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2008-05-29  News
 | The Maui 10
Who's the county's most powerful player?
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| | by Anthony Pignataro | |  |
May 29, 2008
HANG UP!
| | RANK | PREVIOUS | COMPANY | | 1 | 1 | Monsanto Hawai`i | | 2 | 2 | Alexander & Baldwin | | 3 | 7 | Dowling Co. | | 4 | 3 | Tesoro Hawai`i | | 5 | 4 | Weinberg Foundation | | 6 | 5 | Wailuku Water Co. | | 7 | 6 | Maui Land &Pineapple Co. | | 8 | 8 | Goodfellow Brothers | | 9 | 10 | Maui Electric Co. | | 10 | 9 | Hawaiian Telecom |
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Carlyle Group-owned Hawaiian Telcom gets shoved back into the cellar this week on news that the state Public Utilities Commission rejected the company's request to raise its credit by $60 million. At least part of the reason, according to the May 23 Honolulu Star-Bulletin, was a state Division of Consumer Advocacy (DCA) report saying the office was "gravely troubled" such an increase would have on HT's well-being. Instead, the DCA recommended, Hawaiian Telcom should get its own financial house in order before asking to take on more debt. What a truly novel idea. Un-American in the extreme, but certainly worth considering.
MR. $25
And superrich land developer Everett Dowling shoots up the chart after it becomes clear that The Maui News will publish a story about him even if he does the smallest, most insignificant thing. Case in point is the May 25 blurb "Dowling Co. donates to 65 charities,"which highlights how Mr. Dowling generously gave the grand total of $25 to Akaku. You read that right: 25 American dollars–what's that, about half a tank of gas these days?This guy has millions, and he writes a check for $25 and gets a POSITIVEstory about in the paper. I suppose there is some irony here, given that a few years ago Dowling lobbied the state Legislature to slash Akaku's budget, but that irony was apparently lost on The Maui News. MTW
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