Maui News

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz will update constituents on the status of Social Security, Medicare and another COVID-19 stimulus package at a Telephone Town Hall sponsored by AARP Hawai`i on Oct. 22 at 11:05 am.

The County of Maui Department of Planning has launched its new website, We Are South Maui, which provides the public with an update on the South Maui Community Plan.

The University of Hawaiʻi has implemented a  Fast Pass Initiative to make it easier to apply for admission to the school’s four-year campuses next fall by streamlining the application process. The Fast Pass program is for Hawaiʻi Department of Education high school seniors with qualifying grade point averages (GPA).

The next community budget meeting for Fiscal Year 2022, hosted by Mayor Michael Victorino and his administration, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, starting at 5:30 p.m.

Maui’s Wailani Artates of Artistry8 won her fourth Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for the graphics design of Amy Hānaiali‘i’s 15th album, Kalawai‘anui, alongside Kumu Hula and fashion designer Micah Kamohoaliʻi of Waimea.

Josh Tatofi was the fan favorite walking away Favorite Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Island Music Album of the Year, and Hawaiian Single of the Year.

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the nonprofit organization ʻĀina Momona signed an agreement to develop new outreach and educational projects for the community of Moloka‘i. It is the first such agreement between the sanctuary and a nonprofit organization on the island of Moloka‘i.

There were 103 new COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i today, including 79 on the island of O‘ahu and 24 on Hawai‘i Island. Kaua‘i and Maui reported no new cases today. Hawai‘i’s COVID-19 death toll increased to 169, with one new death reported since yesterday on O‘ahu. Details are pending release.   

Maui Now Letters to the Editor for Oct. 11, 2020. Submissions can be completed by filling out an online Letter to the Editor form at www.mauinow.com/letters-to-the-editor or emailing a letter to letters@mauinow.com. A Letters to the Editor tab also is located on the top right of the blue menu bar on the Maui Now website.

The West Maui Taxpayers Association will host a virtual Candidates Night webinar on Oct. 15, 2020 at 5:30 pm with candidates for the following: State Representative District 10, Maui County Councilmember – all districts and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

All across Maui, hotels, vacation properties, car rental companies, restaurants, retail shops and other businesses that cater to the island’s 3 million or so annual travelers are preparing for the return of non-quarantining tourists, beginning Oct. 15. So what to expect? No one can say with any authority what numbers of visitors will travel to Maui through the end of the year. But most agree: The recovery is going to start out slowly.

Maui Obituaries: Week Ending Oct. 10, 2020. May they rest in peace.

The US Department of Energy has awarded Nalu Scientific, a Honolulu-based technology firm, $2.3 million in grants to continue its work on high-performance microchip and ultrafast camera, according to a news release from Nalu Scientific.

There were 73 new COVID-19 cases reported on Oct. 10, 2020 in Hawai‘i, including 59 on the island of O‘ahu and 14 on Hawai‘i Island. Kaua‘i and Maui reported no new cases today. There were two deaths reported, in Oʻahu.

Hawaiʻi Contemporary (formerly the Honolulu Biennial Foundation)  announced this week that longtime board member Katherine Don, who has been serving as Acting Executive Director, has been named Executive Director. Hawai‘i Contemporary is a non-profit organization that creates inspirational and sustainable exchanges, connecting Hawai‘i and the Pacific with contemporary art.

Conservationists working to recover the ‘alalā (Hawaiian crow) are addressing recent mortalities of the species living in the Pu’u Maka`ala Natural Area Reserve on Hawai‘i island by bringing the surviving wild crows back into the protection of its conservation breeding program.

The Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts is holding its 43rd Annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards online Saturday night (Oct. 10) with a pre-show that begins at 6 pm and the ceremony at 7 pm.

The REALTORS® Association of Maui has released the September 2020 real estate statistics for Maui County. The report shows that housing and stock markets continue to be the leaders in the economy. In August, real estate showings and pending sales remained at strong levels while housing inventory remained limited, continuing the competitive bidding market we have seen in recent months.

Hawaiian Electric recently presented a donation of two 2012 Nissan Leaf electric vehicles to the University of Hawai‘i Maui College’s Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Educational Program to provide mechanics hands-on experience in maintaining and repairing EVs.

Two days before Hawai‘i is scheduled to relaunch tourism with a pre-travel testing program, Hawai‘i airline executives will share “Impacts and Forecast of the Airline Industry” as part of a webinar series presented by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business Alumni Association and Travel Industry Management International.