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County of Maui offices, facilities and services will be closed or modified on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, for the Statehood Day holiday.

The beloved Maui County Fair Parade, presented by Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. and supported by the County of Maui, will kick off the 99th Maui Fair on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, at 4:30 p.m.

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi) today announced that the US Department of Transportation approved an initial $6 million in Emergency Relief “quick release” funds to help Hawaiʻi repair transportation infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Lala.

Hawai‘i Police Department is investigating the death of an unidentified man in his 60s, whose body was found in a pasture off Highway 11 near the 63-mile marker in Ka‘ū. This is the second individual whose death appears to be related to impacts from Hurricane Lala and extreme weather conditions associated with the storm. Earlier this week, police confirmed the death of 93-year-old former Nā‘ālehu schoolteacher May Doi.

Hawaiian Electric crews made strong overnight progress repairing damaged infrastructure and restoring power to 99% of affected customers on O‘ahu, 98% on Maui, and 75% on Hawai‘i Island. The company expects to complete repairs today on the majority of remaining customers without power on Oʻahu and on Maui.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday unanimously rejected a proposal to put a 30-year East Maui commercial water license up for public auction, while separately voting to advance a court-ordered contested-case hearing over revocable permits held by Mahi Pono and East Maui Irrigation Co.

As communities across Hawaiʻi begin recovering from the impacts of Lala, Hawaiian Council has committed $300,000 to immediate relief and recovery and has begun deploying resources to impacted communities.

After outages in recent storms, many frustrated residents are seeking out the satellite-based Starlink or other ways to stay connected in emergencies.

The County of Hawai‘i led convoys of supplies into the Ka‘ū District on Tuesday, bringing truckloads of ice, water and other essential supplies to residents impacted by Hurricane Lala.

The National Hurricane Center reports: “Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of the system, and a tropical depression is likely to form towards the end of the week or over the weekend.

As staff returned to campuses Tuesday and assessments continued, additional storm-related damage was identified and reported, bringing HIDOE’s statewide preliminary total to more than 600 work orders as of noon — 360 on Oʻahu, 81 on Hawai‘i Island and 175 across all other islands. Reports range from downed trees and damaged roofs to water intrusion, electrical issues and other facility impacts.

Governor Josh Green joined Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda and Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan on Monday for an aerial and ground assessment of storm damage across Kaʻū, one of the areas hardest hit by Tropical Storm Lala. State and county offices statewide are expected to reopen Wednesday, Aug. 19, and resume normal operations, except in the Ka‘ū District.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health has identified a new travel-related dengue virus case on Oʻahu, bringing the total number of dengue cases reported in Hawaiʻi to seven in 2026.

University of Hawaiʻi Maui College has secured over $660,000 in federal funding to launch the “CyberAI Innovation” project and host summer camps aimed at addressing the critical shortage of cybersecurity and AI professionals through new curriculum and statewide training initiatives.

The Hawai‘i School Facilities Authority (SFA), in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Department of Education, has been making steady progress over the past year to build a brand new middle school from the ground up in Waikapū in central Maui. 

A small group of small business owners and leaders of non-profits gathered on Aug. 14 to grow their business with AI. The half-day workshop was hosted by Maui Economic Development Board and presented by Marc Rix, an international adviser, speaker, consultant and trainer.

Both districts of Haleakalā National Park remain closed while the park begins storm damage assessments and recovery. The park will reopen when it is safe to do so.

With a majority of impacted customers brought back online, crews are focusing today on restoring areas of Haʻikū and Pe‘ahi as well pocket outages in Upcountry, Kahului, Lahaina, and East Maui. About 1,900 remain without power. Maui had nine transmission/subtransmission lines affected by the storm and six (67%) have been restored.

Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. will reopen its offices for regular operations, including Wailuku, Hāna, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, after being closed Monday due to ongoing impacts from Lala. MEO’s Head Start classrooms will also be open. 

A resident of Nāʻālehu said the woman who died had lived by herself and was tiny, under 100 pounds.