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Maui Police Chief John Pelletier discussed his first 60 days in office during Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Police Commission meeting, summarizing what is being done, and the upcoming plans he has for the department.

A 57-year-old woman from Cedar Rapids, Iowa suffered life-threatening injuries when she lost control of the bicycle she was operating and collided head-on into a vehicle on Makawao Avenue.

Maui police arrested a man who allegedly stole a vehicle and got into a head-on crash that forced the closure of the Maui Veterans Highway early Tuesday morning. The man is also accused of striking a responding officer in the face, and running into traffic in an attempt to evade police, where he was then struck by an oncoming vehicle.

Despite dropping COVID-19 case counts, Maui Memorial Medical Center continues to experience its “longest and most sustained” high census, according to a spokesperson with Maui Health.

There is no tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi after a preliminary 6.6 magnitude earthquake reported at 10:21 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, South of the Fiji Islands.

Of today’s 203 cases, there are 200 cases identified as confirmed, and three probable cases were added to the count.  The confirmed cases included: 147 on O‘ahu (+6 probable); one on Hawai‘i Island (+3 probable); 29 on Maui (-1 probable); 16 on Kaua‘i (-7 probable); 0 on Molokaʻi; 0 on Lānaʻi; and seven Hawai‘i residents diagnosed while out of state (+2 probable).

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has published a draft recovery plan for 44 endangered species that either occur or have occurred on the Hawaiian Islands of Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Maui, collectively known as Maui Nui.

Maui Now’s featured job openings for the week of Feb. 13 to 19, 2022.

The red-light enforcement camera program that launched recently on Oʻahu could be heading to Maui, but the pilot plan will have to be evaluated first, according to the state Department of Transportation. 

A federal court hearing was held today in which former State Senator J. Kalani English and former State Representative Ty Cullen both reportedly pleaded guilty to charges of honest services wire fraud.

A mother humpback whale was freed of more than 550 feet of line and marine debris wrapped tightly around its head during a disentanglement effort yesterday off Lahaina. Rescuers say the successful response increased the survival chances for both the mother whale and her calf.

The latest data represents a total of 11,026 “active” cases statewide over two weeks. This is now below the delta peak of 11,500. Maui County’s seven day average of cases is now 41.9 cases per 100,000. This is below the delta peak of 57.6 per 100,000 reported on Aug. 25, and the 412.1 per 100,000 reported on Jan. 21, 2022.

Makaʻalae Farms on Maui is set to receive $250,000 in funding from the US Department of agriculture to help create new products and better advertise goods and services.  

Four mineral sunblock dispensers are now installed along south Maui shores. Two are at the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘u  Natural Area Reserve and a pair are to be installed at Mākena State Park where thousands of people enter the ocean at these locations daily. 

At the Imua Discovery Garden, attorney Sheldon sits down for an interview with Jack Dugan, Pacific Media Group’s COO and Maui Now’s digital director, answering questions about her new role as President of the Hawai’i State Bar Association and sharing possible solutions to the top issues concerning Hawai’i. 

Boaters are being asked to reduce transit speeds to 15 knots or less, and slow to six knots when within 400 yards of humpbacks, when approaching and departing the area.

Todayʻs count includes 63 cases on Maui, 86 on Hawaiʻi Island, 101 on Kauaʻi, two on Molokaʻi, three on Lānaʻi, and 15 out of state.  There are 228 new COVID-19 cases on Oʻahu.

The restaurant in Māʻalaea, is inviting kamaʻāina to connect over locally sourced ingredients and a delicious three-course prix fixe menu, all for the price of $25 per person. For each lunch purchased, Seascape will donate $1 to the MOC Marine Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of Hawaiian green sea turtles and coral restoration. 

Driving under the influence, speed, and distracted driving were top contributors to Hawaiʻi’s traffic fatalities in 2021. That trend is continuing as 2022 begins to unfold, with preliminary data showing a majority of the 16 fatalities for the month of January (as of this posting), resulting from unlawful and avoidable behavior on the road.

Todayʻs count includes 82 cases on Maui, 64 on Hawaiʻi Island, 62 on Kauaʻi, three on Molokaʻi, six on Lānaʻi, and 28 out of state.  There are 287 new COVID-19 cases on Oʻahu.