Top Maui Now Headlines for July 27, 2018

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Developments in the fatal police shooting on Hawai‘ii Island. Authorities had been searching for 33-year-old Justin Waiki, accused of fatally wounding Officer Bronson Kaliloa during a traffic stop on July 17th.  They found him in the Ka‘ū District on July 20.  Police say officers stopped an SUV and were checking the vehicle when Waiki opened fire, wounding one officer, who was later treated for his injuries.  According to authorities, officers on scene returned fire, resulting in the death of Waiki.   A woman hiding in the SUV was shot during the gunfire and taken to the hospital for treatment.  Three individuals have since been charged with Hindering Prosecution for allegedly aiding the suspect, and four more were arrested on July 24.

How much longer will the recent Kīlauea eruption last?  It’s an important question to many on Hawai‘i Island, and the U.S. Geological Survery Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has released a new report.  Scientists have reconsidered last month’s predictions that the Lower East Rift Zone could go on for weeks to months, now saying if the ongoing eruption maintains its current activity at a high eruption rate, it may take months to a year or two to wind down.  This current eruption lasted nearly as long as the 1955 eruption of 88 days, and its volume has exceeded that of older nearby eruptions.

Here on Maui, two Kīhei residents were fatally injured in a traffic accident on Piʻilani Highway at the Welakahao intersection in South Maui on the afternoon of July 20.  The accident around 1:15 p.m. involved a motorcyclist with a passenger and a Chrysler Caravan with two occupants inside, shutting down Pi‘ilani Highway for more than three hours.  The operator of the motorcycle, 42-year-old William Kerr Chapman of Kīhei, was fatally injured.  The passenger of the motorcycle received critical life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital.  Both were not wearing helmets.  The driver of the Chrysler Caravan — 48-year-old Tina Louise Hanback of Kīhei — was wearing her seatbelt and sustained fatal injuries.  The front seat passenger of the Caravan was not wearing his seatbelt and was injured in the crash.  This accident brings Maui County’s traffic fatality total up to nine for 2018, compared to four this time last year.

After more than 120 years, kalo is growing again in Lāhainā’s Kahoma Valley.   It’s taken years of work to restore the flow of water in Kahoma Valley, and on Friday July 20, residents celebrated the first harvest of kalo in 130 years!  It was planted last year by Maui residents, representatives from Kamehameha Schools.  Many called Friday’s event “historic,” marking the return to ancestral lands to grow food and reconnect with the Native Hawaiian culture. The lo’i or taro patches in the valley were dry for decades because Kahoma Stream water had been diverted to irrigate sugar plantations.  Supporters believe the valley can become the food basket of Lāhainā It once was all those decades ago.