Maui News

There were 114 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 80 on O‘ahu, 11 on Maui, 10 on Hawai‘i Island, three on Kaua‘i, and 10 in Hawai‘i residents diagnosed outside of the state. Maui cases included four cases in Lahaina, three in Kīhei, two in Makawao and one each in Kahului and Wailuku. Kīhei and Wailuku are both in the medium range for infections over the past two weeks with Kīhei having 27 cases in the last 14 days and Wailuku with 12 cases over the same period.

Recent and persistent rainfall, especially over the east end of the island chain, has caused soils to become saturated and streams to be elevated along windward areas of Maui and the Big Island. An upper trough moving into the area along with abundant low level moisture, creates the potential for flash flooding.

Film crews wrapped production on Temptation Island. Maui is also the backdrop of the new HBO mini-series entitled The White Lotus which is half way through filming on an eight-week schedule at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority released its Hawaiʻi Vacation Rental Performance Report for October with Maui County showing a 21 percent occupancy rate for vacation rentals and 14.2 percent for hotels.

Tom’s Backhoe & Excavation and the Maui Department of Water Supply will be performing work on the County’s water system that will result in a water shutdown for part of Kahului from Tuesday night, Nov. 24 to Wednesday morning, Nov. 25, 2020. 

The IRS has approved the online marketplace MauiHub.org as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Effective June 29, 2020, all donations made to Maui Hub after that date are tax-deductible.

Hawaiian Airlines today announced it is offering drive-through and walk-up COVID-19 pre-flight tests for its guests traveling to the islands from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland and Seattle.

A team of eight officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement conducted a law enforcement operation on Sunday night at Little Beach in Mākena State Park on Maui.

Alaska Airlines pledged to plant nearly 900 trees as part of its commitment to supporting Hawai’i Tourism Authority’s “Mālama Hawai‘i” initiative. In partnership with the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, Alaska Airlines will also plant one tree for every flight it will fly to the Hawaiian Islands until the end of the year. 

There were 123 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 97 on O‘ahu, 14 on Hawai‘i Island, six on Kaua‘i, four on Maui, and two in Hawai‘i residents diagnosed outside of the state. Maui cases were included one in Kahului and three Kīhei.

Kamehameha Schools Maui is partnering with local farmers to provide meals to its students and families through E Pū Paʻakai Kākou. In the last two months, through its ‘ohana meal program, the school has provided more than 1,800 meals to KSM families at drive-through distributions at its campus in the ahupuaʻa of ʻAʻapueo.

The Aloha Council hosts its annual Tee-Up for Scouting golf tournament Nov. 2 to Dec. 15.  The event benefits thousands of boys and girls enrolled in Cub Scout Packs, Scout Troops, and Venturing Crews.

The annual Kōkua 4 A Cause fundraiser for breast cancer or K4C concludes this weekend, but there’s still time to help.

The Maui County Planning Department launched a public engagement workshop on its We Are Maui website which, will remain open through the end of the year.  To participate in the workshop, visit the We Are Maui website and click on the “Get Involved” tab.

Crews from the state Department of Transportation are working on a number of project that will result in lane closures on Maui between Nov. 21-27.  

Maui Obituaries: Week Ending Nov. 20, 2020. May they rest in peace.

There were 163 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 123 on O‘ahu, 15 on Hawai‘i Island, 12 on Maui, four on Kaua‘i and nine in Hawai‘i residents diagnosed outside of the state. Maui cases were reported in Kahului, Wailuku, Lahaina, Kīhei and Kula. Kīhei darkened to the medium range last week with 21 cases reported there in the last 14 days. Wailuku darkened to the medium range today, with 11 cases reported there in the last 14 days.  

“The new department will be dedicated to making local farming a more economically viable, environmentally friendly industry that will promote residents’ food security and access to healthy food,” said Councilmember Shane Sinenci.

The state is restricting the movement of coffee from Maui and Hawaiʻi Island after infestations of coffee leaf rust were discovered on both islands.  An interim rule, established by the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, Plant Quarantine Branch went into effect on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.

Maui lawmakers secured leadership roles including: Justin Woodson who will serve as Chair of the Education Committee; Angus McKelvey and Tina Wildberger as Chair and Vice Chair of the Government Reform Committee respectively; Lynn DeCoite as Vice Chair of the Higher Education and Technology Committee; and Troy Hashimoto as Vice Chair of the Housing Committee.