{"id":2005364,"date":"2023-08-18T20:34:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-19T00:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maui-officials-ties-to-obama-foundation-raise-questions-after-decision-to-delay-water\/"},"modified":"2023-08-18T20:36:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T00:36:12","slug":"maui-officials-ties-to-obama-foundation-raise-questions-after-decision-to-delay-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maui-officials-ties-to-obama-foundation-raise-questions-after-decision-to-delay-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions arise over Maui official&#8217;s ties to Obama Foundation following water delay."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmaui-officials-ties-to-obama-foundation-raise-questions-after-decision-to-delay-water%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2005364&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A Hawaii Official&#8217;s Controversial Decision Raises Questions After Maui Wildfire<\/h2>\n<p>A Hawaii official accused of withholding water from firefighters during\u200b a critical point in the\u200d Maui wildfire has come under scrutiny. M. Kaleo Manuel, previously recognized as a &#8220;leader&#8221; by the Obama Foundation \u200bin 2019,\u2062 is currently being investigated for his actions. According to local ABC News affiliate KITV, Manuel has been reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy arose when the West \u2064Maui \u200cLand Company requested the release of water around 1 p.m. on August\u2062 8 during the deadly\u200b wildfire. However, Manuel declined the request, stating that he needed to consult with local farmers first. It wasn&#8217;t until 6 \u2062p.m. that evening that he \u2063finally authorized\u200c the release, as reported by the Star Advertiser.<\/p>\n<p>The consequences of this delay were devastating. The wildfire claimed the lives of at least 111 people, making it the\u200d deadliest in the United States\u200d in over a\u200c century. Additionally, over 2,200 buildings, 86 percent of which were residential, were destroyed or damaged.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Lahaina Maui residents are questioning the government\u2019s failure to issue fire alarms, \u200bdelayed water supply during fires, and the power\u200d company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maui-officials-ties-to-obama-foundation-raise-questions-after-decision-to-delay-water\/\" title=\"Questions arise over Maui official's ties to Obama Foundation following water delay.\">long-standing disregard<\/a>\u200d for fire \u2064warnings.<\/p>\n<p>Despite fires scorching over 100,000 acres on Maui from 2016 to \u200c2020:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022Maui\u2019s Emergency\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UPprWLhWJh\">pic.twitter.com\/UPprWLhWJh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KanekoaTheGreat\/status\/1692624134730129572?\">August 18, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The West Maui Land Company expressed their frustration in a letter to\u200d Manuel, stating\u2062 that his commission&#8217;s\u200b refusal to grant permission \u2062to divert streams resulted in significant \u200closs. They emphasized their helplessness in the face of the devastation and the potential \u2063impact that immediate approval could have had on firefighting efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of \u2062Land and Natural Resources, in a statement, urged \u2062the public to reserve\u200d judgment on Manuel&#8217;s decision until all the facts are\u2063 known. The DLNR\u200c website highlights Manuel&#8217;s recognition as one of the inaugural Obama Leaders representing the Asia-Pacific region \u2062with \u200bthe Obama Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>In a livestream from November 2022, Manuel spoke\u200b about \u2062the sacred significance of \u2063water to native Hawaiians and the need to reconnect with that traditional value. He emphasized the\u2062 importance of water as a unifying force and the necessity for equitable conversations about its usage.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Here is \u200bM. Kaleo Manuel, the Hawaii water official who refused to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawaii-official-blasted-online-and-blamed-for-delayed-response-to-maui-fires\/\" title=\"Hawaii official criticized online for slow response to Maui fires.\">release water resources<\/a>\u200b and\u200c let landowners fight\u200b the Maui fire, explaining his \u201cphilosophy\u201d about water:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNative Hawaiians treated water as one of the earthly manifestations of a god\u2026We\u2019ve become used to looking\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hjsWqdVtxf\">pic.twitter.com\/hjsWqdVtxf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/charliekirk11\/status\/1692044616345014589?\">August 17, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Former President Barack Obama, who has ties to Hawaii, posted a \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-refuses-to-answer-if-it-participated-in-january-6-under-grilling-by-ted-cruz\/\" title=\"FBI Refuses to Answer If It Participated in January 6 Under Grilling by Ted Cruz\">video encouraging people<\/a> to donate\u200b to relief organizations assisting with \u2064the wildfire response.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">It will take all of us coming together and doing what\u2064 we can to help those in need in Maui and L\u0101hain\u0101 right now. I hope you\u2019ll join me in donating to \u2062the Hawai\u2019i Red Cross today: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CPtVJ8fGSq\">https:\/\/t.co\/CPtVJ8fGSq<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yvIDCG15MP\">pic.twitter.com\/yvIDCG15MP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u200cBarack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BarackObama\/status\/1691250773579952128?\">August \u200c15, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Obama emphasized the need for collective action and support for the affected families and the rebuilding efforts in Lahaina.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy surrounding Manuel&#8217;s decision and\u200d his ties to the Obama Foundation \u200dhave sparked questions and discussions about the incident. As the investigation unfolds,\u2062 it is crucial to\u200b consider all the facts\u200b before passing judgment\u200d on \u200bthe official&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/maui-officials-ties-obama-foundation-raise-questions-decision-delay-water\/\">The Western Journal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Hawaii official accused of denying water to firefighters during a crucial moment in the Maui wildfire was previously recognized as a &#8220;leader&#8221; by the Obama Foundation in 2019. M. Kaleo Manuel, former deputy director of the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management, has been reassigned pending further investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":662,"featured_media":2005365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2005364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2005364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2005365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2005364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2005364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2005364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}