Maui News

This is the fifth year the UH Drone Technologies team is participating in the competition. Its best finish was sixth in 2017 and third among US teams the same year. The team aims to place higher this year.

The meeting will include a US Army Corps of Engineers update on debris removal, information on the Department of Health’s new environmental monitoring portal, and presentations by the Maui Emergency Management Agency, Maui Fire Department, Maui Police Department and County Department of Public Works.

Department officials say the most recent reported ongoing scam is spoof callers claiming to be a Maui Police Department representative. Spoofing is a technique used to manipulate caller ID information, making it appear as if the call is coming from a legitimate source, such as a government agency, financial institution, or even a known contact, making it highly deceptive.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) has launched an Environmental Monitoring Data Portal to provide a one-stop shop for sharing the results of previous and ongoing environmental monitoring in the areas affected by the August 2023 Lahaina and Kula wildfires.

The County of Maui Office of Recovery and Department of Planning will hold a planning workshop for the Lahaina Town Historic and Business Districts on Saturday, June 29, 2024, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Lahainaluna High School cafeteria, located at 980 Lahainaluna Road. The workshop will address the core of Lahaina town’s historic and commercial areas, primarily makai of Honoapiʻilani Highway.

Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed elimination of transient vacation rentals in Maui County’s apartment-zoned districts is expected to lead to more available long-term rental and for-sale housing, although the high dollar value of apartments in coastal resort areas mean there “may be issues” about their affordability.

The state Department of Health has confirmed one travel-related dengue virus case on Oʻahu. Department officials say the individual traveled to a region where dengue is known to be spread. There have been five confirmed travel-related dengue cases identified in the state (one on Maui, four on Oʻahu) so far in 2024.

Hayley Cheyney-Kāne of Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu was crowed Miss Hawaiʻi 2024 at the Hawaiʻi Theater on Sunday night. Nicole Taylor McClain was crowned Miss Hawai‘i’s Teen 2024 at the ‘Alohilani Resort on Saturday evening.

A Hawaiian monk seal born on Mokulua Nui in in 2018 has delivered her first pup on the same islet. The birth of this pup to Wailea (RJ30), was confirmed on Friday, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The twin Mokulua offshore islets are state wildlife sanctuaries.

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Maui Island was 3.7% in May 2024, compared to 4.3% the previous month, and 2.5% at the same time in 2023. The data was included in a new report released today from the Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. 

The Maui Police Department today confirmed the identity of another victim involved in the West Maui Wildfire incident of August 2023, bringing the total confirmed dead to 102. On Monday, June 24, 2024, the Honolulu medical examiner’s office confirmed Claudette Heermance, 68, of Lahaina succumbed to injuries sustained on Aug. 8, 2023, according to Maui police.

The Construction Industry of Maui awarded three Maui high school students each a $25,000 scholarship to encourage education towards a career in the construction industry. The Bob Poulson scholarship encourages Maui students to pursue a degree in the construction and design industry, away from Maui, then bring their acquired knowledge, skills and local hearts back to Maui to serve their communities. This year’s scholarship recipients are Maui high school seniors, Carla Mae Agrade of Lahaina, John Kaahui of Haʻikū and Emi Sado of Kahului.

As Maui continues its disaster response and moves toward mid- and long-term recovery, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) has hired Keanu Lau Hee as our senior director of the Maui Recovery Effort. She officially joins HCF on July 16.

Maui’s community-based water-quality monitoring program Hui O Ka Wai Ola has resumed water-quality testing at four locations in South Maui under a new partnership with the Wailea Community Association. Under the partnership, testing has resumed at Kilohana Drive (Keawakapu North site), Keawakapu South, Ulua Beach and Palauʻea Beach.

A wave of opposition has been building from vacation rental owners and property managers to Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of an estimated 7,000 transient vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts in Maui County.

The state Department of Transportation’s working with the Count of Maui, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to reopen Honoapi‘ilani Highway from Keawe Street to Hōkiokio Place prior to the start of the new public school year, with a target date of Aug. 1, 2024.

A two-day Financial Literacy for Teens workshop, which covers basic money management skills, will be held in-person Monday, July 1, and Tuesday, July 2, at Maui Economic Opportunity in Wailuku.

The Ian Walsh Menehune Mayhem Foundation (IWMMF) has awarded six outstanding student athletes with $5,000 scholarships for their college or university expenses. The 2024 scholarships were made possible with the generosity of Audrey and Scott Blum and the Harbaugh Foundation.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court on Thursday issued a landmark decision in the long-running water case over Nā Wai ‘Ehā, “The Four Waters” of Waihe‘e, Waiehu, Wailuku, and Waikapū in central Maui. In a 134-page unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sabrina McKenna, the court ruled in favor of Maui community groups Hui o Nā Wai ‘Ehā and Maui Tomorrow Foundation, who were represented by Earthjustice, and joined by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

A surfer was fatally injured in a shark attack off of Mokuʻauia islet on the North Shore of Oʻahu Sunday afternoon. Authorities have since identified the victim as Tamayo Perry, 49, a longtime lifeguard with the City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety division.