Maui has no shortage of divisive issues, many of them related, directly or indirectly, to the visitor industry. But no issue divided the community more sharply, or led to a bigger backlash, than the County’s crackdown on transient vacation rentals. Mayor Charmaine Tavares’s decision to shut down TVRs, made shortly after she took office, was a shock to many and has proven to be a huge drag on the local economy. Even if you think TVRs need to be more heavily regulated, the answer isn’t to send the hammer crashing down, especially not now. This issue exemplifies the Mayor’s “plantation” mentality and lack of leadership, a deadly combo that has put the island on shaky ground. JS
News Real Property Tax Office to Ag Owners-Justify Farm Use or Lose Tax Rate Change could hit small farmers hardest Oct 29 2009 In an apparent effort to collect revenues in the face of a lean fiscal year, the Maui County Real Property Tax (RPT) office sent letters to thousands of ag owners over the past two months, seeking ...
News Coconut Wireless Oct 29 2009 So now we’ve married the War on Terror with the War on Drugs, and have picked as the central staging ground a country affectionately dubbed “the graveyard of empires” (just ask...
News Coconut Wireless Oct 15 2009 It’s wonderful to hear that Rep. Joe Souki can change hats so easily, working hard for the interests of his Central Maui constituents one minute and shilling for his big business cronies the next. To ...
News Hawaii and Maui Renewable Energy Rundown Are we making progress toward energy independence? There's good news and bad news Oct 08 2009 A few items of interest on the renewable energy (RE) front bubbled to the surface this week. Since the Energy Expo a month ago, I’ve been following a curious cover-up locally by...
News Maui Dep't of Liquor Control Minor Decoy Busts... ...what defines success? Oct 08 2009 Some of the most interesting moments at Liquor Control meetings happen on the margins, when board members and department officials aren’t directly addressing the cases at hand, but other...
Entertainment and lifestyle news for Maui, Hawaii and the surrounding Islands. Maui Time Weekly is Mauis only independent and locally owned newspaper.
Mail this link to a friend
See all Best of Maui Politics & Environment 2009 listings
News
News
News
News