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In commemoration of Earth Day, Pacific Biodiesel Founders Bob and Kelly King welcomed community leaders and local students on a tour of the company’s new crushing mill and expanded agriculture operations, followed by a blessing of its first sunflower field on Kauaʻi on April 22, 2024.

State Sen. Angus McKelvey (District 6, West Maui, Māʻalaea, Waikapū, South Maui) announced the release of $1,020,000 in funding for vital improvements at Lokelani Intermediate School in Maui. This capital improvement project will address crucial infrastructure needs including parking lot resurfacing, upgrades to gutters and drainage systems, air conditioning enhancements and general repairs.

Maui Preparatory Academy has announced an upcoming financial aid benefit, “Fly Pueo, Fly,” scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.

(Update: 11 a.m., April 25, 2024) The Maui Veterans Highway is now OPEN in the area of the Central Maui Baseyard. It was closed for three hours while police conducted an investigation following a motor vehicle accident.

The Maui Police Department will be conducting a one-day Coordinated Agency Emergency Preparedness Exercise on the Kīhei Elementary School campus from approximately 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, April 26, 2024.

On Saturday morning, a special pod of “Mantas” was sighted in the waters of Molokini, three miles off Maui’s southern coast. Dubbed the “Molokini Mantas,” the group of nine Hawaiʻi swimmers were en route back to Maui, and upon reaching the Maui shore, they had set a new record for the fastest channel swim from Maluaka to and around Molokini and back.

A Maui man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder of another man in Kanaio in 2018. In January, a jury found Justin Namauu, 48, guilty in the death of Dennis Pacheco, who was 45 at the time of the incident.

The April Kīhei 4th Friday Town Party will take place at Azeka Shopping Center Mauka on April 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The application deadline is July 1 for a second round of healthcare professionals seeking help in a new Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program.

Several Maui-based small businesses will participate in Mana Up’s inaugural Aloha Market from April 26-28 in SoHo, Manhattan, New York. The city will host the multi-day Hawai‘i-themed immersive shopping and cultural event, featuring 40 companies.

On Tuesday night, State legislators approved a final version of the State’s Supplemental Budget. This measure includes operating, capital improvement projects (CIP), and grants-in-aid monies for fiscal year 2024-2025 (FY25).

Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, situated on Maui’s southwestern coastline along Mōkapu Beach, announced the completion of its enhanced room product. Marking the resort’s 10th anniversary, the refresh establishes a new decade for the property and includes a redesign of key components within the resort’s 320 guest rooms, including 35 suites.  

A new national report finds Hawaiʻi is one of only five states in the country to meet 10 of 10 research-based quality benchmarks for pre-kindergarten programs. However, the report finds the state ranks 44th in the nation for preschool enrollment for four-year-olds and 31st for three-year-olds.

The Hawai‘i Department of Health has confirmed one additional case of pertussis (also known as whooping cough) in a third distinct region on Hawaiʻi Island which is unrelated to previous cases. This new case closely follows 10 recently reported cases and brings the total to 11 pertussis cases on the Island from March – April 2024. Several of the recent cases have occurred in infants too young to be fully vaccinated. 

A redevelopment project to beautify the rundown Kīhei Marketplace ran into strong community opposition Tuesday before the Maui Planning Commission with dozens of testifiers irked about plans for 13 transient vacation rentals.

Graduates will be celebrated throughout the University of Hawaiʻi 10-campus system this spring starting on May 4 and ending on May 11. This includes a May 9 commencement at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College in Kahului. Molokaʻi is hosting their live commencement ceremony on May 10 for residents who earned a certificate or degree from the University of Hawaiʻi from fall 2021 to spring 2024. It is held only once every four years.

“Seeing students share their voices to talk about the importance of native birds in Hawaiʻi is so inspiring,” said Dr. Josh Atwood, Information and Education Specialist for DOFAW. “They did a lot of research to produce these videos. You get the sense from these videos that even if they haven’t seen these birds in person, the students take pride in them as part of what makes these islands special.”

One resident was displaced by a structure fire in Waiheʻe early Tuesday morning. The fire was reported at 3:08 a.m. on April 23, 2024 at a utility building on Kahekili Highway. The fire resulted in a total of $49,000 in damage to the structure and unknown damages to its contents.

The Color Festival Hawaiʻi, Imua Family Services’ signature friend-raiser event, emerges with spring with a blast of multi-hued rainbows on Sunday, April 28 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The event is a celebration of Maui’s diverse community and the vibrancy that connects us all together. Live music, food and explosions of color are among the highlights at this open air concert.

On Monday night, Kamalei Kawaʻa’s journey on NBC’s “The Voice” came to a close. The singer, originally from Paukūkalo, reached the Playoffs last week, securing a spot in the top 20 after a journey that began in early March.