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Luis Salaveria is helping plan an innovative Maui fire victims fund that could also help reduce Hawaiian Electric’s liability.

Local business and civic leaders made the rounds of key federal agencies this week in an effort to get more money and better policy decisions for Maui fire relief.

USDA officials said with no vegetation left on thousands of acres, there’s a need to prevent sedimentation before the wet season arrives.

How long survivors can expect the monthly fire relief payments is unclear.

For years, a local businessman paid off officials in exchange for lucrative contracts. The system he exploited has been left largely unchanged.

The state panel heard passionate testimony from Lahaina residents and many others during its first meeting on the island since the Aug. 8 tragedy.

Community criticism about a lack of emergency alerts, sirens and fire prevention didn’t make it into the report.

Many families are pushing for a K-12 alternative that would distance students from the burn zone.

Normally thousands of visitors would be in the tourist mecca on any given day. But an organized effort by tourism officials helped get them out.

State emergency officials have said they never received the report, which could have offered guidance on how to prevent the Aug. 8 blaze.