#Mauitime BEST OF MAUI 2017: Best Maui Politics, Community and Environment Revealed
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As a born-and-raised Maui resident and council member for four terms, Elle Cochran won Maui residents’ vote on our ballot for her reputation for representing local interests, listening, and seeking different perspectives. After eight years as a representative, she is now seeking the mayoral seat. Cochran began her political career as a surfer getting involved in efforts to save Honolua Bay, which sparked her interest in continuing to influence policy. Two initiatives she has been active on have been the polystyrene ban and pesticide free county park, and some priorities she cited during her interview with our editor Axel Beers were housing and employment. “Not a good old-boy,” as a bumper sticker I recently saw said, Cochran is a candidate for the people, and the people have spoken. (LH)
ELLE COCHRAN 27%
ALAN M. ARAKAWA 13%
DON GUZMAN 9%
Without a doubt, MauiTime readers have voted Tiare as best political activist because she really is. She believes that in order for Maui to thrive, our island needs to support our small business farmers and working families. She believes in protecting our environment and she also believes in supporting natural resources. She is someone that we want on our ticket now, and in future years. Mahalo Tiare! (AM)
https://www.facebook.com/tiare.lawrence
TIARE LAWRENCE 31%
KAI NISHIKI 17%
SUMMER STAR 15%
Maui’s biggest County blunder is our homeless issue. It’s actually not an issue, it’s a serious problem. When you think about homeless folks on Maui, your mind might go to Kanaha Beach Park. In fact, that’s the Hollywood version of homeless life on Maui. Folks, this is a huge problem that we all have a part in restoring. The first thing you can do is vote in our upcoming election. No Maui resident deserves to be out of a home due to a high cost of living, serious lack of resources, lack of adult education, and the terrifying AirBnB domination that we’re all currently dealing with. (AM)
HOMELESS 27%
24/7 LIQUOR SALES 16%
MOVING IAO SACRED ROCKS 15%
The road to Lahaina has suffered from coastal erosion, construction, and notorious daily traffic jams. The County decided to cut off the old road at the halfway mark and connect it directly to the overpass road that feeds down into the Lahaina Cannery mall. The traffic jams were three times as bad until the County finally reopened the old road as a merge lane into the bypass. Now the road is the same as before except cars can decide between the old and new road, moving one bottleneck a little while leaving other problems unaddressed. Once again Maui County fist fights a road and loses. (ME)
BYPASS ROAD 19%
RAIL PROJECT 17%
SEAWALLS 7%
Maui’s coral reefs need more help than ever, but the good news is that there are a host of nonprofits, marine scientists, organizations, and philanthropists helping to restore, protect, and improve the overall health of Maui’s coral reefs. The best way our community can continue to support these efforts isn’t just by volunteering, but how you spend your money and how you vote in the upcoming elections. For more info, research work that’s being done by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, Oceanwide Science Institute, HAMER, Sharktastic, and Surfrider Foundation. (AM)
DYING CORAL REEFS 42%
MONSANTO GMOS 27%
SLUG/RAT WORM DISEASE 12%
There should be no questions about this. A free organization that takes in children, straight from school on the MEO bus, and entertains them and makes study time, exercise, and social interaction available until their parents are finished with work and they can come and pick up their keiki. Such organizations are few on the mainland, their prices are exorbitant, and they do not have nice people. God bless the Boys & Girls Club of Maui. (ME)
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF MAUI 11%
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN MAUI 10%
HOSPICE MAUI 9%
MauiTime readers vote Surfrider Foundation’s Maui Chapter as this year’s favorite environmental nonprofit! They’re dedicated to protecting Maui’s oceans, waves, and beaches by advocating on a county level and taking action in the community. “Rise Above Plastics” is one of their current campaigns that includes volunteer-based monthly beach clean-ups. They also have a ton of fun community events that support their mission like surf movie nights, restaurant fundraisers, and concerts throughout the year. To learn more, check out their website, volunteer with them, and donate. (AM)
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION 20%
HAWAIIAN ISLAND LAND TRUST 14%
MAUI TOMORROW 13%
On a Saturday morning in January, our cell phones went off with the warning: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” It was one of those moments that everyone had a story about later. What happened next in the minds and hearts of our state’s residents varied wildly: panic, shelter-seeking, texting and calling and going online, jumping into laundry rooms and sewers, or doing nothing at all. If nothing else, this humongous error gave us insight: into our government, our loved ones’ behaviors when faced with crisis, and into ourselves. Who we thought to call, what we thought to do, and what went through our minds when many of us mentally faced a situation far beyond any of our control shows us a bit more of who we are, and who we might want to be if something like this ever happens again – real or not. All because some old boy government employee couldn’t lose his job despite a decade of infractions, including mixing up real life and drills twice before. Auwe. (LH)
FALSE BALLISTIC MISSILE 57%
RUSSIA MEDDLING IN ELECTION 15%
LIQUOR COMMISSION NEPOTISM 12%
Donald Trump has been voted Maui’s Scariest Public Figure for two years now – also how long he’s been POTUS. Sure, his fly-away comb over, mini hands, Twitter account, threats to grab you by the p*ssy, treasonous acts, and creepy voice are scary. But, what’s truly horrifying is that his list of heinous acts are unfortunately too long for this write up. As of late it includes more racial epithets, attacking the #metoo movement, separating children from their parents, and making continuous efforts to undermine the constitution of the United States of America, a country that is supposed to be a place of equal rights, equal protection and freedom of the press. (AM)
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?lang=en
DONALD TRUMP 81%
GLENN MUKAI 10%
HILLARY CLINTON 1%
A public bathroom that provides toilet paper, toilet seat covers, weekly cleaning, trash cans, paper towels, soap, and a mat at the sink is rare on Maui (trust us, we’ve written on it) so it goes against the grain when all of these things are available at one public bathroom. It’s a little suspicious that this one bathroom happens to be by the harbor where every tourist submarine and whale watching tour comes to dock. Lahaina Harbor bathroom is nice but it should be the county standard and not the county outlier. (ME)
(Lahaina)
LAHAINA HARBOR 50%
KALAMA PARK 23%
KAMAOLE II 20%
Being a teacher isn’t easy. There are pressures from administration, long hours needed to develop curriculum, and constant tests of empathy and patience while understanding the unique world of each child. Indeed, it takes a special kind of person to be a teacher, and an extraordinarily special person to be the teacher that touches enough lives to be voted the 2018 best teacher of Maui by our readers. Congratulations, Ms. Coonradt. Teachers like you that make a difference are the real MVPs. (AB)
CASSIE COONRADT 3%
DANI DEJESUS 2%
JANELL SIMPLICANO 1%
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