Funding for the long-awaited yet controversial Wailuku Civic Complex was subject to scrutiny Tuesday, as councilmembers of the Economic Development and Budget Committee debated the scope and need of Phase 1B of the project, the parking structure. Councilmembers voted 6-3 to cut the budget for the parking structure in half, allowing for a down-sizing of […]
‘Unacceptable and Irresponsible’: Councilmember Tamara Paltin writes to UH president David Lassner regarding TMT
More than three weeks have passed since Governor David Ige made the announcement that the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) was “set to start construction,” and yet no equipment has made the ascent up Maunakea. Instead, at Mauna Kea Access Road, kia‘i, or protectors, have set up camp. Through non-violent action and kapu aloha, bound by […]
Maui County Council Debates the Future of the Island’s ‘Golden Goose,’ Tourism
It’s said that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. So it goes for Maui’s Island Plan, a long-range planning document adopted in 2012 to guide the county’s decisions until 2030. It contains this bit of policy direction: “Promote a desirable island population by striving to not exceed an island-wide visitor […]
The Battle for Wailuku: In debating the Wailuku Civic Complex, stakeholders grapple over “revitalization”
“Wailuku is dead.” That could have been the rallying call of those testifying in support of the Wailuku Civic Complex at the March 29 meeting of Maui County Council’s Economic Development and Budget Committee. The lead suspect in the death of this historic town? Well, that remains a mystery with multiple suspects. But proponents of […]
Get Out and Vote! Our 2018 General Election Endorsement Guide
Maybe you’ve seen it on social media, on a car bumper, or stuck to some roadside guardrail, but wherever you saw it first, the words are everywhere this election season: huli. Huli means to turn or change, and who can blame citizens for wanting to flip course? Maui residents are facing monumental issues determining the […]
Access Denied: ‘Āina warriors fight for the shoreline
A New Wave of ‘Āina Warriors A few years ago, I was approached by the HK West Maui Community Fund to help document shoreline access points in West Maui. The website Westmauibeachaccess.org was created with the information gathered. It lists West Maui’s shoreline access points, maps, and photographs. The website also includes links to the cases, […]
MauiTime endorses Tamara Paltin for councilmember (West Maui) in 2018 Primary Election
Paltin is a longtime activist and Maui County lifeguard. She took her love for Maui, the ocean, and the environment and applied it to a community cause, The Save Honolua Coalition. Her passion took her from an average county worker, to someone who questioned how decisions were made, to a community member actively participating and […]
Primary Election Endorsements: Our guide to voting in the 2018 Primary Election on August 11
Primary elections are fun. They give voters choices and are a relief from having to pick between the lesser of two evils. Who knows who will show up in the open field for an attempt to take a crack at public service? A “water peace pipe” builder, community organizers, and nonprofit and business executives all […]
MauiTime Walk Story: 2018 Candidate for County Council (West Maui) Tamara Paltin
Watch MauiTime Walk Story with Maui County Council candidate for West Maui seat Tamara Paltin and MauiTime editor Axel Beers
Maui officials assessing Kapalua Resort Association’s destruction of historic rock wall
It isn’t often that you see big money hubris get stopped in its tracks, but that seems to be what happened in Kapalua a few days ago. That’s when local activists Kai Nishiki and Tamara Paltin discovered that workers in the exclusive, luxurious Kapalua Resort were in the process of demolishing an 80-year-old rock wall. […]
New Jucker Hawaii Skateboard benefits Save Honolua
Maui-based Jucker Hawaii introduced a new longboard skateboard to support the Save Honolua Coalition. Since the purchase of Lipoa Point by the State of Hawaii, many people think Honolua has been saved, said company co-founder Mike Jucker. That’s a misconception, according to Tamara Paltin, president of Save Honolua Coalition. “This is just the beginning, now […]
2014 Maui Year In Review
This was a year of great storms, both political and climatic. It’s the year we got the new governor that apparently everyone wanted, and the year some of Maui’s most powerful and infamous police officers decided to hang up their badges (some more willing than others). This was the year Kimo Apana attempted to make […]
Maui GMO Initiative Aside, County Voters Embrace Status Quo
Given the strong mobilization of voters for the GMO Initiative, you’d expect more of an impact on the rest of the couple dozen local races on the ballot. But no. In fact, no Maui County incumbent lost on election night. The pro-GMO Initiative people even put together a slate of candidates–with the exception of incumbent […]
Don’t Know How To Vote In The Upcoming Election? We Can Help!
Oh, joy, it’s time for another General Election. In Hawaii, this is a special kind of treat. Voters only got to see a new campaign finance report this week, after what seemed like months of candidate and political action committee (PAC) spending and fund-raising without any reporting whatsoever. Voters also have to contend with a […]
Why Gov. Neil Abercrombie Lost & Other Things We Learned From The Hawaii Primary Election
There were about a dozen people in the room when it happened. They were seated around tables, watching two televisions. Patriotic bunting and white signs bearing the name “Abercrombie” hung around the windows that faced Main Street in Wailuku. There was a stack of pizzas off to the side, as well as a few cakes, […]
An Early Look At Hawaii Primary Election 1st Printout
Maui County polls closed at 6pm or so in the Hawaii Primary Election, but the treasured 1st Printout–representing a little over 104,000 votes, didn’t get released until shortly before 7pm. Here are some early looks at a few key races. By now, most everyone in the state knows that incumbent Governor Neil Abercrombie is careening […]