Kokua Line: What if siblings disagree on fire fund claim?

• By Christine Donnelly
• May 30, 2024

Question: There’s a fund to pay people who lost family members in the Maui fires, if they don’t sue. My questions: If a parent died, do all their children have to agree, or could one heir disagree and be left out of the settlement? Also, is this only for U.S. citizens? Read more

Hawaiian Electric unveils initial plan for power shutoffs to prevent fires

• By Andrew Gomes
• May 29, 2024

The so-called public safety power shutoff program slated to become active July 1 will initially cover about 48,100 customers on Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii island. Read more

Hawaiian Electric filing blames Maui County

• By Peter Boylan
• May 29, 2024

Maui officials failed to clear excessive invasive vegetation before fires killed 101 people in Lahaina on Aug. 8, did not plan for the catastrophe and “fumbled the emergency response,” according to a counterclaim filed by Hawaiian Electric. Read more

Banks agree to lend Hawaiian Electric $250M

• By Andrew Gomes
• May 28, 2024

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. announced Thursday that its utility subsidiary has secured a $250 million credit line subject to state regulatory approval. Read more

Resilient Lahainaluna High graduates plan to give back

• By Dave Reardon
• May 27, 2024

Seventy-five Lahainaluna students have committed to UH on four-year scholarships, and LHS seniors have earned $3.3 million in scholarships. Read more

Memorial Day weekend observances remember lives lost in Maui wildfire

• By Allison Schaefers
• May 26, 2024

Many people who are connected to the fires remain unsettled going into Memorial Day, which in Hawaii is seen not only as a day to remember America’s fallen military, but as a day to more broadly remember friends and family who have died. Read more

Memorial Day observances remember the lives lost in Maui wildfire

• May 25, 2024

Lahaina Methodists remember fire victims

• By Pat Gee
• May 25, 2024

On Sunday the congregation of the Lahaina United Methodist Church, which was decimated by fire in August, will recite a unison prayer to remember the town’s 101 wildfire victims on the eve of Memorial Day. Read more

Lahaina recovery, resource centers to stay open through June

• By Star-Advertiser staff
• May 24, 2024

HI-EMA said in a news release that the extension, approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, reflects the state’s commitment to providing ongoing support and resources to those affected. Read more

Maui teachers ask for more help following August wildfires

• By Kacie Yamamoto
• May 24, 2024

Nearly 20 Maui teachers traveled to Oahu to ask the BOE to reconsider an increase in shortage differentials, the creation of a fire relief leave bank, and encouraged mental health support for students and staff. Read more

Maui Care Flights to offer wildfire survivors free trips

• By Victoria Budiono
• May 23, 2024

Gov. Josh Green on Wednesday announced a new program, Maui Care Flights, to provide thousands of round-trip flights for Maui families affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires. Read more

Editorial: MEMA flaws must be solved, and fast

• May 23, 2024

Lack of leadership at the Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). That was one of the top lines in the first phase of the state’s investigation of the Aug. 8 wildfires that destroyed most of Lahaina and killed 101 people. Read more

Maui seeks contractor to review MEMA’s Aug. 8 response

• By Peter Boylan
• May 20, 2024

MEMA now has three part-time employees besides its two full-time employees. At full strength, MEMA is funded to employ nine full-time workers. Read more

Public to discuss new site for destroyed Lahaina school

• By Star-Advertiser staff
• May 19, 2024

The state Department of Education will hold a community meeting Tuesday to discuss options for a permanent site for the King Kamehameha III Elementary School campus, which was damaged beyond repair in the Aug. 8 wildfires on Maui. Read more

Maui County issues first rebuilding permit for wildfire survivors

• By Kacie Yamamoto
• May 19, 2024

West Maui residents Rich and Kari Alexander received the permit Wednesday to allow them to rebuild on their property on Komo Mai Street. Read more

Health declines seen in survivors of Maui wildfires, UH study finds

• By Timothy Hurley
• May 16, 2024

Nearly half of those affected by the Maui wildfires in August suffered a decline in health, according to a study that aims to track the well-being and social conditions of those exposed to the disaster. Read more

Construction to begin at Lahaina housing site

• By Kacie Yamamoto
• May 16, 2024

Heavy construction is set to begin at the Kilohana temporary housing site in Lahaina later this week and will last approximately six months, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday. Read more

Conditions ripe in Hawaii for another fire disaster

• By Timothy Hurley
• May 13, 2024

Less than a year after a massive wildfire ravaged Lahaina with shocking lethal ferocity, a federal agency is predicting that Hawaii over the next few months will face similar conditions that could lead to more wildfires. Read more