What was Hawaiis Molokai Ranch plan ?”
Hawaii’s Molokai Ranch said Monday it will shut down most operations, including a lodge and other tourist facilities on Molokai, at the end of the month and lay off more than 120 employees over the next 60 days. The company also said it would cut off public access to the 60,000 acres it owns on Molokai, which is roughly one-third of the island. Among the properties it will close are Molokai Lodge, the Kaupoa Beach Village, the Kaluakoi Golf Course, the Maunaloa gas station, the Maunaloa Tri-Plex theater and its cattle-rearing business. The company, officially known as Molokai Properties Ltd., a subsidiary of Singapore-based GuocoLeisure Ltd., blamed its actions on community opposition to its plan to develop multimillion-dollar estates at the island’s Laau Point. The plan would have transformed 500 acres of beachfront land at Laau into a 200-lot luxury subdivision. At the same time, the ranch would have set aside 50,000 acres for open space and conservation easement on the island, which
