Maui News

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) The slack-key guitar/vocal team of Barry Flanagan and Nathan Aweau, known together as HAPA, return to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center as part of the Ho’onanea Series. After sweeping the 1994 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, HAPA has remained at the forefront of Hawaiian music with a fusion of […]

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) The county’s Residential Workforce Housing ordinance comes up for a scheduled review next week.  Public Services Committee Chair Wayne Nishiki said it is a vital time to review the law given the critical shortage of affordable housing in Maui County. “Our residents continue to suffer from the critical shortage […]

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) Maui’s George Kahumoku, Jr. and fellow musicians featured on The Spirit of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar album depart for Los Angeles today, bound for the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony. The Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar have previously been honored with three consecutive Grammy Awards for their compilation CDs […]

(By Wendy OSHER © 2009) The Maui Hotel & Lodging Association (MHLA) is expanding its “I Work for Aloha” campaign.  With many of the jobs in the county directly tied to the visitor industry, MHLA launched the campaign to heighten awareness of the connections between the visitor industry and the average county resident. The campaign […]

By Wendy Osher Maui could be the site of a medical enterprise zone under a bill being considered at the state legislature. The 7-year pilot program would be based on the West side of the Valley Isle a region that has long been the focus of discussion for a second island hospital. Rep. Angus McKelvey […]

(By Wendy Osher © 2009) Council Vice Chair Mike Molina is supporting a statewide ban on plastic bags, similar to the one he introduced at the county level last year. The county plastic bag reduction bill is set to go into effect on January 11, 2011, and prohibits the distribution of plastic bags at the […]

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) The state is investigating a report of a large number of dead fish found along the Niihau shoreline. The report was made on Monday, February 2nd by the owner of the private island, located off the west coast of Kauai. DLNR aquatic biologist Don Heacock, along with Department of […]

(Posted By Wendy OSHER © 2009) U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) reintroduced The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act yesterday, while Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is designed to begin a process to form a Native Hawaiian government that could negotiate with the state […]

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) More than a dozen local, state and federal agencies will share information on crime prevention, disaster preparedness, public health, personal safety at the 2009 West Maui Safety Fair. The event will be held a the Lahaina Cannery Mall on Saturday, February 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The […]

(Story & Photos by Wendy OSHER © 2009) The Maui Fire Department added two new vehicles to its fleet yesterday-an engine for West Maui and an Air/Light Truck for large scale incident response. The new Engine 3 will be stationed at the Lahaina Fire Station and will be used in protecting the West Maui Community. […]

(By Wendy OSHER © 2009) Two Maui facilities are on a list of areas set to receive state funding for energy efficiency improvements.  The Kahului Baseyard and East Maui’s Waianapanapa State Park were among a list of 15 state facilities that will get a share of the $250,000 released by the Governor’s office today.  Currently, […]

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) The state has added a Molokai meeting to a list of public discussions on possible regulations for certain marine fish species. The Department of Land and Natural Resources is considering minimum size rules to protect some species from over harvesting including Parrotfish (uhu), Goatfish (weke), and Jacks (ulua/papio). The […]

(By Wendy OSHER © 2009) More than $17 million in construction funds was released by the Governor’s office today to complete site preparations for the new interisland maintenance facility at Honolulu International (HNL) Airport. The new site will be located on undeveloped land west of Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Station No. 1. Site preparation […]

(Story & Photos by Wendy OSHER © 2009) Maui’s economy got an $8.3 million boost this winter from the 2008 EA SPORTSTM Maui Invitational® basketball tournament played at the Lahaina Civic Center. The tournament welcomed nearly 5,000 out-of-state participants who spent an average of six days on Maui, according to the latest data released by […]

(Story & Photos By Wendy OSHER © 2009) While other retailers are closing shop amid economic hardship, Longs Drug Store is bucking the trend-at least on Maui.  A new Longs Drug Store at the Kulamalu Center in Pukalani opens its doors at 9 o’clock this morning with grand opening specials to mark the occasion.  The […]

(Photos and story By Wendy Osher © 2009) Mokulele Airlines’ inaugural Flight 215 from Kahului Airport marks the beginning of expanded service for the interisland carrier. The Airlines’ Kahului Station Manager Ipo Mossman said the Kahului to Honolulu route helps to meet passenger demands following the exit of Aloha Airline’s passenger service nearly one year […]

(Photos and Story By: Wendy OSHER © 2009) Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares joined officials from Taiwan’s Ping Tung Province today in commemorating the town’s 27th year as a Sister City of Maui County. A plaque was unveiled at the Sun Yat Sen Park in Kula marking the occasion. The sister city partnership was formed in […]

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009) The University of Hawaii reported a new record for spring enrollment with more than 50,000 students attending colleges within the 10-campus system. The Spring of 2009 enrollment surpassed the previous record set in 1995 by more than 2,400 students. The highest increase was seen at the UH West Oahu […]

(By Wendy OSHER © 2009) Volunteers across the state counted an average of 8 whales every 15 minutes during a statewide count conducted by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. 650 volunteers collected data from 56 sites with the most sightings reported off of Kahoolawe where 14 whales were sighted every 15 minutes […]

(By Wendy OSHER © 2009) The President of AKAKU: Maui Community Television is calling on lawmakers to ensure access for local communities under the Governor’s recently announced Broadband Initiative. Under the Governor’s plan, a Communications Commission would be formed to boost Hawaii’s broadband usage, prices, accessibility and speed-which is currently ranked at 42 out of […]