Maui

Maui seems to be getting a handle on its homeless population, but finding affordable rentals is still the main problem, whether you’re on the street yet or not.  A recent study concluded Maui will need 14,000 more housing units by 2025, and while that target may be hard to hit, new ideas in neighborhood living are starting to take root on the Valley Isle.

The latest word is, homeless numbers on Maui may be going down after recent storms, as several families and individuals have decided to seek permanent housing.  At last count, there were about 900 people homeless on the Valley Isle.  HPR’s series about housing on Maui continues with a look at what is working to shelter the homeless, and what is ahead to create housing they can afford.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

Family life has changed on Maui, according to Maude Cumming, Executive Director of the Family Life Center, Maui’s primary homeless outreach agency.  Changing families, population growth, and high flying real estate are all factors in the spread of homelessness, but Family Life Center is finding ways to rebuild community.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

Despite receiving approval from the state in 2009, a community hospital development project in West Maui has struggled to obtain funding for the past 9 years. That is a big deal for a community where it can take as long as two hours to reach the nearest hospital.

In this segment, it’s a pleasure to take you to an amazing homeless shelter and affordable housing complex on Maui. 

 There just might be a new hospital in West Maui— if the non-profit that got it designed and approved could only find some big financial backers. 

As Hurricane Lane approached the islands, West Maui residents prepared for wind and rain. Instead, they were awakened by three brush fires that burned more than 2,000 acres. Since then, the community has come together to help the hardest-hit families rebuild.

The recent Lahaina brush fire burned down thirteen houses and threatened residents all the way to Kā‘anapali.  The fire advanced to the perimeter of Ka Hale A Ke Ola, a homeless housing center, whose 300 residents felt the heat on their backs as they evacuated.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports that center, which emerged without a scorch, is part of Maui’s housing safety net.

Values are a frequent theme this political season, and on Maui, a community group is working to ensure that the values and can-do attitude of previous generations are a part of everyone’s life today.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa takes us on a visit to the Maui Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Go For Broke Place.

A six-month moratorium on sand mining on Maui expires today. Lance Collin is an attorney who represents the community group Malama Kakanilua, which seeks to stop sand mining and development on Hawaiian burial grounds.

Affordable housing got a boost on Maui recently when Governor Ige signed a bill that will help keep rents stable for 142 apartments on Front Street and build more affordable rentals in Lahaina. In the first of a series about housing on Maui, HPR's Noe Tanigawa reports on Maui's struggle to match incomes to housing costs.

A nearly two decades-long battle for water in Maui has come to an end. The state Water Commission decided last week to end the century-old diversions and restore stream flow in East Maui. HPR Reporter Ku’uwehi Hiraishi has more.

Some know it as the Boo Boo Zoo.  The East Maui Refuge Center is a No Kill shelter for animals of all kinds.  The facility has existed for 40 years and operates thanks to its volunteer staff who care for some 500 creatures, furry, feathered, and hoofed.  

It’s not unusual to see parents with their babies strapped on their chests these days, and one of the most highly rated baby carriers of this type is the Ergobaby, invented on Maui.  For the past six years, inventor Karin Frost has been investing proceeds from her baby carrier’s success in Hōkū Nui, a project to create a regenerative community in Upcountry Maui.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa visited Hōkū Nui with Kumu Hula Keali‘i  Reichel, who is creating a cultural center and home for his hālau as part of the project.

Kumu Hula Keali‘i Reichel’s Hālau Ke‘alaokamaile has numerous awards to its credit, including being overall winner at Merrie Monarch in 2011.  In an effort now to deepen their work, the Hālau is establishing a cultural center and joining in a larger effort to create a regenerative community on Maui.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa caught up with Reichel in that pastoral setting for a wide ranging conversation that included a tip for hikers in Hawaiian forests.

The first container-load of solar panels are set to arrive at the Maui College campus in Kahului later this summer. It’s part of a net-zero plan dubbed a “Star Trek” deal that could put the college on the map. During a recent trip to Maui, we thought we would take a closer look at the $6.3 million dollar solar project.

Last week, a coalition of Maui community groups presented a plan at the Alexander and Baldwin shareholders’ meeting in Honolulu.   The coalition, Hukilike no Maui, is proposing to acquire five thousand acres, or 15% of A&B’s Maui land holdings, for affordable housing, agriculture, and conservation.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa was on Maui with Hukilike members to find out more about this community planning initiative.

Maui business leaders say they face the same conditions as Oahu— only more so. We get an explanation of that from Pacific Business News editor in chief A. Kam Napier.

Haleakalā National Park is one of Maui's most popular visitor draws. But starting this year, park officials vastly reduced the number of tour companies allowed to operate in the park. One business that didn't get a contract had to shut down earlier this month. We get more from contributing reporter Colleen Uechi.

Since it launched in 2005, Maui Brewing Company has expanded tremendously — and it’s done so by supporting the entire local brewing industry. Pacific Business News editor in chief A. Kam Napier has more.

Maui High is one of three public schools in the state to offer a day care program for students with children. But now that program is getting phased out because the school is running out of space. We get more from HPR contributing reporter Colleen Uechi.

There’s a court case that’s drawing a lot of attention and not just for the reason the defendant is on trial but because he is insisting on defending himself in his native Hawaiian language. HPR Reporter Ku’uwehi Hiraishi has this story.

This week is a busy one for Hawai‘i’s visitor industry. And while another record year is expected for tourism, more people at the beach means plenty of sunscreen ends up in the ocean. There’s now a movement in Maui County to ban sunscreen containing chemicals that scientists say are harming the reefs. We get more from HPR contributing reporter Colleen Uechi of The Maui News. 

Water can be a contentious subject, especially in East Maui, where streams have long been diverted for sugar. Now, a battle to restore these streams is coming to an end. We get more from contributing HPR reporter Colleen Uechi of The Maui News.

Maui Sand Mining; Waimea High Truancy Pilot Program; Evolution of Sponsorship in Surfing

The road to Hāna can be a lovely drive, if you have time to make it out to the east side of Maui by car. Taking a flight has been a popular option for many tourists and locals, but there's only one airline that makes the trip. And now that company says it needs financial assistance to continue the route. We get more from HPR Contributing Reporter Colleen Uechi of The Maui News.

Short term rentals are a growing part of the visitor market on all of Hawai'i's islands. On Maui, residents of Paia and Haiku are trying to decide the future of short-term rentals in their community after an unusual discovery: their current community plan and the Maui County Code don't match up. We get more from HPR contributing reporter Colleen Uechi of the Maui News.

It's been just over a month since Kaiser Permanente took over operations at three Maui County hospitals. But the new chief executive officer of the hospitals is already moving on. We get more from Colleen Uechi of The Maui News.

Roads leading to the summit of Haleakalā are once again open to the public today. Park officials say the construction convoy delivering equipment for the new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope was successful. This follows the latest round of protests against the solar telescope under construction. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

Plans for further development on South Maui have been rejected at least for the moment. The latest proposal would have included housing, office and retail space on 75 acres in North Kīhei. We get more on what comes next from Colleen Uechi of the Maui News.