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
The fate of the most important pesticide bill ever proposed in Hawaii is now in the hands of a few influential Maui and Kauai Senators who could kill it in a backroom deal. Last year a similar bill died through legislative inaction, with Gary Hooser reporting that: “Multiple sources at the Capitol point the finger
In November, organic farmer Alika Atay, the grassroots leader of Hawaii’s ʻĀina Protector’s United effort was elected to the Maui County Council in a stunning upset (described in detail here). Atay was the lead plaintiff in the SHAKA Movement’s federal lawsuit over the invalidation of Maui’s successful GMO Moratorium initiative in 2014. This Maui Independent
Some pessimists predict dark times ahead for Maui, a future of more hotels, pesticide-drenched agribusiness, urban sprawl, shopping malls, and the billowing dust of endless construction. But many Maui folks are standing up, like never before, for a brighter future through collective community action. We, working island residents sometimes forget to raise our heads from
Hopes ran high for a proposed bill that would have helped inform and empower Hawaii’s residents about the impact of toxic restricted-use pesticides. But House Bill 790 sank after pushback from the powerful biotech industry and resistance from the old guard. “The lawmakers who opposed this measure should be ashamed,” says Ashley Lukens, director of the Hawaii Center for
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. As a fertile springtime begins, we are watching an exciting new form of activism evolve that is inclusive, robust, and growing more muscular by the
The state is finally taking some first steps to address concerns about pesticide drift from large agri-chemical company operations in Hawaii. In a joint press statement, the Hawaii Departments of Health and Agriculture described several initiatives recommended by the state/county sponsored Joint Fact Finding Group Report. Plans include a $500,000 surface water quality study (by
Marketed as an island paradise, Maui is not the first place one would think of as ground zero in the battle for the future of agriculture. The golden beaches of Lahaina were recently ranked as the second most popular honeymoon destination in the world (after Las Vegas), and its surfing is legendary. The billions of
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has invalidated county ordinances in Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii counties that sought to enforce public health protections (such as buffer zones, pesticide use disclosure and environmental impact studies). The court ruled that under Hawaii law, counties and municipalities do not have the authority to regulate GE
The New York Times published a report by investigative journalist Danny Hakim that slams GMOs as the food boon for the future concluding, “genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.” Hakim compared US yields of
The environmental law firm, Earthjustice has asked the US Environmental Protection Agency to revoke the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s primary authority to investigate and enforce pesticide use violations of federal pesticide law in Hawaii. Earthjustice representatives say the HDOA has “failed to enforce pesticide use violations and has allowed a large backlog of pesticide complaints and
