Maui News

The event will await the best surfing conditions, running over one day, between Sept. 9-17 in the new, winner-take-all event to decide the undisputed 2021 World Champions.

The US Department of Agriculture is investing $46,552 in Hawaiʻi to build or improve renewable energy infrastructure to help agricultural producers and rural businesses lower energy costs. It is part of a $129 million national program in 48 states and Puerto Rico. 

There were 429 additional COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i on Thursday, including 63 on Maui.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health has launched a new program to educate parents and teens about the health risks of vaping. Art Courtesy: DOH

A Michigan man is the latest individual to be arrested on Maui for alleged violation of rules and orders related to the state’s travel quarantine.

A coalition of 60 community leaders, conservation organizations, businesses, elected officials and academics has petitioned the federal government to ban three chemicals from sunscreens and other personal care products. The petition cites scientific studies on the dangers to Hawai‘i’s coral reefs and coastal ecosystems posed by oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene.

Maui received an on-site Oxygen Generator last week and was able to install and test the unit successfully this week, according to Maui Health.

State officials unveiled the new Hawaiʻi SMART Health Card, which launches on Sept. 10, 2021. The voluntary program enables individuals who received their COVID-19 vaccinations in Hawaiʻi to create a state-issued digital card that may be used to confirm their vaccination status to businesses and venues that require it.

On Maui, 84% (1,514 of 1,797) of salaried employees at the Baldwin-Kekaulike-Maui Complex Area are fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19. And at the Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lāna‘i-Moloka‘i Complex Area, 75% (530 of 702) of salaried employees are fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19.

Hawai‘i has been experiencing an uptick in foreign and domestic fish aggregating devices, or “FADs”, that are adrift in nearshore waters or washing up along the coast, creating navigation hazards and entanglement of marine mammals, birds and turtles.  

Hawaiian Airlines is reconnecting Honolulu and American Samoa by resuming nonstop flights to the location next week. Hawaiian, which suspended its twice-weekly HNL-PPG service at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, will be offering two flights per month starting on Monday, Sept. 13, through Dec. 20.

There were 380 additional COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i on Wednesday, including 54 on Maui.

Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino, along with Hawaiʻi Gov. David Ige, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Kaua’i Mayor Derek Kawakami, proclaimed September as Big Brothers Big Sisters Month in Hawai‘i. 

County officials are calling Maui’s new set of rules “Safer Outside.” It includes the previously announced vaccine guidelines for eateries, and newly announced reduction in capacity for commercial recreational boating, ground transportation, and commercial tour operators. There will also be no spectators at indoor or outdoor sporting events.

Hawaiʻi State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble answered media questions on Tuesday afternoon about today’s COVID-19 count, pediatric and breakthrough cases, the mu variant and booster shots. During a brief Zoom update, state health officials provided some updates on what we’re seeing now and what we can expect in the weeks ahead.

There is NO tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi following a preliminary magnitude 7.4 earthquake reported at 3:48 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021 in Guerrero Mexico.

Hawaiʻi high school students can receive credentials from a nationally renowned hospitality program this year for free due to new sponsorships from hospitality industry leaders.  

A brush fire in the Piʻihana Road area that began on Tuesday afternoon, has burned 17 acres, and was declared 100% contained by 6:17 p.m.

The Hawai‘i Department of Health issued a red “Closed” placard to Nikki’s Pizza, located at 2435 Kāʻanapali Parkway, Unit #H-19, in west Maui for what inspectors are calling a “severe pest infestation.”

Governor David Ige signed Executive Order No.21-06 on Sept. 1, which effectively sets a framework for what actions would have to be taken to ration care, and provides protections from civil liability for death or injury caused by omission of care, should hospitals become overwhelmed during COVID-19 response.