ADVISORY: Lahaina Strong to Hold Press Conference to Demand Action on Housing Crisis and Urge Passage of Bill 9

REALITY: Meet the Meth Gang Behind ‘Lahaina Strong’

REALITY: Missing Meth Money a Conflict of Interest for Bissen Appointee?

REALITY: 'Lahaina Strong' Leaders Show Off Luxe European and Asian Vacations

News release from Lahaina Strong, June 6, 2025 (edits in parenthesis to induce accuracy)

WHO: Lāhainā Strong Housing Back Hui, a grassroots coalition of over 20 organizations and businesses united to push for much needed change regarding housing in Maui County.

(TRANSLATION:  The Lahaina fire is an opportunity to exploit.)

WHAT: Lahaina Strong, organizations in partnership, and community members will hold a press conference to demand the Maui County Council pass Bill 9, which would phase out short-term rentals on the Minatoya List. These properties have contributed to the erosion of long-term housing for local families. The press conference will underscore the urgent need to return housing and neighborhoods to local residents and prioritize Maui’s people over the profits of outside investors.

(TRANSLATION: The hotel unions and the hotels want the TVR business all for themselves.)

WHEN: Monday June 9th, 2025 at 9am

WHERE: Maui County Building, 200 S High St. Wailuku, HI 96793

WHY: Months after the Lahaina fires, hundreds of families were still displaced. Meanwhile, thousands of condo units that used to house local families remained locked up as short-term vacation rentals. Bill 9 presents a significant opportunity to address this imbalance by phasing out Short-Term Rentals (STRs) in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts and helping to restore housing options for Maui residents. Lahaina Strong calls on the Maui County Council to pass Bill 9 without delay and stand on the side of housing justice.

(TRANSLATION:  The Lahaina fire is an opportunity to exploit.)

More context: “The Position of The ILWU Local 142 Is that we are in full support of Bill 9 to begin addressing the desperate need to shelter the residents of Maui. Business as usual cannot continue. We need to have places for our residents to live. This is our top priority. We are losing entire families due to this housing crisis, this is our mission. Maui families first!”  -  Stephen West Division Director at International Longshore Warehouse Union, Local 142

(TRANSLATION: The hotel unions and the hotels want the TVR business all for themselves.)

“I have worked in the tourism industry for 37 years and I welcome visitors to our island home every day. Tourism is our #1 industry and it is how I make a living, but that does not mean we should put it before the needs of the families that have lived here for generations,” said Laurie DeCoite, Sheraton Maui worker and Local 5 member. “It’s been two years since the fire, and it breaks my heart to hear friends and coworkers tell me that they want to move back home but can’t because there is not enough affordable housing. We keep hearing that we need tourism -to return to Maui, but what we really need is for Maui’s families to return and stay because it’s the people that make Maui so special. Maui County Council needs to put Maui families first.”  -  Laurie Decoite, Unite Here! Local 5 Member

(TRANSLATION: The hotel unions and the hotels want the TVR business all for themselves.)

“Our communities have waited long enough. We have lost so many amazing ‘ohana due to them being “priced out of paradise” while our neighborhoods are full of thousands of units that used to house locals but now operate as short term rentals. Bill 9 is a chance to bring our people home, to restore much needed balance, and to put the people who call Maui County home first! - Jordan Ruidas Lahaina Strong Organizer

(TRANSLATION:  The Lahaina fire is an opportunity to exploit.)

###

Lāhainā Strong Housing Back Hui is made up of organizations pushing for housing justice in Maui County. It is led by (a meth gang,) Lahaina Strong, International Longshore Warehouse Union, Local 142 (ILWU), Local 5, Lahaina Community Land Trust, Nā ‘Aikane ‘o Maui, Aha Moku O Maui, Roots Reborn, Maui Housing Hui, Tagnawa, Help Maui Rise, Hawaii Appleseed, Our Hawaii, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Malama Na Pua O Haumea, Malama Maui Ohana Foundation, Maui Medic Healers Hui, Maui Rapid Response, Maui Nui Resiliency Hui, Maui Tomorrow, Kahana Canoe Club, Lahaina Canoe Club, Pacific Birth Collective, Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, Manaiākalani Media, Holomua Outreach, Maui Chapter of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.