Maui News

American Savings Bank and its teammates have contributed more than $135,000 and 600 Seeds of Service volunteer hours to aid those impacted by the devastating Maui wildfires.

Imua presents The Color Festival Hawaiʻi April 28, from 12-6 p.m. at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Events Lawn. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. The Color Festival Hawaiʻi celebrates the color and diversity of life with music, entertainment, dancing and fun for the whole family.

Senate Bill 3327 SD1 HD1 proposes to separate the Water Commission from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to minimize conflicts of interests between the two agencies. The bill would also grant the agency its own authority to declare emergencies, retain independent legal counsel, and levy fines up to $60,000 per violation of the Water Code. 

Leila-Rose was born with two heart conditions and had open-heart surgery when she was just 5 months old. Today, she was also surprised with a trip to California and Disneyland. The 7-year-old and her family will share their inspiring story as Hawai‘i’s ambassador through the national program, presented by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Sixteen fellows of the 2024 Ka Ipu Kukui cohort gathered recently to address building resilience for Maui County, a challenge that’s all the more daunting in the wake of the August wildfires.

An outage in Kīhei, Makawao and Nāpili was due to a load shed of various circuits after two generators tripped offline at the Māʻalaea Power Plant. A subsequent unrelated outage knocked more customers offline in Lahaina, Olowalu and Launiupoko.

Child & Family Service is offering The Parent Line, a resource for parents, teachers and caregivers to learn more about how to talk about the incident with their children. It also provides guidance and resources for adults.

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led the Hawaiʻi Congressional delegation in urging the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, Danny Werfel, to extend the 2023 federal tax filing and payment deadlines for individuals and businesses impacted by the Maui wildfires. 

Sitting at the edge of scorched Lahaina Town and makai of the Lahaina Cannery Mall, the Old Lahaina Lūʻau reopens to tourism for the first time since the Aug. 8 wildfire.

The Maui Public Art Corps will begin a two-week process on March 20, 2024 of installing a large-scale mural on the exterior of Ceramic Tile Plus & Exclusively Yours, at the intersection of Kahului Beach Road and Ka’ahumanu Ave., facing Harbor Lights and Kahului Harbor.

A newly enacted ordinance on Maui establishes rules to promote the use of reclaimed and recycled water in Maui County.

Former Maui County Council Chair Gladys Coelho Baisa is being remembered fondly as a strong community leader, and a pioneer for women in politics and nonprofit leadership. She passed away Monday morning. She was 83.

Tomodachi Kibou for Maui, a new Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi program is preparing to depart for Higashimatsushima, Miyagi, Japan with 11 students who were impacted by the Lahaina wildfires on Maui in August 2023.

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and US Rep. Tom Cole (R-La.) – chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Housing, respectively – secured more than $1.34 billion in funding for Native housing programs as part of a six-bill Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations package that was passed by Congress and signed into law last week. The funding is a record increase of $324 million dollars from last year.

Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Hālau ʻo Kapikohānaiāmālama will host an official screening for the new film, “Hōkūleʻa: Finding the Language of the Navigator,” on Thursday, March 14, at the school’s Keōpūolani Hale.

EPA evaluated all 97,749 linear feet of lateral sanitary sewer lines in approximately one month. Sewer segments that were inaccessible, damaged, or obstructed were flagged for the county for additional assessment and work. 

Maui attorney, Jan K. Apo, who is representing hundreds of families impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires, lauded Monday’s federal court decision to remand some 90 Lahaina fire cases back to the state court on Maui. 

A bill to fast-track building permits in areas hard-hit by the August wildfires has received final approval by the Maui County Council. Bill 21 advances to the mayor for final action.

The St. Patrick’s Day edition of “Sharks After Dark,” Maui Ocean Center’s 21-and-older nights, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 16.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has appointed four lāhui leaders who will serve as directors on its executive leadership team.