Maui News

The $950,000 sale closed on Sept. 6, 2024, on the Von Tempsky Community Center Complex, formerly the Kula Community Center. The area was renamed the Von Tempsky Community Complex after a bill was passed by Maui County Council in 2022 to honor the generational Upcountry family.

Construction activity, including the rebuilding of wildfire devastated Lahaina town, will overcome relative weakness in tourism and help build a stable economic recovery, at a rate of 1.3%, for Hawaiʻi statewide, according to a forecast by economists with the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The County of Maui’s Office of Recovery and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement announced a partnership that brings CNHA’s Kākoʻo Maui Resource Center to the Office of Recovery-West Maui at Lahaina Gateway.

T S Restaurants invites guests to support Hawaiʻi Foodbank when dining at any of its seven locations across the state from Sept. 9-15. Customers are encouraged to make a donation when visiting Duke’s, Hula Grill, Leilani’s on the Beach and Keoki’s Paradise. For every dollar donated, T S Restaurants will subtract the same amount from the guest’s bill, up to $50, providing an opportunity for both residents and visitors to impact the community while enjoying a discounted meal.

A 64-year-old woman was killed in a hit-and-run collision reported in South Maui on Thursday night. A preliminary police investigation reveals that a pedestrian was on the sidewalk when an unknown vehicle executed a short radius right turn out of the parking lot located at 1881 South Kīhei Road; proceeded to drive over the curb and onto the sidewalk when it collided into and drove over the pedestrian.   The operator of the unknown vehicle did not stop or render aid to the pedestrian and fled the scene northbound on South Kīhei Road, police said.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Youth Services team participated in a ceremony Thursday marking September as Suicide Prevention Month in Maui County.

The Hawai‘i Department of Health Food and Drug Branch today alerted residents to a recall by Niitakaya USA, Inc., of its Shiso Katsuo Ninniku and Miso Katsuo Ninniku pickled garlic products with all “Best By” dates because the label does not inform consumers that the recalled product may contain bonito, which is an allergen.

Three Hawaiʻi state legislators and a member of the Honolulu City Council are in Washington D.C. today sharing their insights about matters facing Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders at the White House. Senators Dru Mamo Kanuha and Jarrett Keohokalole, Representative Darius K. Kila, and Honolulu City Council Vice Chair Esther Kiaʻāina have all been invited to the White House to attend the inaugural White House Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (NHPI) Convening.

The Honpa Hongwanji Federation State Judo Championships made its triumphant return to the Valley Isle as host Makawao Hongwanji Judo Club welcomed more than 121 judoka and their families from across the state. Judoka from six different Hongwanji judo clubs filled the King Kekaulike High School Gymnasium over the muggy Labor Day weekend.

A field crew with the Maui Invasive Species Committee detected a small population of little fire ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) along Hāna Highway near the entrance of the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park on Aug. 26, 2024. This finding follows the late May detection of little fire ants or LFA at a county storage area on Waikaloa Road in Hāna. Officials say the ants likely spread via contaminated road fill to Kīpahulu within the last year. The infestation appears to be confined to approximately two-thirds of an acre, less than half a soccer field. 

The Hawai‘i State Department of Education announced that nine previously suspended school bus routes in Central Oʻahu, East Hawaiʻi Island and Upcountry Maui will be reinstated starting Monday, Sept. 9, restoring service for nearly 200 student bus riders at seven schools.

Mauiʻs Kahului Airport (OGG) will receive $14.3 million in AIP supplemental grant funds for apron light replacement for enhanced safety. Itʻs one of four airport projects identified in Hawaiʻi to improve operations.

The County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation announced it has applied for emergency Shoreline Management Area permits to remove the Baldwin Beach Park pavilion, which has been damaged over time by high surf and rising sea levels. The structure has been fenced off and the public is asked to avoid the area.

The Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival announced a new partnership with the James Beard Foundation to support women in the culinary industry, aligning with the theme for the 14th Annual Festival: Empowerment.

Eligible farm and livestock workers in Hawaiʻi can pre-register for in-person payment registration events Sept. 6 to 9 for a one-time $600 relief payment under the Hawaiʻi Farm and Food Worker Relief Grant Program. The grant aims to offset expenses workers incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises drivers that westbound lanes of Kaʻahumanu Ave. (Route 32) between Kāne Street and Lono Ave. will be impacted by water line work for the Maui Palms Hampton Inn project on Thursday, Sept. 12.

Housing and Land Use Committee Chair Tasha Kama announced that today’s committee meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. has been canceled because of technical issues with the distribution of the meeting agenda.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises highway users to expect delays this weekend as wide loads will be transported from Kahului Harbor to a staging area near the Kahului boat ramp beginning Saturday morning, Sept. 7 through Monday morning, Sept. 9. Trucks will be transporting modular homes that will eventually be moved to Lahaina for wildfire survivors.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health reports that laboratory results have confirmed Norovirus is the cause of illness reported by numerous campers at the Kalalau Section of the Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park on Kaua‘i. The trail remains closed for a seven-day period.

University of Hawai‘i Maui College Associate Professor Dr. Joseph Keola Donaghy documents and explores the role that musical performance and composition practice played in efforts to defend Maunakea and how these practices reflected the idea of kapu aloha that was prevalent among kia‘i (protectors).