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The Maui Planning Commission heard more than seven hours of often impassioned testimony Tuesday, then deliberated nearly three hours before recommending that the Maui County Council approve a bill to phase-out of thousands of short-term rentals in apartment districts, mostly in South and West Maui.

La‘ikū will provide 16 two-bedroom, one-bath units at 560 sq. ft. each. The homes are being built on approximately two acres of land that was previously acquired by the HDOT as part of the Lahaina Bypass project. Monthly rent for homes in La‘ikū will be $1,750, which tenants can pay via personal funds, rental assistance from FEMA, or insurance proceeds. The $3.9 million project is funded by HCF and the state of Hawai‘i and developed by CNHA, which has a five-year revocable permit to use the HDOT parcel at no cost. Completion is scheduled for September 2024.

“It’s important because it is connected to a much larger set of lands that go all the way to the summit (of the West Maui Mountains),” said Scott Fretz, the Maui branch manager of DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “Fires often start at those mauka lands and come down in the direction toward the highway. And often they start at the highway and go up this parcel into the mauka lands. So, that connectivity is important.”

For the Mathers, homeownership seemed unattainable. The constant threat of displacement from their beloved ‘āina loomed over them. Jen Mather, alongside her husband Richard and their children Kūmoanaākea, 15, and Keolaonākai’elua, 14, expressed profound gratitude: “Nā Hale O Maui has made it possible not only for myself and my keiki to continue living here in Maui Komohana but also for the seven generations to come after us. We commit, along with Nā Hale, to keep this house affordable in perpetuity.”

As many as six initial ignition locations were found when crews arrived on scene to fight the Piʻihana Road fire on Monday morning. The fire was first reported at 9:16 a.m. on July 22, 2024. It burned a total of four acres before forward progress was stopped at 11:36 a.m., and it was fully contained at 2:45 p.m. One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat distress, according to fire officials.

“If we can understand them, understand their behavior and what they’re doing, then it can tell us a lot about some of the changes that are taking place in the ocean. The whales are amazing themselves, but they’re even more valuable when we think about them as these, basically, indicators of ocean health.” — Marc Lammers, research ecologist with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

Epic Swim Maui’s Andy Donaldson, John Kalemakali’i Clark, Ryan Leong and Stefan Reinke are still able to become the first to successfully complete the circumnavigation of Maui.

Maui County Council members unanimously approved today a resolution authorizing a global settlement of all wildfire litigation filed against the county for wrongful deaths, injuries and property damage stemming from the Aug. 8-9 wildfires in Lahaina and Upcountry.

The Hawai‘i State Board of Education (Board) today approved the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s (HIDOE) recommendation to grant a waiver that would allow for the closures of the Lahaina public schools on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfires. 

“We don’t have club water polo, so I just kind of saw the need for these athletes to continue and to introduce new athletes to the sport so that we’re not so far behind as we move into the high school seasons,” said Shawn Donohue, former Baldwin High School girls water polo coach.

Hawaiian Electric recently installed the first camera station in Lahaina and has plans to deploy a total of 78 stations in elevated fire risk areas on the five islands served by the company, with each location having two cameras to provide a full 360-degree view. The camera feeds will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“There’s very, very traditional ways to fight fire. And with the weather that we’re facing now, we have to sometimes think outside the box, how it’s going to impact communities faster,” Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said.

With the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina and Upcountry wildfires drawing near, business owners are pausing to reflect on their resilience and ability to withstand adversity, including losses of life, property and livelihood.

Firefighters battling the Haleakalā Crater Road fire have been challenged by difficult terrain, lava fields on the mauka side of the fire, soft soil when cutting firebreaks, swirling winds and low humidity. Maui fire officials note that while each fire is different, they have identified new technologies and organization that have helped to keep agencies better connected.

Dreams of homeownership came true for a young Maui family when Na Hale O Maui Executive Director Cassandra Abdul presented Codie and Pelemarie Chong with the keys to their new home on Meheu Circle in the Traditions at Maui Lani, Friday.

The Crater Road Fire has burned 574 acres since it was first reported on Wednesday evening. By 7 p.m. on Sunday, fire officials declared the fire 80% contained. Personnel with the Maui Fire Department will utilize an engine and a tanker overnight to monitor conditions, with work resuming on Monday.

The Crater Road fire has consumed more than 500 acres and was 40% contained at last report. Due to improving conditions Maui County officials have lifted the advisory for residents in affected areas to prepare for potential evacuations. The advisory was issued at 4:11 p.m. on Friday for the area above Kekaulike and Haleakalā highways between Upper Kimo and Waipoli roads, and was lifted at 6:57 p.m. today. Fire crews from Maui Fire Department, DOFAW, National Parks, and Air National Guard were on scene throughout the day, fighting the fire. An evacuation shelter at the King Kekaulike High School gym closed at 2 p.m., but will remain on standby if needed.

The price of a single-family home in Maui County soared to $1.35 million in June, up 30.8% over the same month last year, the Realtors Association of Maui reports. Meanwhile, condos remained virtually unchanged at $980,000.

Maui County officials issued an update shortly before 9 p.m., notifying the public there are NO evacuations called at this time. However, Maui Police Department officers are going through Kula neighborhoods notifying residents to PREPARE to evacuate if necessary and to sign up for MEMA Alerts.

“It’s distressing to all of us, even if it’s not coming right in our nearest vicinity, it’s still triggering, as it would be for anybody, either in Lahaina or Kula, that went through what we went through last year,” said Melissa James of The Ohana Animal Inn in Kula.