#kelly king

Gov. Josh Green has proclaimed March 18, 2025, as “Pacific Biodiesel Day” in Hawaiʻi, recognizing the Maui-based company’s 30 years of leadership in renewable energy.

More than two years after Maui County Council members unanimously approved a bill to allow homeless people to sleep in their cars in county parking lots, a pilot program has yet to be implemented, even after the J. Walter Cameron Center’s parking lot was initially identified as an appropriate location in the fall of 2022.

Just three meetings into the new year, the Maui County Council’s five-member majority has shown its upper hand, with minority members chafing at being on the losing end of 5-4 votes in contested issues on the Council floor.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court has unanimously ruled in favor of incumbent South Maui Council Member Tom Cook and against an election challenge by opponent and former Council Member Kelly King.

In the heart of Māʻalaea Village, nestled on Maui’s south shore, a community’s love for the land drives its dual battle against environmental degradation and wildfire risk. This close-knit village, a hub for marine research and education, is home to the Hawaiʻian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Keʻālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, and visitor treasures like the Maui Ocean Center and the Pacific Whale Foundation.

The lawsuit claims the Clerk’s Office failed to follow the law related to the review of voter signatures on return identification envelopes, thereby improperly invalidating signatures. The Clerk’s Office asserts that all laws and administrative rules were followed.

Former Maui County Council Chair Kelly T. King and 30 Maui County voters have filed an election contest with the Hawai’i Supreme Court seeking to void the results of the South Maui County Council race and to order the holding of a new election.

The two candidates were separated by fewer than 100 votes in the closest Maui County Council contest of the election. With no recount triggered and the deadline for cured ballots passed, the only other option is a legal challenge.

The Maui County Clerk’s Office is notifying voters whose ballots have signature issues to fix them by 4:30 p.m. Nov. 13.

Money is flowing into the most closely contested races for the council, including the South Maui race, and contributions from vacation rental organizations reflect the hot-button proposal to ban short-term rentals that the council will have to consider.

Even with the political factions that have split the council in recent years, candidates on both sides of the aisle are cautious when it comes to the mayor’s proposal of completely phasing out short-term rentals.

The Maui Hotel & Lodging Association is sponsoring an inaugural “Get Out the Vote” community event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Queen Kaʻahumanu Center in Kahului.

Without resuscitation, the future is bleak for Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, with the aging, once premier Central Maui shopping destination caught in a downward spiral — store closings lead to less foot traffic, which beget more loss of business, and so on.

By virtue of being uncontested, Maui County Council Members Shane Sinenci of East Maui and Gabe Johnson of Lāna‘i will be re-elected to their respective seats this year. Central Maui Sen. Troy Hashimoto is also uncontested for his 5th District Senate seat, and District 9 Rep. Justin Woodson has no opponent to stand in the way of his return to the state House of Representatives.

With a June 4 deadline just a week away, there’s been a flurry of activity in the past three weeks by candidates seeking Maui County political offices, with several checking out and/or filing their official nomination papers.

A field of blooming sunflowers will be the backdrop for the 2024 Sunflower Farm Music Festival on Saturday, May 4 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In commemoration of Earth Day, Pacific Biodiesel Founders Bob and Kelly King welcomed community leaders and local students on a tour of the company’s new crushing mill and expanded agriculture operations, followed by a blessing of its first sunflower field on Kauaʻi on April 22, 2024.

Since early February, five new candidates have checked out nomination papers from the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections for Maui County Council seats.

Kelly Takaya King officially announced her intent to run for her previously held Maui County Council seat for the South Maui District.

This project is based on Kauaʻi, where the Maui-based Pacific Biodiesel last year began supplying its biodiesel to KIUC as a source of renewable energy supporting the Kauaʻi utility’s accelerated pathway to 100% renewable electricity production by 2033, more than a decade earlier than the State of Hawaiʻi’s mandated timeline of 2045.