Community Support for OHA Bottoms Out

Over 70 people walk out of the public meeting.

But community leader, Bridget Mowat, and others, were infuriated to learn that OHA had awarded $100,000 to the Molokai Land trust. The trust is a private non-profit entity that will receive over 25,000 acres of gifted lands from Molokai Ranch should the La`au Development go through.

Because Machado is an OHA trustee, president of the Molokai Land Trust, and a board member of the Molokai Enterprise Community (a federally funded organization also partnering in the La`au development), some are crying foul.

“It’s like she wrote a check to herself.  Conflicts of interest seem to be running rampant nowadays,” commented Mowat in an opinion letter.

Machado said the people who left the meeting should be ashamed for walking away “like spoiled brats.”