Source: Maui Time, Maui News, Best of Maui, Maui Activities

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This Week in Review
WEDNESDAY, July 19

by By Anthony Pignataro

July 27, 2006





In an act of measured rationality—or political insanity, it’s hard

to say at this point—the Maui County Council killed property tax

“reform” yesterday in a 5-3 vote, according to today’s Maui News.

Spurred by the anti-tax group Committee for More Equitable Taxation

(COMET), the proposed charter amendment would have fundamentally

changed the way county officials do tax assessments. Right now, the

assessors use the home sales surrounding a particular piece of property

(called “comps” in the realtor biz) to come up with tax rate. It seems

unfair, but the price of land fluctuates pretty wildly sometimes, and

comparable home sales are the quickest way to keep track of property

values over time. By contrast, the COMET plan would somewhat mirror

California’s notorious Proposition 13, in that it would tie tax rates

solely to the property’s own most recent sale, though there would be

some allowance for taxes to rise each year based on inflation. While

undoubtedly leading to lower property taxes, the measure—like Prop.

13—has a fundamental flaw: by lowering taxes so much, the amendment

would starve the county of the revenues it needs to pay for things like

police officers, firefighters, lifeguards and so forth. As a result,

the county would have to come up with more creative means of getting

money, which would run the gamut from floating bond measures to

goofball stuff like signing deals with Coca-Cola to name the soda the

“Official Soft Drink of Maui.” Think I’m kidding? The City of

Huntington Beach, California did exactly that in 1999 for $6 million.





THURSDAY, July 20



What are the odds that two separate newspapers on Maui will display

exactly the same ethical lapse within 24 hours of each other? Pretty

high I suppose, considering that both papers share the same owner:

Wheeling, West Virginia-based Ogden Newspaper Group, which owns The

Maui News and every weekly on the island except Maui Time.

Specifically, I’m speaking of yesterday’s Maui Weekly and today’s

Lahaina News, each of which contained a bone-headed lapse in judgment

you’d think kids learn never to commit in Journalism 101. Apparently

not—anyway, both papers ran fawning, extensive stories—40.5 and 36

column inches, respectively—on individuals intimately connected to the

paper without disclosing those relationships to the readers. In the

Weekly’s case, the story “Filipino Folkdance” profiled Bituing Silangan

Folkdance Company director Lawrence Pascua without mentioning that he

also works at the Weekly as their Design/Production Manager. And over

on the Westside, Lahaina News Editor—and Maui Weekly General

Manager—Mark Vieth wrote breathlessly of state House of Representatives

candidate Angus McKelvey’s recent letter to Governor Linda Lingle

pleading for a traffic help in West Maui without disclosing that

McKelvey was until June 21 of this year listed as one of the paper’s

contributing writers. Put simply, doing this kind of thing begs the

question in readers’ minds that the papers were unduly biased towards

their subjects. Of course, had they disclosed the relationships people

still might think they were biased, but at least they would have been

upfront with readers about how they’re having trouble finding news

outside their own newsrooms.





FRIDAY, July 21



Well, they actually did it. Today the Maui County Council voted 8-1

to jump in on the side of environmental group in their big lawsuit

against the state Department of Transportation over that Superferry

plan. And now everybody’s happy! And by “everybody,” I mean citizens

who’ve so far been fighting the plan to run high-speed car ferries

between the islands because of concerns over invasive species and

increased traffic and the Kahului Harbor users and shippers who say the

harbor is much too crowded as it is. I can’t imagine the DOT people,

Superferry Inc. or Maui Land & Pineapple—which has spent big money

on the project—are much happy right now. Nobody expects one lawsuit

will stop the project—there may in fact be nothing wrong with the

plan—but with county legitimacy now bestowed on the fight, it’s

possible the state will finally wake up and finally start doing a full

environmental review of the project.

SATURDAY, July 22





So Big Island Mayor Harry Kim won’t run as a Democrat against

Governor Linda Lingle. Said he’d like to be governor, but he’d rather

serve out the remainder of his mayoral term than do battle with Lingle.

That leaves Waianae Harbor Master William Aila and former state Senator

Randy Iwase in the race. Thank God that “Doesn’t Know/Refuse to State”

is still on the ballot. Put him—I’m assuming he’s a him—head to head

against Lingle and she doesn’t have a prayer.





SUNDAY, July 23



Oh, and by “God” in the above entry, I meant the divine creator of

the universe, not that four-foot alligator in Silver Lake, Wisconsin

that likes to eat raw chickens and frozen mice and seems to have the

word “God” imprinted on its side. I may be crazy, but I don’t think

that’s God.





MONDAY, July 24



Good news everyone: according to today’s Honolulu Advertiser, it’s

entirely possible that the reason nearly 40 percent of our nation’s

workers think they’re underpaid is because recent U.S. Labor Department

data says most employee wages have been more or less frozen since 2003.

Actual wage increases aren’t apparently coming, but at least we know

it’s not all in our minds.





TUESDAY, July 25



Vanilla-flavored toothpaste—is there anything on earth more evil?







Anthony Pignataro doesn’t have a clue what you’re talking about. MTW