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This month’s Kīhei 4th Friday town party will take place at Azeka Shopping Center Mauka on June 28 from 6 to 9 p.m.

At their June meeting, OHA trustees approved more than $2.7 million in grant awards to 16 community nonprofits that serve Native Hawaiians.

To gain a deeper understanding of how local companies utilize digital and broadband technology for their business operations, the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Hawai‘i Broadband and Digital Equity Office recently published its Hawai‘i digital economy survey involving more than 1,000 businesses.

Applications are open for artists 18 years and older, who are residents of the state of Hawai‘i, and want to enter portraits into a statewide juried art exhibition, a signature exhibition of Schaefer International Gallery at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC), that occurs once every three years.

Maui Economic Opportunity will be assisting Lāna‘i residents who are customers of First Hawaiian Bank by adding a stop at the bank’s Kahului Branch to the weekly Lāna‘i Shopping Shuttle to Maui. The bank will be closing its Lāna‘i Branch at 644 Lāna‘i Ave. on Friday, June 28, and the shopping shuttle is one of the options offered for banking customers on the island.

The Pacific Cancer Foundation has opened registration for individual paddlers in the upcoming 15th annual Paddle for Life, taking place Oct. 12 through Oct. 13, 2024.

Qualified nonprofit and for-profit organizations in Maui County are invited to apply to administer the County of Maui Agricultural Micro Grants Program for the Fiscal Year from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The deadline to apply to administer the program is July 26, 2024.

BISSELL Pet Foundation is prompting a national call for adoption by hosting it’s Summer National Empty the Shelters event from July 8-31, 2024, at more than 390 organizations in four states. Area shelters participating in the event include: the Maui Humane Society, Kauaʻi Humane Society, Hawaiʻi Island Humane Society and Hawaiian Humane Society.

The new Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program rewards state and local governments that reform land-use policies and other local barriers that constrain the supply of affordable housing.

Seabury Hall student Bobby Goldyn of Makawao, was the only student from Maui to win a gold medal in this year’s Congressional Gold Medal Awards. The medal is awarded to high school students who achieve certain benchmarks in volunteerism, character development and fitness.

MEO assisted 20,365 individuals/families touching nearly 43,000 lives in the last fiscal year, MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe said. MEO buses on Maui, (including East Maui), Moloka‘i, and Lāna‘i, provided 270,555 rides for 5,774 unduplicated passengers.

The Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property Working Group comprised of experts in native Hawaiian law, indigenous intellectual property, and cultural practitioners held its first meeting at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol on Monday.

The Trucker Dukes Memorial Dive, organized by UVSC (Us Versus Cancer), combined a keiki spearfishing tournament and invasive species roundup with community fundraising to support UVSC’s mission to support families facing cancer-related challenges.

The Hawaiʻi Association of Broadcasters is opposing Gov. Josh Green’s intent to veto HB 2581, saying the bill addresses an “outdated” state statute that allows a mayor or the Governor to “unlawfully” suspend the transmission of electronic media during a state of emergency.

In May 2024, Maui County continued to have the largest supply of available vacation rental (TVR) units in the state, but occupancy rates for them were below half, at 49.5%, according to a report by the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism’s Hawaiʻi (DBEDT).

In Ua Pau — the conclusion of “The Kāmau Trilogy” by Alani Apio — past and present collide as Stevie returns home from college and uncovers hidden truths about her family.

The latest Visitor Satisfaction and Activity Survey results show that visitors’ experience on Maui among US West and US East travelers have improved since the Aug. 8 wildfires, according to the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. The percentage of visitors to Maui that rated their trip “excellent” was 89.8% from the US East, 86.3% from Europe, 86.2% from the US West, and 85.9% from Canada. Additionally, the percentage of visitors from these markets “very likely” to return to Maui in the next five years remained high: US West (71.5%), Canada (63.0%), and US East (59.0%).

Since October 2023, The Kanikapila Project — a post-fire program on Maui — has lifted up people of all ages who are impacted by the tragic Lahaina wildfire using the healing power of music. So far, the project has gifted music lessons and over 400 ʻukulele.

The Hawaiian Coffee Labeling Act 211, which was enacted in July 2023, requires all coffee products carrying a Hawai‘i geographical reference to include the disclosure of the location where the coffee was grown in the state, and also indicate the percentage by weight of locally grown coffee and coffee grown elsewhere. The law also specifies that coffee products claiming to be 100% Hawaiian in the labeling and advertising must be grown and processed in Hawai‘i. 

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa will host its next Kōkua for Maui event on Friday, July 5, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the resort. The event is a place where Maui residents and visitors can shop and show their aloha for local artisans and Lahaina small businesses who were impacted by the August 2023 wildfires.