“We have the opportunity to plan for the future by developing meaningful economic policies which will enhance our quality of life, protect the state’s fragile environment and natural resources, and perpetuate Hawai’i’s unique culture and lifestyle.”
What she didn’t say:
Since Lingle was Maui County Mayor in the 1990s, she has believed that environmental issues should be handled at the county level, where developers have an easier time getting things done. When she became governor, she made Peter Young, a former real estate appraiser, chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). Under his “leadership,” numerous critical DLNR posts have gone unfilled and he’s begun disbanding the important state Commission on Water and Resource Management. Far from removing Young, Lingle has repeatedly expressed full confidence in him.
—Anthony Pignataro
Comments
comments