In Case You Missed It

Two West Maui locations and the Central Maui Landfill are under consideration as permanent disposal sites for an estimated 400,000 cubic yards of ash and debris to be removed from Lahaina wildfire burn zones.

Executives with Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines discussed their recently announced merger agreement during a fireside chat hosted by the Maui Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

Maui High School’s Blue Thunder 1 robotics team finished as a tournament finalist and took home the Energy Award after competing last week in the 2024 Hawaiʻi Middle and High School VEX Robotics Regional Championships on Oahu.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start Lahaina site, the only preschool in town spared by the Aug. 8 wildfires, will reopen Thursday, Feb. 1, following extensive cleaning, repairs, renovations and clearances for health and safety.

Increased earthquake activity and inflationary ground deformation at Kīlauea’s summit began occurring during the early morning hours of Jan. 31, 2024, indicating movement of magma in the subsurface, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Scientists with the HVO issued an activity notice, but noted that Kīlauea volcano is not erupting.

A year ago today, nearly 700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex at Haleakalā’s summit. Since then Air Force reports its officials have worked with the Maui community and Native Hawaiian organizations to remediate the site.

A total of 2,124 whales were observed throughout the state during the Great Whale Count and Ocean Count held Saturday, Jan. 27. Organizers say this number may represent duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers or at different time periods or different locations throughout the day.

Six months after reaching a settlement with owners of a luxury yacht for its grounding, removal and damage to natural resources, the owners still have not paid the thousands of dollars owed to the state.

After paddling miles and hours on the ocean, two kayakers ended up off the shore of Launiupoko, and there it was: a humpback mother whale “tail sailing” beside her calf.

Hawaiian Electric is continuing restoration work to rebuild portions of the electric system in Lahaina in an effort to ensure safe and reliable power to all West Maui customers following the August 2023 wildfires. Ongoing restoration efforts include the rebuilding of transmission and distribution lines along former routes in the Lahaina area with the installation of new interim steel poles and electrical equipment.

At its upcoming meeting on Jan. 26, 2024, the Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider enforcement action against the owners of the vessel Nakoa, which, in February 2023, grounded outside the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Bay Marine Life Conservation District. In the incident, 119 specimens of stony coral and 1640.5 square meters of live rock were damaged.

New research reveals a daily pattern pattern for humpback whale songs which dominate the marine soundscape during the winter months off Maui. Researchers with the University of Hawai’i, in partnership with NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary found that whales move their singing away from shore throughout the day and return to the nearshore in the evening.

Maui County Councilmember Gabe Johnson announced the introduction of state legislation seeking to mandate access to paid family leave for state and county employees.

Registration began Monday to those interested in participating in an axis deer control hunt program on Hawaiian Home Lands in Waiohuli.

“Community land trusts are nonprofits that buy and own land with the purpose of keeping it in community control, to be used as the community determines. The buildings and homes on the land can be owned by individual families but are tethered to the land trust by a lease with terms determined by the trust. This allows the CLT and its members to make sure that the property is protected forever, and that it is used for purposes that serve the community, whatever the community decides that is: housing, culture, agriculture, etc..”

Maui police arrested a Makawao man after he failed to stop at a road closure on Haleakalā Highway where an active investigation was underway into a fatal motor vehicle accident reported about three hours earlier. The incident ended as the man’s SUV collided into the rear of a parked MPD fleet vehicle.

Gov. Green announced a Housing Hawaiʻi’s ʻOhana plan, vowing to sign into law any legislation that will help move short-term rentals and vacant investment properties owned by non-residents into the local housing market. He also is said he would declare a moratorium on all short-term rentals in West Maui if he is unable to find enough housing for displaced families in the next six weeks.

The Maui County Veterans Council, in collaboration with the County of Maui, extend an invitation to attend The Wall That Heals, Vietnam Memorial, at the War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku. The exhibit opens on Friday, Feb. 9 and will run until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Chef Zach Laidlaw, of Maui’s Hua Momona Farms, competes on the upcoming season of the FOX show “Next Level Chef” hosted by Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay.

At the end of a nearly four-mile walk, community organizer Archie Kalepa addressed a crowd gathered at Launiupoko saying, “The depth of our grief and the warmth of our aloha is overwhelming. Today marks a different kind of point in the history of this place.”