In Case You Missed It

For entertainment this week on Maui, multiple Grammy winner George Kahumoku and Jazz Maui are back in West Maui, the 10th annual Made-in-Maui Festival features more than 125 vendors and the University of Maui College hosts an Arts & Resilience event and Touch a Truck for kids. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

The Maui Police Department today announced the establishment of a dedicated Cold Case Detail with a primary focus on unsolved homicides and missing persons cases.

An assessment conducted by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health identified the greatest needs of Lahaina residents affected by the wildfires and evaluated the impact on their physical and mental health. 

Disclaimer: GRAPHIC CONTENT (Police body camera footage contains profanity). “There’s been multiple narratives about what took place on the day of those fires. This body worn camera footage makes it very clear and convincing that the Maui Police Department—the men and women of MPD—went above and beyond, and their actions reflect the finest tradition of this noble profession,” said Chief Pelletier.

While monetary contributions and fundraisers have been helpful, the Kōkua for Maui program offers the public a chance to connect with individuals and businesses and create an added economic boost.

The collection of wooden collectable ornaments will feature participating Maui businesses and will be available for purchase starting on Nov. 3, 2023 on the HI Biz website. Organizers say 50% of the sales from these ornaments will be channeled directly to the affected businesses, aiding their efforts to recover and rebuild.

A research team sighted their first whale of the season out of Māʻalaea on Oct. 25, about 5 miles off the coast of Kīhei, at 8:15 a.m.

Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center announced that it will recognize businesses impacted by the recent Maui wildfires with free rent for three months on a center Cart and a $2,000 cash stipend to help get them back on their feet. 

The County of Maui has submitted a request to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to utilize land in Olowalu near the closed landfill as a final disposition site for disposal of fire debris from the Aug. 8 wildfires.

Sentry leaders surprised four Maui non-profits—Maui United Way, Maui Food Bank, University of Hawaiʻi-Maui, and Boys & Girls Club of Maui—with the donations during a visit to the island earlier this month to better understand the needs of the community.

The state Commission on Water Resource Management held a marathon meeting on Maui Tuesday, lasting nearly nine hours. Members received testimony and updated the public on the Lahaina Aquifer Sector Area including wells in the fire-impacted area, water resources at Kauaʻula and Interim Instream Flow Standards (IIFS) for area waterways.

“Kala is a film that we hope will speak directly to our community and others like it. It is a story about forgiveness and the healing of deep family bonds. It is also a celebration of our unique lifestyle and our reliance on nature and cultural practice as a source for both our sustenance as well as our well-being,” said co-director and writer Matt Yamashita.

For entertainment this week on Maui, there are the Aloha Festivals in Hāna and Wailea; fundraising concerts for Maui wildfire victims, Halloween costume contests around the island, and a performance in Kula by The Voice’s contestant Jason Arcilla. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

On Aug. 8, 2023, as wildfires raged in Lahaina, Maui, the Big Island was simultaneously fighting seven separate wildfires in Kohala. With a High Wind Warning in effect, county officials said they recognized the imperative need for a unified, vigilant approach to monitoring the unfolding situation across the state.

Makana nō nā keiki, a toy drive and holiday experience for children impacted by the Maui fires, announced today the deadline to register keiki wish lists is Oct. 31, 2023. The website has a section for family or friends to register their keiki (ages 18 and below) with a top three wish list.  

The state Department of Health is canceling both RFPs for ambulance service awarded on Maui and Kauaʻi, and directing the procurements to start over. Department officials say the requirement to maintain the current level of staffing for Advanced Life Support was not clearly included in the RFPs.

Mayors from Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island visited Front Street, Lahaina Harbor and a re-entry zone together for the first time on Monday. The site visit comes 11 weeks after the August 2023 Lahaina wildfire that claimed the lives of at least 99 people.

The purpose of the rent and eviction restrictions in the Emergency Proclamation is to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis caused by the August wildfires. “If you believe that a landlord on Maui is acting illegally under the Emergency Proclamation, report what you know to the Department of the Attorney General,” department officials said.

Maui police released photos of the six people who remain unaccounted for following the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire.

In partnership with the state Department of Human Services, Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. is administering the Maui Relief TANF Program that will provide help with housing, auto and utility payments and other expenses for income-eligible families with children who were directly impacted by the Aug. 8 wildfires.