Maui News

The Hawai‘i Supreme Court will use video conferencing to conduct its May 5 oral argument. This is the first time a supreme court oral argument will be held via video conference, with the five justices and the parties’ attorneys participating from separate locations.

Effective Friday, May 1, 2020, the County of Maui Department of Transportation is suspending two additional Maui Bus commuter routes because of substantial reductions in passenger demand caused by COVID-19.

For a third day this week, Maui County had no trans-Pacific flights (domestic flights) from the mainland on Saturday. Of the 112 interisland passengers that arrived at Kahului Airport on Thursday, April 23 (2020), 89 were from O‘ahu and 16 were from Lāna‘i.  Of the 23 passengers that arrived at Moloka‘i Airport, 12 were from O‘ahu and 11 were from Maui.  Of the 18 passengers that arrived at Lāna‘i Airport, 3 were from O‘ahu and 15 were from Maui.

As of noon on Sunday, April 26, 2020, there are 606 cases of COVID-19 identified in Hawaiʻi with 2 new cases, including one additional case each on Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island. To date, 488 people have recovered including 74 in Maui County.  This means there are 118 active cases in the state and 38 active cases in Maui County.

Maui Family Support Services Inc. captured surveillance images of two individuals allegedly stealing gas from their nonprofit vehicle early Monday morning. The incident was reported at around 2:30 am. on Monday, April 20, 2020 at the business located at 1844 Wili Pa Loop in Wailuku.  

The The Kālaimoku Group is hosting a virtual concert as a call to all Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders to complete the 2020 Census. The hour-long production will feature five of Hawaiʻi’s top musicians and entertainers, including Henry Kapono and Friends, Kapena, Barry Flanagan, and Grammy Award nominees Josh Tatofi and Kimié Miner.

Readthe full text of the Governor’s sixth supplementary proclamation, which effectively extends the state’s stay-at-home orders through May 31st and extends the state’s 14-day mandatory travel quarantine through the end of May.

Gov. Ige has extended the 14-day mandatory travel quarantine for people arriving in the state and the stay-at-home order until May 31, 2020.  The proclamation also notes that people can now run or walk on state beaches for exercise.

COVID-19 Restrictions Prevent Post-Mortem Exam.

As of noon on Saturday, April 25, 2020, there are 604 cases of COVID-19 identified in Hawaiʻi with 3 new cases. Maui County’s count was revised downward by one case by officials with the state Department of Health for a total of 112 confirmed positive. Of the 112 cases in Maui County, at least 73 have been released from isolation, and 13 have required hospitalization.

YB may supplement service from Moloka‘i as needed with an occasional stopover on Wednesday morning as the Kawaihae barge returns to the port of Honolulu. The service is intended to facilitate the timely transport of fresh produce from Moloka‘i to the neighboring islands and support the farming and agriculture industries. The occasional Kawaihae/Kaunakakai stopover will allow fresh produce from Moloka‘i to reach the neighbor-island markets.

On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, and Thursday, April 30, 2020, Goodfellow Brothers, LLC will be performing work on the County’s water system. On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, Alpha Inc. will be performing work on the County’s upper Kula water system.  

Additional food drives run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. today (Saturday, April 25) at Hope Chapel in Kīhei and AutoZone in Kahului across from the Kahului Post Office.

Overcrowding was named as a likely source of last year’s jail riot and nearly a year after the incident, on March 2, the jail was nearly 50% overcapacity with 450 inmates.  Today that number is just under 2% overcapacity.  The inmate population at the Maui Community Correctional Center has dropped by 143 inmates to 307 over a 7 week period. The MCCC operational capacity is for 301 inmates.  

For a second day this week, Maui County had no trans-Pacific flights (domestic flights) from the mainland on Thursday. Only Delta Airlines is flying from Los Angeles to Kahului-Maui, Kona-Hawaiʻi and Līhuʻe-Kauaʻi 3 to 4 times a week.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced that between April 17 to April 23 it distributed $68,097,470 in unemployment insurance benefits.

All information will also be provided to counties to check if the address is a vacation rental. State officials say, “This is a warning to all vacation rentals in the state to stop accepting visitor reservations. The government will have their address and they will be subject to enforcement for operating illegally. A list of suspected illegal short-term rental sites will be provided to the appropriate county.”

End Of Day COVID-19 Recap for Maui: Young Brothers Seeks Reduced Service, Decision on Emergency Rules Pushed to Next Week. Young Brothers has reportedly announced a request to reduce stops in Maui County.  Managing Director Sandy Baz confirmed the news this afternoon during a press briefing saying the county has been in communication with the company.  

Maui Managing Director Sandy Baz provided an update on the COVID-19 response in Maui County today.  For a complete written recap and end of day highlights click here. 

The Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 has raised several proposed policies and procedures that Sen. Kouchi said, “should be instituted immediately for visitors upon arrival in Hawaiʻi.” This includes proposed policies on:  health screening; identification and verification of accommodations; supervised transportation to their accommodations; and establishing monitoring and enforcement protocols.