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September 18, 2008
If I were afraid of machines, this one would scare the shit out of me.photo:Image Editor.
Score one for the NIMBYs. Last week we told you about Peter Martin, the Maui developer who wanted to set up a kind of low-income campground catering to the homeless in Spreckelsville. Not so fast, said a coalition of fretful neighbors who found a way to legally stall the project and force the Planning Commission to effectively kill it. Maui Time staffer Kate Bradshaw was in attendance at the fateful gathering where numerous residents spoke out about the potential evils of the campground, expressing fears that it could become a magnet for crime and shady activity. Those concerns are not unfounded, even if they're based in stereotypes and unfair generalizations (in this economic climate, who but the filthy rich are immune to the possibility of losing job and home?). But the bigger point is, if you support these kinds of efforts in theory—which many at the meeting said they do even as they fought to stop it—you must admit they have to go somewhere. Where? The answer is usually: in a neighborhood where people are too poor and powerless to make a stink. Same old song, I suppose, but I sure am getting sick of hearing it… In other news: The world didn't end and I feel fine. Scientists in Switzerland today fired up the Large Hadron Collider, a massive particle accelerator that could provide clues about the origin of mass and other cool stuff. Prior to the machine's maiden run, a vocal minority had been warning that the Collider could create a black hole that would swallow the Earth and all life on it or something to that effect. But…looks like we're good for now.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
The date above this entry almost mandates that I make some kind of comment about 9/11. But which 9/11? The day seven years ago when a terrible act of violence was perpetrated and many people died? Or the idea of 9/11, the hot-button talking point that's often cynically trotted out as a debate changer in different ways by folks on both ends of the political spectrum (though generally more overtly, skillfully and wickedly by the neo-conservatives). In a practical sense, in less than a decade, 9/11 has already become a myth; a canonized, one-dimensional code word used to justify everything from misguided foreign wars to domestic spying to, well, just about any potentially unpopular policy that needs a good red, white and blue shot in the arm. (I'm sort of cribbing from MSNBC talking head Keith Olbermann here; to see his frothingly eloquent take on things do a quick YouTube search.) At any rate, this is my first 9/11 (the actual day) on Maui and overall, after speaking with people and seeing the subtle ways the anniversary was acknowledged, I'm (even more) glad to be here. Maybe it's being an ocean away; maybe it's all the sun and surf and good vibes. Either way, locals seem to get that this day warrants solemn remembrance, sure, but also a little honest perspective.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
"Change" has become such a ubiquitous buzzword this election cycle—used by everyone from Tasha Kama to Barack Obama; hey, that rhymed—that its other meanings and uses have almost gotten lost. Here's what I mean: I drove by a sign in Kahului advertising a discounted tire change and I completely didn't even see the first two words and found myself looking around for a smiling politician. Scary.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
I knew there had to be a catch. Gorgeous scenery, friendly people, a warm welcoming ocean, fresh pineapple everywhere you turn—and now this hacking vog cough. Wailuku looks and feels like downtown Los Angeles (OK, maybe I'm being a tad dramatic). People tell me the trade winds will blow in soon and return the air to its prior pristine state, but for now I'm staying inside.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Two things about Hurricane Ike: First, we need to stop naming Hurricanes. Or at least give them all really menacing names like Bogdanovich the Terrible or Large Hadron Collider or Dick Cheney. Losing your home and all your worldly possessions to something named Ike has gotta feel like insult to injury. Second, isn't there a real undercurrent of thinly veiled classism to all this talk about the stupidity of the people who ignored the evacuation orders? Yes, it would be wise to heed the warnings and get out of Dodge before a massive windstorm whisks you off to Oz (or was that a tornado?). But that's a lot easier to do when you've got financial security and maybe a second home to go to. If your little two-bedroom, one-bath in Galveston, Texas is the only thing separating you from life on the streets, I get why you might think twice. But hey, if Ike does destroy your domicile you can always come to Maui and stay in our low-income campground! Wait...never mind.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
Here's one of those weird coincidental things: The Maui News reports that 808 people ran the Maui Marathon this year. I wonder if organizers realized that fact at the time, and if so whether they would have turned away a last minute entrant to keep the cool convergence in place. To paraphrase the late great George Carlin, those are the kind of thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools… In other news: I like the trade winds and so does my respiratory system. And so, I'd imagine, do the Maui Marathoners.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
We've updated you a couple of times in this space about the electronic voting system Hawaii's going to use in the upcoming primary and November general election; in case you missed it, the technology comes courtesy of Hart InterCivic, a company that's been accused in the past by a whistleblower of misleading the government about the reliability and accuracy of its machines. Looks like folks are taking notice, and officials are scrambling to assure everyone that everything's hunky dory. Last month, a group of Maui residents including attorney Lance Collins tried to get a circuit court judge to prevent vote tallies from being transmitted via phone line, where they could theoretically be changed or tampered with. The judge denied that request but a lawsuit is pending. Quoted in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, state election honcho Kevin Cronin said the election will be "secure and provide honest and accurate results." But, you know, what else is he gonna say? Maybe the best news in all this is that the $43 million long-term contract Hawaii originally signed with Hart will have to be re-bid after this year because a state administrative hearings officer found it to be "clearly unreasonable." MTW