In Case You Missed It

“We don’t want anybody to be by themselves on days like this. We want them to be with their neighbors, their friends, their family, with us,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said.

The strength of community and the dedication of first responders were highlighted Friday on the two-year anniversary of the 2023 Maui wildfires at the Kuhinia Maui Midday Gathering on the front lawn of Kalana O Maui County building in Wailuku.

Just two years after the devastating wildfires, the Lahaina Community Land Trust is fighting what it calls a ‘second disaster’: the loss of a local community with deep generational roots to post-fire gentrification. The group announced Thursday it has secured 13 parcels of land, paving the way for up to 34 new housing units to be built and kept in local hands.

Single-family home sales rose modestly by 5.3% compared to July 2024, with the median sales price increasing 9.6% to $1,315,000.

The highly anticipated Apple TV+ series “Chief of War” debuted to rave reviews on Aug. 1, bringing to life the story of warrior Kaʻiana and the rise of Kamehameha ʻEkahi (King Kamehameha) as he fights to unify the islands in the late 1700s. Set across nine episodes, the series is a groundbreaking portrayal of pre-contact Hawaiʻi, featuring ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) and a predominantly Polynesian cast. […]

Through the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program funded by the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF), 90 homeowners in Lahaina and Kula have been able to complete property surveys at no cost. By the end of this month, another 66 surveys will be completed. That means 156 homeowners can now apply for permits to begin their rebuilds—with funds still available for another 544 applicants. 

The Maui County Fair is back Oct. 2-5 at the War Memorial Complex after a six-year absence, but organizers are now faced with the challenge of fundraising an additional $500,000 for infrastructure beyond the $1.5 million already allocated by the Maui County Council.

“The public information, or lack thereof, causes tremendous angst and panic, and we wanted to ensure that we improve in that area,” MEMA Administrator Amos Lonokailua-Hewett said.

Maui Now and Managing Editor and journalist, Wendy Osher were recognized by the Society of Professional Journalism Hawaiʻi with a second place award for multimedia reporting, and third place for overall news site.

Tsunami waves generated by distant earthquakes take hours to reach the Hawaiian Islands, giving people time to evacuate vulnerable areas. Local tsunami, however, do not need to travel far to reach our shores, leaving a much shorter time to respond.

The Maui Police Department has announced the release of the final After-Action Report (AAR) regarding the wildfires that occurred on Aug. 8, 2023. This report provides a comprehensive review of the department’s response and outlines 35 recommendations for improving future emergency operations.

The mass evacuations, business closures and frequent warnings from government officials about Tuesday’s tsunami warning reflect the serious approach to potential disasters two years after the deadly fires on Maui.

Fifteen-year-old Milaniakai Padilla, a rising sophomore at Seabury Hall, has become the first beach volleyball player from Maui to win two national titles in one summer.

The tsunami advisory has ended for the state of Hawaiʻi effective at 8:58 a.m. HST. Tsunami wave heights across the state are now below advisory levels and are continuing to diminish.

The Central East Maui Little League All-Stars won the West Region championship at the Little League Intermediate 50/70 level in Nogales, Ariz., on Thursday. The win advances the Maui team to the Little League Intermediate 50/70 World Series in Livermore, Calif., Sunday through Aug. 3.  The CEMLL ran up a 7-0 record in the tournament […]

Members of the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee voted 6-3 on Thursday to recommend passage of Bill 9 on first reading, reaching a milestone in a review process that saw more than 300 people testify for and against the bill over the course of five days this summer. The measure would phase-out […]

Op-Ed: Lahaina Strong’s De Andre Makakoa Takahashi shares his thoughts on the STR housing crisis and the movement’s road from protest to policy.

Mayor Richard Bissen today announced that the Maui County Fair, along with E.K. Fernandez rides, is officially returning to Wailuku from Oct. 2-5, 2025, adding that the County of Maui is sponsoring the comeback.

Having two players from Maui drafted in the same year is rare — in 1999, Wehiwa’s dad Jamie Aloy and future World Series champ Shane Victorino were chosen in the same draft.

The 88-unit temporary housing complex for fire survivors has taken 1 1/2 years longer to build that expected, and risen in cost from $14 to $20 million, but the need for it has not diminished.