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The Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation, Inc. (Takitani Foundation) has named 10 high school students from Maui County as scholarship recipients of its annual Legacy Scholarship Program.

The Maui Mayor’s Office of Innovation & Sustainability is partnering with ʻĪao Intermediate School to continue climate justice education and youth participation in public policy.  More than 150 students will march to Kalana O Maui this morning to share their research in the Maui County Council Chambers regarding sustainability, resilience and human rights. 

Hawaiʻi Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke and Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture Chairperson Sharon Hurd last week led some of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural leaders in a first-ever Hawaiʻi delegation to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Since launching in January 2024, volunteer-led nonprofit Pacific Housing Association has swiftly amassed a membership exceeding 17,500 rental units statewide. It becomes the state’s first and only organization dedicated to supporting market-rate and affordable long-term rental housing providers.

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that the US Forest Service is awarding more than $5.6 million to help plan for and prevent wildfires in Hawaiʻi. The funding, made available through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) Program, will be allocated to nine projects across the state to help at-risk communities plan for and reduce the risk of wildfires.

These 12 outstanding senior student-athletes were selected by a 13-person committee of current and former sports reporters, athletic directors and coaches from around the state. The criteria is based mainly on athletic achievement but character, sportsmanship, academic record and community service also are taken into consideration.

Approximately 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel will participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise scheduled June 26 to Aug. 2, in and around the Hawaiian Islands.

Residents are invited to attend Mayor Richard Bissen’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Update Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22. The weekly meeting, previously held in the gymnasium, will move to the downstairs social hall at Lahaina Civic Center.

The talent displayed on the field was a landmark for the MIL in what can arguably be labeled its best sport.

The 2024 central Pacific hurricane season outlook from forecasters at NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, calls for 1–4 tropical cyclones across the central Pacific Hurricane region. A near-normal season has 4 or 5 tropical cyclones, which include tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.

The US Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors released its blasting plan for the Kilohana temporary housing site today. The contractor will generally blast once a day between 2-4 p.m., weather permitting, Monday through Saturday, for approximately the next 65 days. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s current extension for the non-congregate sheltering (NCS) program is now set for June 10, 2024. On May 31, 2024, the state of Hawaiʻi will cease its feeding operations at NCS designated hotel sites. State officials say they are postured to assist during this period of transition and are actively working on developing strategies and resources to support individuals and families who will be affected by the end of these services.

Kalama Intermediate School seventh-grade student Helia Lorico-Minchin has been awarded the Maui Country grand prize in the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poetry Awards.

Maui emergency crews are on the scene of a car fire located on the makai side of North Kīhei Road near the Mile 2 area of Sugar Beach. Maui police were on the scene at around 7:50 a.m. The fire appeared to be isolated to the shoulder area where black smoke and flames were seen coming from a light colored four door sedan.

Members of the Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee have voted unanimously to extend property tax relief to taxpayers at risk of being priced out of their homes by skyrocketing property values.

Work began Monday afternoon to remove 2,500 gallons of fuel from a ferry boat that grounded just off Lahaina last week. The process of getting fuel, batteries, hazardous materials, and other items off the Maui Princess is expected to take a few days.  The boat broke from its mooring further offshore, last Thursday after a part reportedly failed. 

Hui Aloha Playground at Keōpūolani Regional Park will be closed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. May 21 to 24 while undergoing vandalism surfacing repair.  All adjacent facilities will remain open and accessible with other parking areas available to use. 

Maui County hotels continued to be impacted by the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, but still led the counties in April 2024 revenue per available room (RevPAR) due to comparatively higher average daily rate (ADR), according to the Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report, issued by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

The owners of the luxury yacht Nakoa want a formal contested case hearing to fight a $1.8 million fine assessed last month by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The past year has brought significant shocks to the housing market in Hawaiʻi. Per the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), overall transactions in 2023 was only half of what it was in 2021, and fewer single family homes were transacted in Hawaiʻi last year than in any of the last 25 years.