Maui News

Maui Mall Village is celebrating the holiday season with a series of festive events and activities designed to spread joy and support the local community. One of the most significant efforts this year is the Season of Giving: A Holiday Food Drive, in partnership with the Maui Food Bank.

Lahaina Cannery invites the public to celebrate the magic of the season with a free concert by the popular island band High Watah on Dec. 21, 2024. This festive performance marks the grand finale of Lahaina Cannery’s annual Holiday Cheer events.

The 2024 Hawaiʻi Food System Summit, organized by the Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together initiative, recently wrapped up their third annual event, which drew over 200 attendees.

In response to the detection of the avian flu virus in Hawai‘i’s wastewater and wild birds, state agencies are urging the public to voluntarily pause the interisland movement of poultry and other bird species for 90 days, effective immediately. This recommendation follows the suggestion of Moloka‘i State Senator and farmer Lynn DeCoite and is a proactive measure aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus.

Maui motorists are advised of potential slow downs on Kula Highway (Route 37), on Monday, Dec. 16 and Wednesday, Dec. 18 for routine bridge inspection.

The Department of Law Enforcement Narcotics Enforcement Division is changing the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to help prevent drug overdoses and deaths from lethal drug combinations.

The Maui Emergency Management Agency invites residents to join the virtual kickoff meeting for the Maui County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update working group on Tuesday, Dec. 17 from noon to 1 p.m.

Motorists on Maui are advised of potential traffic delays as modular homes for wildfire survivors are transported from Kahului Harbor to FEMA’s Kilohana temporary group housing site in Lahaina over the next two weeks.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation notifies highway users of potential traffic delays beginning Tuesday, Dec. 17 to Wednesday, Dec. 18 as crews check pavement quality on four state highways on Moloka‘i.

Despite the recent dry conditions, rainfall totals for 2024 through the end of November were still near to above average at most of the gages across Maui County. The rain gage at West Wailuaiki Stream had the highest year-to-date total of 198.49 inches (95% of average).

The US Coast Guard completed the medevac of a 52-year-old man from Midway Atoll Thursday.  Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders received notification from US Fish and Wildlife personnel at 10 a.m. Tuesday that a contractor fell from a roof and injured his ankle.

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined six of her colleagues in calling on President Joe Biden to protect immigrant families before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. In addition to Senator Hirono, the letter was also signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Alex Padilla (D-CA).

With visitors choosing to go elsewhere, Maui County can expect “slow progress” in its economic recovery in the wake of the August 2023 wildfire disaster, according to economics professor Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization.

A “procedural requirement” sidelined the hotly disputed Honuaʻula master-planned community Thursday, after it had been posted for first-reading action on tomorrow’s Maui County Council agenda.

The Maui Police Department is seeking the public’s help with any information on the whereabouts of Hollee Dela Cruz, 32, of Lahaina. Dela Cruz was reported missing on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, by a family member after she had not been heard from since Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. She was last seen by acquaintances on or about Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in the Wailuku area.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority has announced its upcoming community partnerships focused on natural resources, cultural initiatives, festivals and signature events. HTA is reinvesting nearly $3 million in partnerships with 105 community-based organizations, projects, programs and events taking place across Hawai‘i from January 1 to June 30, 2025.

The club has been through a lot since the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, which claimed the life of one member and the homes of 40 members. While the December gathering last year was subdued and a reunion of members scattered across the island, this year’s event was a more traditional, festive holiday gathering.

Interferograms are images created by radar satellites that show how the ground has changed shape, or deformed, over time. Today, scientists dive into one of the trickiest parts of interpreting interferograms: the perspective of satellites.

The IRS will be providing failure to pay penalty relief to nearly 600 Maui taxpayers, which equates to about $300,000 in relief – an average of about $500 per taxpayer. This is separate from disaster relief previously announced in August 2023, that postponed various tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for individuals and businesses in Maui and Hawaiʻi counties until Aug. 7, 2024. 

As part of the Connect Kākou Initiative, the County of Maui is inviting residents of Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi to take a brief survey on their internet access and use, devices used, community resources needed and household demographics.