Maui Causes

16/12/2025

12/12/2025

New Petition Update: Formal Ethics Complaint Filed Against New Ethics Director

A major development today confirms exactly why our petition for an independent and accountable Maui County ethics system is urgently needed. SIGN NEW PETITION HERE:
https://c.org/9gV2ZvKtND

A formal Ethics Complaint has now been filed against the new Ethics Director, Lauren Akitake, alleging violations of the Maui County Charter and the Hawaiʻi Rules of Professional Conduct.

The filing details multiple failures to act on documented conflicts involving Corporation Counsel, the County Auditor, private attorneys, and the Lahaina Fire litigation, including a law firm switching sides in related cases, a conflict that was never investigated or reported as required by law.

This complaint reinforces what our community has been raising alarm about for months: the Charter-mandated independence of the Board of Ethics is not being honored, conflicts are being shielded instead of investigated, and public trust continues to erode.

In just three days, more than 74 Maui residents have already signed the petition demanding an independent, accountable ethics system. The momentum is real and growing because people understand how much is at stake.

Please sign and share our petition widely. Every voice counts.

PRESS RELEASE 12/11/2025

LAHAINA, MAUI: A formal Ethics Complaint has been filed against Lauren M. Akitake, Executive Director and Legal Counsel of the Maui County Board of Ethics, alleging violations of Maui County Charter Article 10 and the Hawaiʻi Rules of Professional Conduct.

The complaint asserts that Director Akitake has failed to uphold the independence required by a voter-approved Charter Amendment and has instead acted to preserve and protect the influence and agendas of the conflicted attorneys within the Department of the Corporation Counsel. As a licensed professional attorney, Director Akitake's bar of responsibility and ethics has been violated.

The complaint was filed by Lahaina resident and government accountability advocate Christopher Salem, who alleges that Director Akitake’s decisions and omissions have undermined the purpose of the Charter Amendment establishing an independent Board of Ethics legal counsel, staff, and Director.

The amendment, approved by local residents and Maui County voters, was intended to eliminate the longstanding influence of Corporation Counsel over ethics matters and restore public trust in County government.

According to the complaint, Director Akitake refused to process or investigate a series of serious ethics complaints involving documented attorney conflicts, including those involving private attorney David Nakamura, County Auditor Lance Taguchi, and Corporation Counsel.

The complaint further alleges that Director Akitake failed to fulfill her professional duties as a licensed attorney by failing to report documented evidence of attorney misconduct to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Office of Disciplinary Counsel. (ODC)

The filing also exposes a serious conflict involving the Lahaina Fire litigation. Corporation Counsel Deputy Thomas Kolbe is now defending the County alongside the law firm McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon (MMMM).

This is the same firm that previously represented West Maui property owners and plaintiffs in claims alleging that the County and private developers failed to comply with required SMA fire-mitigation conditions prior to the 2023 wildfire.

“A firm cannot ethically switch sides in a matter involving the same parties, the same facts, and the same underlying public-safety failures.” Salem said, “This isn’t just inappropriate, it’s an obvious, serious conflict that should have been forwarded to the Board of Ethics immediately. The Ethics Director’s refusal to even process the complaint is indefensible.”

The complaint also states that Director Akitake’s refusal to act on conflicts involving the October 7, 2025, Maui County Council executive session, now under active investigation by the State Office of Information Practices (OIP), further demonstrates her failure to uphold her legal and ethical obligations.

The complaint alleges violations of Maui County Charter §§10-4(b), 10-4(c), 10-4(d), and 10-4(g), including misuse of position, impairment of independent judgment, engagement in incompatible acts, and securing unwarranted privileges for conflicted County attorneys.

“The Charter Amendment and the Maui County Council directives were clear." said Salem. "The people of Maui voted for an independent Board of Ethics, not a continuation of the same misdealings that shield conflicts, silence whistleblowers, and protect political allies. Director Akitake has failed the public, failed the Council, failed the Charter, and failed her professional duties as an attorney.”

✍️ Sign the petition to demand the Ethics Board independence we all voted for!
➡️ CLICK HERE https://c.org/9gV2ZvKtND

Help restore accountability, transparency, and trust in Maui County Government.

09/12/2025

07/12/2025

Interesting. Elections season is upon us.

A First Amendment case is being heard in Hawaiʻi's federal court, with popular news satire website The Babylon Bee claiming that a law signed by Gov. Josh Green is unconstitutional.

More here: https://tinyurl.com/y2yfbnfk?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KHON2_News

07/12/2025

06/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16Y82cfRwt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Maui residents may start making appointments Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, for the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management’s (DEM) free Residential Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Central Maui. Appointments close Jan. 6, 2026.

The DEM event is by appointment only. Residents must call EnviroServices & Training Center at (808) 456-3494 to schedule a time and receive the drop-off address and other instructions (remain in vehicle as staff members unload items). The Oʻahu-based company asks for calls earlier rather than later so sufficient equipment and supplies can be brought to Maui.

Acceptable household hazardous waste items include:

• Aerosols

• Antifreeze

• Vehicle and household batteries

• Fire extinguishers

• Fluorescent bulbs and tubes

• Oil-based paint

• Pesticides

• Solvents

• Thermometers

• If item is not listed, inquire about it when calling EnviroServices

The free service for residents only is sponsored by DEM Environmental Protection & Sustainability Department Recycling Section. Businesses with hazardous waste may call Cameron Chemical Corp., (808) 695-2999; EnviroServices, (808) 839-7222; Pacific Commercial Services, (808) 545-4599; or Pacific Environmental Corp. (808) 545-5195.

Event dates for Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi will be posted soon at https://mauicounty.gov/recycle.

For general information about the DEM Recycling Section, visit https://mauicounty.gov/recycle or call (808) 270-7880.

06/12/2025

ACTION ALERT: New Ethics Director and Corporation Counsel in Violation of the 2024 Charter Revision

Last year, Maui voters approved a Charter amendment to make our Board of Ethics truly independent of Corporation Counsel.

We wanted investigations free from political interference and real accountability for ethical violations.

Instead, the new Ethics Board Director, Lauren Akitake, Board Chair Steven Sturdevant, and Vice-Chair Michael Lilly are intentionally circumventing the public's vote.

Conflicted County attorneys are still sitting in on closed-door meetings they shouldn't be part of.

New Ethics Board rules included an unconstitutional gag order that blocks public participation.

Ethics complaints are being dismissed without proper process and investigation, to the point that the State Office of Information Practices has now opened an investigation into potential Sunshine Law violations.

COUNTY AUDITOR'S NEGLIGENCE DEFENDED:
Claims have been filed challenging the County Auditor's private professional licensing due to his failure to complete required peer reviews every three years since 2018.

Again, without the required conflict check from the Ethics Board, the County Council approved $150,000 in taxpayer funds to hire outside counsel, KS&G, to defend the Auditor’s personal violations and professional license.

NEW ETHICS DIRECTOR'S NEGLIGENCE:
Our Charter Revision specifically requires the new Ethics Director to be a licensed attorney because that status carries independent professional obligations.

As an attorney in Hawaiʻi, Director Akitake must report serious misconduct by other lawyers to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

This “self‑regulation” requirement exists to protect the public and uphold the integrity of the legal system, and government attorneys are held to an even higher ethical bar.

However, despite receiving well‑documented evidence of potential attorney misconduct, Director Akitake has refused to forward it to the proper authority, undermining the purpose of the Charter amendment and the independence that voters intended.

Director Akitake is using her governmental authority to protect and confer an undue benefit on Corporation Counsel, which may have both criminal and professional consequences.

THE 800‑LB GORILLA IN THE ROOM:
Corporation Counsel’s handling of conflicts of interest also demands scrutiny. When the department finally acknowledged that it could not defend the County in the lawsuit filed by former County employee Chris Salem—because its own past conduct was implicated—it selected the private law firm KS&G to take over the defense.

But Corporation Counsel never sought the Charter‑required conflict‑of‑interest ruling from the Board of Ethics before choosing KS&G.

Civil Beat’s reporting describes how close to $1 million has now been spent through this arrangement, even while key questions about conflicts remain unanswered.

One pivotal issue is the executive session where Corporation Counsel attorney Caleb Rowe participated even though his office had acknowledged a conflict.

The conclusion that there was “no probable cause” to investigate Corporation Counsel’s failure to seek an ethics ruling did not come from the Board itself — it came from outside attorney David Nakamura.

Nakamura offered conclusions of law on the County Auditor's official capacity despite not having been properly procured to represent the County. He was, in fact, serving as the Auditor’s private counsel and had prior, direct, conflicted involvement in a deferral agreement tied to the very issues the Auditor was supposed to be auditing.

That conflict should have barred him from offering any opinion in the matter, yet his assertion was accepted by the Board without scrutiny. The minutes from this executive session must be released so the public can understand how Nakamura and Corporation Counsel may have improperly influenced the Board's conclusion.

Responding to public demands, the State Office of Information Practices has now subpoenaed the Board’s records.

This petition to uphold the Charter Revision we all voted for is just one step in the whack‑a‑mole game we've been playing with Corporation Counsel for years.

The good news for the citizens of Maui County is that we are making headway as never before; the bad news for Corporation Counsel and those who benefit from and support their corruption is that we’re not going away.

Let’s end this game now, before the $1 million already wasted defending Corporation Counsel’s misdeeds turns into four million or more.

Restore Ethics, Transparency, and Independent Oversight in Maui County

01/12/2025

Good

Activists are targeting the reputations of Home Depot, AT&T, and other businesses.

29/11/2025

The Measles virus detected is not the weakened form used in vaccines.

Wastewater sampling can detect viruses shed by infected individuals, even if they are not showing symptoms or have not reported illness.

While no suspected measles cases have yet been identified on Maui, the presence of the measles virus in wastewater serves as a reliable indicator to be on the lookout for possible measles cases.

Measles is highly contagious but preventable through vaccination.

Infants younger than a year old are at particularly high risk because they are too young to be vaccinated, but in certain situations, vaccination may be recommended for children between 6 and 12 months if they are exposed to a known case. To get an MMR vaccine, contact your medical provider or pharmacy.

If you traveled to an area with a current measles outbreak, speak with your doctor if you develop symptoms. International and U.S. locations are still experiencing cases of measles, with 43 jurisdictions reporting 1,753 confirmed cases as of Nov. 18, 2025.

Measles symptoms usually start with a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed by a rash of tiny red spots that begins at the head and spreads downward. The disease can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, neurological illness, and death.

If you think you have symptoms of measles or were exposed to someone with measles, isolate yourself immediately and contact your healthcare provider for guidance to avoid further spread.

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring a positive wastewater sample for the measles virus, the first-ever wastewater detection of the virus for Maui County. The samples were collected Nov. 18, 2025, at two sites in Central and West Maui County, and tested through t...

15/11/2025

15/11/2025

15/11/2025

Can anybody explain to me why Corporation Council is still allowed to participate in the ethics commission hearings? We all voted for a charter amendment that explicitly removes corporation council from any active participation.

Obviously, the new director has no intention of honoring the public will. Between the gag order that she tried to write into the new rules (which we forced her to strike) and allowing corporation counsel to continue participating illegally, it sure seems like we're going to have to call for her resignation.