Maui County News

Laboratory tests have confirmed swine flu in several employees at The Queen's Medical Center.

Native Hawaiian Lyn Scott said she fears genetically modified taro could contaminate the Hawaiian taro grown by her family for generations in East Maui.

The first swine flu death in the state and the hospitalization of another person raised concern about the spreading infection that has stricken 545 people in Hawaii.

Moderate to 'exceptional' drought conditions have gripped much of the state, leaving firefighters prepping for a potentially busy summer of brushfires and spurring calls for water conservation on the Neighbor Islands.

WAILUKU - Maui County's Department of Water Supply declared a drought watch yesterday for Upcountry, requesting residents and businesses from Haiku to Kanaio to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 5 percent.

Sunday afternoon, Jim Foxboro was in his bedroom when he smelled smoke. "I called 911, and then I opened the door, and I saw flames that must have been 30 feet high." That was kiawe burning across Honoapiilani Highway near Maalaea.

WAILUKU - The Maui County Council yesterday voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would ban alcohol from Honokowai Beach Park in West Maui.

An 18-year-old Maui man died Friday at Maui Memorial Medical Center of injuries he suffered earlier last week when the truck he was driving hit a guard rail on Hana Highway in Haiku and landed in a gulch, police said today.

Damage to two houses in Maalaea, Maui, by a wind-swept brush fire Sunday was estimated at $600,000, according to a news release from Maui County.

MAALAEA - A brushfire that burned an estimated 80 acres and destroyed a house was completely contained shortly before 5:30 this morning, Maui County officials said.

The county Parks and Recreation Department has proposed prohibiting commercial ocean recreational activities, such as surfing schools or kayak rentals, at the following beach parks: * Baldwin Beach Park * Cove Park * Hookipa Beach Park * Kamaole beach parks I, II and III as well as the Charley Young Beach right of way * The south end of Kalama Park ...

KULA, Maui - Maui police closed a portion of Kula Highway Friday afternoon because of a brushfire that burned an estimated 10 to 15 acres in the Kula area.

Strong winds swayed power lines and brought them close enough to touch off a short-circuit and ignite a grass fire Thursday afternoon in an undeveloped portion of the Maui Lani subdivision near the intersection of Kaahumanu Avenue and Maui Lani Parkway.

A hearing on whether to ban polystyrene products - popularly known as Styrofoam - is heading to the Maui County Council's Infrastructure Management Committee.

Dropped phone calls, Internet disconnects and problems with phones in general have crippled telecommunications for Maui County residents, with hard information on what's wrong hard to come by.

State Department of Transportation roadwork will cause delays and closures on a number of Maui County roadways this week.

Three Maui County teen-agers and the anti-tobacco movement they're leading in Hawaii were tapped for a national award recognizing their campaign against cigarettes and tobacco advertising aimed at them and their peers.

CARE Hawaii, which provides an array of mental health services, will shut down its operations on Maui and Kauai, state health officials confirmed.

The Maui County Farm Bureau and the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources are holding a Grown on Maui Agriculture Contest.

Nearly two years after her 8-year-old son, Will Smith, died from internal injuries sustained in a car crash near Ukumehame Wayside Park, Susan Moulton is seeking justice and a way to find something positive in her family's loss.