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As Maui marks the anniversary of the deadly blaze today, residents see hope in the rebuilding but sorrow in the people and things they can never bring back.
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The reluctance to vote for OHA is a complicated mix of Native Hawaiians who don’t want to participate in an American election system, non-Hawaiians who feel like they shouldn't decide the agency's leaders and voters who simply don’t know what OHA does.
One property is close to getting the first recovery building permit on the iconic street, while Maui County continues working on ways to make it easier for the many commercial landowners who haven't even started the permitting process.
Both campaigns are spending heavily on advertising as they jockey for the top spot at the ballot box on Aug. 8.
Researchers are especially worried about the impact on kids, who are showing early signs of emotional and physical distress in the wake of the fires.
Longtime state airports manager Marvin Moniz has been endorsed by moderate Alice Lee, but four progressive candidates also are in the race for the Central Maui seat.
As ICE enforcement increases on Maui, Hawai'i Gov. Josh Green prepares to sign a slate of immigration-related bills on Tuesday that include limiting state and county law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
At Mākena State Park, permanent bathrooms were recently approved amid public backlash, while at other parks, cultural sites and vandalism have forced the state to look at other options.
Bobby Pahia, who is running for the Upcountry seat that could impact the balance of the council, leads all primary candidates in fundraising heading into the Aug. 8 primary election.
Two programs are teaching new farmers how to grow and sell their products at a time when local agriculture is sorely needed.
More than 100 people who were displaced by the fire or left Lahaina years ago are reuniting this week for a series of special events that organizers hope will mark a major step in the community's healing.
Both campaigns are well funded and spending big in the lead-up to the Aug. 8 primary election, although Sugimura has a much bigger war chest left with the general election on Nov. 3.
In a lawsuit, Luana Mahi says the allegations that she improperly oversaw grants that benefitted her family members were based on "inaccurate" information and they publicly tarnished her reputation before she had a formal chance to defend herself.
The state project to build a 4.5-mile northern extension of the bypass had stalled for decades due to a lack of funding, but that changed with Maui County committing $100 million in Lahaina disaster relief funds earlier this year to help build the road that now has a price tag of $220 to $250 million.
"It's one of my favorite aspects of politics is the fact that all of these folks get to run no matter how realistic their candidacies are. And sometimes they bring up really important issues, and sometimes they help shift the nature of what the mainstream candidates are talking about," political scientist Colin Moore said. "And sometimes it's just really entertaining."
“It’s hard to celebrate a nation’s independence when they’re responsible for taking your country’s independence,” said Kau‘i Sai-Dudoit.
