#Maui County

The Maui Planning Commission unanimously recommended Tuesday that the Maui County Council defer action on the 1,608-unit Hoʻonani Village project near Kahului Airport until a draft environmental impact statement is published.

Despite playing without the only returning starter from last season’s state championship, the Spartans swept Hāna and improved to 19-2 overall and 9-0 in MIL Division II play.

While the planned two-story youth center will still be in a flood zone, it will be built to withstand the erosion and sea level rise that continues to take its toll along the North Shore of Maui.

Instead of being on air all week to preview The Sentry golf tournament at the Plantation Course, the 76-year-old Rolfing, a longtime Kapalua resident and analyst for NBC Sports and The Golf Channel, was working many hours behind the scenes to help bring the tournament back to Maui. 

Yuki Lei Sugimura, a five-term council member, said her decision was spurred by the recent passage of the bill to phase out thousands of vacation rentals, which she says will negatively impact the local economy.

These efforts are at the top of the state’s list of 10 priorities for improving wildfire prevention after the deadly and destructive blaze on Maui in 2023.

In 39 days, those types of gatherings will not be possible for the 1,475 individuals still in FEMA-funded housing on Maui if the deadline is not extended. In November, the state requested a 12-month extension to the current deadline.

The draft guidelines are the latest effort by the county to move forward with rebuilding in the town’s business district, which overlaps a sensitive historic area that has seen little activity since the August 2023 wildfires.

For a decade, the organization has helped more than 1,000 families and saved 1,000 pounds of belongings each month from entering the landfill.

Government shutdown and pause in SNAP benefits at the end of the year spurred even more need in the community.

Maui County is moving into its winter wet season with the promise of relief as an emerging La Niña pattern is expected to bring above-normal rainfall through early 2026, according to the National Weather Service.

State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole denounced a federal administration announcement Thursday morning regarding the expansion of travel bans to 20 additional countries, including the Kingdom of Tonga.

Maui County’s three-member delegation to the Hawaiʻi State Senate says its assigned leadership and committee roles position them to advocate effectively for wildfire recovery and resources during what is expected to be a financially difficult legislative session.

The state Commission on Water Resource Management gave the company a chance to offset the fine by making improvements to its water system in Honokōhau Valley.

Eligible homeowners are reminded to apply for the Circuit Breaker Tax Credit or Home Exemption before the end of this year, the County of Maui Department of Finance Real Property Tax Assessment Division said. The County Real Property Assessment Division applications are due by Dec. 31. Applications for the Circuit Breaker Tax Credit and the […]

The US Environmental Protection Agency has selected Maui County to receive a $3.6 million Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grant to establish the first-ever waste collection centers in West Maui.

The Waihe’e Villager and Kula Islander each see fewer than five riders per hour. Maui County hopes switching these routes to microtransit, which is like a hybrid between Uber and a public bus, will increase efficiency and cut wait times.

Economists say Maui’s tourism industry is “outperforming” other islands as visitors continue to return after the 2023 wildfires, a trend that could help cushion the island from an overall weakening economy.

State economists report that Maui County’s unemployment fell 1.5 percentage points from 4% to 2.5% in September. For Maui island, the jobless rate went down from 4% to 2.3%. Moloka‘i increased from 4.1% to 5.9%; and Lānaʻi slid from 2.6% to 2.2%. The Hawai‘i State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism announced Wednesday that […]

The Maui County Department of Water Supply is doubling its planned exploratory well project in West Maui from two wells to four and will prepare a new draft environmental assessment to reflect the change in scope.