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Online feedback on the draft of the County of Maui’s Long-Term Recovery Plan for Lahaina is currently open on www.MauiRecovers.org/lahaina. The deadline to submit feedback is Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.

The National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch, in effect for the leeward areas of all islands from Friday morning through Friday afternoon. A combination of strong winds with gusts up to 50 mph, low relative humidity as low as 40-50%, and dry fuels can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

A draft environmental assessment has been completed for an 1.6-mile, southerly extension of Waiʻale Road that would, literally, pave the way for the Waikapū Country Town development. The new 80-foot-wide road would provide access to 1,433 homes, including 500 affordable units, as part of the master-planned Waikapū Country Town development, according to the draft document.

Adapted from the classic Christmas film of the same title, “Elf The Musical Jr” arrives at Maui Preparatory Academy’s Bozich Center just in time to kick off the holiday season.

VA Pacific Islands Health Care System will hold a Veteran Appreciation Lunch in conjunction with a PACT Act Registration and Community Call event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Maui Community Based Outpatient Clinic at 203 Ho’ohana St., Suite 303, Kahului.

Cody Young and Sloane Jucker captured the open divisions at the 35th annual Vissla / Hi-Tech / Lopez Surfbash, Saturday and Sunday at Hoʻokipa Beach Park on Maui’s north shore. The meet was the second event of the Hawaiʻi Surfing Association-Maui season.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health has detected H5 avian influenza for the first time in Hawaiʻi, finding it at a wastewater sampling site on Oʻahu. The department is investigating possible sources of the specimen collected on Nov. 7. Test results were received Tuesday.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Education announced today that, with the support of philanthropists and longtime Hawai’i residents Lynne and Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce, it has distributed $2.5 million to qualifying DonorsChoose projects by Hawai‘i’s public school teachers. Building on this campaign’s success, HIDOE and the Benioffs also announced that another round of support for Hawai‘i’s teachers is planned later in the academic year. 

A fire along the Kūihelani Highway in Central Maui burned 5 acres of brush before being brought under control on Wednesday. The fire was first reported at 11:21 a.m. on Nov. 13, along the highway, west of Waikō Road.

The state of Hawai‘i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is alerting the public to a recent wave of real estate investor scams. Scammers are posing as government entities, targeting individuals and businesses with false information in an effort to lure them into fraudulent investment schemes.

The County of Maui Department of Housing is reminding the public that a deadline is approaching on request for proposals seeking affordable housing projects that will be funded by the Affordable Housing Fund in Fiscal Year 2026.

The Efficiency Solutions and Circular Systems Committee will meet on Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. with the goal of recommending passage of a bill to establish the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan for Maui County, according to Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez.

The two-lane Puʻunēnē Avenue bottleneck has long been a headache for Central Maui motorists. Traffic slows to a crawl during get-to-school and pau hana times, morning and afternoon, from Wākea Avenue to Kūihelani Highway.

Two charter amendments passed with nearly 60% of the vote. The third, which proposed consecutive terms for board members with no waiting period, was narrowly defeated.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises highway users that lanes will be closed at the Kaʻahumanu Avenue (Route 32) and Papa Avenue intersection for traffic signal work from 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 until 6 a.m., Friday, Nov. 15.

A pilot project to boost soil health on Maui’s only large-scale pineapple farm aims to increase biomass to retain more water—up to 100,000 gallons per acre.

The Westin Maui Resort & Spa Kā‘anapali welcomes Ulu Kitchen by Merriman, a new oceanfront dining experience from iconic Chef Peter Merriman’s Handcrafted Restaurants. Ulu Kitchen by Merriman pays homage to Hawai‘i’s rich culinary heritage, blending old-fashioned Hawaiian hospitality with innovative, locally-sourced dishes, all in a stunning setting overlooking Kā‘anapali Beach. 

The new Maui Bus Kahului Transit Center is set to open on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at 18 Vevau St., near Kahului Public Library and fronting Kahului Lani Apartment Complex. All Maui Bus services currently operating from Queen Kaʻahumanu Center will relocate to the new Kahului Transit Center. The final day of service at Queen Kaʻahumanu Center will be Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. The announcement comes more than three years after it broke ground in February 2021, and reported delays in project completion. 

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center presents legendary award-winning singer Dionne Warwick in concert in Castle Theater Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tickets go on sale online only at 10 a.m. to MACC members Thursday, Nov. 14 and to the general public Friday, Nov. 15.

Two nēnē born and raised on Maui were killed by cars in separate incidents on Sunday, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Endangered nēnē are the Hawai‘i’s State Bird. One of the birds was part of a pair that witnesses report were being fed by someone in a stopped car on Amala Place in Kahului. The other nēnē was hit near the air cargo bypass of the airport.