Mark Sheehan, Author at The Maui Independent

Maui County Council’s Proposed 2018 Budget Supports Tourism, Stiffs Locals Testify This Week or Call Budget Chair Hokama at 270-7768 to Express Yourself

Posted by Mark Sheehan - April 26, 2017

There was a character in a William Faulkner novel who learned early in life “that words go up in the air in a column of thin smoke, but doing goes…

Massive A&B Corporate Water Theft Faces Public Comment In Maui The aqueduct system and corporate water giveaway are rooted in century-old plantation-era water contracts

Posted by Mark Sheehan - February 23, 2017

On February 22 and 23, 2017, Maui citizens will have a chance to speak out against a 30-year extension of a rigged plantation-era water system that for more than a…

Passage of Amendment 12 Scores Historic Win for Maui Water Rights For years plantation owner Alexander & Baldwin paid almost nothing to use majority of island’s water

Posted by Mark Sheehan - March 28, 2023

With the historic November 2022 passage of Charter Amendment 12, establishing the East Maui Community Water Authority, there is hope, for the first time in 145 years, that the people of …

Endorsement: Yes on 12 & ‘Onipa‘a 2022 Candidates Vote to stop development money from buying control of Maui's County Council

Posted by Mark Sheehan - October 28, 2022

View the Maui Independent’s video endorsement, narrated by Alika Atay, or read the text version of the commentary below. Corporate America has a vision for Maui’s future. It is the…

Betrayers of Maui Democracy Ask Voters to Re-Elect Them This November Arakawa, Victorino, Crivello, and Hokama Enabled Monsanto’s Historic Theft of Voter-Approved GMO Moratorium

Posted by Mark Sheehan - October 25, 2018

The public initiative system is a unique and magnificent tool for grassroots democracy. Four years ago, Maui’s GMO Moratorium made history in a number of significant ways. First, it made…

Hawai’i Will Become First State in USA to Ban Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos Robust People-Powered Effort Pressures Lawmakers to Pass Historic Pesticide Bill That Includes Buffer Zones & Disclosure

Posted by Mark Sheehan - April 30, 2018

In a victory for people power, Hawai’i is about to become the first state in the nation to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The ban is part of a historic…

Landmark Case Puts Cancer Risk of Monsanto’s Roundup on Trial For The First Time in US Courtroom, Renowned Health Experts Link Popular Pesticide to Cancer

Posted by Mark Sheehan - March 14, 2018

The most heavily used chemical weed killer in human history has been declared carcinogenic by a team of health experts testifying last week in San Francisco’s U.S. District Court. While…

Historic Maui Ohana Victory Will Bring Public Interest Government to County New Progressive Majority Defeats Old Guard That Has Controlled Maui Since Statehood

Posted by Mark Sheehan - November 8, 2018

Since statehood, political power on Maui has resided with resort, development and agribusiness interests. Through their campaign donations and backroom support, this powerful business establishment kept an old guard of politicians…

Maui’s Timely Political Evolution A Refreshing New Wave of Political Representatives and Candidates Act From a Moral and Spiritual Foundation

Posted by Mark Sheehan - April 5, 2017

It would be gratifying to think that the politics of the Aloha State are conducted on a high plain, but unfortunately the history of our state was founded on lies,…

Activate Locally: Empowerment is the Answer to Despair We can’t just let unconscious people acting on behalf of oligarchs and polluting corporations crush our way of life, whether they work in Washington or Kahului

Posted by Mark Sheehan - March 26, 2017

Now that President Donald Trump and his Goebbels-like propaganda boss Steve Bannon have taken control of Washington, it feels as though fascism is back in fashion. But so is activism.…