Maui News

As if fighting for justice weren’t tough enough, now attorneys and staff in the Maui County Department of the Prosecuting Attorney have a new foe: an infestation of mold in their Old Wailuku Courthouse offices.

In a significant boost to aid Lahaina homeowners affected by last year’s wildfires, American Savings Bank (ASB) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (FHLB Des Moines) have announced an allocation of $400,000 to Hawaiʻi Community Lending through the FHLB Member Impact Fund.

Expecting to only remove two species of non-native coral, a team from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), ended up extracting four coral colonies from one of the longest and widest fringing reef in Hawai‘i on Thursday.

A Maui Economic Opportunity-led effort to collect long-sleeve shirts for farmworkers to protect them from pesticide and heat exposure netted 257 shirts from March 24 to 31 as part of an Association of Farmworker Opportunity Program national drive.

After a community meeting in Pukalani on March 29, concerns arose about the timeframe for assessing a 30-year water purchase agreement for drilling wells in Kula. The Chicago-based developer, Free Market Ventures, LLC (FMV), has since extended the timeline to allow the council more decision-making time.

The Hawai‘i Department of Health is investigating two confirmed cases of pertussis (also known as whooping cough) and identified eight probable cases in two separate households without travel-related exposures on Hawaiʻi Island. Both households have school-age children that attend local schools but are in geographically distinct areas of the island. Currently, no one is hospitalized. 

Ameresco, Inc. is hosting a open house community meeting on Tuesday, May 7, to provide information and seek community input about its ‘Ūkiu Energy project located across from the Central Maui Landfill behind Hawaiian Electric’s Waena substation.

Imua Family Services launches SMILE Imua, a family portrait day fundraiser aimed at spreading joy while raising funds for the Imua Inclusion Preschool. SMILE Imua is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Imua Discovery Garden, with 20-minute photo shoots occurring every 30 minutes.

A 30-year Hawaiian homelands leader and advocate was honored recently at the 32nd Celebration of the Arts. Kekoa Enomoto received the Namahana Award of Excellence at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua resort March 29. The distinction salutes “kupuna (elders) who have served the culture with a zest for life.” 

Today, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) announced the award of $104,491 to three nonprofit partners focused on providing assistance to Maui families with children who have been affected by the Maui fires in August 2023: the Alexander Academy Performing Company, Maui Junior Golf Association, and Unda Kava 808. In total, the Maui Strong Fund has now distributed $2.4 million in grants in the “Children and Family” sector.

The community is invited to attend the County of Maui’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Update Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the Lahaina Civic Center to hear a status report on air quality and leachate monitoring at the Temporary Debris Storage site at Olowalu.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health has received report of a travel-related dengue case on O‘ahu. The person had traveled to a region where dengue is known to be spread. 

The Hawaiʻi State Senate voted Monday to confirm Valerie Kato as deputy director of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health. She joins Director Kenneth Fink, M.D.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi announced the selection of its new president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Hawaiʻi, Edmund “Ed” Chan. Chan’s roots in Hawaiʻi began early in his career. In 2000, after completing his Registered Dietitian training in Boston, he accepted a position as a clinical dietitian for Hale Makua Health Services in Kahului, Maui. Chan also took on roles at the Community Clinic of Maui and served as a consultant dietitian to Maui Youth & Family Services.

Foodland Super Market, Ltd. announced that Foodland Farms Lahaina will reopen at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10. Located at Lahaina Gateway, Foodland Farms Lahaina has been closed since the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires.

After learning of a need for dictionary books at the new Kūlanihākoʻi High School, Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Kīhei Wailea and Lahaina Sunset donated 35 dictionaries to the school’s English Department.

Komar is offering a quarter of the 20-acre site that was outlined in the eminent domain proposal, saying it will accommodate 100% of the 400,000 cubic yards of debris from Lahaina and Olowalu.  As a condition of the donation, Komar says it wants the donated land to be used exclusively for Lahaina debris; and that the county extend equal rights to the remaining 15 acres for use by Komar.  

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo will begin the removal of the Hōkū Keʻa Observatory on the summit of Maunakea the week of April 15, 2024. The decommissioning process that includes the restoration of the site is expected to be completed by August.

With a month remaining before the programs close, homeowners in need can still get help. Homeowners applying for the Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi County HAF programs must meet several requirements. Applicants must submit complete forms no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2024, to be considered for funding.

The Maui Emergency Management Agency has extended hours for reentry access into the Lahaina Wildfire Disaster zone to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The extension only applies to those entering the zone with a vehicle reentry pass.