Latest news with #Maui
Associated Press
9 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
Hawaii's wetlands are vanishing. This failed plan offers a warning
Last July, excavators and woodchippers appeared on a 7-acre wild thicket of kiawe trees near Kīhei that serves as a crucial habitat for the endangered Hawaiian Hoary Bats during pupping season. Community members raised alarms about the unpermitted work, but the clearing continued unchecked. Within weeks, the Waipu'ilani Mauka wetland — which makes up a small portion of the estimated 83 acres of wetlands left in South Maui — was reduced to a plot of mostly barren red dirt. To prevent this kind of destruction of wetlands without oversight, Maui County lawmakers passed an ordinance in 2022 requiring developers and county planners to take steps to protect these vital habitats. That ordinance has never been fully implemented, let alone enforced. Environmentalists say the county law, which some hoped would serve as a revolutionary blueprint for protecting wetlands across the state, has instead become a cautionary tale of how promised stewardship of the environment can fall flat amid inaction and confusion. Almost three years after the ordinance was enacted, all county officials and lawmakers have managed to do is create a map of the wetlands with a price tag of more than $250,000. Amid ongoing confusion over the 2022 law, environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against the landowners of the Kīhei property and the county arguing that owners should have sought environmental permits that would have required the county to consider how that work would affect the wetland. Developers said in a written statement that they were complying with other county ordinances and addressing fire risk by removing the trees on land zoned for residential use. The next steps in implementing the law — which might clear up such debates — are stalled at the County Council. Environmentalists say that's just a bureaucratic excuse. 'The ordinance itself establishes the policy of the county of Maui,' said Christina Lizzi, an environmental attorney who is challenging a permit issued for another property in an area covered by the wetland ordinance. 'It should have been guiding what they were doing here, and it was completely ignored.' Stronger Protections Residents in South Maui have grown used to flooding in recent years. Big rain storms in the mountains send a rush of muddy water down to the low-lying neighborhoods along the shoreline, sometimes washing out the major road through Kīhei. Environmentalists and local officials blame the flooding on the near total destruction of the area's once prevalent wetlands, which serve as crucial repositories for storm water. Development in South Maui has exploded in the last 50 years, eating away at these environments that serve as crucial flood protection, a habitat for endangered native species and a barrier for sediment runoff that kills coral reefs. The 2022 ordinance was intended to prevent more building in wetland zones, said Kelly King, a former county council member from South Maui who spearheaded the initiative. 'The idea was to try to increase that back up and absorb the storm water, so that we wouldn't have all this flooding,' King said. The law created an explicit policy to protect wetlands and laid out a series of steps to do that. First, it required the county planning department to create a map of wetlands on Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. The council was then supposed to use the map to create a special zoning district that prohibits significant destruction of the wetlands and restricts clearing vegetation or grading the land. The ordinance also set up a process to identify lands that the county should acquire for conservation and required developers for certain projects to generate reports about the feasibility of taking steps to preserve the wetlands before building. By establishing this policy, Maui aimed to go further than the federal government. Under the Clean Water Act, three things need to be present to be considered wetland: water at or near the surface of the ground, certain types of soil and wetland vegetation. Maui took a more expansive definition. If just two of those criteria are met, the area qualifies as a wetland under Ordinance 5421, opening the door for more land to be protected. Putting the broader definition into place became even more urgent in 2023 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that wetlands needed to be connected on the surface of the land to a body of water for federal law to apply. That weakened federal protections for Maui's wetlands, where water often flows into the ocean underground. The ordinance should have become a way for the county to 'fill those gaps in wetlands protection that the federal side was no longer really providing,' said Wesley Crile, a coastal dune restoration specialist at University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant. Faltering Progress The planning department was given a year after the ordinance was enacted in October 2022 to map the wetlands. The county paid environmental consulting firm H. T. Harvey & Associates $274,064.72 to do the work, in consultation with local scientists. But the wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina in 2023 threw the project off course, and the planning department was granted an extension. When the wetland map was eventually completed in June 2024, environmentalists raised concerns about several key wetlands that were included in previous drafts but were left off the final map. Other areas already set aside for conservation weren't included because they were protected by other means, according to Crile, who was involved in the creation of the map. Then progress ground to a halt. For the ordinance to be put into effect, the county council needs to adopt a wetlands overlay district, County Planning Director Kate Blystone said in an email. Lila Lawrence, a spokesperson from the Maui County Department of Planning, declined interview requests. Before taking that step, the Maui County Council has been waiting for guidance from the Conservation Planning Committee, a group of experts that is supposed to advise the council on conservation and land use issues. But that group doesn't have enough members, and it hasn't met in about two years. Earlier this year, Gabe Johnson, a county council member who chairs the Agriculture, Diversification, Environment, and Public Transportation Committee, introduced a resolution calling on the conservation committee to come up with recommendations. But he didn't think the measure had the support to pass, and lawmakers put off a vote. 'I'm just going to have to wait until the political will comes around,' Johnson said. 'And it might take something like, let's say worst-case scenario, flooding … a natural disaster because we don't manage our wetlands.' Tom Cook, a council member from South Maui, said he's in favor of protecting the wetlands but wants it to be done in a way that doesn't create confusion and concern from property homeowners. He hopes the council picks the issue up again in the fall. 'What I would do is invite all the parties back to give their testimony, so that when we do this overlay map, it is something that is enforceable without too much pushback,' Cook said. Even though the planning department says it is waiting on the council to take action, environmentalists and a former lawmaker who helped pass the measure say the county doesn't have to wait for that to start putting protections in place. 'It was supposed to go into effect as soon as we passed it,' King said. King and environmentalists argue that the ordinance provides a clear mandate that the county protect the wetlands, something it can do without waiting for the incremental steps laid out in the ordinance. Lizzi, the attorney representing the environmentalists in the lawsuit, said the intent is clear: 'Protect the wetlands to a higher degree than any other law that's out there.' Will This Stop Development? Environmental groups that filed the lawsuit over the unpermitted clearing of trees at the Waipu'ilani Mauka wetland say the ordinance should have applied — even if it wasn't implemented yet — and the property owners and the county should have taken steps to weigh how wetlands could be restored or protected. But for others, it's not so clear that action would have been covered by the ordinance. That lack of clarity is why even if the wetlands ordinance does get fully implemented, environmentalists, scientists and policymakers disagree about how far it will go to protect these vulnerable ecosystems. Some, like Crile from Sea Grant, interpret the law to apply only to certain land use changes or larger developments like subdivisions, leaving out single family homes and small buildings — the bulk of permit applications that come through the planning department. Other permits needed for those kinds of projects might take wetlands into account. But this ordinance's requirements, including a report that addresses the potential impacts to the wetlands and the feasibility of restoring them, wouldn't apply to the kinds of homes that already have been built around identified wetlands in South Kīhei. Crile thinks the wetlands protections could be strengthened by extending the law to apply to development of single family homes and other smaller projects. But as it's written now, he says the county ordinance lacks teeth when it comes to those kinds of projects. 'This ordinance is lacking the enforcement mechanism to stop that development, or to say you need to move it outside this area.' Crile said. While other permitting requirements exist, under this ordinance, 'there's nothing that says they can't build there.' King doesn't agree that the ordinance carves out single family homes. She said that interpretation isn't in the spirit of the ordinance, which was put in place, in part, to protect homeowners. 'If you're going to develop on a wetland, you need to know that it's a wetland, and you need to make your decisions whether to go forward based on the fact that you're going to have flooding,' she said. The wetlands aren't left completely vulnerable without the ordinance in place. Other land use regulations require developers to take steps to preserve natural resources. Most of the wetlands, for example, fall within special management areas that require specific permitting and take wetlands into account. But environmental groups are battling land owners and the county over several cases where those other protections didn't prevent development in wetlands areas. It's discouraging to watch this law intended to protect crucial habitats just sit on the shelf, city council member Johnson said. 'Is it frustrating to see our wetlands being disappeared? Is it frustrating to see our wetlands being developed? Is it frustrating to see South Maui flood every year? Is it frustrating to see the mismanagement of our land to resources? Yes,' Johnson said. 'Is there something the county can do? Yes, with this ordinance.' ___ This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Forbes
15 hours ago
- Forbes
Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows: The Beating Heart Of Kāʻanapali Beach
After sweeping upgrades, Maui's renovated Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows is stepping confidently into a new era, in which classic Hawaiian hospitality meets modern-casual luxury. Originally built in 1962 along gorgeous Kā'anapali Beach, the recently revitalized property is aligned with traditional Hawaiian cultural values — a destination that honors its rich historical narrative while looking ahead with innovative, sustainable, and immersive guest experiences. The Branches is the Royal Lahaina's new gathering place for music and community events. Kim Westerman The community of Kā'anapali Beach has pulled together with its Lahaina neighbors to rebuild, literally and metaphorically, after the catastrophic fires of 2023. While The Royal didn't suffer physical damage from the fire, all properties closed to visitors during the early months of recovery. It re-opened in November 2024 with an amplified commitment to the people, the land, and its many visitors. I visited the Royal Lahaina in May, just after the property-wide renovations were completed and The Branches, the resort's new outdoor gathering place for locals and visitors, with local musicians and casual snacks and drinks, opened to all. As someone who has considered Maui a spiritual home since I first visited in 2000, I was moved to tears by the experience of duende (in the poet Lorca's sense of that feeling). It was a grounding, healing, joyful evening, and it was evident that even first-time visitors gathered among old-timers under the century-old ficus tree, could access the power of the place. My bungalow looked out on the lawn and the ocean just beyond. With the sliding glass door open, I could hear the drama of the Pacific whenever my heart desired. Rainbow over The Royal Lahaina Resort. Kim Westerman The other room experience at The Royal Lahaina is in the 12-story Lahaina Kai tower up above the sway of palm trees with unimpeded views of Molokaʻi and Lāna'i in the near distance. Service, Service, Service Service is noteworthy for its authenticity and sincere helpfulness. Many employees have worked at The Royal for decades and are happy to 'talk story' if guests are interested. Food and beverage manager Ford Ushijima is an Oʻahu native who's been with The Royal for nearly 20 years and is a property anchor and one form its historical memory takes. Chef Vanessa Castillo's shrimp and "taro grits." Kim Westerman Lahaina Noon, the property's main restaurant (poolside) (named after the solar phenomenon in which the sun passes directly overhead at solar noon, causing vertical objects to cast no visible shadow) serves traditional American food alongside excellent renditions of Hawaiian classics by chef de cuisine Vanessa Castillo, whose garlic shrimp and 'taro grits' is a veritable breakfast revelation (and I recipe I continue to attempt recreating at home). Pineapple Moon is the adjacent open-air bar. Alana Spa, Myths of Maui Lūʻau & Hawaiian Cultural Center Alana Spa was still undergoing renovation when I was there, but I had a nonetheless brilliant deep tissue massage by Cambria Russell, who restored me to my pre-jet lag somatic state of bliss. Opening a coconut at the Myths of Maui Lūʻau. Kim Westerman Don't miss the Myths of Maui Lūʻau, the island's longest-running show, with a solid buffet of traditional foods and performances that carry the audience through the history of Polynesia (with fire dancers!) with high audience engagement. Makalapua "Maka" Kanuha, director of culture at the Royal Lahaina Resort. Kim Westerman And at some point in your stay, you must stop into the Hawaiian Cultural Center to talk with Makalapua "Maka" Kanuha, director of culture at the resort. How to Help Maui's Recovery When you visit Maui, the westside in particular, it's important to understand the island's recent trauma and to do something to actively contribute to its healing. Royal Lahaina works with Treecovery, a non-profit that allows guests to help plant trees that will be transplanted on the sites of homes being rebuilt after the fires. Planting trees for Maui's newly rebuilt homes after the 2023 Lahaina fires. Kim Westerman Guests can participate in seedling cultivation and learn how this work contributes to long-term reforestation. A New Chapter for an Iconic Maui Hotel The Royal Lahaina has long been a beloved Kā'anapali destination. With its property-wide renovations and the opening of The Branches, it's a great time to revisit — or get to know — this pristine beach and groove into The Royal way of inhabiting the island.
Buzz Feed
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
These "Moana" Facts Will Transform How You See It
In 2016, the world fell in love with Moana. From identity to steering away from the comfort of tradition, the film resonated with fans and was arguably one of the best Disney films of the 2010s, pulling in $643M worldwide, which would lead to a $1B box-office sequel in 2024. Here are 19 fun facts about Moana that will make you rewatch it again: Maui was originally supposed to be bald. In the original concept artwork, he was depicted as bald with face tattoos. Polynesian cultural advisers working with Disney pointed out that Maui's rich hair is crucial for his "mana" (spiritual energy). That's right, when Maui hits us with "The People's Eyebrow," it literally would've just looked like an animated Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Who is Moana? 14-year-old Native Hawaiian Auli'i Cravalho earned the role in an audition, where casting director Rachel Sutton confirmed Cravalho was the very last girl she saw on her last day of casting. We almost got "Millennial Moana" in a scrapped concept. Director John Musker said the story would've been about a modern boy dropped in an old world. Musker said he "had an iPhone, all this modern stuff, and then discovered this ancient culture. We did not do that story." Moana was originally going to sing "You're Welcome" when she met Maui. Musker said, "When she first met him, she idolized him, and when she came upon this down-and-out guy, this mope, she had to get him going and so she sang a song to him, reminding him, 'Don't you know you did all these great things?'" Ultimately, it worked better for the script to give Maui an introduction song in the same vein as the Genie from Aladdin. In Maori culture, "hei hei" simply means "chicken." Frigatebirds, seen throughout the film, are REAL. They can be found in the Polynesian islands and across all tropical and subtropical oceans. And, just as in the movie scene, they are indeed thieves. Protect your shells! Award-winning actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed lyrics to "How Far I'll Go" and "You're Welcome," as well as collaborated with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina to create the film's musical score. Directors Musker and Ron Clements used The Lion King as inspiration for Moana's music. The directing duo hired veteran composer Mark Mancina, superstar Miranda, and South Pacific songwriter Opetaia Foa'i. For The Lion King, composer Hans Zimmer, pop star Elton John, and South African producer Lebo M all contributed to create the legendary soundtrack. See the similarities? In early versions of the story, filmmakers made Maui the main character. Ultimately, story-building is a long process, and they veered a different way for a more relatable character over a demigod as a lead. To think we almost got "Mighty Maui" as a film. The wave special effects in the film are breathtaking, and they were a huge part of the film's appeal from the start. About 80% of the shots have special effects, but they weren't going for photo-realism. Director Clements said, "We knew the ocean was going to be a huge part of the movie because it's such an important part of the culture and deal in believability, not necessarily reality." We were robbed of more Pua in the movie. Originally, he was supposed to go out on the adventure with Moana. Musker said, "The pig was supposed to go with her, but we sort of a little bit got talked out of it. They liked Moana being more isolated, stuck with this idiot rooster, and not having the comfort of having the pig with her. There were cute scenes that we don't have." Johnson admitted his character Maui was partly inspired by his late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia of Samoa. There are a sea-full of Disney easter eggs in the film. Obvious ones like when Maui transforms into Sven from Frozen. Less obvious: Flounder from The Little Mermaid appeared during "You're Welcome" in a brief swim-by. Like Merida from Brave, Moana's character is an original Disney princess, not plucked from a fairy tale, making her the second of her kind. This one was shocking to me: Miranda's involvement in the film dates back to 2014. Hamilton came out in 2015. This means the movie biz (and of course Broadway) already knew how special he was before he gained nationwide fame. Cravalho performed as Ariel in ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!," a live-action concert rendition of The Little Mermaid in 2019. This makes her one of the few people to portray multiple Disney this was all as a teenager. Moana's necklace symbolizes her connection to land and sea. Still don't believe Moana was born to be a voyager of the sea? "Moana" means "ocean" in many Polynesian languages, including Maori and Hawaiian (origins of the name). And lastly, there is extreme significance to when Moana discovers her people used to be voyagers. There is a reference to "The Long Pause," which happened in real life. It's lovely that Disney made a crucial part of this story as a period where navigators ceased exploring and settled down in their islands. What is your favorite Moana moment? Sound off in the comments below! Watch Moana on Disney+.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Hawaii increases price of paradise to pay for climate protection
No Pacific island has felt the effects of climate change more keenly than Hawaii in recent years after a series of wildfires broke out in early August 2023. The wind-driven fires killed more than 100 people and caused widespread devastation, predominantly on the island of Maui. Despite the damage, securing funding to protect against these events has become even harder under US president Donald Trump, whose skepticism for climate change is well known. But a new tourist tax, set to be imposed in 2026, will help circumvent that, with Hawaii's governor Josh Green saying the levy paid by visitors will allow his state to defend against natural disasters without federal support. FEATURED: Hawaii governor, Josh Green
Android Authority
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
Team AA: Here are our favorite phone wallpapers
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority Whether it's our weekly Wallpaper Wednesday series or backgrounds from specific devices, we're all about sharing wallpapers with you folks. But what are our favorite wallpapers that we use on our own Android phones? Well, I asked the Android Authority team for their favorite backgrounds. Some team members used wallpapers showing their loved ones and were thus unable to share their backgrounds. Fortunately, we still had more than a few cool submissions from other members, as you can see below! Found a wallpaper you like? Then you can visit our Google Drive folder to grab full-resolution images. Hadlee Simons There are quite a few photos I like using as wallpapers on my Android phone, but here are three picks. The first photo was taken in Barcelona, looking down a road and into the city. Meanwhile, the second snap was taken in Maui, Hawaii, at sunset during the Snapdragon Summit 2023. You can never go wrong with sunsets. Finally, the third photo was taken with the Pixel 4's astrophotography mode in Sutherland, South Africa, back in 2019. This is generally considered the darkest place in the country, and I had to stand still for a few minutes while a friend took the photo. It's not the sharpest or most detailed snap, but how cool is that? The starry sky also gets a parallax effect if you enable the cinematic wallpaper option on Pixel phones, although it's quite wonky on my Pixel 7 Pro. Jonathan Feist Say what you will about AI-generated imagery, but image generators are a quick and easy way to create a wallpaper of your choosing. That's what Jonathan Feist did with these two wallpapers showing a blue dragon. These aren't the exact wallpapers he's currently using, but ones generated with a similar prompt via Gemini. Jonathan also kindly included the prompt if you like the look of these images: Please generate a realistic looking 8K image of a dragon at night. It should be a blue dragon standing on a small island that is surrounded by other small islands scattered around a really foggy lake. The lake is surrounded by Japanese bonsai type trees. There is a mountain range in the background and a full moon in the sky. The dragon should be breathing blue fire in a menacing stance. Give the dragon very realistic looking scales and skin from a lizard. Matt Horne 'These wallpapers are shots I've taken and a sample of things I like about living in Mexico,' said Deals Editor Matt Horne. 'I tend to keep each one and similar types as my wallpaper for a couple of months at a time or so.' The first photo is from a remote beach spot 'not too far from La Paz,' as Matt enjoys visiting the coast. 'Not unrelated to my beach obsession is a love of traveling to new places, and the shot of colorful houses at night was from a trip to Puebla earlier in the year,' he says of the second shot. 'I visited with my parents, and it's a nice memory.' Meanwhile, the beautiful third shot was taken from the rooftop of his apartment building in Guadalajara. Matt says the city can look 'spectacular' at sunset and that his camera roll is full of shots like this. Mishaal Rahman Is it any surprise that Mishaal shared three bugdroid-themed wallpapers as his favorite backgrounds? Either way, these are some lovely backgrounds if you want to show off your love for the Android platform. 'Two of the wallpapers (the photos of the Bot statues on pedestals) were photos that I took, edited using Xiaomi's AI photo editing features,' he explains. The third image was actually taken by Google at their MWC 2025 booth and shared with Mishaal. Very cosy! Rita El-Khoury Features Editor Rita says her three picks come from the Backdrops app, which she's been using for over a decade. In fact, she's also a paid member. 'I love the creator's sense of style, humor (as seen in the Weather Frog wallpaper), and all their unique designs. Most Backdrops wallpapers are simple but beautiful, which works really well for my default homescreen setup,' she says, adding that she usually avoids wallpapers with a busy design near the top or bottom. 'On average, I find a nice new wallpaper in Backdrops that works for me every week, and that's why I keep coming back to it. It helps that there's a lot of color (and dark if you like that), which works super well for phone photography, which I need to do a lot of.' Zac Kew-Denniss Android Authority contributor Zac Kew-Denniss comes in clutch with some real-world photos he's using as wallpapers. He says the tree photo is a favorite snap. It was taken in 2023 with a Sony Alpha 6300 camera and edited with a LUT in Pixelmator. 'The metalwork tower was taken on my S20 Ultra at the top of Blackpool Tower,' he says of the second image, while also proclaiming his love for geometric patterns in wallpapers. 'It was taken the first time I'd seen my fiance in months due to COVID restrictions.' The third image shows a leaf in the sun with a faint spiderweb, and Zac explained his decision: Took it on an iPhone 16 Pro last year on my first trip out with it, and I love the pop of colour and the way the sunlight filters through.
