LANAI CITY » On the day Lanai was set to be sold, residents were left wondering whether the sale really took place and how it would alter the future of Hawaii’s sixth-largest island.
Neither landowner Castle & Cooke Inc. nor billionaire buyer Larry Ellison has said a word to the more than 3,000 residents who were left in limbo Wednesday, the announced deadline for the sale.
When asked by the Star-Advertiser whether a sale took place on Wednesday as planned, Carleton Ching, Castle & Cooke’s vice president of community and government relations, said: "Sorry, I have no new information or comment at this time." Ellison’s representatives didn’t respond to phone messages and emails.
The dearth of information was consistent with the silence of the past week.
Castle & Cooke first acknowledged the island was being sold on June 20 in a filing with the state Public Utilities Commission, but has said little since then.
Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corp. and the third richest person in the United States, has not said why he is buying the island or what he plans to do with it.
The scarcity of news is fueling uncertainty and concern among residents.
"As a community we have not been addressed directly. It’s scary. We don’t know how our economic situation is potentially going to change," said Kelli Gima, 26, a social worker and board member of Lanaians for Sensible Growth. "It’s all this uncertainty — all this unknown. Not knowing what is going to happen next week, a month from now or a year from now. With any type of change comes fear. It’s not like people are getting direct answers and their worries, fears and concerns are being addressed."
In the filing with the PUC, Castle & Cooke said the sale had to close on Wednesday or the deal could fall apart.
The company requested a quick approval from the PUC for the transfer of three regulated utilities on Lanai, a necessary step before the sale could close. The PUC gave interim approval Monday.
Wednesday at the shops and restaurants in Lanai City, residents wondered whether the transfer had actually happened.
It was just one of the many questions they were left with. Most pressing, perhaps, was whether Ellison would do anything to alter the island’s economy, which is dependent on two major hotels, the Lodge at Koele and the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay.
"I don’t know if he (Ellison) is going to improve the island, so people can get jobs. I hope he does something good for the people and for the community," said 79-year-old Vincent Ozoa, who has lived on Lanai since 1934.
The change in ownership has revealed the fragile nature of an island that is 98 percent owned by one entity.
"We all have the feeling that it’s not good to have all of the economy tied to one industry," said 61-year-old Albert Morita, whose family moved to Lanai in 1951. "I hope Lanai can develop an economic base that’s not tied to a major landowner. If Mr. Ellison decides to sell down the road, we won’t be put into a situation where there’s such a large degree of uncertainty among the community. I hope that we become self sufficient and not dependent on outside people."
Maggie Masicampo, 68, director of the Lanai Senior Center, who has lived on island for 25 years, said, "We desperately need economic stability. People here need to be able to make a living."
All agree that the future generations need more than the island now offers.
"We hope that the future will be positive here so that we can possibly raise kids for the long term," said Lanai High and Elementary School teacher Matt Glickstein, 28, who moved to the island four years ago with his wife, Kerri, also a teacher. For children to have a future, they need somewhere to work other than the hotels, he said.
Some residents were hopeful Ellison could bring good changes.
Steve Gelakoski, 55, a Lanai resident for 32 years, was excited about the possibility of economic growth under the island’s first new landowner in nearly 30 years.
"This new owner could possibly make a huge difference on conservation and cultural sustainability," he said. "Hopefully he’ll see the value in that. To me the value of the island is the outdoor experiences that people can be involved with here. That’s the opportunity they’re missing because this is such a great place to do all these things."
