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 century has diverted the majority of all the water from vibrant streams on the island to benefit the Alexander & Baldwin Corporation for less than
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 Maui will finally gain control over the island’s largest public water source. “The water leases are up for grabs, and the DLNR (Department of Land
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 same vision they have had for 130 years. It is a vision of ruthlessly exploiting our island’s bountiful environment and hard working people for their
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 local history by becoming the first public initiative effort in Maui history to get on the ballot. It did this through the hard work of
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 new pesticide regulation bill that had already passed the House, and on Friday, April 27, passed the Senate Conference Committee. The bill, after enormous opposition from
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 government agencies have declared Roundup safe, based on corrupt science and flawed analysis (often drawing from Monsanto-funded studies), a lawsuit on behalf of farm workers
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 along the ground.” The Maui County Council’s old guard talks about issues affecting residents: affordable housing and “solving the workforce housing crisis”, homelessness, water quality
Almost weekly leading up to the November election on Maui we have seen front page articles damning Council Member Alika Atay for various trifles. One could easily suspect its part of an effort to disempower this Native Hawaiian politician and place his election rival, Alice Lee, back into the fold of the “good old boy”
Council Member Elle Cochran, who was the top vote-getter in the 2016 Maui Council election, is running for mayor this November on a platform of revolutionizing County government to create a new culture of transparency and effective collaboration. “Elle,” as she is widely known, makes no secret of her intention of sweeping away a plantation-mentality
The upcoming 2018 Maui election offers an extraordinary, historic opportunity to change the power structure that has limited progressive change on our island. The Maui Ohana wing of the County Council – Elle Cochran, Alika Atay and Kelly King – is poised to be joined by another wave of reformist candidates seeking to take Maui
Ever since a new wave of progressive politicians was elected to the Maui County Council the old guard has struggled to maintain power. In their latest Machiavellian tactic to suppress the influence of new members and especially the outspoken Native Hawaiian water protector Alika Atay, Council Chair Mike White is introducing a new bill that
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, deception and force. Under the prevailing kleptocratic system, politics and morals are growing more distant, reflecting the national political environment – a murky swamp in
Facing a political hailstorm in response to naming himself the powerful Chairman of Maui’s County Council through an illegally rigged secret pre-election, Mike White yesterday issued a statement on the Council’s public website defending his actions. White’s response doubles down on his dishonesty. He is now using the taxpayer funded website to both deflect public
On November 11, just three days after Maui’s political establishment suffered unexpected Election Day losses to the Maui Ohana (family) slate of reformist candidates, Mike White, the Chair of the County Council, made a shocking announcement. In clear violation of the Maui County Charter (Section 3.5 here) which states that the vote for the Council
