Maui News

The Coast Guard and good Samaritans rescued three men from the water approximately 2 miles south of the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu Monday.  Two passengers aboard the French-flagged Spirit of Pontapreta, a 42-foot sailing vessel, had reportedly been swept away while swimming near the vessel. The vessel’s operator jumped in to assist them but was also swept away. 

The Coast Guard and Hawaiʻi Life Flight medically transported an ailing 58-year-old man from the Maui Memorial Medical Center to the Straub Medical Center on Oʻahu, Monday. The man had suffered cardiac arrest while on Maui and was in need of transport with advanced critical care.

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) is pressing OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — to respond to whistle-blower claims that the company “rushed” through safety tests and barred employees from warning the public about alleged risks of its latest artificial intelligence (AI) model, GPT-4 Omni, which released on May 13.

“My dad, Guy Croydon, was a husband, father, and soon-to-be grandfather,” Alex Croydon wrote on GoFundMe.

Maui United Way has partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services to bring free grant workshops to Maui. The series kicks off with a virtual “Grant Basics” workshop on Wednesday, July 24 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Workshops continue through Aug. 22, 2024.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is serving as Acting Governor, joined the state’s Department of Human Services to announce that the preschool tuition subsidy program, Preschool Open Doors, is now accepting applications on a year-round basis. A

La‘ikū will provide 16 two-bedroom, one-bath units at 560 sq. ft. each. The homes are being built on approximately two acres of land that was previously acquired by the HDOT as part of the Lahaina Bypass project. Monthly rent for homes in La‘ikū will be $1,750, which tenants can pay via personal funds, rental assistance from FEMA, or insurance proceeds. The $3.9 million project is funded by HCF and the state of Hawai‘i and developed by CNHA, which has a five-year revocable permit to use the HDOT parcel at no cost. Completion is scheduled for September 2024.

A strong international field of world class male and female paddlers are set to challenge the 32-mile course that will cross the Kaiwi Channel from the island of Moloka’i to O’ahu.

The meeting will include information on shoring up and bracing of damaged structures, information on cesspool inspections, an update on interim housing from the State Department of Human Services, and a review of input received from neighborhood planning workshops conducted by the Office of Recoveryʻs community planning team. The US Army Corps of Engineers will report on the status of debris clearing.

At approximately 8:20 a.m., SRT personnel and an MPD Bomb Technician performed an X-ray of the device before rendering the device safe via a water disruption shot.  Upon further investigation, it was determined the contents were more likely an improvised pyrotechnic device rather than an IED.

For more than a decade, land managers, scientists, and pathologists have been fighting and looking for ways to protect trees from a fungal disease, called Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death or ROD, that has killed over a million lehua ʻōhiʻa, considered the most ecologically and cultural significant native tree in Hawai‘i.

Maui County Council Chair Alice L. Lee announced that committee meetings will be held in alternate locations—including the Kalana Pākuʻi Conference Room—over the next several weeks to accommodate the 2024 election schedule.

For the Mathers, homeownership seemed unattainable. The constant threat of displacement from their beloved ‘āina loomed over them. Jen Mather, alongside her husband Richard and their children Kūmoanaākea, 15, and Keolaonākai’elua, 14, expressed profound gratitude: “Nā Hale O Maui has made it possible not only for myself and my keiki to continue living here in Maui Komohana but also for the seven generations to come after us. We commit, along with Nā Hale, to keep this house affordable in perpetuity.”

Earthquake and ground deformation rates in Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone decreased significantly following a “burst of intense activity” at approximately 3:30 a.m. HST on July 23, 2024. Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has lowered the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from WATCH to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code from ORANGE to YELLOW.     

The Maui boys play a quarterfinal game today (Tuesday, July 23) at 5 p.m. (2 p.m. HST), against Arizona—the same team they defeated 13-3 on Sunday at the regional tournament in Nogales, Arizona.

As many as six initial ignition locations were found when crews arrived on scene to fight the Piʻihana Road fire on Monday morning. The fire was first reported at 9:16 a.m. on July 22, 2024. It burned a total of four acres before forward progress was stopped at 11:36 a.m., and it was fully contained at 2:45 p.m. One firefighter was treated at the scene for heat distress, according to fire officials.

Structural evaluations of the Pioneer Mill smokestack documented concerns about its condition, prompting the County of Maui Department of Public Works to close Lahainaluna Road between Honoapi‘ilani Highway and Kuhua Street, effective 3 p.m. Monday, July 22, 2024.

The National Weather Service has extended a Coastal Flood Statement, now in effect through Tuesday afternoon. Peak high tides associated with the lunar cycle and water levels that are running higher than predicted will lead to minor coastal flooding along shorelines and low-lying coastal areas. Coastal flooding will coincide with the daily peak tide during the afternoon.

On Monday, July 22, 2024, Seniola Kafoa Jr., 46, of Lahaina was charged with second degree attempted murder.  Kafoa remains in police custody with bail set at $500,000.

County of Maui swimming pools in Wailuku and Kīhei will close temporarily for the installation of new chlorination systems, the County Department of Parks and Recreation announced. The closures will occur at the following times and locations: For updates on pool hours of operation, call the County of Maui pool hotline at 808-270-8208.