Featured

On Wednesday, Maui United Way announced the seven local-Maui nonprofits who are recipients of their new ʻOhana Mental Health Grant — an effort to meet the ongoing mental health needs in the aftermath of the wildfires. 

Returning for its 20th year, the STEMworks Excite Camp program wrapped up its four days of student activities on June 6. The day camp, which started in 2000 and focuses on the intersection of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and Hawaiian knowledge and culture, welcomed 19 middle school girls this year from across Maui County, including students from Hāna, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. The free summer program aims to support and inspire young women, especially those of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander descent, to pursue post-secondary education and careers in STEM while staying connected to Hawaiʻi. 

Maui Bus service in parts of Central Maui will be rerouted and specific area bus stops will not be in service Saturday, June 15, 2024, when a portion of Kaʻahumanu Ave. will close for the 2024 Nā Kamehameha Commemorative Pāʻū Parade and Hoʻolauleʻa, the County of Maui Department of Transportation announced.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises highway users of traffic modifications on Honoapi‘ilani Highway and Nāpilihau Street beginning at 8 p.m., Thursday, June 13 to 6 a.m., Friday, June 14. During the nighttime closure, crews will install a temporary traffic signal to replace the traffic signal mast that was shortened on June 1.

Lei Day pup PO5 (Paʻaki) is six weeks old today, and the young pup is officially weaned, according to an update provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division. NOAA Fisheries also confirmed that Paʻaki is a female—which is hopeful news for continued Hawaiian monk seal population recovery.

The Maui County Council has approved extending the construction completion date to September 2029 for Waikapū Development Venture’s 80-unit affordable workforce housing project south of Wailuku town.

The Pride Flag hung by the County of Maui as a celebration of national June Pride Month was illegally removed twice after it was raised during a Proclamation and flag ceremony last week outside the County building, organization leaders with Aloha Maui Pride said. The County filed two police reports and is continuing its ongoing investigation, the organization reports.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health reminds the public to be vigilant due to high levels of COVID-19 activity in Hawai‘i. The DOH Respiratory Disease Dashboard shows COVID-19 disease activity level is in the red, or high activity level, indicating the virus is circulating at high levels compared with historic trends. This high level means that recommended precautions are more important for reducing risk.

A series of clinics conducted by professional jazz musicians is slated to take place next month on Maui. It is designed for aspiring jazz vocalists and musicians of all ages and experience.

The deadline to apply for the County of Maui real property tax relief program for long-term rentals to individuals directly impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires has been extended to 4 p.m. June 30, 2024.

A community-led preservation effort safeguards Pōhākea, protecting land, three operating wells and a 750,000-gallon water tank for public benefit. The public purchase enables the reduction of recurrent wildfire risks, enhancement of public access to hiking trails, protection of cultural and scenic resources, and reduction of stormwater runoff and erosion impacting Māʻalaea Bay.

The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset announces the recipients of the five “Go for the Green” $2,500 Scholarships. These scholarships were offered to select high school graduates who reside in West Maui, Molokaʻi or Hāna.

Residents can join in the Father’s Day festivities with The Shops at Wailea’s Social Media Giveaway through Thursday, June 13, 2024.

Sea level in Waikīkī is projected to rise up to about one foot by 2050 and nearly six feet by 2100 due to climate change, prompting University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers to create architectural renderings that illustrate possible adaptation strategies.

In April 2024, sculptor and architect Matthias Neumann created an 8 x 8 x 11 foot sculpture on the front lawn of the Makawao Public Library inspired by the story of Hui Mo‘olelo participant Kim Thayer of Mauna Kahālāwai Watershed Partnership and Scott Fisher, Director of ʻĀina Stewardship at Hawai’i Land Trust.

Kupu, Hawai‘i’s leading conservation and environmental education nonprofit, is seeking applications for the Conservation Leadership Development Program (CLDP). Recent high school graduates, college graduates and young professionals looking to establish a career in conservation are strongly encouraged to apply by June 21.

Cool Cat Cafe, a beloved local restaurant that was destroyed in the Lahaina fires, announced its grand reopening at a new location in South Maui. The grand reopening will take place on June 15, 2024, at Kukui Mall, located at 1819 S. Kīhei Road. The restaurant will be open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Kaiser Permanente Hawai’i opened a new Mom and Newborn Center on Maui, the first of its kind on the Valley Isle. Located at Kaiser Permanente’s Maui Lani Medical Office in Wailuku, the center embraces moms and newborns within 48 hours of being discharged from the hospital. The center adds the convenience of combining postpartum check-ups for both mom and baby in one visit, providing physical and emotional well-being assessments for mom, as well as weight and other health monitoring for baby. The lactation consultant who visits with mom and baby in the hospital will visit the couple again at the Mom and Newborn Center to provide continued support in the breastfeeding process.

Building Industry Hawaiʻi, a publication dedicated to local construction, is set to honor Hawaiʻi’s Top 25 Contractors of 2024 at its second annual awards luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 26 at the Honolulu Country Club.

A total of 10 Hawaiʻi students have received the 2024 Bayer Hawaiʻi Life Sciences Scholarship.  Recipients are: Alyssa Pong (Mililani High School), Anica Ancheta (H.P. Baldwin High School), Emily Hegrenes (Lahainaluna High School), Kielyn Guzman (Maui High School), Kylie Lucas (Pearl City High School), Madison Strand (King Kekaulike High School), Maia Payne (Kalaheo High School), Mailani Higa (Aiea High School), Tara Zamani (Kīhei Charter High School), and Stephanie Lee (Kalani High School).