Maui residents say development company took advantage of fire: Plantation Disaster Capitalism:
LAHAINA, Hawaii — A group of farmers, activists and lawyers is rallying behind a top water official who was reassigned after the catastrophic wildfires, saying he has become a scapegoat in the ongoing finger-pointing about how the fires grew out of control so quickly.
Kaleo Manuel, who was a member of the state Commission on Water Resource Management when three wildfires erupted on Maui on Aug. 8, has come under intense scrutiny after a land developer wrote a letter to him accusing the water commission of delaying additional water resources during the blaze.