“Maui is losing its aloha,” a friend lamented recently as we discussed the news of the week. During a County Council Affordable Housing Committee meeting, a shouting match between attendees grew so heated that security was summoned and Council Chambers were cleared. Maui’s social media pages are filled with belligerent commands to anyone posting […]
Nixon Resigns: The sudden departure of Mahi Pono’s ag chief is the latest bad news for the company
[Editor’s note: This story was updated on May 22.] [In November 2018, MauiTime first broke the story of the $267-million sale of 56,000 acres of Alexander & Baldwin sugarcane land and watershed to Mahi Pono, a joint venture between California-based Pomona Farming and a Canadian pension fund. Our Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series examines all […]
Alive and Well With the Juice King: Maui’s favorite mom and pop health emporium has an impressive new restaurant and its own “juice alchemist,” Craig King
There have been some dramatic changes at Alive and Well, which until recently served as the quieter Kahului counterpart to corporate operations like Down to Earth and Whole Foods. Since 1993, the family-owned business has been a reliable mainstay of Maui’s wellness community. The organically oriented deli and health food store might not have been […]
Nothing Is Dead in the Land of the Zombies: The twisted legislative saga of the “Corporate Water Theft” Bill
The passage of HB1326, the so-called “Corporate Water Theft Bill” that affects the future use of East Maui’s water, has morphed from a civics lesson into an episode of “The Walking Dead.” In the past week alone, the bill has been alive, dead, undead, and buried-but-still-moving. It has become so toxic that few lawmakers even […]
‘It’s Hawai‘i, Jake’: In the State Legislature, water legislation grows murkier
[In November 2018, MauiTime first broke the story of the $267-million sale of 56,000 acres of Alexander & Baldwin sugarcane land and watershed to Mahi Pono, a joint venture between California-based Pomona Farming and a Canadian pension fund. Our Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series examines all facets of the sale and the chages it will […]
“It’s Hawai‘i, Jake”: In the State Legislature, water legislation grows murkier by the minute
This story has been updated. Click here to see the latest version. In the film classic Chinatown, hard-bitten but good-hearted detective Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson) confronts the politics of water in 1930s Los Angeles. By film’s end, Gittes’ personal devastation by power and perfidy is summed up in two words, “It’s Chinatown.” In 2019’s […]
State Democratic Party Opposes ‘Corporate Water Theft’ Bill: Letter tells lawmakers to “halt this bill immediately”
[A version of this story was previously posted online. It has since been updated. This is the version that appears in the 3/28 print issue of MauiTime.] The increasingly unpopular HB1326 – the so-called “Corporate Water Theft” bill – currently languishing in the Senate, took another hit last weekend. In a letter written Sunday, March […]
State Democratic Party Opposes ‘Corporate Water Theft’ Bill
[This story has been updated since its first posting. See the updated version by clicking here.] The increasingly unpopular HB1326 – the so-called “Corporate Water Theft” bill, currently languishing in the Senate – took another hit over the weekend. In a letter to legislators, the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i has officially declared its opposition to […]
Mahi Pono Plants! Crop plan shows plans for 2019-2020
[In November 2018, MauiTime broke the story of the $262-million sale of 56,000 acres of Alexander & Baldwin sugarcane land and watershed to Mahi Pono, a joint venture between California-based Pomona Farming and a Canadian pension fund. Our Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series examines all facets of the sale and the changes it will bring […]
Farm Plan or Lobbying Tool? A Mahi Pono “Farm Plan Narrative” outlines planting scenarios – with and without water. Is it accurate?
[In November 2018, MauiTime broke the story of the $262-million sale of 56,000 acres of Alexander & Baldwin sugarcane land and watershed to Mahi Pono, a joint venture between California-based Pomona Farming and a Canadian pension fund. Our Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series examines all facets of the sale and the changes it will bring […]
The Man With the Plan: Mahi Pono’s new general manager Larry Nixon wants more bees and bugs and less corporate hierarchy as he rehabilitates and replants Central Maui’s cropland
[In November 2018, MauiTime broke the story of the $262-million sale of 56,000 acres of Alexander & Baldwin sugarcane land and watershed to Mahi Pono, a joint venture between California-based Pomona Farming and a Canadian pension fund. Our Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series examines all facets of the sale and the changes it will bring […]
Stand Aside and Let the Big Dog Slurp: ‘Corporate Water Theft’ bill sailing through the Hawai‘i Legislature
[MauiTime first broke the story of the sale of Alexander & Baldwin’s old sugarcane lands in November 2018. Our ongoing Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series investigates the new owners of these massive land holdings and the changes they will bring to Maui. It is part of Changing Maui, a larger series on the changes facing […]
‘I’m Still Tiare’: Tiare Lawrence plans to keep fighting for her community – only now she’ll do so as Mahi Pono’s new Community Relations Director
Tiare Lawrence strolled into MauiTime’s offices last Friday precisely on time for a noon interview. Wearing cut-off jeans, a red plaid shirt, and long hair wound into a loose bun, she had agreed to meet with editor Axel Beers and me to discuss her new job. The Lahaina born-and-raised waterwoman and hula dancer is […]
Coffee, Cattle and Citrus, Oh My!!! Mahi Pono makes public its crop plans (and a bit of confusion) to Maui community association leaders
[MauiTime first broke the story of the sale of Alexander & Baldwin’s old sugarcane lands in November 2018. Our ongoing Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series investigates the new owners of these massive land holdings and the changes they will bring to Maui. View our coverage dating back to November by clicking here. It is part of […]
It’s the Water, Stupid: Mahi Pono hasn’t told the public what it plans to plant, but demands the water to do it anyway
Editor’s note: This post has been updated since its original posting for clarity and to include comments from Sean Lester and Tiare Lawrence. [MauiTime first broke the story of the sale of Alexander & Baldwin’s old sugarcane lands in November 2018. Our ongoing Changing Maui: Mahi Pono series investigates the new owners of these massive […]
Bad News for Maui News
The Maui News took a couple of nasty hits this month. First there was the loss of City Editor Brian Perry and reporter Chris Sugidono, who left the paper to work in Mayor Mike Victorino’s administration. Now, the paper has announced that its opinion pages will decrease due to “budgetary considerations.” Instead of publishing five […]