RANK PREVIOUS COMPANY
1 1 Dowling Co.
2 5 Alexander & Baldwin
3 2 Weinberg Foundation
4 3 Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
5 7 Makena Resort
6 4 Tesoro Hawai`i
7 9 Wailuku Water Co.
8 6 Monsanto Hawai`i
9 8 Maui Electric Co.
10 10 Hawaiian Telcom
STREAMSOFTHOUGHT
Huge week for Wailuku Water Co. and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of A&B. That’s because Earthjustice just filed suit against them on behalf of the groups Hui o Na Wai `Eha and Maui Tomorrow Foundation on the grounds that both companies are “monopolizing” water from Waihe`e, Waiehu, `Iao and Waikapu streams. Earthjustice wants the state Commission on Water Resource Management to come in and start regulating the streams. Now, you think it’s strange for two companies to move up the list on the account of them being sued? Have you seen what they’re accused of? “Since 2004, the community groups have been pursuing legal action to restore Na Wai `Eha’s streams,” reads Earthjustice’s Dec. 6, 2006 press release. “The County of Maui has supported these efforts and also seeks public management of these resources to alleviate the critical shortage of ground water for drinking and other uses. The companies, however, continue to hoard all the water, totaling about 60 million gallons a day, and have refused for years to provide complete information on their actual end uses, much less restore any water to the streams.” Sixty million gallons a day! Of course, officials with Wailuku Water Co. and HC&S have long denied “hoarding” any water and insist the water they take from the streams is vital to their sugar cane crops. Considering how long the argument over the four streams has gone on—in spite of the fact that Mayor Alan Arakawa’s administration wanted the water regulated—it’s easy to see why these two firms ought to move up the list. Of course, should a judge rule against them and take away their precious streams, they’ll sink to the bottom like lead anchors. But who knows if or when that’ll happen.
TOURISTS WIN!
And Makena Resort moves up a few notches this week on news that a new poll commissioned by the Hawai`i Tourism Authority says a whopping 62 percent of residents believe that “this island is being run for tourists at the expense of local people.” What’s worse, 76 percent of those polled want no more hotel construction, and just 35 percent of residents believe the tourist industry is an effective steward of the environment. Imagine that. MTW
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