Maui News

The incident occurred on Old Haleakalā Highway on Aug. 8, 2024 when an IED, which had been placed in a nearby trash receptacle, exploded. The explosion struck a passing vehicle, and the driver was transported to the hospital and released, according to the FBI.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, in partnership with the Cook Center for Human Connection, a national non-profit family foundation, announced Friday that it will be providing families and staff statewide with access to ParentGuidance.org, a 24/7 online platform that offers parents and staff with resources and support for student mental health.

Conservation groups and the Grand Wailea Resort have reached a settlement agreement to protect endangered Hawaiian petrels (‘ua‘u) while the resort seeks a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

A number of special events marking one year after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires takes place this week, paying tribute to the 102 victims and the two that remain missing. The events are designed to honor the resiliency of a community that has faced crisis and heartbreaking tragedy, and offer residents opportunities to gather in healing and shared support.

The Rotary Club of Kīhei-Wailea will hear from Gerry Bautista, Maui Coordinator with People Attentive to Children (PATCH) on Aug. 14. Bautista will share an overview of programs and how to be a resource to the community.

Maui resident Jamil Newirth was just 32 years old when he was given a terminal brain cancer diagnosis. He was told he had about 17 months to live. That was 12 years ago.  Newirth, now 44, beat the odds thanks to a novel cancer vaccine developed by UCLA neurosurgeon Linda Liau, MD, PhD.

The Maui Nui Marine Resource Council will host its Reef-Friendly Landscaping certification course from Sept. 4 to Oct. 2, 2024. The course will be completely online and will teach professional landscapers, property managers, and agricultural businesses how to move away from synthetic products and transition to reef-friendly land-care practices. 

“We got a request for help late on the night of Aug. 8, 2023, and we deployed a boat and three personal watercraft from the Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor. Normally the 13-mile trip takes a half hour. With hurricane force winds in our face and very rough sea conditions it took us more than an hour to get to Lahaina,” said DOCARE Lt. Jeff Kinores.

Elevated rates of ground deformation at Kīlauea Volcano’s middle East Rift Zone continue following the June 22–25 upper East Rift Zone intrusion within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Recent unrest has been restricted to Kīlauea’s upper and middle East Rift Zone within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park; no unusual activity has been noted east of Puʻuʻōʻō, along Kīlauea’s lower East Rift Zone, or in the Southwest Rift Zone at this time, the HVO reports.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Education announced today that 34 previously suspended school bus routes across three islands will be reinstated starting Monday, Aug. 12, thanks to ongoing efforts to address the statewide bus driver shortage. Service is being restored for approximately 1,200 student riders enrolled at 23 schools.

Several hundred people paddled surfboards and canoes, and hundreds more watched from shore at Hanaka‘ō‘ō Beach Park on Thursday morning in a Lahaina Paddle Out event to commemorate lives lost and changed forever by the Lahaina wildfire disaster a year ago.

In the aftermath of the devastating Maui wildfires, two University of Hawaiʻi Maui College students are helping their community recover under the guidance of UH Mānoa and UH Maui College faculty members.

The Central East Maui Little League majors have secured a spot in the championship game of the West Region Tournament taking place this week in San Bernardino, California. They will play Eastvale Little League of Southern California at 3 p.m. HST (6 p.m. PT) on Friday, Aug. 9. The Maui 12U team is one win away from a regional title and a securing a spot in the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport Pa.

Several devices have been recovered in the Kahului and Pukalani areas.

The KūHana Accelerator is now recruiting for Cohort 14. The accelerator program is for highly motivated entrepreneurs looking to take their company to the next level. KūHana will take participants through the business planning process where members can solidify goals, identify costs to implement, and determine how that investment will positively impact their company. KūHana graduates have gone on to acquire over $3.5 million in funding from traditional bank loans to private equity. 

In a turn of luck, a Hawaiʻi woman’s dreams came true at the California Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Aug. 6 with a large Wheel of Fortune slots jackpot, worth over $891,000.

Nine-year-old Maddie Ellner felt heartbroken to read about last year’s Maui wildfires, the destruction of the Lahaina Library and, especially, keiki who lost everything. The Orange County resident decided to take action: collect used books from family and friends to replace books lost on Maui in the wildfires, or be sold to buy new books.

As state, county and federal leaders gathered to reflect on the one year mark since the devastating Maui wildfires, Gov. Josh Green, M.D. announced he signed papers to “purposefully transition” Mokuʻula from the state to Maui County for its cultural restoration.

On Aug, 8, 2023, strong winds drove wildfires out of control on Maui– resulting in the worst natural disaster in Hawaiʻi’s history and one of the worst American wildfires of the last century. Nearly all of the town of Lahaina was destroyed, and Kula was significantly damaged. 3,971 properties, including homes, businesses, and schools were destroyed. The property damage was estimated to be as high as $6 billion. A staggering 102 lives were lost.  The Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services has since released a One Year of Progress: Recovery and Healing from the Maui Wildfires report.

The series of remembrance events, presented as Kuhinia Maui, will take place Aug. 8 – 11, 2024. Today, the County hosts a “Paddle Out” and ocean gathering from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in waters off Hanaka‘ō‘ō Beach Park across from the Lahaina Civic Center. Shuttle details and drop-off instructions are posted at KuhiniaMaui.org. For air safety and to respect privacy, no drones are allowed.