Maui News

Negotiations are set to resume next week for hundreds of Maui Health System workers who have been on strike since last Wednesday. Negotiations with a Federal Mediator are set to resume on Monday, March 6, 2023 at 10 a.m. 

The County of Maui Department of Environmental Management is soliciting grant applications for the Environmental Protection & Sustainability Division Grants Program, which includes a new Green Grants Program for small-scale innovative environmental initiatives or demonstration projects as well as the continuation of the Recycling Grants Program that the department administers.

There were 228,743 visitors to Maui in January 2023, up nearly 25% from the 183,278 visitors who arrived in January 2022, and down -2% from the 233,422 visitors who came in January 2019.

Maui police have launched an investigation into the theft of an armored Humvee from the Maui National Guard Armory in Puʻunēnē overnight.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation starts the electric bike and electric moped rebate program today. The electric bike and electric moped rebate was created through Act 306 to “reduce the cost of living and cost of transportation by providing rebates for the purchase and use of electric bicycles and electric mopeds.”

Waiehu Municipal Golf Course will accept online reservations for tee times beginning March 15, in a pilot program that will allow golfers to more easily see what times are available, county officials announced today. The pilot program will be re-evaluated after 60 days.

The rigging attached to a grounded luxury yacht off of Maui’s Honolua Bay, failed during a second salvage attempt Monday night, state officials said. The contractor headed back to Oʻahu last night to resupply with stronger rigging. Wednesday is the earliest salvage operations will resume, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Maui’s Kāʻanapali Beach was ranked the best beach in the US, and the No. 10 beach in the World by TripAdvisor. Also making the US ranking was Kauaʻi’s Hanalei Beach at No. 4, and Maui’s Hoʻokipa Beach Park at No. 5.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health is alerting residents to a voluntary recall of enoki mushrooms sold in Hawai‘i, produced by Taiwan-based Changhua County Mushrooms Productions Cooperative and distributed by Jan Fruits Inc., because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. 

Another attempt will be made during high tide later today to pull the grounded luxury yacht, Nakoa, further from shore. The vessel has been grounded for a week just beyond the boundary of the Honolua-Mokulē’ia Marine Life Conservation District.  

The intersection at Wākea Avenue and Hoʻohana Street in Kahului will operate as a four-way stop from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, while work is done on the traffic signal.

Household hazardous waste will be collected Sunday, March 26, at a by-appointment-only event in Central Maui, a County of Maui news release said. Appointments must be made between March 1 through March 17 by calling (808) 695-2999.

Mākena Golf & Beach Club hosts an Aloha Mākena Haumea Event on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a Let Go, Let Grow art experience led by award-winning Maui artist, Wailani Artates.

To celebrate YUSA National Day of Giving, Maui Family YMCA is inviting the public to an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. March 7 at its Kahului facility. The free event will offer music by Joel Katz, food, games, giveaways, awards and “just plain fun,” a news release said. Maui Family YMCA is located at 250 Kanaloa Ave., Kahului.

Michael Castillo, PGA, Head Golf Professional at Kapalua Plantation Course was recently invited to play in the Champions Tour Cologuard Classic by Exact Sciences under a sponsor exemption in their two-day Pro-Am.

Dippin’ Dots, known for its flash-frozen beaded ice cream, debuts the brand’s new location in Kahului, Maui. The 700-square-foot store located at 312 Alamaha Street in Kahului officially opened its doors in December 2022.

The luxury yacht, Nakoa, remained stuck on rocks off of the Honolua Bay coastline overnight after multiple attempts to move the grounded vessel late Sunday.

Over the past two decades, both scientists and members of the public have anticipated the occurrence of slow slip events (SSEs) on Kīlauea’s south flank.  These events are recorded by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s (HVO) continuous GPS network, which show as much as 2 cm (0.75 inches) of increased seaward motion of the flank over 2-3 days—equivalent to about a M6 earthquake.

Salvage crews are waiting for favorable tide conditions to free the 120-ton luxury yacht, Nakoa, has been grounded at Honolua Bay on Maui since last week. Higher tides are forecast late this afternoon and early evening, but may not be enough to refloat the vessel out to open water, according to state officials.

Maui Obituaries for the week ending Feb. 26, 2023. May they rest in peace.