November 17, 2017, 3:44 PM HST
* Updated November 17, 3:56 PM
News highlights from around Maui this week include the three day manhunt for an escaped mental health patient who passed through Maui on the way to the mainland.
https://www.facebook.com/mauinow/videos/10156866505389867/
Fifty-nine-year-old Randall Saito flew to Kahului on Sunday aboard a chartered plane, and then booked a commercial flight to California where he was apprehended by sheriffs in San Joaquin County on Wednesday. Saito has been described as a “psychopathic sexual predator.” State health officials say the escape was the result of a “major breakdown” in protocols and are calling his actions “premeditated, intentional and planned.”
In West Maui police arrested two men during an undercover operation at the West Maui Skate Park. Law enforcement was acting on information received about the sale of illegal drugs at the location. Police arrested
Wesley Thongtrakul, 24, of Kīhei and Chad Kerley, 23, of San Diego, CA.
It’s
nēnē breeding season on Maui and rangers and Haleakalā National Park are reminding motorists to slow down. The endangered birds are more active during this season, making them especially vulnerable to being struck by cars. Signs have been placed along Crater Road where nēnē are known to feed and nest in nearby shrubbery.
The historic Polynesian voyaging canoe,
Hōkūleʻa is in Hāna this weekend. The vessel is on its Mahalo Hawaiʻi Sail in celebration of the lessons learned during its recently completed worldwide voyage. Crew members are joining in the celebration of East Maui’s
9th annual Limu Festival, taking place today and tomorrow at Kapueokahi Bay. Hōkūleʻa will visit Molokaʻi from Nov. 20-28, 2017.
Titles
for the
27th Annual Hula O Na Keiki competition were awarded over the weekend at Maui’s only solo hula competition
for keiki. Congratulations to Brianna Wehileimamoleihiwahiwaonāali’iokohala Lim-Ryder, 14, and Hokani Maria, 15, for the titles of 2017 Miss and Master Hula O Nā Keiki respectively. Both are students from Hālau Kawehileimamoikawēkiu’oKohala.
Looking ahead to next week, donations and volunteers are being sought for the annual
Thanksgiving Lunch for the homeless and hungry in West Maui. The event is expected to draw 450 guests. The lunch is moving from the Hard Rock Cafe, which closed last year, to the cafeteria of King Kamehameha III elementary school.