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Maui%20County
The Maui 10
Who’s the county’s most powerful player?

by By Anthony Pignataro

April 05, 2007

RANK   PREVIOUS   COMPANY



  

1             

2            Maui Land & Pineapple Co.



  

2             

1           

Dowling Co.

  

3             

3           

Alexander & Baldwin

   4             

4           

Weinberg Foundation

  

5             

5           

Tesoro Hawai`i

   6             

6           

Goodfellow Brothers

  

7             

7           

Maui Electric Co.

  

8             

8           

Monsanto Hawai`i

   9             

9           

Hawaiian Telcom

 

10           

10           Wailuku

Water Co.





ML&P WILL DRINK TO THAT



What’s this? Maui Land & Pineapple has crawled back to the top

slot? Considering this week’s big news, it’s a given, wouldn’t you say?

I mean, it isn’t every week that a company—even one as large and

powerful as this one—has its investment pay off in such a rich manner.

I mean, anyone who puts a lot of money and effort into a project

expects a solid return, right? Isn’t that to be expected? Well, we’ll

all see very soon, I suspect. As you all might have surmised by now,

I’m speaking of Maui Land & Pineapple’s big, big decision to start

selling pineapple juice to Hawaiian Island Spirits. Think of it!

Pineapple Vodka made with real pineapple juice from the Maui Land &

Pineapple Co.! No more having to pour pineapple juice into plain vodka

to make pineapple martinis! And it’s not just vodka we’re talking here,

either: according to an online Pacific Business News story posted Mar.

27, over the next 12 months ML&P and Hawaiian Island Spirits will

also develop “nonalcoholic juice blends” as well as “other than

standard wine.” Other than standard wine?! That means pineapple wine!

Take that, Tedeschi Vineyard! Your days of controlling the “other than

standard wine” market are over!





NO IMPACT HERE



Oh, and it also looks like ML&P is going to get its way with the

proposed Superferry, into which the company has already poured $1

million (ML&P boss David Cole also sits on the Superferry board of

directors). Anyway, Representative Joe Souki (D, 8th District), who’s

taken money from both ML&P and Hawaii Superferry, Inc., really came

through this week and killed a bill that would have required an

environmental impact statement on the Superferry. The company wouldn’t

even have had to pay for the study, but that was too much for old Joe:

“It is not fair to single out the Hawai`i Superferry,” Souki said in

the Mar. 29 Honolulu Advertiser. MTW