Maui Business

After receiving nearly 200 applications and reading so many compelling stories, the company made the decision to increase its overall donation to accommodate more charities and to spread it among 25 nonprofit organizations across the four states it serves.

The former site of national fitness chain 24 Hour Fitness in Kahului is being transformed into a family-operated, Hawai’i-born gym named The Club Maui. Owned and operated by Danny Crowell and Whitney Correa of Kahului, The Club Maui is slated to open next week to major renovations and gym features. It is the club’s third Maui location.

The Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Ka‘anapali has appointed Mike Kass, who has more than 30 years of leadership experience in sales and hotel operation, as the property’s general manager, effective Feb. 19.

Kalei’s Lunchbox has expanded yet again, this time with a brick-and-mortar restaurant at the Maui Lani Shopping Center, anchored by Safeway in Wailuku. This brings to three, the total number of eateries the ʻohana owned business operates.

Flip Flop Shops, a relaxation and resort footwear retailer for “flip flops,” casual shoes and beach accessories debuts at The Shops at Wailea.

Hale Kipa, a nonprofit organization serving at-risk youth and their families, announced the appointment of Venus Kauʻiokawēkiu Rosete-Medeiros as CEO.

Local restaurant owners said they’re bracing for yet another financial hit to their already struggling small businesses as Maui County’s new booster mandate rolled out Monday. High-risk businesses — restaurants, bars and gyms — must now require proof of boosters from eligible patrons seeking indoor dining or exercising in a revision to the county’s emergency health rules called a “vaccine update.”

In his address, Gov. Ige announced that given recent revenue projections, he is asking the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to return some of those dollars to taxpayers. “We want to issue refund checks of $100 for every taxpayer and for each of their dependents. For a family of four, that would mean an extra $400. In this way, we’ll also inject $110 million back into our economy,” said Gov. Ige.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi awarded grants totaling $225,000 to support three front-line community organizations serving people experiencing homelessness, including a $75,000 grant to Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers on Maui.

To support growth and the expansion of its statewide fiber network, Hawaiian Telcom has promoted three company veterans: Ryan Miyamoto to Director of Product, Pricing & Bid Management; Jason Thune to Executive Director of Fiber Strategy & Deployment; and Filifotu Vaai to Executive Director of Consumer Product & Sales. 

Applications are now being accepted for the Bayer Hawaiʻi Science Education Fund. This Bayer Fund grant program is open to public schools serving students at the intermediate, high school and college grade levels on the islands of Oʻahu, Maui and Molokaʻi.

More than 600,000 Americans die from heart disease every year, and Minit Medical is offering resources to help.

The Airports Division of the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has sold new airports system revenue bonds to fund approximately $230 million of essential projects to modernize and expand air service facilities across the state. 

Maui, Hawaʻi is ranked the #2, 2022 destination based on trip searches on Vrbo and #5 based on trip searches on Expedia. The rankings were released today in the Expedia Group’s 2022 Outlook report.

Speaker Saiki reports that “the House will advance legislation to increase the hourly minimum wage to $18, increase the food tax credit, and make the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable and permanent.”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan have committed $50 million over seven years to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology for the support of research groups working to restore Hawaiʻi’s ocean health. 

Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate was named a “Producer of Excellence” and given the Gold Award in the Asia-Pacific Region in the International 2021 Cocoa of Excellence Awards, announced virtually from Rome, Italy, on Dec. 16.

The first Money Matters Adult Financial Literacy Workshop series of the new year, offered by Maui Economic Opportunityʻs Business Development Center, will be held 10 a.m. to noon, Jan. 19 and 20.

Turo owners on Maui struggle as car rental prices dropped in 2021.

Temporary interisland shipping disruptions are expected for small container or palletized shipping as a result of COVID-19 related worker impacts at the Young Brothers shipyard on Maui, Mayor Michael Victorino confirmed.