Hawaii is vowing to protect landowners on Maui from being pressured to sell after wildfires

Hawaii’s governor has vowed to protect local landowners from being “victimized” by opportunistic buyers when Maui rebuilds from deadly wildfires that incinerated a historic island community and killed more than 100 people. Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that he instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina. He acknowledged the move would likely face legal challenges. Since flames consumed much of Lahaina just over week ago, locals have feared that a rebuilt town could become even more oriented toward wealthy visitors.