First off, I wear a mask. Up to a few days ago I wore it just in case I had something that I did not want to pass to you. When I was in the military I spent a lot of time in Japan and saw how they wore masks when they were sick – this did two things: 1) it made it obvious that that person had something that they didn’t want to pass on to others so they could avoid that individual if they chose to and 2) it prevented them from sneezing or coughing all over the place… So, out of consideration to those around me, I happily donned a mask and felt good about it…

It then dawned on me recently that I have only had one customer greet me with a mask on since this thing began. I work in their houses, so it really got me to thinking because many of my customers are doctors and lawyers – so I started talking to them about it and they directed me to various information and now I’m kind of miffed…

If you ask me today, I still wear a mask. I no longer wear it because I think I’m going to catch something; I no longer wear it because I think I’m going to pass something to someone else; I wear it because you are afraid, there is absolutely no way of talking you out of your fear and I don’t want your reaction (due to your fear) to create in me (in anyway) any type of situation in which I may have to hurt you. I have nine mouths to feed and can not afford to not go to work tomorrow because I reacted incorrectly to your incorrect reaction. So, I wear a mask…

Many folks have said or wrote to me stating that they simply do not understand what rights are being taken from us by county or state mandates – such as wearing of masks. I thought I’d respond here so I don’t have to repeat it.

The current County and State mandates being imposed due to this virus/flu ARE a loss of your constitutional rights as an American. This is a document which I swore to support and defend when I was 18 years old – I take the oath as seriously today as I did then… When you join the military, and take this oath, you give up your rights and become an indentured slave for the duration of your enlistment (if you are enlisted, officers are a bit different). When your term of indenturement comes to an end, no one ever “relieves” you of the oath – the words were said and, if you have an ounce of honor in you, can not be “taken back”… Pay attention…

When a church/store/restaurant puts a sign up that says “No shirt, No Shoes, No Mask, No Service” – that is their choice. I then have the choice to go to that church/store/restaurant or find another one. NOW, If the government mandates it, the choice has been removed from both the church/store/restaurant and myself…

Concerning the Church, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In other words, speaking to the scenario above, the First Amendment states the Federal Government can not, in any way, mandate anything (such as masks, or praising God at the top of my lungs) which can prohibit my right to go to church, to say whatever I want about it or peaceably assemble. It simply can not.

The Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

The Ninth Amendment is the “My Body, My Choice” Amendment – by denying a vendor/church or an individual the right to choose (EX: wearing masks with no scientific data/basis that it prevents spread, mass quarantines effectively shutting down our economy, potential forced vaccinations which may or may not work and perhaps may make more people sick) we are being denied our Ninth Amendment Rights…

Once the government begins to take any of these rights from us, and we settle for it, it makes it easier for them to take just a little more next time – wait for us to settle and then take a little more, wait for us to settle and then take a little more, etc… This is about more than the life and death of .05% of our population, this is about the death of our economy, our rights and our country – and we are simply sitting in our houses in front of the TV (in many cases becoming more afraid day by day) watching it happen as though we were watching a football game…

The President has, I’m sure, several constitutional lawyers on hand who brought these issues up with him and he used the Tenth Amendment as a safeguard to assure the Federal Government stayed within it’s Constitutional boundaries. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The President was bound by the Tenth Amendment to hand over the issue of the day to the states to assure our First and Ninth Amendment rights were not being denied by the Federal Government – and he did just that… Odd thing is that he got slammed by doing it from the liberals and the press – really odd…

Once the President handed the issue to the States his hands were tied – there is no Federal Statute which gives the President the authority to override the States in this situation. This prevents the Executive Branch of our government from becoming a Dictatorship – and still, he gets slammed by the liberals and the press – really odd…

The President is charged to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” – he must do what he needs to do, within the boundaries of the Constitution, to preserve, protect and defend YOUR RIGHTS as an American… He initially tried to do so, but issues beyond the purview of the Constitution arose, so he had to hand it over to the States… I don’t like the man myself, but he has done what he thought best to keep his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States – I have a bit of respect for that…

If there is still a United States when this is all over, there will be many lawsuits (of course) and many of the issues that the states and counties are handling incorrectly today will be seen as gross-negligence of our Ninth Amendment Rights. Mask mandates, quarantines, being forced to live/work/vacation in a “bubble”, forced vaccinations and all derivatives or extensions of these things – a reckoning is coming (it may even take the form of a revolution if our kids begin starving)… They will use their State constitutions, specifically the emergency/special powers within them, to justify their actions – but, as a county within a state and a state within the United States, “the buck stops” at the top. When all is said and done, the United States Constitution supersedes all State and County laws/mandates within the United States and the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final say…

Once the President handed the issue over to the States, it became a local issue and you have to start looking at local Constitutions, Laws and Statutes. You will find within each State, the State Constitutions afford the Governors certain policing/emergency/special powers which the federal government does not have – which is a good thing (otherwise we’d have a dictatorship)… Why do they need “Police/Emergency/Special Powers”? Haven’t you heard? There’s a virus out there!

A virus that 70%-80% of the population has T-Cell immunity to from the get-go; A virus that 99.95% of us will survive with very few issues. Let me explain…

First off, lockdown is the wrong way to go at this point – the hospitals are ready for us now. We are all going to be exposed to this virus and there is nothing anyone can do about it. So, now, at this time, in this place, lockdown is actually prolonging the issue. Numbers will continue to ebb and flow as we continue to open and close…

So, when you are exposed to this virus (just like any other flu) it will attack you. Immune or not, 99.95% of us will either have no symptoms at all or we’d have a few (just as we would with any flu). First, the antibodies (if you have any) will attempt to prevent the virus from binding to cells and then your T-Cells immediately start searching and destroying the remaining invaders until they are ALL dead… At that point, these individuals will then be immune…

The problem we’re seeing here is with the PCR testing. If an immune individual is tested shortly after being exposed they will test positive (even though they are immune). What is showing up on the test are small parts of the dead virus (Viral Debris) that the T-Cells and antibodies have killed… That’s right! The PCR test does not test whether the virus from your body is alive or dead!

The news, and our politicians, are reporting “Cases” as if that is THE number – they are presenting it as though “those are the people who are going to die”. This is absolutely false, in fact, “Cases” are:
1) those who are immune and shedding dead virus (these are your “asymptomatic” folks)
2) those who are slightly sick (with minor flu symptoms) will have immunity in a few weeks (after dealing with the virus/flu while in quarantine)
3) those who are in the hospital for another issue and then test positive after being exposed in the hospital and
4) those who need hospitalization specifically due to the virus/flu
so, the word “Cases” means absolutely nothing!

It’s that simple! The number I want to see is “hospitalizations due to….” – that number means something…

There’s another issue with the reports coming out. They say that the antibodies may not stick around for this specific virus/flu. First of all, how do they expect to make, market, sell and implement a vaccine if this is true? How are they possibly going to walk that one back? I can’t wait to see how they sell it to you all. Secondly, it doesn’t matter because T-Cell immunity is like having memory cells in your body – and they tend to stick around for quite a while (years in many cases)…

Worst case scenario: at the moment, there’s a 50% chance that a vaccine could stimulate the T-Cells to produce the wrong type of antibodies to fight this virus/flu (whether you are already immune or not) – those individuals who do not react well with the vaccine may be a larger number than those who have been hospitalized or died so far (and that would simply “SUCK”)…

What the above breaks down to is this: if you’ve had SARS, MERS, Flu A, Flu B, OC43, HKU1, NL63, 229E or any other derivative coronavirus/flu (which is about 70%-80% of the population) then you likely, at least partially, have cross-immunity (via T-Cell immunity) from one (or more) of the above…

If you look at the numbers being hospitalized for this virus/flu and dying specifically from this virus/flu statistically, it would actually put the number of cross-immune (via T-Cell Immunity) folks to a higher percentage (somewhere around 95%), but I’m willing to concede a few points for the bad diets, bad habits, bad living conditions, bad health and bad shape many of our high-risk folks are in (half of them probably don’t know they’re high risk)…

A few things to “keep in mind” throughout this “Emergency”:
1) we are ALL going to be exposed to this (by shutting down and reopening we are just prolonging the inevitable)
2) high risk folks (of which, I am most likely one) are just as high-risk with this virus/flu as they are with another
3) All of the lasting effects of this virus/flu to our bodies have the same potential as they would with any other virus/flu (it depends on the condition of our body when we are exposed to it)
4) The only thing which makes this virus/flu different than any other is that it is being reported as though it was a continuous sporting event and many are stuck in their house watching it…

Going back to the original question: what do they need emergency/special powers for? Yeah… Exactly… At this point, the biggest danger is the doctors treating it differently (for various reasons) and soon-to-be forced vaccinations…

These “Emergency/Special Powers” exercised by the States can not be instituted by the Federal Government. As such, they are obligated to hand it over to the States under the current climate – this does not mean these actions are Constitutional in any way, quite the opposite actually…

Think about it, if we lose the First Amendment, we don’t JUST lose our freedom of religion and/or our right to go to church, we’d also lose our right to free speech, freedom the press, freedom to assemble or to petition the government. If we lose the Ninth Amendment, we lose our right to choose – for those of you still paying attention, Roe v Wade goes away. I’m personally not a fan of Roe v Wade, but for many of the folks reading this, I just got your attention…

This is about more than you can possibly fathom – an Amendment which protects my right to go to church also protects your right to post, write, say and/or read whatever you would like; an Amendment which protects my right to choose to wear, or not wear, a mask also protects your right to do what you do with your body. You have the right to kill so that your life will not be inconvenienced; my right to wear, or not wear, a mask seems pretty insignificant in comparison… This is a big deal!

Please look this stuff up- don’t be a parrot! Think for yourself! Stop the fear! Stop spreading fear! Open up that mind of yours and don’t just look for information to perpetuate your existing prejudices! Do Not Take My Word For Any Of This! Do Your Own Research! The Truth Is Out There…

Mayor Victorino,

Until Maui is self-sufficient, Maui needs to keep the barges coming in – to keep the barges coming in, Maui needs to keep the stores open – to keep the stores open, Maui needs people in the economy with money to spend – Maui needs to keep people working any way possible…

We can not “give” money out anymore because there comes a tipping point in which the government simply does not have the money to give and money will lose its value – we have almost reached that point.  At that point, consumers literally can not buy anything – money will have no value.  There would be no reason for anyone to go to work because they can’t get paid in funds that can be used.  There would be no reason for most people to stay on the island (which means no work force for anything in the near future).  If no one can buy anything (or no one is here to buy anything) the whole (Kamaaina Economic) system crashes – no stores or gas stations can stay open, more people will be out of work, more people will try to leave (at this point their money has no value to buy a ticket), less and less barges will come to the island – those of us who remain on the island (and their keiki) will starve (at the moment, there are not enough natural resources to keep those on the island alive long enough to raise or grow the natural resources required for them to live).

Unfortunately, this is not out of the realm of possibility – we are surprisingly close to this happening.  This is not the mainland, we do not have backup, we can not drive away from this situation…  If we lose the barges we don’t just lose food and clothing, we lose gas – if we lose gas, we lose the use of all our utilities – gas runs our electrical power on the island and our electrical power runs everything (including our refrigerators, TV sources, Internet sources, water pumps, hotels, shops, stores, restaurants, etc)… So, even if there were a few of us left with the ability to pay our utilities (by trade – remember, money has lost its value), the utilities wouldn’t be there to pay for… Aside from utilities, there would be no gas for your car – imagine Maui, with it’s existing population, under those conditions…

At this point, there is more than a virus to be concerned with, starvation kills just as slowly and painfully – what a person would do to their neighbor for the food in their house to keep their babies from starving is no joke – we need to start wrapping our heads around that…  As spoiled/entitled Americans it is a hard thing to wrap our heads around until we are in that situation – unfortunately, once you are facing this it is too late…

I would love if everyone just up and left the island (for personal reasons), but (for now) we need people to stay:  we need people to work, we need people to spend money – to keep the stores open – to keep the barges coming – until we are self-sufficient…  

I personally do not think we will be self-sufficient unless we are given no choice – we will push it until there are no options. Everyone will wait until it all crashes and most folks think they will actually live through it (most of them will not). So, for now, we need the barges…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>Mayor Victorino,

We need to start with protecting those who are high-risk for COVID-19 by providing a program in which antibody positive folks are delivering to their houses (for groceries) or working at their houses (for cleaning, carpentry, electrical, cable, water) – so it is important to have knowledge of who is actually antibody positive.

The funny thing is a few folks seem to think that antibody positive folks may be an issue. These are often the same folks who believe that a vaccine will be their cure.  What do they think the vaccine does?  It makes your body produce antibodies…  If they believe antibodies for COVID-19 do not protect one from the virus, or only protects one for so long, what does one possibly think a vaccine is going to do?

It takes a good year to properly do a double blind study of a vaccine – without proper testing, putting something like that in your body is simply insane.  So, what do we need to do? We need to try to get the rest of the population to herd immunity over the Fall/Winter so the high-risk folks will have less to worry about in a shorter amount of time.  Waiting for a vaccine may actually kill more people…

When we close the airports back down in October/November (when flu season comes back around) we need to keep the Kamaaina Economy open – this is what we should have done last time.  We need to build herd immunity on this island (without overwhelming the hospital) so that we don’t have to close out the airport again; we need to keep people working so that they can go shopping and buy food and clothing for their keiki…

SIDE NOTE 1: Here’s where anyone reading this is going to have to dig in a little. “Cases” are good. We want the number of cases to go up so that we build an immunity as an island. The news is reporting “Cases” as though it is a bad thing, it is not – a month from now those folks will have the antibodies. It does get a little confusing when they report that “the curve is flat, but the number of cases is rising”. The curve is the number of deaths (or the number of hospitalizations, depending on who you’re talking to) – they are actually not rising. I see a lot of confusion out there about this, so I felt the need to explain.

SIDE NOTE 2: There is a lot of inaccurate “coding” going on right now – this is not something I’m going to get into right now – let’s just say, when it all comes out people are going to be a little upset…

SIDE NOTE 3: The PCR test itself was brought to be too quickly and is not accurate (it is a test for something else that has a statistical variance which would not normally be used) – it is due to both the test itself as well as user error and peer pressure amongst those coding the tests – this will all come out years from now and folks are going to feel a little upset about this as well…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>Mayor Victorino,

Make no mistake.  This is a county of three islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we are on our own and we need to be on our own.  We can not afford to take orders from a governor encamped on an island with a military presence (personnel including dependents) equivalent to our very population.  The military presence alone (who gets their checks every two weeks no matter what) on Oahu can keep that island afloat…  The governor need not worry about the outer islands because his voters are on Oahu – Oahu is the population he needs to keep happy and alive, it is all he needs to stay in office… 

It is not “PC” to say the above, nor think it, but this is survival – if we, as an island, do not spend money at Costco, Safeway, Foodland, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ace those companies may rethink whether or not they need to be here…  The more of the big boxes who close, the less people we have working – which means even less people who have money to spend…  The more of the big boxes who close, the fewer barges we have coming in – until we are self-sufficient (or off the grid), we depend on those barges coming in for EVERYTHING!!!

Without the barges, more people will die…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>Mayor Victorino,

Your “new normal” calls for (in your words) quality of visitors, not quantity.  I’m sure most of us agree with this assessment.  The roadways were getting too packed and too many houses are now covering our once pristine countryside.  Places we use to camp and hike when we were kids now have housing tracts or Hotels on them.  Personally, it was killing me slowly and softly on the inside to see all that made this island a beautiful place to live dissolve into a concrete jungle…

Any True Local understands the issue with the BNB’s (Bed and Breakfasts) and VRBO’s (Vacation Rental by Owners).  These are folks who drive up the housing prices (whether it is intentional or not), rarely pay their due in taxes (whether it is intentional or not) and do not (need to) hire enough local workers to help make a positive contribution to our economy…

If we can keep a single hotel such as the Grand Wailea full (with it’s 787 rooms, 52 suites, 5 restaurants and 4 bars), it makes a larger contribution to our island than all of these BNB’s and VRBO’s combined.  1,400 employees and contractors and all the businesses who “back them up” would be grateful for the income…

If you add the personnel required to run the Kea Lani, Four Seasons, Marriott and Andaz then you are talking about more money in a single month than all the BNB’s and VRBO’s can bring in in a year…  If you add to that the West Side Hotels such as the Hyatt, Westin, Kaanapali Beach Hotel and the Ritz (to just name the older ones with name recognition) it is obvious that we need to fill these hotels to get our economy back up and running…

It is obvious that we need to concentrate on filling these hotels to capacity so we can get Maui back to work – yes, a smaller number of our population (the BNB’s and VRBO’s – who often are not local) is going to take a hit, but this is for the greater good…  We do not have a Kamaaina Economy unless the locals have money to go shopping – we need to get as many locals as we can back to work ASAP…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>Mayor Victorino,

You have made a “shout out” for any and all ideas for new direction in Maui Island revenue streams…  There are several…  If you are willing to use county funds to buy and then resell land that can be used for farms and crops at an extremely affordable price or if you are willing to utilize eminent domain to re-task land use for the good of the community then we can make this work…  The County will have to make land affordable to those willing to get their hands dirty to provide food to the rest of the island…

Let’s get down to what we need.  We need to, as a county, get off the grid.  What do we need to do this?  We need an export, so folks are dependent on us and do not want that export or supply chain to fail – we need an export which is “too big to fail”…  Aside from a solid export, we need to be completely self-sufficient (about the only thing we’ll need to be shipped in is gasoline).  Looking at this from a survival perspective, we need shelter, electricity, water, food, safe movement and first aid – almost everything we ship in we can make here on the island, and we can put people to work producing it…

1. A SOLID EXPORT:  First off, I do not partake in, nor do I personally enjoy the smell of pot.  I have no skin in the game by making this suggestion.  I do not even like this suggestion, but it can make more money for Maui than anything else because it could give us a large and profitable “Export Business” within a very short time frame…  We can take any area that Mahi Pono has not bought and grow pot there.  We could setup a few factories to make and package gum, brownies, cookies, etc.  Between the security patrolling the area, the workers in the field, the factory workers, the trucks to get the product to Air Freight and the distribution from there, this would almost instantly put a Maui Product on the Map and would make this one of the richest counties in America overnight…  YB may be an option under certain circumstances (enough to keep them happy so the supply barges keep coming in no matter what), but I would export these products through the air for the speed and security with which air-travel affords…
2. SHELTER:  We have enough housing on Maui to support what will become our “new population” – and there are still projects on the books – there may even be some empty homes for a while until the population settles (those who leave, stay, return, etc)…
3. ELECTRICITY:  EVERY HOME – EVERY APARTMENT – EVERY BUILDING – EVERY MOTEL – EVERY HOTEL – EVERY SHACK needs to be able to produce enough electricity via solar panels to support the occupants within.  Maui needs to be a zero sum playing field.  The electric company itself can have farms of solar panels, buildings of batteries and using the existing power-lines with everyone connected to the grid have the ability to send power in separate directions as needed.  YB can ship in the parts and we can build a factory and assemble these solar panels and batteries and all the peripherals associated with them – this would not just add tech jobs to our arsenal, it would add contractors to install, repair and replace them when the need arises.  Point to make here – we want to assemble not manufacture, there is too much waste in the manufacture of these products.  We can not afford to think of anything other than the collective – this is something the county must do to save the county – our dependence on external sources (such as gas imports) for electricity has to end…  We could pay for this with the Marijuana exports or we can talk to someone like Elon Musk.  I’m sure he would “hate” to have a Tesla assembly factory here on Maui – with the right incentives, you never know…
4. WATER:  There are six main areas of the island which require water – West Side, South Side, Central, Haiku, UpCountry and Hana Side.  Fortunately, these areas would also need their own individual electrical grid providing solar energy.  To supplement water in these areas, assure consistent water flow to all, it would be essential that the main electrical “HQ/Hub/Central Station” for each area be near the ocean (just above flood zone height for its respective area).  When this has been accomplished, lines can be run into the ocean to take incoming water – this can power itself as long as the flow is constant (which can be assured as long as the lines are out far enough and below the surface of the water), the hydroelectric power from the incoming water can power the very batteries which can be converted to the mechanical energy to pump water from the ocean into the large water desalination and purification unit/s which can supplement the water supplies throughout the island…  We can keep our outgoing system as is…  No more water shortages…
5. FOOD:  We have the area for complete self sufficiency, we’re simply not using it…  The ideas and plans that Mahi Pono have are great, but they’re not producing enough to support the population of Maui County, they are not growing the right crops to support the population of Maui County, what they are doing is happening way too slow and they are not utilizing enough locals to do it.  Mahi Pono is a joint venture between California based Pomona Farming and a Canadian public sector investment board.  We have to do this ourselves.  We need to raise our own cattle, pig, sheep, goats and chickens.  We need to grow our own crops.  We need to think of the county first and then consider exports.  We need food now!  We need a proper plan, but we need expedience as well.  We need a plan, we need an Environmental Impact Statement and we need to get water flowing to that area so we can start producing food to feed the island.  We could also grow crops associated with the production of first aid supplies…  Most importantly of all – BEES – as a beekeeper I need to say BRING BEES INTO THE EQUATION!!!
6. SAFE MOVEMENT:  Lit and well marked bike/walk lanes, tunnels, overpasses and trails all over the island – there should be no area on the island that can not be accessible on bicycle (or on foot) that requires a bicycle rider (or pedestrian) to engage with a car unless they choose to do so.  This would benefit the entire community as well as put many people to work in the creation and upkeep of the bike paths and their ancillary areas (such as rest areas and bathrooms).  Another unrelated idea would be for vacationers to only have Tesla’s to rent.  Not only could they be tracked, but they could literally be told they are not permitted in specific areas and the car simply will not drive there…
7. FIRST AID:  There are some things we, as an advanced society, simply do not want to go without if cut off from the rest of the world.  Thing’s such as penicillin, hydrogen peroxide, bandages, bleach, insulin, iodine tablets, epinephrine, asthma inhalers, masks, safety glasses, IV Supplies, needles, syringes, ibuprofen, antibiotics, anti-fungals and the list goes on.  We need to make these things ourselves.  What a great bunch of quality workers we would have if we had a group of folks who could produce these things (and assure we had an adequate stock pile) right here on the island…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>
Over the last three months, I have spoken with several of my customers (most of them being retirees from the real estate, medical or hospitality industries), two doctors on Maui several times and at length, two doctors on the mainland several times and at length, two lawyers on Maui several times and at length and have read through the

• “Maui Island General Plan 2030”
• “Countywide Policy Plan”
• “Community Planning Process Handbook”
• “Hana Community Plan”
• “Kihei-Makena Community Plan”
• “Makawao-Pukalani-Kula Community Plan”
• “Pa`ia-Ha`iku Community Plan”
• “Upcountry Greenway Master Plan”
• “Wailuku-Kahului Community Plan” and the
• “West Maui Community Plan”.

I regrettably understand that the reasons the above Plans have not come to fruition is because of the money tourism brought in in the past – and when the economy is good everyone does what they can to keep that flow moving.  With the advent of the shutdown and what it has done to our economy, now is the time to reconfiguring our direction.  Tech and farming are fantastic and we need to get them up and running so we can be self sufficient, but they simply do not provide enough jobs.  We need to be able to support our exiting population with as little imports as possible, yet we want to supply an export which the rest of the world simply can not do without – this will keep the shipments coming for the few things we do need to bring in…

Many sections of the plans written for the county, and areas of the county, (above) end with “This … is great for tourism” – ok fine, wish we could concentrate on what is best for those of us who live here first, but since we have to sell our idea to the tourism industry to get it off the ground, imagine what a “marketing gimmick” the above ideas could be for tourists in the future: an entire island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean completely off the grid and totally self-sufficient…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>
We need to reorganize with the Mahi Pono owners to supply for our Maui Population FIRST.  Side Note: instead of growing Mac Nuts (which they are going to be doing a lot of) maybe they can fill those fields with marijuana???

The County (or friends of the County) can buy Piiholo Ranch (it is for sale right now) and hire folks to raise cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, etc for local consumption…

Most importantly, we do not want anymore folks moving here – we have to be able to support the population with what is grown or raised on this island.  Once we can do that we can welcome more folks to the island…

<<<<<<<<<<———->>>>>>>>>>
Everyone wants to do this (or pieces of this) until they realize what they would need to give up for it – and, make no mistake, we would all be giving up quite a bit to make any of this happen – it’s going to be a hard sell… You’re never going to get two people, let alone the adult population of Maui, to agree on any two things – that’s why I tried to present as many ideas as possible – you, as the Maui Mayor, need to pick and choose the battles worth fighting. Maybe you already have and this is going to go no where – but there’s always a chance… and there is always a choice… people often forget that not making a choice is a choice in itself…

I’m not coming at this from any perspective other than I am one of 150,000 people who live on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  I’m completely indifferent to who you are or what you do or don’t do.  I don’t care if you work or not; I don’t care if you stay on the island or bail.  I don’t care if you wear a mask or not, or what your reasons are…

THIS IS JUST THE DATA – this is what we know based on what can be found online at the moment:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, of Americans:

• 40%  Work
• 20%  Do Not Work
• 20%  Too Young To Work (Keiki/Children)
• 20%  Are Retired/Elderly

If you apply those numbers to the 150,000 population of Maui County:

• 40% = 60,000 Workers
• 20% = 30,000 Non-Workers
• 20% = 30,000 Keiki
• 20% = 30,000 Retired

Last week Mayor Victorino stated in his daily video that there are 37,000 people in Maui County who have lost their jobs due to the lockdown.  This changes the numbers above to:

• 15% = 23,000 Workers (“Essential” – stupid term)
• 44.7% = 67,000 Non-Workers
• 20% = 30,000 Keiki
• 20% = Retired

There are 54,000 Households in Maui County:

• 35,500 Family Households
• 18,500 Non-Family Households

Statistically, from the numbers above, 42.6% of Maui Households have at least one person earning a paycheck today – 57.4% do not.

The Lt. Governor, just yesterday, finally gave me the number I have been looking for since this thing started.  44,228 people have had the PCR test (which tells you whether or not you are active with COVID-19).  Of the 44,228 folks tested in the state of Hawaii 643 have tested positive and 17 of those have died – that is:

• 01.50% of those tested have tested positive for the active virus
• 98.50% have tested negative for the active virus
• 00.038% of those tested have died
• 99.962% of those tested have not died

If we set the population of Hawaii as 1.5 million:

• 02.90% of the population has been PCR tested for COVID-19
• 97.1% of the population has not been PCR tested for COVID-19
• 00.04% of the population has tested positive for COVID-19
• 00.001% of the population has died from COVID-19

A recent study by a local doctor (who will remain anonymous due to all the crap he’s getting for ordering all these tests) – of 93 people tested for the antibodies, 6 had the antibodies with more than 98% accuracy – that is 6.45% for that population…

So, statistically, of 150,000 residents and 54,000 households in Maui County:

• 145,650 Have not been PCR tested for COVID-19 (97.1%)
• 127,050 People OF ALL AGES not working (84.7% – includes Keiki and Retired folks)
• 67,000 People OF WORKING AGE not working (44.70% of total pop)
• 37,000 People who have lost their job due to lockdown (61.67% of those working March 1st; 24.67% of total pop)
• 31,320 Households without income (57.4%)
• 23,000 Essential Workers (15% of total pop; 38.33% of those working March 1st)
• 22,680 Households with income (42.6%)
• 9,675 residents have the antibodies (6.45% of total pop)
• 4,350 have been PCR tested for COVID-19 (2.9% of total pop)
• 118 tested positive for COVID-19 PCR test (00.079% of total pop)
• 2 to 6 People Died from COVID-19 (00.0013% – 00.004% of total pop)

See the whole picture:  breath…  step back…  breath some more…  and look at the whole picture…

How important is the tourist to the Maui economy?  Well, let’s think about the numbers for a moment…

When the tourist get here, they get their 

1. rental car and go to
2. Costco. They then stop by that
3. restaurant they heard about (or fell in love with last time) and then on to their
4. hotel/BnB. After unpacking, they go take a nap and then to the beach. On the way to, or on their way back from, the beach they stop for supplies and gas at the local
5. mini-mart and after the beach they go to
6. another restaurant. They also, if it’s their first time and want to see the island, most likely
7. bike down the volcano, do a
8. helicopter tour,
9. hang in Hana for a day,
10. hang in Paia for a day,
11. hang on the West Side for a day,
12. hang on the South Side for a day.

On a five day stay, (#3), (#4), (#5) and (#6) would happen at least once a day. This would be approximately 30 “Points of Contact” in which the vacationer buys something – which allows the business owners to pay their employees as well as their taxes to the state and federal government…  Going off on a slight tangent – try “Contact Tracing” the above…

Maui Vacation for four would probably cost $5000 if they were really watching their budget, but more likely it would cost $10,000 or more…  If we had just 5,000 families (20,000 people) visiting, that would be between 5 and 10 million dollars a day to our economy…

Now, let’s talk about the support workers.  I’ll choose the Grand Wailea because it has about 1,500 employees and contractors and it would (all by itself) cause the biggest hit to our economy here on Maui.

Who supports the support workers?

1. gas station
2. mechanic
3. morning coffee
4. lunch cafe
5. dinner stop
6. gym
7. mini-mart
8. FOOD shopping
9. HOME shopping
10. entertainment – concerts/movies

That’s 1,500 people who have their 10 favorite places/folks for the services above.  That doesn’t count the plumbers, carpet cleaners, carpenters, etc…  So, just the 1,500 folks who support the vacationer at the Grand Wailea support 15,000 people.  There’s no doubt that we all go to Starbucks, Safeway, Costco, Foodland, Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart and Target (that will create a small discrepancy with the numbers)…

That’s just one hotel.  On the South Side we have the Kea Lani, Four Season, Grand Wailea, Andaz and Marriott.  On the West Side we have the Hyatt, Westin, Ka`anapali Beach Hotel, Sheraton and Ritz…  Between these 10 hotels there are approximately 10,000 support personnel which are directly supported by another 100,000 folks…  That’s it, that’s the ballgame – our entire Maui island population (minus about 10,000-15,000 people) is here to support tourism…

Now, imagine that there are no tourists and the hotels are closed.  Not only are we not receiving the money from the tourists, but there is no money for the support staff to spend on any of the folks who support them…  Imagine that for one moment…

Why doesn’t the governor see this?  For one, he doesn’t care – he’s made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t care about our economy here on Maui.  More importantly, the island he lives on is supported by the military – these 50,000 men and women receive their checks on time every two weeks (as they should)…  The support staff for the vacationers are taking a dive, but he still has folks on his island who can support basic business openings here and there throughout the island he lives on – if Oahu opens up without tourists, about 60% of the businesses can be supported by those receiving paychecks on the island…

Now, even if he had suddenly realize what he has done to our economy and tells Maui it can open up everything (including tourism), it doesn’t matter at this point.  The small business owner who is still in business after all of this doesn’t want to open because they can not support a staff if they have no business…

Think about what a tourists would have to go through on their “dream vacation”…

1st – due to the 14 day quarantine, they would have to ask for 19 days off of work just to get their 5 days in the sun (risking their job)…

2nd – they would have to brave the trip here under the “New Normal” Guidelines – airports, planes, etc

3rd – they would have to get a rental car that doesn’t look like a rental cause the locals would trash their car if they saw it

4th – they would have to be tracked and risk jail if they broke the quarantine

5th – after their 14 days of quarantine they would find very few things open

6th – of the few places they find open, they would have to deal with the “new normal” of masks, social distancing and the locals not wanting them here – the Spirit of Aloha is out the window at the moment

After a few tourists posted their Maui Adventure on Facebook and Twitter there would be a sudden mass cancellations of “dream vacations” – oh yeah, it’ll spread like wildfire…

Where does that leave us?  It leaves us here – exactly where we are – our main source of income on this island is gone.  We have to figure out another way of living.  The mayor keeps alluding to Maui going back to being an Agrarian Society – I, for one, think that’s a great idea but not too many folks here on the island could live that way.  I know they think they could, but I don’t think they truly understand the scope of it…  I don’t think they truly understand how they would be living in ten years or what that would look like…  It would be work, both mentally and physically – and I’m not sure the folks who are here at the moment are the folks for the job – prove me wrong – please prove me wrong…

Mr Joe Blow has always kinda looked at me and “sank” into themselves.  Maybe it’s my eyes (just one of those guys born with “Mean Eyes”), maybe it’s that I’ve always been built (like a Brick Outhouse – even at 51 years old), maybe it’s that I don’t like sitting (they have no idea that it’s simply because after 5 minutes it’s just too hard to get out of a chair for me) or maybe it’s just the way I move from side to side while standing (as if I’m always ready to “GO” – which I am, truth be told)…

As a business owner, if the first person I see on site is male, I’ve always tried to smile first to relieve the tension before it began (I have a rather large smile) and say/do something to get them to laugh at me (not with me, at me) as quickly as I can.  Charm goes a long way…

I have never liked that I intimidated people for no other reason than walking into a room.  I like to watch people and it’s hard to watch them if they are watching you – they don’t act the way they would normally act, so I get a revision of their normal behavior…

For these reasons I thoroughly enjoy “watching” folks online.  They can’t see me or anyone else.  You can get more “intel” on how an individual thinks/feels about almost anything.  Someone who cowers in front of you in person, or simply stays out of the conversation to be PC, will “let er rip” on Facebook or Twitter or…

What have I been seeing lately?  The reason I got out…

I got out of the military because they made a mistake.  Their mistake was that they sent me home for a few weeks…

While home, I was in a bar listening to a group of individuals talking about something they had no knowledge of and slamming that which they did not understand – they were simply regurgitating what they saw/heard on the news.  That was it.  I’m not going to protect this anymore, I actually wanted the “bad guys” to take these people out.  I was one of the few standing between the “bad guys” and these idiots.  I’m defending this?  Defending these people who would go out of their way to offend me at the drop of a hat.  Wasted my youth defending these people…

I got out and went to school.  First thing I realized about college was that I was a rarity – I showed up on time (even after a harsh night), did my work and helped others (tutored calc and stats for free).  I know that sounds extraordinary, but it’s not.  I was surrounded by lazy people who were completely into themselves.  It’s not that I was awesome or good, it’s just that they were so bad that it made me look good…

As an Audio/Visual Freelancer on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I was everyones first call.  I was a rigger, audio tech, video tech, lighting tech, GRFX op, tape op, playback op, camera op, spotlight op – you name it.  I was all those things (and pretty good at each individual thing), not because I had to be (I could have been any ONE of those things and gotten by), because I loved the industry and loved to work.  It was an addiction for me…

Most folks think it’s really cool to have a jack of all trades on their crew for that “special something” that inevitably pops up in the course of setup or a few days into the run of the show.  All you have to do is show up on time, ready to work, ask the right questions beforehand so you would know what tools to bring, don’t worry about a break, be able to do any position the show required and be willing to stay after to reset anything that needed it.  I have always thought it was crazy how rare it was – I wasn’t, and am not, that awesome.

When I became a technical director, project manager and producer I quickly realized how rare it was.  To find someone who shows up on time, ready to work, ready to learn, is willing to ask questions, works instead of complains, doesn’t look at their watch or phone all day – it is indeed a rarity…

My biggest problem is that I have a brain.  To realize that you are rare simply because you don’t suck, well, that sucks…  I can’t even take a compliment because, in my brain, a compliment is not a compliment to me it is a jab at the incompetence of everyone else…  To me, I have never done anything extraordinary – it’s just what I do and/or how I do it…

A few years ago I got out of the A/V business and bought a carpet cleaning company from my in-laws.  Tell you what, finding employees…?  Forget it…  Someone who wants to work?  Forget it…  Someone who shows up on time?  Forget it…  Someone who doesn’t constantly call in sick?  Forget it?  Someone who can take their eyes off their phone to pay attention to what they are doing?  Forget it…

When it comes to “Friending” or “Following” folks online I have chosen folks from all gambits – I like to know what my friends are thinking about things but I also like to know what other folks are thinking.  I have a thing for thinking.  I do not like to just read that which perpetuates my own prejudice – I like to look at the whole picture – I like to try to change my mind with other view points…  I don’t care if it’s too far to the right or left, too republican or democrat, fear or hate – I want to read it…

The few things I can say with complete certainty right now is that I’m glad I’m not defending you anymore and that YOU SUCK…  I want to ask of you, please, stop it – please make a point to stop sucking, please make it a point to try to be worthy.  I was out of the military before starting a family – didn’t realize it until we started having kids that everything I did was for them – not for you, for them…

I am saying this simply because my daughter, my oldest, the beam of light straight from GOD who came into our family 17 years ago is leaving for the Naval Academy in two months.  When she gets there she will take an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.  She is going to become an indentured slave who is going to be putting everything she has on the line for you…  Be worthy of that – please stop, think, repent and be worthy of that…

These kids she will soon be serving with:  In this day…  at this time…  under these conditions…  These are kids who have the choice of any college in America…  These are kids who do not have to join the military to get what they want out of life…  This is their choice – BE WORTHY OF THAT