Here are the top voted choices for politics and the environment on Maui. We asked you Maui, what politics, what issues are important, and who the top community leaders were on Maui, and you responded with your votes. We tallied up all of your votes and posted them right here. Read on for who you voted Best County Official, Best State Blunder, things like that.
BEST COMMUNITY NON-PROFIT
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN
This year’s Best Community Nonprofit, Women Helping Women, began 40 years ago as a grassroots effort to provide assistance and support for female victims of domestic violence. The organization now provides comprehensive services to hundreds of women, men and children annually, with focus on direct intervention, advocacy, education and prevention. Visit their Facebook page for the latest news and information. 1935 Main St., Wailuku; Womenhelpingwomenmaui.com. (SC)
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN 13%
MAUI YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES 5%
HUMANE SOCIETY 4%
*
BEST ENVIRONMENTAL NON-PROFIT
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
Surfrider Foundation is a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting our ocean, waves and beaches. Its volunteer-based Maui Chapter hosts monthly beach cleanups, recently launched water testing and Rise Above Plastics programs protecting coastal areas, and advocates at the County level to ensure a healthy future for Maui coastlines. For volunteering opportunities or to find out about local Surfrider Foundation events, including surf movie nights and concerts, visit Maui.surfrider.org. (SC)
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION 22%
MAUI TOMORROW 16%
HAWAIIAN ISLAND LAND TRUST 7%
*
BEST COUNTY OFFICIAL
ALAN ARAKAWA
Very interesting choice, readers–especially given all that Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa has done in the past year. He signed a ban on styrofoam food containers, called for an export on sand exports, repeatedly said “bullshit” during a lengthy County Council meeting he was chairing, supports the state committing to the principles of the Paris climate change accord, signed into law some very controversial changes in the county’s liquor laws (see BEST POLITICAL SCANDAL) and, of course, denounced “sacred rocks,” saying the 10 Commandments don’t allow them (though he did later apologize for the last thing). Oh, and he also announced that he’s running for state Lieutenant Governor in 2018. (AP)
ALAN ARAKAWA 24%
ELLE COCHRAN 22%
ALIKA ATAY 8%
*
BEST POLITICAL ACTIVIST
TIARE LAWRENCE
A community organizer and People’s Congress Coordinator for the Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA), Tiare Lawrence has been a star among Maui’s activists for a while now. Sure, she lost in her bid to unseat Rep. Kyle Yamashita, D–Upcountry, in 2016, but only by a slim 350 or so votes. She helped organize the 2015 Aloha Aina Unity March in Waikiki, in which thousands of people took to the streets to to express their hopes for greater land preservation throughout Hawaii, and today she’s a leading voice for those on Maui who want to see a lot less big business influence in local politics. (AP)
TIARE LAWRENCE 14%
SUMMER STAR 9%
AUTUMN RAE NESS 8%
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SCARIEST PUBLIC FIGURE
DONALD TRUMP
Well, this is no shock! Once again, the man with the orange face, tiny hands, clammy handshakes, Dementia symptoms, borderline Tourette’s Syndrome, potty mouth and affinity for Twitter and Diet Coke has won the scariest public figure award. MauiTime readers are the best! You guys are so smart, and really know how to pick the devil out of a room full of crooks, thieves, liars and possible human clones. I’d love to say that I hope he doesn’t win scariest figure for 2018, but I’m pretty sure this is a four-year term for him, unless of course Republicans finally get a clue and impeach him (yeah, right). FDT! (AM)
DONALD TRUMP 49%
GLENN MUKAI 32%
UNKNOWN 3%
*
BEST MAUI POLICE OFFICER
OFFICER DAVID WIKOLI
The retirement of Officer Keith Taguma–the terror of Wailuku Town who wrote many thousands of parking tickets each year from either his little golf cart or his three-wheel motor trike–at the end of 2014 posed a real quandary for the Maui Police Department. But his replacement, Officer David Wikoli, has proven more than adequate–especially given his difficult assignment. “His primary responsibility is to mitigate traffic congestion in Wailuku Town, and ensure that the area is monitored, regulated and enforced in conjunction with applicable traffic laws and ordinances,” states the Maui PD’s 2015 annual report. Though we must say that Wikoli’s popularity with MauiTime readers leads us to speculate that he may not be dropping the hammer on nearly as many residents as his predecessor. (AP)
OFFICER DAVID WIKOLI 21%
OFFICER KEITH TAGUMA 13%
OFFICER MIKE VAITULALA 8%
*
BEST TEACHER
MARIS VAN DER LEE
Without all the teachers in the world, our civilization would be, well, in a very bad place. They teach us fundamental skills in the early stages of our lives that kickstart our education. Especially in early years, teachers can have profound influences on how a child develops (not that there’s already a ton of pressure on teachers, especially considering what we see on the news every night). For MauiTime readers, Maris Van Der Lee, a third grade teacher at Waihee Elementary, exemplifies how we want our teachers to perform, and for that, we thank her. (LK)
MARIS VAN DER LEE 4%
SARA BUSH 4%
SHANNON FIELDS EUSTACE 4%
*
BEST PUBLIC RESTROOM
KAMAOLE II
This might seem like a curious category but only when you really need a restroom do you appreciate its value. The Best Public Restroom, we say, is one that is conveniently located, clean, and in good working condition. Thank goodness for Kamaole Beach II and all its lovely, intimate, less populated park space–which means better access to its throned stalls, and floors less likely to be covered in wet sand and gleeful nonchalance. S. Kihei Rd. (SC)
KAMAOLE II 8%
LAHAINA HARBOR 5%
KALAMA PARK 5%
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BEST POLITICAL SCANDAL
LC NEPOTISM
This has been a scandal at the Maui County Department of Liquor Control for as long as I’ve lived on Maui, and it goes back much further than that. Back in 2003, when I first started reported on the LC, I was astonished to find that then-LC Director Frank Silva employed two of his sons in the department, though to be fair there was at least one level of management between them. Today, current LC Director Glenn Mukai and his daughter Karilee Yoshizawa, a supervising investigator, work out of the same office (though once again, one level of management separates them). It’s nice of our readers to notice this, and recognize it as a problem, but honestly, it’s nothing remotely new. (AP)
LC NEPOTISM 16%
ALAN ARAKAWA’S SACRED ROCKS STATEMENT 9%
RUSSIAN MEDDLING IN ELECTIONS 8%
*
BEST COUNTY BLUNDER
24/7 LIQUOR SALES
On the scale of blunders we’ve written about through the years, this is off the charts–not quite as bad as putting too few lifeboats on the Titanic, but certainly worse than the decision to add Cousin Oliver to The Brady Bunch. Seriously, everyone in the county has denounced the Liquor Commission’s secret rule change that suddenly allowed all stores in the county to sell alcohol 24 hours a day. Who asked for this? Certainly not the Maui PD, which has denounced the rule, or the many dozens of residents who testified against the rule change, after The Maui News discovered it after the fact (one resident, Madge Schaefer, is even suing the county over the change). But even a patronizing star chamber like the Liquor Commission apparently has limits, and on July 12 held a hearing to undo the rule change. (AP)
24/7 LIQUOR SALES 8%
MOVING IAO SACRED ROCKS 7%
CLOSING WAIHE‘E GOLF COURSE 5%
*
BEST STATE BLUNDER
NOT PASSING THE BAN ON OXYBENZONE
Dear State of Hawaii: On behalf of all conscious residents, we’d just like to say that we don’t understand your senseless decision to let the ban on Oxybenzone die. Senator Will Espero, D–Ewa Beach, introduced a really awesome bill that would have helped save our coral reef systems and marine life. Don’t you know that Oxybenzone causes coral bleaching? What harm would this ban do to anyone? It would have help our rare and beautiful reefs and marine life thrive. Sincerely, Truly Disappointed. PS: Get your act together already. (AM)
NOT PASSING THE BAN ON OXYBENZONE 11%
HAWAIIAN INTERISLAND SUPERFERRY 10%
HOMELESS ISSUE 6%
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BEST ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
MONSANTO GMOS
No surprise here–the growing of genetically modified corn on Maui (as well as Monsanto and GMOs in general) have been major issues to MauiTime readers for many years. Though the 2014 anti-GMO ballot measure was later struck down in court, changing demographics and the considerable popularity of the idea of getting rid of genetically modified plants means the issue isn’t going away. (AP)
MONSANTO GMOS 11%
CORAL REEFS DYING 8%
SLUG/RAT WORM DISEASE 7%
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