Oʻahu Community Leaders File Petition to Protect Coalition Name From Developers

The Center and community leaders had formed an unincorporated association Jan. 14 under the name “Mālama Marconi Coalition” to oppose harmful development at Marconi Point on the North Shore of Oʻahu. They went public with the name on social media and in interviews with local media.

But on Jan. 25 the Marconi Point developer, Makai Ranch LLC, registered the association’s name and modified mission statement with the department — a move that could confuse the public. It also reserved certain domain names for URLs containing the names “Mālama Marconi Coalition” and “Mālama Marconi” — possibly to prevent the association from continuing its public interest advocacy.

“This back-door maneuver to snag our name looks like a slimy and under-handed attempt to divert the public outrage over environmental and cultural destruction at Marconi,” said Maxx Phillips, Hawai‘i director and staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These mainland developer tactics won’t fly here.”

The association has maintained its public-facing email, Etsy, Facebook and Instagram accounts but since it found out about the developer’s maneuver it has not actively used the name “Mālama Marconi Coalition” to avoid further confusion among the public, partners and agencies.

“This is a low blow but we won’t stop fighting for our imperiled plants and animals,” said Angela Huntemer of the Ko‘olau Waialua Alliance. “I’m confident that the Department of Commerce will see right through this ham-handed attempt to hijack our association’s name.”

On Feb. 17, to ensure the association could continue its mission of advocacy, the group applied for and received a new name with the department — “Aloha Marconi Alliance” and its variation “Aloha Marconi.” The association will tentatively use these new names until their petition the state Department of Commerce is resolved.

“We won’t tolerate the lack of aloha for our concerned community, native species and their ecosystems,” said Jonee Peters, executive director of the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i. “This motivates us all to work even harder to stop the destruction of wildlife habitat and native species.”

In December a Laysan albatross was found dead on the development property. Wildlife officials said it appeared the albatross had likely died from a blow to the head. The Laysan albatross, or Mōlī, is protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which is enforced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/oahu-community-leaders-file-petition-to-protect-coalition-name-from-developers-2024-03-14/