The Expeditions Maui-Lānaʻi Ferry is expanding service with three round trips per day, seven days a week, starting the week of June 3, 2024. The expanded service is aimed at meeting passenger demand.

Suspension of service disconnections for all Hawaiian Electric customers on Maui has been extended through at least July 2, 2024, in accordance with the extension of Gov. Josh Green’s emergency proclamation.

In a demonstration of unity and support for the Lahaina community, the Hawaiʻi Catholic Community Foundation and Maria Lanakila Church announce the upcoming Spiritual and Wellness Health Fair on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at the Royal Lahaina Resort’s Aliʻi Ballroom from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Deardorff will present “Microbes as Human Indicators of Human Health Risk after the Lahaina Wildfires” to an audience of biomedical professionals at the 2024 National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE) Conference in June.

The House of Representatives officially adjourned sine die, marking the conclusion of the 32nd Legislature on Friday. House Committee on Finance Chair Kyle T. Yamashita (D-12 Upcountry Maui) said, “We approached the crafting of the state budget with careful consideration, reflecting the House’s dedication to fiscal prudence, accountability, and transparency. As we commenced this legislative session, our immediate […]

Gov. Josh Green followed through on his pledge to sign Senate Bill 2919, clarifying the counties’ authority to regulate short-term rentals. Mayor Richard Bissen has already moved ahead with introducing a bill to phase-out thousands of short-term rentals to open up long-term housing for residents.

After 175 days, the Lahaina Strong group announced its end to the occupation of Kāʻanapali Beach as part of its Fishing for Dignified Housing initiative.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D. signed Senate Bill 582 into law on Thursday, allocating $385.4 million in emergency appropriations to support relief efforts on Maui, following the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires. This funding package includes provisions to assist efforts by the state and the County of Maui to support families and individuals impacted by the August 2023 wildfires, as well as bolstering the state’s One ʻOhana Fund. 

Thousands of short-term vacation rental apartments could begin switching to long-term housing for residents as early as July 1, 2025, for West Maui, and Jan. 1, 2026, for the rest of Maui County in a proposed measure announced today by Mayor Richard Bissen.

Hawaiʻi Community Lending announces a new Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program. This three-year program will assist up to 500 owner-occupant Lahaina homeowners prevent foreclosure and qualify for financing to rebuild their homes.

The County of Maui filed a third-party complaint on Wednesday in the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit, State of Hawaiʻi, against Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile US, Spectrum Mobile, and AT&T related to the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

Maui United Way stepped in today to provide emergency stop-gap funding to a hui of organizations led by Common Ground Collective dedicated to feeding vulnerable fire-impacted families on Maui’s West Side while also providing a boost to local farmers.

The Maui County Department of Environmental Management filed a complaint Tuesday in 2nd Circuit Court for condemnation of nearly 20 acres of former quarry land next to the Central Maui Landfill in Puʻunēnē.

The state of Hawai‘i and its partners broke ground and held a Hawaiian blessing ceremony Tuesday for a Ka Laʻi Ola, a 450-unit temporary housing project in Lahaina to help displaced wildfire survivors who’re ineligible for aid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Reyn Spooner raised more than $15,000 for the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund on Lahaina Sailor Day on April 7, 2024. This recent effort brings the total contributions from the aloha wear company and its dedicated customers to more than $120,000 for disaster relief and recovery following the devastating wildfires in Maui.

The Kaiser Permanente Lahaina Clinic sign was all that was left standing after the Aug. 8 wildfire swept through historic Lahaina town and leveled the Waineʻe Street clinic where doctors and nurses cared for patients’ colds and flu, broken bones and expectant moms since opening its doors in 1969. And, so a 7.5-foot woven lei was a fitting way to connect the past, present and future at Kaiser’s official Hoʻōla (meaning to rejuvenate, to give life and energy, to heal) event Tuesday at the clinic’s new 5,200-square-foot location at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort in Kāʻanapali.

A family of four from Lahaina received keys on Tuesday to the very first home at the new Ke Ao Maluhia development at Maui Lani in Kahului. The development will serve as interim housing for Maui wildfire survivors. Located near the intersection of Pu‘umakani and Kea St., the project is a collaborative effort between the state of Hawai‘i, Maui County, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, FEMA, and the American Red Cross. The first phase, set to be completed in June, includes 34 homes. An additional 16 homes will be completed in July, for a total of 50 units.

“We cannot pretend that we are still in the wake of a smoldering burn zone, and any roof over anyone’s head is an acceptable alternative. We are too far from that moment to not think about what is happening to the island of Maui, its economy and its people,” said Sen. Schatz.

There were 206,049 visitors to Maui in March 2024, down significantly compared to 276,485 visitors (-25.5%) in March 2023 and 271,934 visitors (-24.2%) in March 2019, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club celebrated the opening of the Manaʻolana Garden with a blessing ceremony on Monday, as part of the recovery and reforestation efforts in Lahaina. The grow hub, created in partnership with Treecovery, hosts 125 locally sourced fruit tree saplings that will be replanted in West Maui.