Top Maui Headlines with Kiaora Bohlool

Lifeguards recovered the body of an ʻopihi picker from the shoreline near Punalau Beach in the area often referred to as “Windmills Beach” in West Maui on Sunday, March, 4, 2018. Fire officials say the 56-year-old Nāpili man was picking ʻopihi on the shoreline with a 28-year-old male relative when he was knocked off the rocks by a wave. Emergency crews responding on watercraft found the man floating unresponsive about 150 feet from shore, about a half mile west of the beach location. Firefighters and lifeguards recovered the man and transported him by watercraft to D.T. Fleming Beach Park where crews began CPR and advanced life-saving measures, but despite all efforts he died at the scene.

The incident was the 13th ocean related fatality in Maui waters this year.

Two male visitors from Utah were rescued from waters at Makaluapuna Point in West Maui on Sunday.

Fire officials say the two men, who are family members, were standing on the cliff area near the water when the younger, 28-year-old man fell into the water and was having trouble getting back out. The older relative, a 54-year-old man, jumped in to help, but at some point became unresponsive, according to department reports. The incident was reported at 11:44 a.m. on Sunday, March 4, 2018, in the area sometimes referred to as “Dragon’s Teeth.”

Crews performed CPR on the 54-year-old man until his pulse eventually returned; and medics rushed the man in critical condition to Maui Memorial Medical Center. The 28-year-old was also taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Beloved Maui musician, Uncle Richard Hoʻopiʻi passed away on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at his home in Kahakuloa.

In a telephone interview with Uncle Richard’s daughter Rozanne, she said her father passed a little after 12 a.m., just 12 days shy of his 77th birthday on March 15th. Family members tell us Uncle Richard was admitted to the hospital in late November of 2017 for pneumonia, and spent two months in recovery. Family members say he was scheduled to have a heart valve replacement, but when he caught pneumonia he wasn’t able to do the operation.

Uncle Richard had a list of accolades and awards over his long career in Hawaiian music. At the 2015 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, Hoʻopiʻi was honored with the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. He also earned three Grammy awards for his work on compilation slack key albums.

The County of Maui broke ground on a new Upcountry Skate Park on Thursday, March 1, 2018 at a site located below the Upcountry Pool in Pukalani.

In May, the county’s Budget and Finance Committee provided an additional $200,000 for the multi-skill-level Upcountry skate park, which brought total funding for the project to around $1.4 million.