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Services honoring the life and legacy of former Gov. George Ryoichi Ariyoshi have been finalized, with a lie-in-state, state service and celebration of life all scheduled for mid-September in Honolulu, according to the Gov. George R. Ariyoshi State Services Committee.

About 1,450 customers were restored this afternoon and about 6,000 are currently without power. Crews are focused tonight on restoring a majority of remaining customers in Kula. Customers in the Alaluana, Olinda, Pi‘iholo, and parts of Hā‘ikū are being asked to prepare for an overnight outage as large, downed trees are being cleared to provide access and repairs continue to be made to downed lines and poles. Crews are also working on remaining pocket outages in West, Central, and East Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i.

Hāna residents Scott Crawford and Heidi Lea partnered with the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project to create a card game teaching seabird conservation.

A Hawaiʻi Appleseed report released Thursday details the state’s $20.32 billion executive operating budget and its $4.53 billion for capital improvements, highlighting $200 million for Maui wildfire recovery, including rebuilding King Kamehameha III Elementary.

The University of Hawaiʻi Center for Oral History secured four grants totaling $538,000 to record the stories of Maui communities, including those navigating the aftermath of the 2023 wildfires.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday authorized the transfer of more than 300 acres of state land in Waiākea, Hilo, to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Committee meetings for Aug. 17 have been canceled and the county’s legislative offices will be closed Monday as county employees and residents continue to deal with Tropical Storm Lala’s aftermath, Maui County Council Chair Alice L. Lee announced.

Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. will be closing its offices, including Wailuku, Hāna, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi, on Monday, August 17, due to ongoing impacts from Lala. MEO’s Head Start classrooms will also be closed. 

The latest County of Maui update as of 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 is posted here. At the directive of Gov. Josh Green, all County of Maui offices on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi will be closed Monday, Aug. 17. Only essential personnel will report to work.

Due to the severe impacts of Hurricane Lala, all state and county offices, Hawaiʻi State Department of Education schools and public charter schools, courts and Judiciary offices statewide, will be closed Monday, Aug. 17.

Due to extended power outages Upcountry, the County of Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) in partnership with American Red Cross are opening a charging station equipped with WiFi at 7 p.m., Aug. 16, 2026, at Eddie Tam Memorial Center social hall, 931 Makawao Ave., Makawao. The area will double as a shelter.

The Maui Huliau Foundation will host its annual Huliau Food & Film Festival on Aug. 29, bringing the event to Kapuakukui Farm in Kula for an evening of farm-to-table food, hula, live music and student-produced films.

All airports are now open, but some flights are still being canceled or are experiencing delays. Many highways across the state continue to be impacted by downed trees, debris, flooding and power outages affecting traffic signals.

Due to Tropical Storm Lala, County of Maui East Maui Water Authority is postponing its ‘Aha Wai O Maui Hikina Board meeting, which included a community discussion. The meeting was slated for Aug. 17, 2026, in Kula. A rescheduled date will be announced soon.

Maluhia Maui Rotary Club will host a community electronics recycling pickup from 8 to 11 a.m. Aug. 22, giving residents a chance to safely dispose of unwanted electronics.

A water service outage continues in the Olinda/Piʻiholo service area. Four water buffaloes (potable water tanks) are stationed at 1222 Olinda Road.  Crews are on site to assess the outage.  Restoration time is unknown at this time.

Seabury Hall will be closed on Monday, August 17, as crews clean up fallen trees and address other impacts to campus caused by Hurricane Lala.

County officials provided a mid-day update on Sunday, Aug. 16, of remnant impacts from Lala as it continues its path West.

The Maui Soil and Water Conservation Districts and federal officials invite residents to shape local conservation funding priorities during an Aug. 26 meeting at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. Representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service want to hear from agricultural leaders, farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and conservation/environmental organizations. They need input on current […]

Following assessments of school campuses and surrounding community conditions, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education will close all public schools and HIDOE offices statewide on Monday, Aug. 17.