Owners and managers of Maui short-term vacation rentals have argued during two days of public hearings that local residents cannot afford the rent if 6,100 units are converted into long-term housing. Read more
After nearly two years, the state’s investigation into government response to the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire has concluded, with future wildfire planning and coordination efforts transitioning to the newly established state fire marshal’s office and the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, state Attorney General Anne Lopez announced Thursday. Read more
All reports and materials from the investigation— including 850 gigabytes of data — are available on the Department of the Attorney General’s Maui Wildfire Investigation web page. Read more
Maui County Council members heard another full day of testimony Wednesday for and against a proposal to convert 6,100 vacation rentals in Maui “apartment districts” into long-term housing, but recessed with plans for a third and fourth hearing. Read more
Nearly two years after the devastating Maui wildfires, survivors continue to struggle with the mental, physical and social impacts, according to researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Read more
The work, using up to 50 trucks making four or so round trips seven days a week, is expected to take about five months to complete, and involves moving 400,000 tons of nonhazardous debris. Read more
The Keokea Community Center opened at 7 a.m. today as an emergency shelter. Read more
At Monday’s hearing, 176 people signed up to testify but only 52 had the chance to speak. Read more
A $6 million Maui emergency marketing campaign is finally underway some four months after Gov. Josh Green released the funds to help counter the continued softness from the August 2023 Maui wildfires and the expected downturn due to the wildfires in Los Angeles, Hawaii’s top tourism source market. Read more
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A key Maui County Council committee will hear testimony today on Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposal to convert less than half of Maui’s short-term vacation rentals into long-term housing for local residents that’s expected to trigger a loss of $60 million in tax revenue while lowering sales and rental prices. Read more
Nothing accelerates long-delayed improvements as powerfully as a crisis, and few crises have wounded Hawaii as grievously as the Maui wildfires of Aug. 8, 2023, above all through the loss of 101 residents who lost their lives that day. Read more
Typical residential customers of the state’s largest utility could see their monthly bill rise between $1 and $5.50 to cover costs of an expanded three-year wildfire safety plan. Read more
An Army combat veteran with high-level fire safety job experience in Arizona is Hawaii’s new state fire marshal. Read more
State and county officials broke ground this week on a $20 million workforce housing project aimed at providing rental units for public school employees in West Maui, many of whom continue to face housing challenges in the aftermath of the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires. Read more
The volume of debris collected from burned properties in Lahaina is roughly the equivalent of five football fields piled five stories high. Read more
Maui County is launching a new loan program this summer to help middle- income Lahaina homeowners who are still struggling to rebuild since the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires. Read more
Ka La‘i Ola is a modular housing project mauka of the Lahaina Civic Center designed specifically for survivors who are ineligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance. Read more
The removal of the materials also mitigated risks to marine life and the health of the coastal ecosystem, which had been threatened by the decaying debris. Read more
Hawaii legislative leaders have agreed to fully fund the state’s share of Maui wildfire damage claims slated to be paid out over four years. Read more
An effort to help alleviate Maui’s dire shortage of affordable housing by having a state agency acquire and convert commercial buildings to partial residential use has come up short at this year’s Legislature but still might produce results. Read more
UHERO’s report estimates that banning transient short-term rental use of properties could result in losses on Maui of 1,900 jobs, $900 million in annual visitor expenditures and $60 million in property tax revenue by 2029. Read more
