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The Hawaiʻi Department of Health is reporting that a wastewater sample from Hawaiʻi County has tested positive for dengue virus. The sample was collected Aug. 24, 2026, at the Hilo wastewater treatment plant and DOH was notified of the result Aug. 31, 2026. A follow-up sample was collected on Aug. 31; those results are pending. DOH is not currently tracking any active dengue cases in Hawaiʻi County.

United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Justin Nelson, 43, of Kīhei, Maui, appeared Thursday, Sept. 3, before US Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter and entered a plea of guilty to bank robbery. Sentencing is set for Dec. 18, 2026 before Senior US District Judge Helen Gillmor.

Mayor Richard Bissen is urging the US Postal Service to preserve and restore direct home mail delivery for Lahaina residents rebuilding homes destroyed in the 2023 Maui Wildfires, emphasizing that “returning families should not lose an essential service simply because they were forced to rebuild.”

Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation (EP) covering the entire state to support preparations for and potential impacts from Hurricane Lowell, Hurricane Karina, Tropical Storm Marie and any additional storms that could affect Hawaiʻi.

County of Maui departments continue to respond to damage from Tropical Storm Lala while preparing for possible impacts from hurricanes Lowell and Karina. With multiple weather systems interacting, there is more uncertainty in forecasts, National Weather Service officials have emphasized. Meanwhile, officials are echoing calls for community members to stay prepared during this above-normal hurricane season.

With Hawaiʻi students back in the classroom, American Savings Bank is calling on the state’s next generation of entrepreneurs to put their biggest ideas to the test through the 2026 KeikiCo Business Plan Competition.

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) recently led a roundtable discussion with community leaders to evaluate the repatriation of Native Hawaiian ancestral remains and cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and to identify ways to strengthen the law’s implementation.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation is asking drivers to watch for runners taking part in the Hāna Relay on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.

More than 850 students from the two Hawai‘i public schools most impacted by Hurricane Lala are returning to in-person learning this week, marking a significant step forward for school communities that have spent the past two weeks navigating storm damage, utility disruptions and impacts in their surrounding communities.

The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 5-4 last week to adopt criteria for which apartment-zoned vacation rental properties can be recommended to the Maui Planning Commission for hotel-district rezoning, tying eligibility to how deeply a property sits within the county’s Sea Level Rise Exposure Area.

The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi has endorsed Mayor Richard Bissen in his campaign for reelection as mayor of Maui County.

Today, the Hua Momona Foundation, a nonprofit spearheading recovery and long-term resilience efforts following the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, officially announces the Rain to Resilience program, an initiative providing 120 West Maui households with hands-on training and equipment to install rain catchment systems at their homes through a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation.

County of Maui officials are encouraging residents and visitors to remain ready as two hurricanes — Lowell and Karina — approach the Hawaiian Islands, less than a month after Tropical Storm Lala affected the state. With multiple weather systems interacting, there is more uncertainty in forecasts, National Weather Service officials emphasized.

Hurricane Lowell is currently a category 4 system with sustained winds of 140 mph. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center says Lowell is expected to remain a major hurricane for the next several days and interests in the Hawaiian Islands should monitor future forecasts.

After flooding from Kona Low storms earlier this year prompted the County to reassess a previously identified Safe Parking site, the County of Maui is moving forward with a new, interim Safe Parking location on County property in Puʻunēnē and a permanent site in Kahului, Mayor Richard Bissen announced on Wednesday.

County of Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin announced the indictment of a Maui Police Department officer on multiple counts of alleged sexual assault. The charges stem from an encounter between the officer and a citizen following a single-car crash of the victim’s vehicle.

Makawao Elementary physical education teacher, Troy “Leven” Abshire Jr., and King Kamehameha III Elementary kindergarten teacher Robert Livermore were recognized as the 2027 Teachers of the Year for respective complex areas in Maui County. From among the 16 honorees statewide, one will be selected as the 2027 Hawai‘i State Teacher of the Year, HIDOE’s highest teaching honor.

Residents and visitors are encouraged to support Hawaiʻi Island communities devastated by Hurricane Lala by participating in the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Island Donation Drive, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5 and 6, 2026, in Kahului, the County of Maui Office of the Mayor announced.

Hawaiʻi’s five-star, five-diamond Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea proudly unveils The Queen’s Garden: Uluhaimalama, a new cultural experience within the Resort’s interior courtyard dedicated to Queen Liliʻuokalani, Hawaiʻi’s last reigning monarch.

Maui-based filmmaker Stephan Boeker and Pacific Story Tellers recently won two Northern California Regional Emmy Awards for Journey Beyond the Grid: The Hawaiʻi Off-Grid Story, a documentary that began as a story about sustainable, self-sufficient design and ultimately became a much broader exploration of resilience and preparedness in Hawaiʻi.