hotel, restaurant or retail outlet that caters to tourists. And that should be their right.

But overall, we need to leave it to Maui residents to decide what is best for them individually — especially to the extent that they are the rightful owners of the properties involved.

To be clear, our state and counties do have a role to play when it comes to legitimate questions of public health and safety. But just as our and state county governments should not be involved in promoting the tourism, neither should they be trying to block it.

Aside from the principle of the matter, there also is the practical reality that tourism is important in helping Lahaina and all of Maui recover economically.

Just yesterday, Honolulu Civil Beat published an article saying that Maui County is facing a $31.2 million budget shortfall due to the wildfires in Lahaina, Kula and Olinda. And back in late August, the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai’i estimated that Maui’s economy was losing $13 million a day because of the fires.

Unemployment on the island is now rampant, and many residents are likely to leave for other islands or the mainland to find ways to support themselves and their families.

In short, there are good reasons why many people on Maui are desperate to see tourism return to the island.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen recently announced he will initiate a phased-in reopening of West Maui, starting Sunday. But that might not wind up being as troublesome to local residents as reopening opponents expect.

Initial reports indicate that there won’t be a flood of tourists heading to Maui in the coming weeks; it’s likely to be more of a trickle. The state’s chief economist, Eugene Tian, said this week that it took more than two years for Maui visitor arrivals to reach 95 percent of their 2019 pre-COVID-19 level, and it probably will take more than two years for them to rebound to where they were before the fires.

Ultimately, I recognize wholeheartedly that this is a difficult topic. Each side of the debate should have understanding and sympathy for the other. It is best to approach these differences in a spirit of compassion and goodwill. People naturally have different needs and concerns, and we are all trying our best to address them.

E hana kakou! (Let’s work together!)

KELI’I AKINA, PH.D.

President / CEO,

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Give the $25 million federal Ala Wai bridge funds to Lahaina for rebuilding

In the spirit of Aloha, I suggest we in Honolulu push our elected officials to give the $25 million in federal funds allocated for the non-essential Ala Wai bridge to Maui for the reconstruction of Lahaina.

The current Ala Wai bridge design is estimated to cost over $60 million and features a culturally insensitive 18-story, lighted, bridge tower with long cables extending across the span, destroying the view of Diamond Head. It looks like it belongs in San Francisco instead of Honolulu. And it’s not a critical infrastructure project.

Reallocating funds from a non-essential pedestrian/bicycle bridge project to a critical rebuilding project would be a remarkable show of solidarity from Honolulu to Lahaina, from Oahu to Maui.

I recognize that reprogramming federal funds is not easy, but Senator Brian Schatz is on the Appropriations Committee, and he and rest of our Congressional delegation have done a good job in getting a large number of members of Congress to visit Lahaina and Kula to see the destruction for themselves. I believe they would be amenable to special legislation for the reprogramming of federal funds, if we in Honolulu are generous enough to recommend this.

At the community meeting on the Ala Wai Bridge proposal on Saturday, September 9, at the Ala Wai Elementary School cafeteria, most in the 100-plus audience did not want a pedestrian/bicycle bridge to be built. The most applause in the meeting occurred when the sign “Rebuild Maui, Not the Ala Wai Bridge” was raised.

If the bridge has to be built, build a modest bridge and give the remainder of funds to Maui

BUT, should the decision stand to build another bridge over the Ala Wai — with the McCully Bridge only 200 yards away, and despite the incredible needs of Lahaina — the bridge should be modest, using as little funds as possible, with the caveat that unspent federal funds will be given to Lahaina. Costs over $25 million are to be paid by the Honolulu/Oahu taxpayers — all the more reason to have a modest bridge.

If one wanted to add decoration, certainly there are remarkable designs from the Hawaiian culture that could be added and/or painted onto a modest bridge.

Even with a modest bridge, we must recognize that the people who use the Ala Wai park and gardens will be deeply affected.

The bridge would displace a canoe club that houses a historic koa wood canoe. Public parking for those families who use the soccer, baseball and basketball facilities and the community gardens will be disrupted and probably taken away by the years of bridge construction.

We on Oahu have a unique opportunity to practice Aloha to our neighbor island that is suffering so much.

In the spirit of Aloha, I hope a decision to offer the $25 million Ala Wai Bridge project federal funding to Lahaina is considered immediately by our elected officials.

ANN WRIGHT

Honolulu

Promote Earth sheltered housing

I would like to offer a letter of opinion concerning Earth sheltered housing.

Earth sheltered housing is housing that is surrounded by the Earth, protecting the home from the elements, including storms, fires and the elements.

At a depth of three feet, or one meter, the Earth is a constant temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit. An Earth sheltered home never needs air-conditioning, and only needs to be warmed 14 degrees.

They reduce energy requirements by 90 percent , maintenance by 90 percent and insurance by 40 percent.

It will last for 10,000 years, and so, it should be built beautiful, green, organic and handicap-accessible.

There are about 15,000 such homes in the United States.

Banks hate them — they are a non-consumable product in a capitalistic society. Banks require 40 percent down for new construction.

They are about 5 percent more in cost to build, but return savings for the next 10,000 years.

DON LAPPIN

Idaho