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Registration is open for First Tee Hawaiʻi’s first session for programming of 2025. First Tee Hawaiʻi is a youth development organization that helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf.

According to University of Hawai‘i, six ʻalae ʻula (Hawaiian moorhen) chicks hatched in the loʻi in December. The parents had shown up a couple of months earlier.

Lahaina Recreation Center’s Rec 1 baseball and softball fields are closed while repairs of a water pump are underway.

Local nonprofit Mālama Maui Nui is encouraging volunteers to start the new year by joining a Pūlehu Road Clean Up from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 4.

The Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) has announced permitted trolling dates during two weekends in January of 2025.

The Maui Calm Project has announced its tentative launch this spring after receiving a $25,000 contribution from the Rotary District 5000 Foundation Maui Fires Relief Fund.

Sara Tomastik will be the speaker at the meeting of the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. She will share information about the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study.

The balance of power on the council could come into play on critical issues that include the mayor’s proposal to phase out thousands of short-term vacation rentals.

A New Year’s celebration turned deadly on Oʻahu when a firework explosion killed at least three individuals and left more than 20 people in serious or critical condition, according to sources. The incident was reported just after midnight at a home on Keaka Drive in the Salt Lake area of Honolulu.

Fifteen months after the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires, there were 197,622 visitors to Maui in November 2024, according to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. This marks a 21.6% increase—or approximately 35,000 more visitors—compared to November 2023, though it remains about 15% below the visitor count recorded in November 2019, prior to the pandemic and wildfires.

Sentry Insurance is donating an additional $1 million to Maui United Way to continue its support of youth mental health services in response to the devastating 2023 wildfires.

The newsite posted nearly 1,500 stories this year, many of which involved people with connection to the university system making headlines, including Miss Aloha Hula winners, a contestant on “The Voice” and someone who once had a date with Marcia Brady.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has reported that 102 people have been killed in traffic-related crashes statewide from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024, a 10% increase from 93 fatalities last year.

The website application for Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start preschool will be inactive beginning Wednesday, according to an announcement. Applications for openings that occur during the year are taken by phone.

The accolades have arrived in bunches for Dillon Gabriel in his final season of college football for the No. 1-ranked University of Oregon — Heisman Trophy finalist, AP Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, consensus all-America honors from all five outlets that select the teams — but as the journey has unfolded, Gabriel remained grounded in his 50th state roots.

Wildfire recovery, the cancellation of the Maui Fair, housing solutions, and election highlights are among the stories that made our list of top features this year. Here’s a recap of some of Maui’s biggest stories in 2024.

Independent investors have acquired non-controlling interests in American Savings Bank in separate transactions from Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., the bank announced today. Among other things, HEI said the sale will give it flexibility in making its Maui wildfire settlement contributions.

The Rotary District 5000 Foundation has contributed $82,000 to support Na Kiaʻi O Maui’s relief efforts following the Maui fires, according to an organization announcement. The funds were used to purchase essential equipment, including a forklift and a heavy-duty truck, to meet the operational needs of the center.

Madam Pele continued her impressive fire display this morning, whipping up 65- to 100-foot-high fountains of lava on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu at Kīlauea volcano.

Caregivers who provide medical cannabis to qualified patients will be protected from “undue enforcement” under an executive order signed by Gov. Josh Green.