In Case You Missed It

Students are graduating at a time when median home prices on Maui are $1.3 million and thousands of Lahaina families struggle with displacement. They’re facing big choices that could keep them on Maui or send them to the Mainland. And while some say they want to return, they’re well aware of the cost. 

On Tuesday night, the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) sought community feedback on the site selection for King Kamehameha III Elementary School to rebuild its permanent location, after its original campus was lost to the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire.

A new travel gift program was announced on Wednesday, providing more than 3,000 roundtrip Alaska Airlines flights, as well as Disneyland tickets and accommodations to Maui families affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires.

Maui County Council members gave initial approval Tuesday to their version of the county’s fiscal 2025 budget.

The talent displayed on the field was a landmark for the MIL in what can arguably be labeled its best sport.

The 2024 central Pacific hurricane season outlook from forecasters at NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, calls for 1–4 tropical cyclones across the central Pacific Hurricane region. A near-normal season has 4 or 5 tropical cyclones, which include tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.

Work began Monday afternoon to remove 2,500 gallons of fuel from a ferry boat that grounded just off Lahaina last week. The process of getting fuel, batteries, hazardous materials, and other items off the Maui Princess is expected to take a few days.  The boat broke from its mooring further offshore, last Thursday after a part reportedly failed. 

The past year has brought significant shocks to the housing market in Hawaiʻi. Per the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), overall transactions in 2023 was only half of what it was in 2021, and fewer single family homes were transacted in Hawaiʻi last year than in any of the last 25 years.

A waiting list opens next month for the Kaiāulu o Kūku′ia affordable apartment project located on Keawe St. in West Maui.  The project will begin accepting applications at 9 a.m. on June 24; and a lottery will be held on Aug. 20 to determine the order in which applicants are processed for eligibility.

“It was a beautiful purple and greenish tinge visible to the naked eye for about 5 minutes,” Brenda Trowbridge shared on social media. The Nā‘ālehu resident captured the images with a 3-second exposure on her iPhone between 4:26 and 4:31 a.m. on May 11, before the astronomical twilight.

A collaborative project to protect against erosion, reduce flood risk, mitigate axis deer damage, and improve water quality is being implemented in an 11-acre area mauka of Kīhei. 

Elizabeth Whitehead and Estrelita Bradford, who both celebrated their 80th birthdays this year, were recognized at the Lahaina Honolua Senior Club’s Older American Luncheon on Monday, May 13, at Maui Economic Opportunity in Wailuku.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., proclaimed May as Wildfire Mitigation and Risk Reduction Preparedness Month. The proclamation comes nine months after the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfire that destroyed much of historic Lahaina Town and claimed the lives of more than 100 people.

To help increase local menu offerings in school lunches, three dozen public schools on Maui, Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i Island and Kaua‘i will be offering fresh local poi as an accompanying lunch menu item to students and staff this month in honor of May Day. 

Maui County Council members heard testimony from about a half-dozen people Monday morning on proposed real property tax rates, mostly from transient vacation rental operators who said they’re being unfairly squeezed with higher tax rates at a time when their future bookings are dropping dramatically.

Homebuyers on Maui closed on more single-family homes and condominiums in April, according to the latest resale figures from the Realtors Association of Maui. The median sales prices for both categories also saw notable increases:  single-family homes rose by 16.9% to $1.3 million, while condominiums climbed by 8.4% to $962,500, compared to April 2023.

Four students graduating from Kīhei Charter School have taken on different challenges posed by the Maui wildfires and other statewide issued in their Senior Graduation Defense presentations. Seniors—Taylor Guindon, Tara Zamani, Sundi King and Claire Eller—presented respective projects on wildfire prevention policies, microbe research in the fire aftermath, stories of resilience from wildfire survivors, and an ʻŌhiʻa restoration project sparked by a visit to Hawaiʻi Island.

The Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved today a proposal for the state to purchase nearly 257 acres at Pōhākea, also known as Māʻalaea Mauka, for $8.22 million.

The Miss USA Organization today announced that Miss Hawaiʻi USA Savannah Gankiewicz of Maui, will take the title of Miss USA 2023. The titleholder, Noelia Voigt resigned earlier this week and explained her departure in an Instagram post, citing mental health and well-being. Savannah will be crowned in a celebratory coronation ceremony on Wednesday, May 15 in Hawaiʻi, according to an announcement on the Miss USA website.

After 27 years at the entrance to downtown Wailuku, Mele Ukulele will close its flagship store following the sale of its location near Wailuku bridge to a mainland owner.