Maui News

etaries of Energy and the Interior, as well as top officials at the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Health and Human Services, as well as top military officials. These meetings will support Hawaiʻi’s ongoing transition to clean energy, our wildfire response and recovery, healthcare infrastructure and military readiness across the Pacific.

With a Stage 3 water shortage in effect for Upcountry areas, the County of Maui Department of Water Supply is providing additional information.

The Sony Open in Hawaiʻi at Waiʻalae Country Club on Oʻahu will be the 2026 PGA Tour season opener Jan. 15-18 after the Tour announced today that The Sentry will not be contested in 2026. 

For two decades, Hawaiʻi’s Deposit Beverage Container program has been run as an “honor system,” reliant on unverified self-reported data and plagued by alleged fraud, State Auditor Les Kondo told a state Senate committee during an informational meeting Thursday.

Applications are open now for two free filmmaking opportunities for high-schoolers on Maui: Fuzz Box Film Camp in Lahaina and Spring Lab 2026 in Central Maui. 

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation will host the next concert in its popular Hawaiian Music Series, featuring Maui’s own trio Kūikawā. The free, family-friendly event is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 on the Ocean Lawn of the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa in Kāʻanapali.

The South Shore is gearing up for some spooky family fun at the Kīhei 4th Friday Town Party from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 at Azeka Shopping Center Mauka, the “Heart and Soul” of Kīhei. This month’s event is packed with Halloween-themed festivities, live entertainment, and plenty of local food and shopping.

Lahaina Strong, a community group that arose in the wake of the Lahaina wildfire disaster, is calling for the Maui County Council to take expeditious action on Bill 9, which would phase out short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts. “We are still awaiting confirmation of dates for the two full Council hearings required before Bill […]

This December Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa will debut a first-of-its-kind holiday experience on Kāʻanapali Beach with The Elf on the Shelf, the beloved Christmas tradition featuring Santa’s official Scout Elves. From Dec. 14-25, 2025, families can enjoy festive programming highlighted by a playful daily hide-and-seek adventure with the resort’s very own Scout Elf.

The 8th Maui Amateur wrapped over the weekend at the King Kamehameha Golf Club.  In the Championship flight, Kāneʻohe resident Derek Chinen fired a 5-under par 67 to win by three shots over James Whitworth.

Hawaiʻi State Federal Credit Union today announced the 20 recipients of its 2025 Hawaiʻi State FCU Scholarship Program. Each student will receive a scholarship of up to $5,000, for a combined total of $97,500 to support tuition costs at accredited universities, colleges, or trade/vocational schools during the 2025–2026 academic year. “Education helps set the course for […]

The Maui County Council’s Water Authority, Social Services and Parks Committee recommended adoption of a resolution Monday that would authorize the county to execute a park assessment agreement with Waiʻale 905 Partners LLC, the developer of the Waikapū Country Town project.

To maintain safe and reliable service, Hawaiian Electric will be performing overnight work to upgrade equipment along Honoapiʻilani Highway in three West Maui areas on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. to Friday, Oct. 24 at 5 a.m. No service interruptions are planned for this work. 

A rare North American bumble bee may have been on a path toward extinction long before modern human impacts, suggesting that its long-term genetic vulnerability made it especially fragile and less able to cope with both past and current environmental stresses. The findings of the new study were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Oct. 20, and co-authored by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researcher.

Hawaiian Airlines will begin offering seasonal service with scheduled flights between Honolulu and Auckland beginning Nov. 16. The route will operate three times a week and run through April 2026. This seasonal service uses the Airbus A330 aircraft, offering nonstop flights between New Zealand and Hawaiʻi, as well as convenient one-stop connections to and from the US continent. “We know Kiwi travelers have […]

National Geographic announced today its annual Best of the World 2026 list, the 25 destinations that define how and where we’ll travel in 2026: this year,Maui has earned a spot among them.

While educators nationwide grapple with the integration of artificial intelligence into the classroom, Kīhei Charter School is forging a path forward, viewing AI not as a threat, but as a tool to prepare students for the 21st-century workforce. Instead of attempts to ban the technology, the school administration has chosen to integrate AI into its […]

Several teenage girls were charged with assault and kidnapping after allegedly holding a 13-year-old boy in a sound proof room at the Kalama Intermediate School campus in Makawao on Friday afternoon.

Hana Hou Hospitality is bringing Halloween festivities to the restaurants in Lahaina with a full lineup of festive dining, live entertainment and family fun. From eerie Kitchen Assassin Supper Clubs to oceanfront costume parties, Coco Deck Lahaina and Māla Ocean Tavern are ready to make this Halloween season one to remember. Supper Club returns to Coco Deck Coco Deck’s […]

A new species of bacteria has been discovered off the coast of Oʻahu, shedding light on how unseen microbial life connects Hawaiʻi’s land and sea ecosystems. Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa identified Caulobacter inopinatus, a previously unknown species of bacteria found in seawater collected near a beach on Oʻahu’s south shore. The finding—published Oct. 16 in the International Journal […]