Even without the election of Republican Donald Trump to be President of the United States, this was a monstrous year. We’ve had to deal with job losses, outrageous giveaways to big business and just a general slide away from democratic protections and open government assurances. We like to think of Hawaii (and Maui especially) as […]
Olowalu Town
UPDATED: Olowalu Town developers withdraw state Land Use Commission petition
Details are still sketchy, but the developers of the proposed Olowalu Town–which will add 1,500 homes and a variety of commercial structures to tiny Olowalu–withdrew their petition with the state Land Use Commission (LUC), according to an Apr. 7, 2016 letter from LUC Executive Officer Daniel Orodenker posted on the LUC website. “We understand that Olowalu Town […]
‘Hawaii’s Wounded Knee’ – Remembering the Olowalu Massacre
Kalolopahu. It’s a Hawaiian word meaning “the spilled brains.” Until I began researching the history of Olowalu, I had never heard the word. Olowalu, a tiny coastal town just a few miles south of Lahaina (pop. 80), has been in the news a lot lately because of the grand development plans from Olowalu Town LLC […]
Hawaii Land Use Commission rejects Olowalu Town Final Environmental Impact Statement
By a vote of six to one, the Hawaii Land Use Commission (LUC) voted late yesterday to reject the Olowalu Town project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The vote on the decade-old proposal to add 1,500 homes and about 4,000 residents to tiny Olowalu came at the end of a marathon hearing at the Maui […]
Save Olowalu! 25 reasons why the proposed Olowalu Town is a bad idea
A few weeks ago the state Land Use Commission LUC met at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center to discuss the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Olowalu Town, a massive development project pushed by Bill Frampton and Dave Ward. The project is billed as a “complete community”–containing its own housing, public infrastructure, recreation, commercial […]
Watch Maui waterman Archie Kalepa explain why he opposes Olowalu development
The state Land Use Commission (LUC) will meet today (and perhaps tomorrow) at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center to discuss the proposed Olowalu Town project from developers Bill Frampton and Dave Ward that would put at least 1,500 homes and a hotel in Olowalu (click here for the LUC meeting agenda). The decade-long project has been […]
State Land Use Commission takes up proposed Olowalu Town this Wednesday
This week, the state Land Use Commission (LUC) will discuss the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the proposed Olowalu Town, which has been in development for the last decade by Bill Frampton and Dave Ward. The project’s 2012 Draft EIS says Olowalu Town will include “approximately 1,500 residential dwelling units” at build-out. “The Master Plan […]
Letters: Readers Respond On Olowalu Development, Ed Case
HATES BIG PROJECTS THAT COULD KILL REEFS Maui has the best politicians money can buy and most were bought long ago. Graft is, after all, a sacred Maui county government tradition. I watched the reefs at Kaanapali finish dying off after six hotels were built in 1980. I am still seeing development rotting the reefs […]
Proposed Olowalu Town Environmental Impact Statement Now Online
This weekend, if the weather forces you to spend more time indoors than you originally planned, you might want to consider perusing Olowalu Town LLC’s new and massive environmental impact statement. It’s all online, in its thousand-plus page glory. The weight of the EIS is fitting such a project, which as this excerpt from the […]