Maui News

Department officials say illicit Christmas tree burning at the sandbar has subsided over the last few years, in part from a better community understanding of its negative environmental effects, and from the presence of DOCARE officers patrolling the area after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The three-day convening is the first time since before COVID, homestead leaders will meet in person for their annual convention and election of coalition leaders.

Mayor Richard Bissen thanked the Hawaiʻi National Guard for five months of responding to the Maui Wildfire Disaster as members complete their last request for assistance (RFA) for Maui on Dec. 31, 2023.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation announced increases in parking rates at four neighbor island airports, including Kahului Airport on Maui. Starting on Feb. 1, 2024, the new maximum daily charge will be $24, up from the current $15 rate; an the monthly rate will increase to $189, up from the current $160 rate.

Maui County residents impacted by the Aug. 8 wildfires who relocated to Kaua‘i, O‘ahu or Hawai‘i Island may apply for the Maui Relief TANF Program for families with dependent children through Community Action Programs on those islands.

The Maui Police Department’s new rules for firearms will go into effect in January 2024. These rules are specific to General Order 303.6, License to Carry a Concealed/Unconcealed Weapon, and General Order 303.8, Permit to Acquire a Firearm.

In Kahului, the average price of $4.81 is one cent higher than last week, one cent higher than last month, and 24 cents lower than a year ago.

There is no tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi following a (preliminary 4.3) 4.4 magnitude earthquake reported at 3:17 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 off the Kaʻū coast of the Big Island.

The County of Maui Department of Agriculture launched a Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Working Group to address the threat of the invasive Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle, which was reported recently in Kīhei. 

A record $3.5-million gift to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa from the Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation will fund the music department’s first-ever endowed chair. The newly established Professor Barbara Barnard Smith Endowed Chair supports the university’s desire and commitment to revitalize its ethnomusicology program and honors the legacy of the late revered UH Mānoa professor who died in 2021.

Celebrated chef and TV personality Guy Fieri teamed up with the Hawaiʻi Restaurant Association, American Savings Bank and Fiserv, Inc., to distribute $600 prepaid debit cards to Lahaina restaurant workers who lost their job when their workplace was destroyed in the tragic wildfires on Aug. 8.

Its scientific name is Cyanea rivularis. In the mountains of Kaua‘i it produces conical-shaped lavender and white flowers, which like many endangered plant species across the state, are key components to a fully functioning and healthy native ecosystem.

“The impact of the Maui wildfires continues to be felt in November’s figures, but with most of West Maui now reopened to tourism, there is a concerted effort to reinvigorate job opportunities and facilitate the economic recovery of Maui,” said DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka.

Brett Young brings his Caliville style of Country to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center A&B Amphitheater and Yokouchi Pavilion on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024 at 7 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

The Maui Pops Orchestra presents Disney and Beyond with the music of Alan Menken, featuring guest vocalists Susan Egan and Adam Jacobs on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024 at 3 p.m. in the Castle Theater of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

The NOAA Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador program provides a new level of engagement for youth aged 13-18 committed to ocean conservation and stewardship of the planet.

A Brown Water Advisory has been issued for the North Shore from Waiheʻe to Hoʻokipa and West Maui from Honolua to Puʻu Kekaʻa “Black Rock” on Maui.

Surf of up to 40 feet is expected along the north facing shores of Maui as an extra-large north-northwest swell builds quickly today.

A collection of Aloha Airline uniforms were donated to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) Fashion and Design Merchandising (FDM) program. The uniforms will be used for research and to preserve the history of the airlines, which served in Hawaiʻi between 1946 and 2008.

Maui Humane Society is urging its community’s animal lovers to foster a pet now in an effort to clear space for incoming lost, sick, or injured pets who are expected to arrive as a result of New Year’s fireworks.