The Stories

Koholā Brewery is set for a grand opening July 21 as a taproom and restaurant at the Wailea Village shopping center. This marks the second comeback for the independent craft beer brewery founded in Lahaina in 2014.

Akakū Maui Community Media, along with sister access stations ‘Ōlelo on Oahu, Hō’ike on Kaua’i and Nā Leo on Hawai’i Island, won two Hometown Media Awards at the Alliance for Community Media national conference in San Jose, California in late June, for a collaborative effort to broadcast a statewide vigil following the Aug. 8. 2023 Maui wildfires.

Walls are now in place for the first home to be rebuilt in the Lahaina impact zone since the deadly August 2023 wildfires. It’s a visual reminder of the hope that exists among those wanting to return to their beloved neighborhoods, and an encouraging sign of progress as displaced residents work their way through the permitting and construction process.

Author and early childhood specialist Lori Abreu read her children’s book “Moʻo and Koholā” to the preschoolers at the Maui Economic Opportunity Head Start Makawao center on Thursday.

Cool Cat Cafe, a beloved local restaurant that was destroyed in the Lahaina fires, announced its grand reopening at a new location in South Maui. The grand reopening will take place on June 15, 2024, at Kukui Mall, located at 1819 S. Kīhei Road. The restaurant will be open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The Maui Humane Society’s 2025 calendar will pay tribute to the courageous Maui firefighters and rescuers who bravely faced the devastating Lahaina wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023.

Jennifer Karaca, the founding executive director of Maui nonprofit Common Ground Collective, has been honored with the District 50 Hawai’i Lions’ Humanitarian of the Year.

Deardorff will present “Microbes as Human Indicators of Human Health Risk after the Lahaina Wildfires” to an audience of biomedical professionals at the 2024 National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE) Conference in June.

After 175 days, the Lahaina Strong group announced its end to the occupation of Kāʻanapali Beach as part of its Fishing for Dignified Housing initiative.

Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club celebrated the opening of the Manaʻolana Garden with a blessing ceremony on Monday, as part of the recovery and reforestation efforts in Lahaina. The grow hub, created in partnership with Treecovery, hosts 125 locally sourced fruit tree saplings that will be replanted in West Maui. 

The 150-year-old Lahaina banyan tree continues to show signs of recovery, eight months after the Maui fires. In video provided by the Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Duane Sparkman of the Lahaina Treecovery project provides an update, describes some of the challenges the iconic tree still faces, and talks about what lies ahead.  

Kahiko night at the Merrie Monarch Festival featured hula in the ancient style with 29 groups performing Friday night in the annual competition in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. The festival continues tonight with ʻauana or modern hula, followed by results from the 61st event.

Sacred Hearts School announced Principal Tonata Lolesio is the recipient of the coveted 2024 National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Lead, Learn and Proclaim Award.

This past Saturday, proprietors of five distinct food trucks commemorated the bittersweet grand opening of their new home, Maikaʻi Market, in Kahului.

A group of students affected by the August 2023 Lahaina wildfire have written and illustrated their own book, which has been published with help from Lahaina Arts Guild.   Honokōwai Learning Hub was formed shortly after the fires. This group was dedicated to supporting keiki and providing a creative outlet for their emotions and a safe, […]

Sitting at the edge of scorched Lahaina Town and makai of the Lahaina Cannery Mall, the Old Lahaina Lūʻau reopens to tourism for the first time since the Aug. 8 wildfire.

Tomodachi Kibou for Maui, a new Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi program is preparing to depart for Higashimatsushima, Miyagi, Japan with 11 students who were impacted by the Lahaina wildfires on Maui in August 2023.

A group rallying to help secondary victims of the August fires is asking Gov. Josh Green to extend protections for tenants facing evictions from landlords seeking more lucrative rental income tied to subsidized housing for wildfire survivors.

Tails Up Maui, a restaurant in Paukūkalo, reopened on Jan. 26 after a transformative period of community service.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today released a video documenting his visit to Lahaina, where he went to see firsthand the devastation from the wildfire that destroyed much of the historic town six months ago. Kennedy surveyed the site of last summer’s wildfire with two long-time residents—Eddy Garcia and Janet Spriter—who weighed in on the federal government’s response.