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The Hawai‘i Journalism Initiative has partnered with MauiNow.com, the leading website for local Maui news and information. Through this partnership, HJI brings fresh perspectives and in-depth journalism to the Maui community.

May 24, 2026

‘She’s up with the saints’: Meli Watanuki, one of Kalaupapa’s last living patients, dies at 91

Loved ones remember her “thousand-watt smile” and “spark plug” personality. Her death puts public access to Kalaupapa in question, as she owned and sponsored the only permitted tour to the area.

May 23, 2026

HECO installing sturdier replacement poles in Lahaina, with plans for limited underground lines

Hawaiian Electric started work this week to replace wooden poles with steel and composite fiberglass on a key stretch of Honoapi’ilani Highway that it calls the “first targeted area of critical pole hardening.”

May 18, 2026

‘Historic opportunity’: County plans to acquire Maui Land & Pineapple’s water system in West Maui

The two sides have reached a tentative agreement, but a price still needs to be negotiated and the council must approve it, with the chair saying it’s “not a done deal.”

May 17, 2026

Expansion plans of Lāna‘i luxury resort are economic win to some residents, cultural loss to others

Pūlama Lāna’i, the management company owned by billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, wants to rezone about 170 acres to urban land and build nine villas and five more spa units for Sensei Lāna’i.

May 16, 2026

Lahaina fire survivors urged to apply for housing rebuild programs as August deadline approaches

Property owners whose homes were destroyed by the Lahaina fire in 2023 have until Aug. 31 to apply for reconstruction and reimbursement programs.

May 14, 2026

Lahaina school rebuild gets nearly $200M, wildfire study misses out on funding

Maui Health also got funding in the budget as the legislative session closed last week, but lawmakers think it won’t be enough for repairs to the storm-damaged Kula Hospital.

May 10, 2026

Pā‘ia Mantokuji given another year to find a fix for erosion threatening Buddhist temple, nearby graves

The century-old temple on Maui’s north shore is looking into sand replenishment or an offshore artificial reef to curb the waves before the building and graves are lost to the sea, but neither solution is quick or cheap.

May 09, 2026

From trucking to technocrat: How did former Maui official Keith Regan land in state’s second-highest post?

The 54-year-old said his passion is public service, but he does not plan to run for the permanent lieutenant governor post in Hawai’i, saying he is more of an operations guy than a politician.

May 07, 2026

Makawao Forest Reserve’s first management plan balances needed conservation, popular recreation

The original reason for the creation of the Maui reserve in 1908 was to protect freshwater resources, and that is still a need although how to accomplish it now is different.

May 03, 2026

Surf was up at Hoʻokipa Beach for Hawaiʻi’s first state high school surfing championship

With Mauiʻi’s Kim Ball leading a long effort to make surfing an official statewide high school sport — it was fitting that a sophomore from Maui won the first state high school surfing title in Hawaiʻi history.

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