"Island of Lanai needs to double population" new owner

[eureka1]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Why do you think he doesn't want to pay taxes?

The Nevada side on the lake is actually the more desirable side to build from a view perspective especially around the Incline Village area.

Why doesn't he want to pay taxes? Is that a serious question? Because he's a jerk who doesn't want to pay his fair share like the rest of us. Yes, Incline Village is full of almost-successful folks in condos who are there to avoid California taxes.

[whtviper1]

Gosh Eureka - I don't know what your beef is with Larry - anyway, job related income is based on where you work - not where you live. And, his vast property holdings - some $200+ million worth in Malibu which he recently purchased - certainly is a hefty tax bill going to Sacramento.

Anyway, by all accounts - Larry has been a savior to Lanai with job growth and rebuilding the infrastructure.

[McFrostyJ]

"Billionaire Larry Ellison is turning to the ocean to help grow Lanai's economy."

EXCLUSIVE: Ellison moves ahead with desalination plant - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

[Kealaaunani]

Originally Posted by Vaedrem

Oh great, more people, less green space, an unsustainable population level entirely dependent on the whims of a self-interested billionaire. Why don't we all just double our population and make sure the traditional lifestyle is wholly wiped out by 'high-tech' high-oil "development."

Lanai is not green; it's a very arid island. They planted Cook Pines to capture moisture from passing clouds for cripes sake. Lanai never was sustainable to begin with. It has one tiny town, one tiny airport and no stop lights. The intention is to turn it into a sustainable island that has some kind of draw to it. The island was losing its population because young people had no where to work, nowhere to live, and nothing to do but get into drugs or get pregnant. Ellison is bringing hope to this island that was ready to die off with its old folks. They could not even grow Maui onions there after the pineapple industry left because the pineapple industry left black plastic in all the fields and nothing else can grow without some serious remediation. "High oil development" is not the goal here. Sustainable development is to show the rest of the world what can be done. He has been quite respectful of the people living there and the feel of the island. You can bet the old folks there do not like change of any kind so of course they are "unhappy" now. So many doors will open up to them that they cannot even imagine now. I am excited about Lanai's future. I have had family there for generations and I just wish there was available housing so I could go there myself. Just about any eco business that opens there now is bound to be successful now that Ellison is bringing more to the island.

He almost "had" to purchase the airline because once he purchased the majority of the island there was a logistical issue with getting shipments there and then getting the items from the dock to the stores in town since the shipping part of the buz still belonged to the previous owner Murdock. It's kind of hard to build all this great stuff if you can't even get the materials and supplies to the island.