In Case You Missed It

In response to the detection of the avian flu virus in Hawai‘i’s wastewater and wild birds, state agencies are urging the public to voluntarily pause the interisland movement of poultry and other bird species for 90 days, effective immediately. This recommendation follows the suggestion of Moloka‘i State Senator and farmer Lynn DeCoite and is a proactive measure aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus.

With visitors choosing to go elsewhere, Maui County can expect “slow progress” in its economic recovery in the wake of the August 2023 wildfire disaster, according to economics professor Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization.

The 30-year-old Maui woman who went missing during a layover in Los Angeles last month, has been found safe, according to a statement released on behalf of her family.

Imua Family Services says it’s getting harder to find child care facilities on Maui in the wake of the 2023 wildfires.

United States Attorney Clare E. Connors announced that Jose Elias Camacho, 34, of Maui, was sentenced Monday by US District Judge Susan Oki Mollway to 144 months in prison for trafficking in fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that resulted in an overdose death.

The County of Hawaiʻi’s Department of Environmental Management is working closely with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health after the detection of H5 avian influenza (bird flu) in a sample of influent collected from the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant on Dec. 2.  This marks the first detection of bird flu on Hawaiʻi Island.

The median price of a single-family home on Maui was $1.3 million in November, according to a monthly statistical report by the Realtors Association of Maui. That’s $100,000 short of the all-time, $1.4 million record set in September of this year.

Lahaina Cannery and Lahaina Gateway, West Maui’s premier shopping destinations, are welcoming a group of new tenants for the holidays – businesses that have been adversely affected by the wildfires and have been shuttered for nearly a year and a half.

A pilot release of five ʻalalā recently occurred on the leeward slopes of Haleakalā, in the Kīpahulu Forest Reserve on Maui. This cooperative effort is a historic first release of Hawaiʻi’s endemic crow on Maui and the first reintroduction attempt outside of Hawaiʻi Island.

A new lunch spot has opened at The Historic Wailuku Inn, a century-old bed and breakfast in the heart of Wailuku town.

The 30-year-old Maui woman who went missing during a layover in Los Angeles last month, is believed to have left voluntarily, according to police, after new video surveillance surfaced of her crossing the US border into Mexico on foot. Police say Hannah Kobayashi was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed. The Los Angeles Police Department has since classified the case as a voluntary missing person.

“It feels awesome. I feel exhilarated. I feel happy for our kids. These are great young men that we get to coach,” Kamehameha Maui head coach Ulima Afoa said.

After 13 years, the Maui-based private, nonprofit Hawaiʻi Animal Rescue Foundation (HARF) will be closing its doors at the end of the year.

This Thanksgiving, The Salvation Army served up thousands of meals across Hawaiʻi and Guam through its annual holiday meal outreach events. Here on Maui, The Salvation Army Kahului Corps and the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College held its Annual Community Thanksgiving meal on Nov. 27 in the Pāʻina Building at the UHMC Main Campus, featuring 800 meals prepared by the UH Maui College Culinary Arts Program at this free, in-person Thanksgiving Celebration.

Once complete, the Kilohana modular housing project will become a temporary haven for up to 167 individuals and families – a Lahaina location where wildfire survivors can plan for the future. 

The first home to be rebuilt in Kula after the August 2023 wildfires was commemorated on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, with a blessing, representing another step forward in recovery after the fires.  After all final inspections were completed last week, homeowner Thomas Liu, 83, said he will be moving out of a rental and into the completed two-bedroom, 860-square-foot cottage this month while work continues to rebuild the main house on his Kulalani Drive property. 

Moana 2 has arrived in Maui movie theaters with early community screenings drawing a swell of fans ahead of the Nov. 27 official opening in theaters. It’s been eight years since the original release, and movie goers were eager to see what new adventures abound beyond the reef for the wayfinder and her voyaging friends.

Hisako Film Lab, founded by Maui-raised filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, is partnering with Maui Huliau Foundation to offer an after-school filmmaking program available to youth in grades 9-12 from all schools.

Former Maui County Council Chair Kelly T. King and 30 Maui County voters have filed an election contest with the Hawai’i Supreme Court seeking to void the results of the South Maui County Council race and to order the holding of a new election.

Dozens of students at King Kekaulike High School on Maui planted hundreds of native shrubs, grasses and ferns in November. It is part of a massive restoration effort by the University of Hawaiʻi’s East Maui Watershed Partnership—between federal, state and private landowners—to preserve the native forest.