<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/19/lahaina-maui-rebuild-locals-tourists>
"In March, Hawaii was hit with two back-to-back storms, bringing the worst
flooding it’s seen in 20 years. In Lahaina, Maui, muddy flood waters turned
streets into rivers and carved new paths through the barren landscape, breaking
open roads and flooding houses. In their wake, sinkholes appeared, engulfing
cars.
This is nearly three years after the deadliest wildfires in US history ravaged
Lahaina, destroying more than 2,000 structures and killing more than 100
people. Hundreds of affected households are still in temporary housing.
Poverty, unemployment and housing instability, rife before the fires, have only
worsened.
“So many people were hanging on by a thread as it is,” said Paele Kiakona, an
organizer with the grassroots group Lahaina Strong.
And yet, organizers and residents remain determined to protect Lahaina from
further climate crises and to rebuild the town for their community – not for
tourists. Some, like Kaiāulu Initiatives, are planting acres of native plants
to restore the land that was fallowed by decades of water diversion, making it
susceptible to fire. Others, like Nā ’Aikāne o Maui Cultural Center, are now
advising on the redevelopment of Front Street, the main drag of shops and
restaurants that catered to tourists, to better honor its Native Hawaiian
heritage and the local community.
But perhaps organizers’ greatest victory so far comes after years of talks with
the mayor and local officials: in December, the city council passed a law to
phase out 7,000 vacation rentals on the island – 15% of the island’s housing
stock – to house fire survivors and other locals.
“We passed legislation as community members, which is unheard of,” said
Kiakona. “We’re just community members organizing grassroots from the bottom
up, bringing our people in.”"
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-sperm-whales-talk-like-us/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
