Commentary contributed by Dot Buck · Pukalani

Visitors come to Maui for more than hotel accommodations.I disagree with Mike Molina about the water for hotels in Wailea. We need our water for Upcountry residents. The reasoning was because the hotels are our economic engine, he said. Please consider that the economic engines for Maui County is its people, land and a healthy environment. Visitors come because of us: what we have here, the people and the place. Our lifestyle and beautifully kept island is what brings visitors here. We need to diversify our economy to include more than just the hotels.
We need to protect, care for and restore the real base of our island operations and see to it that the real Maui Nui—its people and lands—are honored. Mike said his plan is for more support for tourism and business, and expediting capital improvement projects. He said social programs and grants could be one area the county cuts funding in a tight budget year.
In these tough economic times, social programs are what is needed most—the infrastructure and the hotels will survive. It’s our people who need to be retrained for a diversified economy: computers, teaching, agriculture, small businesses, repairing schools, parks and beaches and the like. We don’t need to build more golf courses for people who aren’t coming due to the economic slowdown.
It is the people who need to be supported and the land needs to be preserved. Corporations need to scale down and diversify the economy. It’s our people and land that are our engine. We should be asking for large amounts of donated land for affordable housing. If our residents are asked to cut back on water, so should the hotels. It’s the people we want represented, not the corporations!
Please take another look at the priorities for water. As an Upcountry resident, my priority is not just Wailea; it’s the farmers who could conceivably feed us and the small businesses that will change our island life to one of sustainability.