The Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) recently donated $29,000 to nonprofit organizations, including the Maui Food Bank and Feed My Sheep Maui.

Imua Family Services successfully concluded its second annual Pedal Imua event last weekend netting a profit of $17,000. The 60-mile “gran fondo” tours cyclists around the famed West Maui Loop, and raises funds for Dream Imua, a program that grants child-directed dream days to children in crisis or who have experienced life-altering circumstances.

“It’s never been more important to support our local businesses—and shopping locally for everyone on your holiday list is the perfect way to do it,” Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate suggests.  

The new building will be more than double the size of its current Wailuku branch and main office and will replace the Wili Pā Loop location. The building is anticipated to be completed in mid-2022.

ClimbingHI LLC (Cody Clark) earned the award for Exceptional Small Business of the Year with 10 or fewer employees.

The new ecotour offering will feature smaller-groups at a portion of the cost of a private charter. Private Tour Shared Experiences allow passengers to share an intimate experience with a maximum of four groups of two to 10 people each.

Maui Health will be conducting a table-top exercise today to practice and isolate any issues in the transport and storage of the COVID-19 vaccine, when it arrives in Maui County.  

Hawaiian Electric permanently closed its walk-in payment centers in Honolulu, Kahului, Hilo, Kona and Molokaʻi due to declining use and customers adapting to other payment options. The payment centers have been closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawaiian Airlines has begun ticket sales for nonstop service that starts in March between Honolulu and three mainland cities: Austin, TX; Ontario, CA; and Orlando, FL.

As Pukalani Superette celebrates its 65th anniversary this month, the business is passing the torch to a new generation of leadership.  

Ampaire, a global leader in electric aviation, is the first to complete a demonstration flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft along an actual airline route. The company flew its Electric EEL aircraft on Nov. 22 on a 20-minute flight from Maui’s Kahului Airport across the island to Hāna and back on a single charge.

Hawaiian Community Assets partnered with Akakū: Maui Community Media to launch a series of community meetings that will inform the County of Maui’s Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan. The first community will start tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Zoom and will be limited to 100 attendees. 

Kaiser Permanente, Hawaiʻi announced Greg Christian and Dr. John Yang will be the new leadership team for its Hawaiʻi operations.

Bank of Hawaiʻi reopens its Kahana Branch, effective Monday, Dec. 7 located at 4405 Honoapiʻilani Hwy., Lahaina. The Kahana branch has been temporarily closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Maui resident and best-selling author Laura DiBenedetto delivered a virtual TEDx talk last week about practical hope during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce invites the community to participate in a free, Virtual Talk Story session about Hālau Perseverance on Dec. 15 with speakers Keali‘i Reichel and Kau‘i Kanaka‘ole.

Walmart paid an additional $880,000 in quarterly bonuses to its Hawai’i associates in their Nov. 25 paychecks, following a strong third-quarter business performance. An estimated $960,000 in special cash bonuses will also be paid on Dec. 24 in recognition of its associates’ sustained commitment to customers during the pandemic. Full and part-time Hawai’i associates are eligible for both bonuses.

As part of the ʻOhana Pacific family of facilities, Hale Makua Kahului is participating in a virtual talent show competition.

Subaru Hawaiʻi launched its “Tools for Schools” program today in support of local educators and students across the state. Local educators with their educator ID badges can stop by any Subaru Hawaiʻi dealership and will be provided complimentary school supplies.

T S Restaurants of Hawaii and California hosted a “Generous Slice of Hula Pie” event in November at its 13 restaurants that raised $11,681 for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.