Maui News

Paipai Kaiāulu, a student club at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College will host an Earth Day 2026 fair titled “Hoʻōla I Ka Wai, Hoʻōla I Ke Ao — Heal the Water, Heal the World” on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UHMC Pāʻina Building.

Organized by STEMworks™, a program of Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), the two-day event is the program’s largest student career awareness and teacher professional development event of the year. 

According to court documents, the defendants conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks to a county housing employee in exchange for his agreement to use his official position to ensure that the county approved three affordable housing agreements benefitting the defendants’ development companies.

More than $3.8 million in Hawaiʻi to upgrade the Energy Management System (EMS) platform for the Maui and Hawaiʻi electrical grids. EMS platforms are the backbone of electrical grids, enabling real time monitoring and control to quickly identify and triage threats and impacts to the electrical grid from natural hazards and vice-versa, potential threats to the community and environment from faulty electrical grid resources.  

Forty-three of the state’s top public school seniors, including two top honorees from Maui were honored April 22 at the Citizen-Scholar Awards luncheon held at the Prince Waikīkī.

The four-man crew: Joshua Dukes, Greg Anderson, Johnny Martinez, and Wilton Ngotel; will attempt the 3,100 mile transpacific crossing without sails, engines, or a support vessel, relying entirely on teamwork and physical strength to navigate one of the world’s most demanding environments.

May 1, 2026 will mark 50 years since Hōkūleʻa departed Honolua Bay, Maui on her maiden deep-sea voyage, sailing from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti using traditional, non-instrument navigation. This marked the first time in approximately 600 years that a voyaging canoe sailed the ancient sea road of Kealaikahiki and disproved theories of accidental drift.

Council Chair Alice L. Lee reminded Maui County residents that the county’s new water-conservation ordinance took effect last month, emphasizing that responsible water use remains critical despite recent heavy rainfall.

Department of Environmental Management officials now forecast the planned Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Waikapū will cost from $298 million to $420 million, or two- to three-times higher than the $130.6 million project estimate published in the project’s final environmental impact statement in February.

Make a lei, Give a lei, and Wear a lei at Wailuku First Friday to celebrate Lei Day. Join us on Market Street, Friday, May 1, 2026, from 6–9 p.m. for this free, family-friendly community event features Maui-made shopping, ‘ono eats, and live local entertainment in the heart of Wailuku Town.

The discovery offers new clues into how brown dwarfs grow and change over time.

University of Hawaiʻi students developed a project that could help support sustained human activity on the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The 99th Maui County Fair takes place on Oct. 1-4 after a successful return last year following a six year hiatus. The fair will be held at War Memorial Special Events Complex in Wailuku, and nonprofit food vendors and product and services exhibitors are encouraged to apply by May 15, 2026.

Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau appoint leaders for a new enterprise that focuses on treating Hawaiʻi as a living system to be stewarded rather than a product to be sold.

Gov. Josh Green today announced the designation of Keith Regan, comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services, to serve as acting lieutenant governor for the state of Hawaiʻi, effective immediately, following Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke’s decision to take a leave of absence.

Hawaiʻi is once again being recognized as a national leader in preschool quality, meeting all 10 benchmarks for high-quality early learning for the fourth consecutive year, according to the newly released National Institute for Early Education Research 2025 State of Preschool Yearbook.

The Public Utilities Commission approved Hawaiian Electric’s requests to extend its Charge Up eBus Pilot and EV-J and EV-P Tariffs Pilot, with modifications, to support continued progress in transportation electrification and grid efficiency.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation notifies highway users that runners will be on a portion of Honoapiʻilani Highway (Route 30) for the Maui Marathon on Sunday, April 26.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke is taking a leave of absence without pay, for an indefinite period, according to a statement released today. This comes the day after her attorney, David M. Louie and the Friends of Sylvia Luke confirmed that a target letter was received from the Special Investigations and Prosecution Division (SIPD) of the Department of the Attorney General stating that Luke is the target of a bribery investigation.

The home was originally one of 10 homes built by Habitat Maui in 2020 for a Lahaina family. Rebuilding it marks an important step forward as families begin returning to the neighborhood following the devastating 2023 wildfires.