In Case You Missed It

The search continues for a missing aircraft and the three crew members aboard in waters off of East Maui.

A report from the DOCARE investigating officer found that, based on information from the woman’s husband and an eyewitness, her disappearance is classified as “shark attack-fatal.” The MPD report terms the disappearance as a “miscellaneous accident-fatal.”

Owned by developer Greg Brown, the eight-bedroom, 45-foot-tall house at 5385 Lower Honoapiʻilani Road drew strong community opposition in 2021 over its height and its intended short-term rental use. The unfinished, two-story home originally called for two rooftop pools, eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, along with multiple dens and media rooms.

Nationally, applications for new mortgages have fallen by more than 40%, and figures for Hawaiʻi showed a 56% year-over-year drop in October.

A spokesperson for Hawaii Life Flight tells Maui Now, “Global Medical Response can confirm that one of our Hawaiʻi Life Flight emergency fixed wing airplanes based in Maui, went off radar while enroute to pick up a patient in Waimea Big Island.”

Hawaiian Electric recently donated $15,500 to Ke Kula ‘O Pi‘ilani to support the school’s innovative program that integrates modern science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with traditional Hawaiian knowledge and ‘āina-based learning. 

Painted by Fathima Mohiuddin as a project of nonprofit Maui Public Art Corps, the public artwork is an interpretation of a recorded talk-story between Kekoa Enomoto of ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu and Queen Kaʻahumanu Center’s Kauwela Bisquera, with additional symbolism garnered through Kahului community consultations over a 6-week design period. 

Dozens of people, including supporters, subscribers, and employees of The Maui News showed up for an informational picket Tuesday, in support of “securing a fair contract that protects local news coverage.”

Fukushima Store owner George Fukushima, whose parents started the store more than a half century ago in Haʻikū, said he is not doing media interviews. He reluctantly agreed to a brief statement. “On Dec. 23, we will close for the holidays,” Fukushima told Maui Now on Tuesday. “We will decide after that.”

For a list of upcoming events, concerts, shows and entertainment for Dec. 15-21, find our comprehensive listing HERE.

“Kīlauea may have been diminishing already, and the Mauna Loa eruption may have caused enough physical changes to stop it, or it may have just been headed to stop on its own,” said Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Scientist in Charge Ken Hon, noting that scientists will continue to study any possible relation between the waning activity at the two sites over the next year or so as they comb through additional data.

The publication marks a new milestone in the telescope’s first year of its Operations Commissioning Phase, providing direct access to the scientific community of data from the world’s most powerful solar telescope atop Haleakalā on Maui.

Incandescence was restricted to the fissure 3 lava cone at Mauna Loa over the weekend, with no observable activity on the rest of the flow field Sunday.  

The volcano alert level at Mauna Loa was reduced from Warning to Watch on Saturday evening, as lava output and gas emissions wane.

A lava pond has replaced the fountains of lava at Mauna Loa’s fissure 3 vent, as scientists report a reduced supply of lava and gas emissions Saturday morning.

The nonprofit Hawai‘i Land Trust will honor Maui’s Dana Naone Hall as its 2023 Champion of the Land. She will be recognized at the 21st-annual Buy Back the Beach benefit lū‘au for her longtime contributions to land conservation in Hawai‘i. 

The search for a missing 60-year-old Washington State woman was called off at noon today, after teams from the Maui Fire Dept., Maui Ocean Safety, and the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement failed to find her. 

The search resumes today for a woman who went missing Thursday while snorkeling in waters off of South Maui. The US Coast Guard is describing the missing individual as a 60 year-old female.

Three men from Kazakhstan were cited on Wednesday after being observed by three different law enforcement agencies, in the closed area of the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve on Hawai‘i Island. It’s the latest in a series of incidents involving trespassers at the eruption site. In one case, a trespasser posted video of himself roasting marshmallows on the volcano. #MauiNow #MaunaLoa

The information was shared as Maui Now inquired about five separate missing persons cases involving adult men in the East Maui area recently. The cases were reported over a span of 10 months, and the list of missing includes both residents and visitors ranging in age from 40-61. Assistant Chief Gregg Okamoto with the Maui Police Department said none of the cases are linked, and there is no suspicion of foul play involved. He said each case is being actively investigated separately as there is no indication that they are related.