Maui News

Maui police released details from a New Year’s aerial fireworks accident in East Maui that left one man with permanent loss of sight in one eye.

Hawaiʻi is mourning the loss of veteran radio and television broadcaster Emmeline “Emme” Tomimbang Burns. She passed away Feb. 19 at the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu during an emergency aortic surgery.

Lahaina wildfire survivors were updated Wednesday on the progress of ash and debris removal from residential properties destroyed Aug. 8, and they learned the results of surveys aimed at assessing public sentiment in how to determine the final disposal site for thousands of burned homes.

The US Environmental Protection Agency will begin clearing and inspecting sanitary sewer lines on Honoapiʻilani Highway and Keawe Street in Lahaina starting the week of Feb. 26. Department officials say work will take place between Leialiʻi Parkway and Keawe Street (from Wahikuli Wayside Park to Safeway on Honoapiʻilani Highway and from Minit Stop to Honoapiʻilani Highway on Keawe Street).

US Sen. Mazie Hirono visited the preschool next to Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary School for about a half-hour as part of her tour of west side sites. The Lahaina Head Start site, the only preschool to survive the fires, reopened Feb. 1 after cleanup and renovations. 

During his visit, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg provided updates on key infrastructure projects, including critical investments in the Honoapiʻilani Highway. He visited West Maui as part of the administrationʻs efforts to reaffirm its commitment to wildfire recovery in Lahaina.

“This executive order and survey are just our first actions to become a trauma-informed state,” said Gov. Green. “With the results, we will develop better services and programs that support the wellness and resilience of our people, including addressing community traumas we’ve lived through in the past several years, like the pandemic and Maui fires.”  

The Hawaiʻi State Senate unanimously approved SB2381 SD2, which would establish a comprehensive system of public financing for candidates seeking election to state and county public offices, beginning with the 2028 general election year. The bill asserts that publicly funding the campaigns of candidates for state and county offices would increase public confidence in the State’s candidates and elected officials.

Author and Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Blunt will be a keynote speaker for the 11th Hawaiʻi Energy Conference in May at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, according to an announcement.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii – Maui’s largest OB-GYN department – yesterday announced the expansion of its maternity services across the Valley Isle.

Established in the wake of wildfires that burned more than 200 acres in Kula, the Kula Community Watershed Alliance has convened neighbors, local leaders, and subject matter experts to develop a unified plan to support the land’s recovery from the fires, including stabilizing and regenerating the disturbed soil, restoring and protecting native plants and animals, and stewarding the long-term vitality of the land.

Maui police arrested a 37-year-old man for drug and firearms offenses following the execution of a search warrant at his residence on Molokaʻi late last month.

Hawaiʻi’s Democratic congressional delegation has introduced a resolution celebrating Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, also known as Hawaiian Language Month.

At Haleakalā National Park yesterday, the Director of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and conservationists involved in Birds, Not Mosquitoes, shed light on the ongoing project to save native birds on East Maui. 

The Pukalani Elementary School STEM Imagineers team won the Energy Award while the Kaunakakai Elementary School Molokai All Stars team won the Sportsmanship Award at the 2024 Hawaiʻi Elementary and Middle School VEX IQ Robotics Championships held earlier this month on Oʻahu.

Half a year after the devastating Aug. 8 Maui wildfires, tourism is making a comeback in Maui County when measured by hotel occupancy but not so much by room revenue, according to the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s monthly hotels performance report released Tuesday.

Mayor Richard Bissen made a plea to the state for $401.75 million over the next three years to help Lahaina rebuild and recover. The request was made before the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, on behalf of the people of Maui County. County of Maui would separately leverage $198.75 million over the next three years, according to a news release announcement.

The first Ambient Community Air Sampling Reports for Lahaina, issued by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, confirm good ambient air quality for the period of Jan. 13-24, 2024. 

Arthur and Betty Ventura of Kula, Maui were recognized on Feb. 4 as the state’s longest married couple in an annual project sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter.

The third annual Alaska Airlines BizMixx fundraiser for the Maui Chamber of Commerce will be held March 16 at the Grand Wailea Resort Maui. Cocktails will be served from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by dinner, entertainment and a silent auction.