Hawaii

Final day of Native Hawaiian Convention on Maui concludes with call to action

Published

2 years ago

November 18, 2023

Final day of Native Hawaiian Convention on Maui concludes with call to action

KAHULUI (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Native Hawaiian Convention on Maui ended on Friday with a call to action to rebuild Lahaina in the right way.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Native Hawaiian Convention is the largest gathering of Native Hawaiians.

For the first time ever, it was held on a neighbor island. It was held on the Valley Isle this year to elevate the voices of the Maui community.

Many discussions were about rebuilding fire-ravaged Lahaina.

Several residents say they now have a clearer picture of what that looks like and have a plan of action moving forward.

On the final day, four of the five members from the Lahaina Advisory Committee shared their views for Lahaina’s recovery.

Each of them was handpicked by Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen after the August fires.

“The people that you see here are very inclusive of the community. It’s not one sided. Which is really, really important to the success of the communication from the community to us to the mayor, but also to the rebuilding of our homes,” said committee member Archie Kalepa.

Their goal is to guide the mayor with how Lahaina wants to rebuild Lahaina.

On Friday, they shared their responsibilities within the committee.

Kim Ball, former Lahainaluna High School wrestling coach and founder and president of Hi-Tech Maui, Inc., said his focus is on the economic recovery.

“Eight hundred businesses were impacted with 7,000 employees. That’s a daily revenue loss of $2.7 million from those businesses, and the total loss from businesses on Maui is $11 million dollars a day,” Ball said.

They also tackle issues like housing, education, keiki, kupuna, mental health and several other things.

They shared how community members can help them.

“If you know of people who have houses that might be able to open up to one of our families, that’s what we’re really looking for in the long term is some housing just to stay here and ride this out until Lahaina can be rebuilt,” Laurie DeGama said.

“Individually, pray for us. As we pray for you,” said Kaliko Storer.

They meet as a committee twice a week and hold weekly community meetings every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center. They encourage everyone to attend.

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Hawaii

Regents confirm Matt Elliott as Hawaii’s new athletic director | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

12 hours ago

June 16, 2025

Press Room

Regents confirm Matt Elliott as Hawaii’s new athletic director | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Newly appointed University of Hawaii athletic director Matt Elliott speaks to the Star-Advertisers Stephen Tsai and Dave Reardon after the Board of Regents meeting today.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Newly appointed University of Hawaii athletic director Matt Elliott speaks to the Star-Advertiser’s Stephen Tsai and Dave Reardon after the Board of Regents meeting today.

Matt Elliott, a key administrator at UCLA for 13 years and with the Hawaii Community Foundation for the past 18 months, today was named as the University of Hawaii’s athletic director.

Two weeks ago, UH president Wendy Hensel recommended Elliott from an initial field of more than 110 applicants. Hensel’s recommendation was confirmed during today’s special Board of Regents meeting on the UH Manoa campus.

Hensel made an official recommendation during the meeting. Ten regents then met in a 30-minute executive session. The regents unanimously approve Elliott.

Gabe Lee, BOR chair and co-chair of the search committee, described Elliott as the “best overall candidate.”

Regent Neil Abercrombie said Elliott will need more community support. Abercrombie also said Elliott faces the challenge of replacing Aloha Stadium, which was shuttered for spectator-attended events in December 2020.

Regent Lauren Akitake said Elliott’s law background will be useful in leading UH’s 21-sports program. Elliott has a law degree from Northwestern University.

At UCLA, Elliott was instrumental in the Bruins’ move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.

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Hawaii

Evacuations underway on Maui for Kahikinui brush fire driven by strong winds

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2025

Press Room

Evacuations underway on Maui for Kahikinui brush fire driven by strong winds

FILE VIDEO: Air Maui Helicopters Director of Operations Richard Olsten flew over Lahaina for the first time after the deadly wildfires killed more than 100 people one year ago. When the wildfires started, Olsten’s aerial images were some of the first to show the devastating fires burning.

MAUI COUNTY, Hawaii – Evacuations were ordered for the homestead of Kahikinui on Hawaii’s island of Maui on Sunday after a wind-driven brush fire quickly spread.

Maui County Fire Department said the fire sparked around 10 a.m. in the Kahikinui area around Mile Marker 24 and 25.

A brush fire burning on Maui on Sunday, June 15, 2025 leading to evacuations.

(Maui County Emergency management)

“The fire is currently moving up the mountain, pushed by strong winds,” the Maui County Fire Department said on X.

The Kahikinui brush fire is estimated to be about 20 acres and uncontrolled.

The fire is moving upslope into challenging terrain, fueled by high winds, officials said. According to the National Weather Service in Honolulu, winds near Kahikinui were gusting near 20 mph with higher gusts near 50 mph.

MAUI WILDFIRE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS HEROICS OF FIREFIGHTERS DURING DEADLY WIND-WHIPPED FIRESTORM

About an hour after the fire started, Maui County Emergency Management (MEMA) issued an emergency evacuation order for mile marker 24 in Kahikinui. The evacuations included 30 to 40 homes, according to MEMA.

Residents were notified through the new Genasys Protect App, MEMA Alerts and emergency officials going door-to-door.

Maui Police have shut down Pi’ilani Highway (Hawaii Route 31) from mile marker 20 to 41 due to the firefight.

The American Red Cross set up a temporary evacuation point at Grandma’s Coffee House on Kula Highway in Ulupalakua.

No injuries or structural damage were reported as of Sunday afternoon, according to Maui County Emergency Management.

Less than two years ago, Maui County experienced the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history and Hawaii’s worst natural catastrophe when wind-whipped fires swept through communities including Lahaina, destroying everything in their path and claiming at least 102 lives in the coastal town.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page and check back for updates.

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Hawaii

Korean convenience store chain coming to Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

2 days ago

June 15, 2025

Press Room

Korean convenience store chain coming to Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A convenience store chain with about 18,500 locations in South Korea is coming to Hawaii.

Local real estate investor and developer Robert Kurisu plans to open CU stores initially in urban Honolulu under a master franchise agreement, starting with a flagship location in Executive Centre, the downtown Honolulu hotel and condominium tower.

The first Hawaii store, slated to open by the end of the year, will be the first U.S. location for the chain focused on selling Korean brands of food, household items, cosmetics and other merchandise.

Kurisu said in a news release that CU Hawaii stores also will feature Korean rice rolls called gimbap, reimagined popular local dishes such as poke and loco mocos, as well as new flavors of musubi, bentos and sandwiches.

Other features of CU Hawaii stores, which are slated to range in size from 700 to 2,500 square feet, include instant ramyeon or ramen cooking stations and customizable drinks.

“Due to the high cost of living in Hawaii, local people deserve affordable, convenient, quality options for every day life,” Kurisu said in the release. “We look forward to introducing CU, a fresh and modern Korean convenience store, to the Hawaii market.”

A representative of Kurisu’s venture, CU Hawaii LLC, said information was not available on how many more CU stores are envisioned in Hawaii, where any expansion in the state may occur and when.

Local retail analyst Stephany Sofos said other retailers in Hawaii have already demonstrated local demand for Korean merchandise that suggests CU will do well.

“It’s catering to a market that everybody wants,” she said.

In 2020, Korean specialty grocery store H Mart opened an initial Hawaii location in Kakaako followed by a second store in Pearl City two years later.

A much older player has been Palama Super Market, established in 1977 in Pawaa as Dae Han General Grocery Store. Palama Super today has three grocery stores and four Palama Express convenience stores on Oahu, including one downtown. The first Palama Express store opened in 2016 at Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Hawaii’s convenience store landscape has long been dominated by 7-Eleven generally and ABC Stores mainly in resort areas.

CU was established as a convenience store brand in 2012 by Seoul-based BGF Retail. BGF opened its first convenience store, Garak- Siyoung Store, in 1990. Prior to establishing CU, BGF had been in the business through a licensing agreement with FamilyMart, Japan’s second- largest convenience store operator behind 7-Eleven.

BGF began expanding CU outside South Korea in 2018 and since then has added about 680 stores in Mongolia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

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