In Case You Missed It

Maui police arrested four individuals for charges related to internet-facilitated sexual offenses against children during Operation Keiki Shield 22, which took place between Thursday March 14, and Sunday, March 17, 2024.

After hearing impassioned pleas Tuesday from Lahaina wildfire survivors for quick action in a proposed eminent domain condemnation, Maui County Council members struggled to pin down the property owner on what it would take, or cost, for the county to acquire the nearly 20-acre quarry for final disposal of toxic ash and debris.

Maui’s own Kamalei Kawaʻa wowed judges last night on NBC’s “The Voice” once again during an iconic duet with Oʻahu “sweetheart” Gabriel Goes, taking Kawaʻa to the next round of the national singing competition.

For the first time ever, the internationally acclaimed ensemble will bring a show to the shores of Waikīkī on a permanent basis, delivering the experience at the OUTRIGGER Waikīkī Beachcomber Hotel debuting in late 2024. The show will introduce Cirque du Soleil’s artistry to Hawai‘i through the guidance and vision of a distinguished group of Native Hawaiian creatives. 

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez confirms the Phase One report on the independent investigation into the Maui wildfires will be released on April 17, 2024.

The Prince Kūhiō Maui Ho’olaule’a takes place at Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center on Friday, March 22, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This event is free and welcomes everyone to enjoy an evening filled with complimentary keiki activities, interactive exhibits, Hawaiian music, and hula performances.

Maui Now has learned and FX confirmed that the co-creators of the popular new series “Shōgun”—Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks—are residents of Maui. Kondo was born and raised on the Valley Isle. As a child, she attended Pukalani Elementary and Kalama Intermediate, and she is ’99 graduate of Maui High School.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Jr. delivered his 2024 State of the County Address on Friday evening from the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. During his address, the mayor focused on wildfire recovery efforts and discussed housing solutions as the county continues to find its way through the rebuilding process and economic recovery following the August 2023 wildfires.

Hard hit by inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and a downturn in local business caused by the August wildfires, the iconic Home Maid Bakery, “home of the crispy manju,” will be shutting down permanently at the end of this month.

Today, after nearly 30 years of grassroots community planning and engagement within their moku and across Maui and the state, Hawaiʻi nonprofit organization Kīpahulu ‘Ohana, Inc. saw their Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) signed into law.

After a closure of seven and a half months since the August wildfires, Lahaina Cannery announced it is reopening its doors to Maui residents and visitors on Monday, March 18, 2024.

The Maui County Council has unanimously adopted a resolution urging the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to repair the Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor Ramp.

A survivor in NCS seeking support for the FEMA-eligible program will have four opportunities to accept their Direct Housing option. Meanwhile, survivors in non-congregate sheltering seeking support through the state of Hawaiʻi’s Housing solution will be given two opportunities to accept an option. The state’s plan is to ultimately wrap up its NCS program.

The state House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 operating and capital improvement budget, amid a fiscally challenging year that prioritizes addressing wildfire-related expenses after the Aug. 8 tragedy in Lahaina and Upcountry Maui.

Coming up fast are the Kīhei 4th Friday free admission block party, an opening art reception at Hui Noʻeau, and NBC’s “The Voice” Season 24 finalist Jason Arcilla and The Mad Steppas performing at da Playground.

Sitting at the edge of scorched Lahaina Town and makai of the Lahaina Cannery Mall, the Old Lahaina Lūʻau reopens to tourism for the first time since the Aug. 8 wildfire.

Former Maui County Council Chair Gladys Coelho Baisa is being remembered fondly as a strong community leader, and a pioneer for women in politics and nonprofit leadership. She passed away Monday morning. She was 83.

Maui attorney, Jan K. Apo, who is representing hundreds of families impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires, lauded Monday’s federal court decision to remand some 90 Lahaina fire cases back to the state court on Maui. 

Maui County Council members were sharply divided Friday over a proposal to use Maui County’s condemnation power of eminent domain to obtain a nearly 20-acre former quarry next to the Central Maui Landfill for the final disposal of toxic Lahaina fire ash and debris.

In addition to containing the recently-renegotiated Compacts of Free Association, the package includes the text of Sen. Hirono’s Compact Impact Fairness Act to restore access to a range of federal benefits for COFA citizens who reside in the US, including nearly 20,000 in Hawaiʻi. The package, which passed in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.