Maui Business

Minit Medical Urgent Care is offering video visits, drive-up services and in-clinic visits for all urgent care needs at all three of its Maui locations in an effort to relieve stress on the hospital.

The meetings are being held to seek public input on the utility’s five proposed battery energy storage systems.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has gifted $4 million in emergency grant funding, including $400,000 in Hawai‘i, to help stabilize nonprofits that are facing a myriad of challenges while continuing to provide vital services to those who are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

Maui had a total of 136 passengers arriving on the Valley Isle, including 81 crew members, 44 residents and 11 visitors, according to new numbers compiled by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Association. 

In response to the urgent need for personal protective equipment or PPEs, Bank of Hawaiʻi announced that the company will be donating more than 1,200 face shields and masks, as well as making a $100,000 contribution to the Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi.

The automatic extension applies only to patients with 329 cards expiring in March and April of this year. (The order does not apply to out-of-state patients). Patients are not required to take any action to receive the extension.

Hawaiian Electric has received dozens of fraud reports from across its five-island service area since late last week, with “many more likely going unreported.” On Wednesday alone, there were 23 fraud reports received on Oʻahu by 1 p.m.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission approved an emergency postponement of mortgage payments for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands direct loans and loans assigned to DHHL during a special emergency meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, as the State faces the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data shows there were 4,131 arrivals in the state on Tuesday, March 24.  The majority, 3,334 were to the island of Oʻahu. While neighbor island totals were not provided, the remaining arrivals within the state (outside of Oʻahu) totaled 797 passengers. 

Effective Monday, March 30, 2020, Maui County Federal Credit Union will have new hours to include the following: Kahului branch – closed; Wailuku and Lahaina branches – Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Effective Wednesday, March 25, 2020, Hawaii State Federal Credit Union (Hawaii State FCU) will reserve the first hour of branch operations for seniors and those living with serious pre-existing conditions to protect this high-risk group from potential exposure to COVID-19.  

The first hour of each day, from Monday through Friday at Central Pacific Bank, is now designated as a time for kūpuna and those most at risk for COVID-19 to complete their banking. 

This wide-ranging legislation will inject $2 trillion into boosting funding to our medical system, providing economic support to workers, small businesses, and state and local governments that are bearing the brunt of the necessary but difficult measures being put in place to combat the coronavirus.

Launched with $75,000, the safety net funding will respond to the following areas impacting residents of Maui County: food, rental and utility assistance, education and medical. These funds will be offered in individual grants to non-profits supporting these specific areas within Maui County.

Guests traveling on Hawaiian’s Neighbor Island network will continue to have flight options throughout the day with 41 daily roundtrip flights scheduled for April. From Honolulu there will be 38 daily flights, including 13 to Maui, eight to Kona, seven to Kaua‘i, six to Hilo, and two each to Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i. From Maui there will be one roundtrip each to Hilo, Kaua‘i and Kona in addition to Honolulu service.

The percentage drop of arriving passengers is down 87 percent from the same period last year (4,131 arriving passengers as of 3-24-20 compared to 32,330 on the same day in 2019).

The Victorino administration has already requested a Fiscal Year 2020 budget amendment for an appropriation of $4 million from the Emergency Fund and $2 million for the HELP program. The HELP program will help residents meet their basic financial needs.

The list of hotels around Maui and across the state are rolling out plans to address the reduced visitor load and mass cancellations as mandatory quarantines for arriving travelers, and newly implemented stay-at-home orders go into effect.  The newly announced temporary suspension of operations are a result of actions being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 and avoid overburdening limited medical resources. 

Grand Wailea is preparing care packages for employees and the community, including Feed My Sheep and the Maui Food Bank, using the hotel’s perishable food stock. The hotel’s current inventory of toilet paper is being shared with team members.

Senator J. Kalani English (Hāna, East and Upcountry Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i and Kaho‘olawe) expressed his thanks to Bank of Hawai‘i for keeping the Hāna branch in operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.