Members of the nonprofit organization, Stand Up Maui, are advocating for the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for Affordable Housing, commissioned in 2021. The group also wants the County to use or purchase land to help meet the housing needs of residents.
What began as a slide show three years ago at a community event has turned into a gem of a book about Maui history: “Mā’alaea: The Untold Story of Maui’s’ Historic Crossroad.”
East Maui Council member Sinenci said the passage of this charter amendment returns the stewardship of the East Maui watersheds toward local residents of East Maui, “residents who have often sacrificed their lives maintaining this system, and who had to idly watch as their life suffered from a lack of water.”
More recently, Maalaea was central to the fight to end the Navy’s bombing of neighboring Kahoolawe and efforts to protect the humpback whales that winter in the islands.