Waena battery storage project hits key milestone, will strengthen Maui grid and support renewables

The County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation encourages Maui community members and other stakeholders to offer online feedback on a proposed project to construct a new Pāʻia Gymnasium. Public comments will be accepted online through Oct. 18, 2026.

Tropical Disturbance 15E could intensify into a tropical depression or storm, bringing potential flooding rains and high winds to Hawaiʻi Island by Wednesday, with lingering effects through the weekend.

Hawaiian Electric’s Waena Battery Energy Storage System project reached a major construction milestone with the arrival and installation of the project’s first six Tesla Megapacks at the project site along Pūlehu Road in Central Maui. The project will be the island’s first standalone load-shifting battery energy storage system that will enable more renewable energy to be used during periods of peak energy demand.

The team behind the planned public school in Waikapū, the New Central Maui School Project, is hosting its second Informational Open House on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery will host its third Commercial Property Workshop on Sept. 30, 2026, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Morgado Hall at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului.

A live opossum has been captured at a freight transporting facility at Honolulu Harbor. Per animal and human health protocol, the opossum was humanely euthanized and submitted for rabies testing.

As part of its ongoing wildfire safety strategy to harden the transmission lines serving West Maui, Hawaiian Electric contractors will conduct utility pole surveys in Lahaina from Sept. 28 through Oct. 7, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The public is invited to attend a series of in-person meetings for Assessment and Recommendation of the New Special Management Area boundary for the island of Maui, hosted by the County of Maui Planning Department.

In the wake of Hurricane Lala, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health urges the public to be vigilant about health risks associated with heavy rains, high winds and power outages. Major storms create environmental conditions that can be detrimental to public health.

Potential tropical development threatens to bring heavy rainfall to eastern portions of the state during the latter half of the week, according to the National Weather Service.

Hawaiʻi borrowers carry less student debt than those in nearly every other state, earning the state the nation’s second-lowest student debt ranking according to a September 2026 WalletHub report.

Maui residents turned in nearly 40 firearms and 58 illegal pounds of illegal fireworks during Saturday’s dual buyback event in Kahului.