Maui News

Volunteers with the American Red Cross responded to a residential fire on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. The fire was reported at 5 p.m. in a home on Manini Place in Kīhei.

Homeowners of the Kapalua residential communities held a Community Giveback on Oct. 17 and raised more than $100,000 to purchase food boxes to distribute to more than 1,000 families in need.

Hawaiian Airlines today announced it will continue to provide ‘Ohana by Hawaiian passenger flights between Honolulu and both Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i through at least mid-January 2021. Earlier this month Hawaiian announced the need to suspend both routes on Nov. 1.

For Hawaiʻi’s 2020 Tree Planting Day, Maui farming company Mahi Pono will plant 300 native milo and ulu trees in partnership with ReTree Hawaiʻi.

There were 38 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 26 on O‘ahu, nine on Hawai‘i Island, two  in Hawaiʻi residents diagnosed outside of the state and one on the island of Kauaʻi. On Lānaʻi, there were no new cases since yesterday as officials await results of further testing.  The total number of infections associated with the recent outbreak is 78, since the outbreak was first reported on Lānaʻi on Tuesday.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources is concerned about a recent increase in harmful interactions between fishermen and monk seals. This year, 24 monk seal hookings already have been reported on O’ahu.

As Lāna‘i continues to see a spike in COVID-19 cases, the island is being put under a stay-at-home order starting Tuesday, Oct. 27, to mitigate the spread of the virus. The order was signed by Gov. David Ige this morning. It goes into effect after midnight tonight, at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

The Surfing Goat Dairy in Kula will reopen thanks to a successful “GOat Fund Me” campaign in which 50 of its 100 goats, including Chili Chicken, Maybelline and Edelweiss, were adopted.

A webinar on restoring travel from Japan and featuring travel and tourism executives representing Japanese companies and organizations in Hawai‘i will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

According to the report, unit demand was 8,200 unit nights (-96.2%), resulting in 5.4 percent occupancy (-68.8 percentage points) with an ADR of $236 (-34.0%). Maui County hotels were 16.5 percent occupied with an ADR of $149.

The group is presenting a letter to the mayor which outlines four mitigation strategies including: the establishment of a COVID-19 task force for Maui; the implementation of the Perseus app, an anonymous tracing app already approved by the County Council; a mandatory second test for visitors; and a mask wearing social distancing education campaign by the county.

On the roadways, the state Department of Transportation will be conducting road striping work in Māʻalaea today through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This will result in lane closures and shifts in traffic between mile markers 4 and 7 near the boat harbor.  

There were 121 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 51 on Hawai‘i Island, 49 on the island of O‘ahu, 18 new cases in Maui County and one each on Kauaʻi and in a Hawaiʻi resident diagnosed outside of the state. On Lānaʻi, there were 16 new cases since yesterday, bringing the total number of infections associated with the recent outbreak to 78, since cases were first reported on Lānaʻi on Tuesday.  In addition to the the Lānaʻi outbreak, there was one case each in Kīhei and in Spreckelsville on the island of Maui.

Letters to the Editor: Oct. 25, 2020

Maui Obituary notices for week ending Oct. 24, 2020. May they rest in peace.

Maui Now received multiple reports of a cluster of mysterious lights seen from various parts of the island from Kahului in Central Maui to Pukalani, Olowalu and Nāpili on the West side. Video sent to us across our various media platforms showed a streak of 15-20 twinkling lights slowly pass overhead from the north, traveling southeast just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. 2020.

A Maui woman hikes the entire 180-mile Maui coastline to raise funds for beach cleanups. Along the 15-day journey, Britt Daniels and Love The Sea cleared 3,360 pounds of plastic debris.

There were 90 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 58 on the island of O‘ahu, 16 on Hawai‘i Island and 16 new cases in Maui County.   The Maui cases include one new case in Lahaina and at least 14 new cases on Lāna‘i. Hawai‘i’s COVID-19 death toll increased by three to 212, with three new deaths reported on the island of O‘ahu.

The awards were issued to Shannon Kealoha, a teacher at Maui Waena Intermediate within the Baldwin-Kekaulike-Maui Complex,  and Heidi Jenkins, a science/technology/engineering/math resource teacher for the Maui District Office’s Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lānaʻi-Molokaʻi Complex.

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino provided an update this afternoon saying the total case count on Lāna‘i is now 65 confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the return of additional results.  Mayor Victorino is recommending a stay-at-home order and the closure of Lāna‘i to travel effective on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m.