Featured

Maui police have launched an investigation into the theft of an armored Humvee from the Maui National Guard Armory in Puʻunēnē overnight.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation starts the electric bike and electric moped rebate program today. The electric bike and electric moped rebate was created through Act 306 to “reduce the cost of living and cost of transportation by providing rebates for the purchase and use of electric bicycles and electric mopeds.”

Waiehu Municipal Golf Course will accept online reservations for tee times beginning March 15, in a pilot program that will allow golfers to more easily see what times are available, county officials announced today. The pilot program will be re-evaluated after 60 days.

The rigging attached to a grounded luxury yacht off of Maui’s Honolua Bay, failed during a second salvage attempt Monday night, state officials said. The contractor headed back to Oʻahu last night to resupply with stronger rigging. Wednesday is the earliest salvage operations will resume, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Maui’s Kāʻanapali Beach was ranked the best beach in the US, and the No. 10 beach in the World by TripAdvisor. Also making the US ranking was Kauaʻi’s Hanalei Beach at No. 4, and Maui’s Hoʻokipa Beach Park at No. 5.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health is alerting residents to a voluntary recall of enoki mushrooms sold in Hawai‘i, produced by Taiwan-based Changhua County Mushrooms Productions Cooperative and distributed by Jan Fruits Inc., because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. 

The intersection at Wākea Avenue and Hoʻohana Street in Kahului will operate as a four-way stop from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, while work is done on the traffic signal.

Mākena Golf & Beach Club hosts an Aloha Mākena Haumea Event on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a Let Go, Let Grow art experience led by award-winning Maui artist, Wailani Artates.

Michael Castillo, PGA, Head Golf Professional at Kapalua Plantation Course was recently invited to play in the Champions Tour Cologuard Classic by Exact Sciences under a sponsor exemption in their two-day Pro-Am.

Dippin’ Dots, known for its flash-frozen beaded ice cream, debuts the brand’s new location in Kahului, Maui. The 700-square-foot store located at 312 Alamaha Street in Kahului officially opened its doors in December 2022.

Over the past two decades, both scientists and members of the public have anticipated the occurrence of slow slip events (SSEs) on Kīlauea’s south flank.  These events are recorded by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s (HVO) continuous GPS network, which show as much as 2 cm (0.75 inches) of increased seaward motion of the flank over 2-3 days—equivalent to about a M6 earthquake.

Maui Obituaries for the week ending Feb. 26, 2023. May they rest in peace.

A SMALL TOWN * BIG ART Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) recently went live for orientation-based artwork at five sites within the Wailuku Municipal Parking Structure, which is currently under construction in the heart of Wailuku town. The art will function as directional signage and offer a wayfinding element that draws people to entry and exit points, a news release said. Application deadline is March 26.

Theo Morrison has been a staunch advocate for the restoration of historic buildings and the preservation of Maui history, through her work as executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation for the past 15 years. Morrison, once a fiber artist creating baskets from a variety of natural materials, has helped to successfully weave the stories of Lahaina’s past into an amazing tour through history. Maui Now’s Gary Kubota conducts this People of Maui interview.

A total of 596 humpback whales were observed during the Great Whale Count on Maui, for a grand total of 997 spotted throughout the state. On Maui, Great Whale Count volunteers collected data from 12 sites during 15-minute intervals between 8:30 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. A total of 105 whales were observed during the 11:30-11:45 a.m. time period, the most of any time period throughout the day’s count. 

The state Department of Transportation will be conducting road work this week that will result in lane closures at various locations. Lane closure schedules may change at any time without further notice.  All projects are weather permitting.

Hawaiian Telcom spokesperson Ann Nishida tells Maui Now the company has located the source of the problem, a break in a fiber in Lahaina. Service was restored to the remaining affected customers by 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Defueling of the 120-ton luxury yacht, Nakoa, is now complete, and salvage of the vessel is expected to start on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.

Work to remove fuel, other pollutants, and batteries from the grounded 94-foot-long luxury yacht Nakoa, will continue today (Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023) at Honolua Bay in northwest Maui. The State will bill the yacht’s owner for reimbursement of the $460,000 salvage cost, and for additional staff and administrative costs, and take legal action if necessary.

The most recent Visitor Satisfaction and Activity Survey released Friday surveyed visitors from the U.S. West, U.S. East, Canada, Japan, Oceania, Korea, and China who visited Hawai‘i from October to December 2022. More than 60% of visitors from all markets indicated they were “very likely” to return to Hawai‘i in the next five years, a news release from state DBEDT said.