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Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, announced today the interim Honolulu leadership team that will guide Hawaiian Airlines operations from transaction close through a full combination of operations under a single operating certificate with two brands – Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Current Alaska Airlines regional president of Hawai‘i/Pacific, Joe Sprague, will be named chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines.

The US Department of Transportation has given Alaska Airlines permission to close on its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, after the carriers agreed to maintain key Hawaii routes and adopt consumer protections. This exemption allows the carriers, which are respectively the fifth and tenth largest domestic airlines, to finalize their merger while maintaining separate operations until DOT rules on their transfer application.

The Rotary Satellite Club of Kīhei-Wailea will hear from Dr. Justin Feinstein with the Maui Calm Project on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. He will be discussing Maui’s mental health crisis and an innovative emergency response that his nonprofit has been working on bringing to the island.

Step aside foie gras and soufflé. Poke has arrived as haute cuisine. And this surge of poke popularity benefitted the Maui Strong Fund recently during the fourth annual Kaua‘i Poke Fest.

Kīlauea volcano is erupting near Makaopuhi Crater in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Eruptive activity increased this morning between 4 and 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Scientists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say there is no immediate threat to life or infrastructure. The Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remains at WATCH/ORANGE.

Evacuations were implemented for businesses near Hanakai Street on Monday night due to a leaky CO2 tank at the Airgas facility in Kahului. The incident was reported at 6:33 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2024.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises highway users that eastbound and westbound lanes of Kaʻahumanu Ave. (Route 32) between Kāne Street and Lono Ave. will be impacted by water line work for the Maui Palms Hampton Inn project on Thursday, Sept. 19.

More than 20 years after he moved onto his homestead land on Moloka‘i, Woodrow Poepoe has a home to live in, complete with electric lights and running water. Born and raised on Moloka‘i, “Uncle Blue” got a lease from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) at Nāʻiwa Homestead in 1986 and immediately moved onto his five rural acres. Now in his seventies, he has made do camping and getting along without access to infrastructure.

The winners have been announced for the 17th Annual Kū Mai Ka Hula competition, held on Saturday, Sept. 14 in Castle Theater at Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Eight award-winning hālau from Maui, O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, and the continental US participated this year.

Two visitors were pulled unresponsive from waters on the north side of the ʻĀhihi-Kinaʻu Natural Area Reserve in South Maui on Saturday afternoon. Emergency responders were called to a report of swimmers/snorkelers in distress about 100-150 yards offshore at around 12:02 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2024. Authorities have since identified the victims as a 26-year-old woman and 25-year-old man, both residents of Washington state.

Mayor Richard Bissen and his administration will host community budget meetings throughout Maui County starting next week for residents to share their priorities and provide input on the budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025.

A water service outage affecting a portion of Olinda Road is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The outage will impact Olinda Road from Hanamu Road up, including Maluhia Place and Maka Place.

Kīlauea volcano erupted briefly on Sunday night, Sept. 15, 2024, on the middle East Rift Zone in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, according to a new update issued at 11:33 a.m. by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation notifies the public that a training exercise will be conducted at the Kahului Airport from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Friday, Sept. 20. The Kahului Airport Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighters will conduct an emergency training exercise that tests the response to a simulated aircraft incident on a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The exercise is a requirement by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Maui Police Department is currently conducting an active investigation into a deadly incident overnight that forced the closure of the Honoapiʻilani Highway in Waikapū for five hours.

Maui County Council members unanimously approved on second-and-final reading a bill for conditional change of zoning from residential to public/quasi-public for Grace Baptist Church. Last year’s wildfire destroyed the longtime church, and members of its congregation are eager to rebuild.

The Maui Police Department will host a child safety seat inspection event within the Maui Marketplace parking lot on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The event will provide a free, no-obligation inspection of child safety seats, ensuring they are installed correctly and functioning properly to keep children safe in the event of a crash.

Support for traditional healing practices, training for navigators involved in traditional Polynesian voyaging, business education for entrepreneurs, assistance for vulnerable populations and funding for neighborhood watch initiatives on homestead lands are just some of the projects that will be advanced thanks to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Grants Program.

The Friends of Haleakalā National Park seeks National Park Service volunteers for a strenuous two-night service trip in Haleakalā Crater, Friday to Sunday, Oct. 4 to 6, 2024. Participants will tent-camp in the Hōlua Wilderness Area and remove invasive species to protect nēnē habitat.

In a demonstration of community support, the Maui Pono Foundation presented a $5,200 check to Lahaina Intermediate School to fund their Eighth Grade Banquet. This contribution is especially meaningful as Lahaina continues to rebuild after the recent wildfires that devastated the community.