Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Thursday his administration has opened several investigations into people who have allegedly made unsolicited offers for property in the fire-stricken Maui town of Lahaina in violation of a new emergency order.

Green prohibited such offers by signing an emergency proclamation on Aug. 19 aimed at preventing land in the historic coastal community from flowing into the hands of outside buyers. The order aims to give residents some “breathing room” as they decide what to do next, Green said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Even before the Aug. 8 fire, Lahaina was a rapidly gentrifying town and there’s been widespread concern since that Native Hawaiians and local-born residents who have owned properties in their families for generations might feel pressured to sell.

  • Apathy Tree
    link
    fedilink
    English
    5
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    So if your community burns down, and your house and all possessions were part of that, you’d be fine having a bunch of rich people bothering you within days of your loss, to take advantage of your misfortune - just lost literally everything, sentimental or financial - to sell for a fraction of the normal actual value to a company hoping to make massive profits on your land, and thus on your misfortune?

    Where do you live so I can keep that in mind…? I’m not rich, but if that’s your mindset I’d definitely be willing to bother you.