Community Articles
Hale Kau Kau: 20 Years of Serving the Community
Every day of the year, volunteers dish out food at Hale Kau Kau, the island’s only daily soup kitchen. The volunteer force is an integral part of the nonprofit’s mission to feed the hungry and the homeless, according to its Executive Director, Monsignor Terry...
“Study Buddies” – A New Program Supporting Our Students
Parents at Kamali’i Elementary School in Kihei know that teachers don’t educate alone, and that’s why a group of them are launching a new tutoring program this month. It’s called “Study Buddies,” and instead of getting assistance with homework after school, students...
Meet the Director of the Department of Water Supply
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs. Department of Water Supply Director Dave Taylor approaches his job by taking cues from the community he serves. “The...
Youth Alliance Enrollment Now Open
Guided by the Focus Maui Nui vision, values and key strategies for action, Youth Alliance members are empowered with the skills and experiences to become leaders for change. For the third consecutive year, 16-year-old Adam Skelton has signed up to be a part of the...
Volunteering Health Care for Those in Need
Health care is one of the most important needs in the community, and the Kihei Wailea Medical Center is contributing its time and talent toward helping the island’s uninsured. The staff and its physicians, Dr. Marcus Griffin and Dr. Gayland Yee, have held free health...
Meet the Director of Parks & Recreation
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs. Maui County Parks and Recreation Director Glenn Correa returned from retirement to serve a second-term for a department...
Tradition of Success at Pukalani Superette
As one of Maui’s last surviving mom-and-pop stores, Pukalani Superette contributes to the island’s economic sustainability by providing a local alternative to supermarkets and chain stores, buying from island suppliers and providing jobs to Upcountry residents....
Meet Dept. of Housing and Human Concerns Director, Jo-Ann Ridao
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs. The Maui County Department of Housing and Human Concerns provides island residents with assistance in all stages of...
Youth Alliance Year Culminates on Lāna‘i
Armed with a sense of adventure, students from the Focus Maui Nui Youth Alliance mixed fun and education on Lāna‘i as part of their 2010-2011 capstone event. Alberta de Jetley of the Coalition for a Drug Free Lāna‘i “played” tour guide, using her nonprofit’s van to...
It’s “Curtain Up” for the Maui Film Festival
This week, as the Maui Film Festival begins, movies will pay tribute to people who take effective action for a better world. It’s what the Film Festival Founder and Co- Director Barry Rivers said has been always been the focus of the annual event that entertains and...
Meet the County’s Planning Director
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs. “As an avid photographer, I truly appreciate the breathtaking landscapes of Maui. Protecting them, preserving view...
Youth Alliance: Making News from the Inside Out
On a recent weekend in May, the Focus Maui Nui Youth Alliance spent an unforgettable few hours at the offices of The Maui News, where they learned what it takes to interview, write, edit, photograph and produce stories for media publication. The visit was in keeping...
Volunteering For the Arts
“Choral performance, like other forms of music, really nourishes the soul when done right,” observes choirmaster Bob Wills, the founder and volunteer director of Maui’s Summer Masterworks Festival. This August, the second annual Festival will be held at Kihei Baptist...
Meet the County’s Managing Director
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs. Keith Regan holds the “No. 2” position in the County administration, a role he also filled in Mayor Arakawa’s...
Scottie Zucco: Volunteer for Community Sports
The ancient Romans had a phrase for it: Mens sana in corpore sano – “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, referring to the ideal balance for living a productive life. Thanks to coaches and community volunteers like Scottie Zucco, our keiki in Maui County are able to...
Perpetuating Cultural Heritage
Ten Things Your Family Can Do To Perpetuate Your Cultural Heritage: Trace your family tree Attend cultural events, festivals and gatherings Collect the memories of your grandparents and elders in your cultural community Share old family photographs Maintain your...
Ke Alahele: Fund The Journey!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 27, 2011 for the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund! Held at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, featuring Distinguished Educators U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, his wife Ms. Irene Hirano, and Mayor Alan Arakawa and his wife...
Making a Difference in Hana
Lehua Park Cosma is one community volunteer dedicated to meeting human needs, a priority value expressed by our community through the Focus Maui Nui process. Through her tireless efforts and leadership, the Hana community benefited from the nation’s first communal...
Brian Moto: A Volunteer with Many Missions
Meeting human needs is a priority value expressed by our community through the Focus Maui Nui process, and in the case of Brian Moto, this applies to helping the victims of the recent Japan disasters as well as those in need on Maui. Moto, volunteer Board President of...
Meet County of Maui Budget Director: Sandy Baz
The Focus Maui Nui process identified the key role of government in responding to community values and needs, and the importance of open, ongoing communication. To promote this dialogue, we continue a series of profiles of newly appointed County Department Directors....
An Exemplary Steward of the Environment
All volunteers who make a difference in the community by improving the environment deserve recognition, but volunteering every day for ten years and transforming an unkempt coastline into a thriving native ecosystem represents an extraordinary achievement. Mike Perry,...
Meet the Department Director: David Goode, Public Works
The Focus Maui Nui process identified the key role of government and public officials in responding to community values and needs, and the importance of open, ongoing communication. To promote the dialogue, we present the first in a series of profiles of the newly...
A Helping Hand for the Maui Food Bank
When it comes to meeting human needs–a priority value expressed by our community through the Focus Maui Nui process–Harlan Hughes is one volunteer whose outstanding example has benefitted the Maui Food Bank and the thousands who receive its help each month. Harlan...
Giving Back to the Community – A Family Tradition
Leslie-Ann Yokouchi’s motto for her real estate business, Windermere Valley Isle Properties, runs: “If home is where the heart is, then community is where you’ll find our souls.” Leslie credits her father, Pundy, for instilling in her the importance of taking action,...
Community Involvement—A Key to Educational Success
If you have ever wondered what might happen if you mix together bright young minds, committed teachers and parents, and energetic community volunteers, then look no further than Molokai. Over the last few years, a transformation has been taking place on the island as...
Maui’s Bus System: A Home-Grown Success Story
For many of Maui’s residents, it’s hard now to remember what life was like before the current public bus system got off the ground in 2004. That was shortly after the initial Focus Maui Nui civic engagement process had identified addressing infrastructure challenges...
Year of the Rabbit – A Symbol of Hope
The Chinese astrological symbol of the coming new year is appropriate for Maui County, Hawaii and the nation: 2011 will be the Year of the Rabbit, to be celebrated on the new moon on February 3rd. Chinese tradition holds the rabbit as a symbol of hope, an amiable,...
Putting Smiles on Keiki’s Faces This Christmas
Meeting human needs is a core Focus Maui Nui community value, and providing our less fortunate keiki with presents at Christmas time certainly meets this priority. We can take pride that our community has already proved more generous than ever this year. One of the...
Perpetuating Hawaiian Culture Through Language
“Our public schools have been a mainstay for maintaining the consciousness of Hawaiian traditions without the community knowing it,” reflects Pūlama Collier, State Resource Teacher with the Department of Education for Hawaiian Language Immersion Program at King...
Congratulations To All Candidates!
Elections represent the will of citizens and election year 2010 was no different. Congratulations are due to candidates who will be sworn in to offices in Maui County, the Hawaii State Legislature, the 5th floor of the State Capitol and in Congress, but also to the...
Changing Lives and Leading By Example
Meeting human needs and preserving local culture are twin core values espoused by our community through the Focus Maui Nui process. Sharon Balidoy, a social worker at Queen Lili`uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC) in Wailuku, is a prime example of a practitioner active...
Don’t Forget To Cast Your Vote
Just a reminder to everyone to cast your vote, either at your polling place or by absentee. Voting is an essential part of our democratic process, by which you choose the representatives in your government who make decisions that affect you, your family and your...
Abercrombie-Aiona: “A Gubernatorial Conversation” Focuses On Differing Approaches To Government
The conversation was polite, if occasionally pointed, as Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and former U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie made clear they agreed on defining issues even as they differed on how state government can respond. The Republican and Democratic...
Make Your Voice Heard—The Vote Early Option
Hawaii voters increasingly are taking advantage of early voting by mail or at absentee voting sites. In the 2008 General Election, 35 percent of all Maui voters were early voters—18,229 absentees to 33,810 at the polls. Statewide, 38.5 percent of voters turned in...
Arriving by Air
In the 1920s a select few well-heeled visitors came to vacation in the two or three grand hotels at Waikiki Beach. Some flew in small amphibian airplanes to see the volcanoes on the Big Island, but Maui was seldom on their itinerary. Inter-Island Airways, Ltd., (which...
Out Migration
A telling indicator of economic duress is local residents leaving Hawaii for good. At the airport, departing family members or friends look no different than other people. There is no way of knowing their reasons for pulling up stakes and leaving Hawaii. The census...
Makahiki – Hawaiian Thanksgiving
Na Huihui o Makali'i is a cluster of stars also known as the Pleaides or the Seven Sisters and is much revered in Hawaiian tradition as the place from where the first Hawaiian people came to Earth. In November the appearance of the Makali'i cluster signifies the...
Being Coastal
There are 3,140 counties in the United States. 21% (673) are classified as coastal. More than half of the U.S. population lives in a coastal county. The entire state of Hawaii is now included in the coastal zone (previously state forest reserve lands were exempt)....
Maui County General Plan
The General Plan is a term for a series of planning documents that will guide future growth and policy creation in the County. The Countywide Policy Plan acts as an overarching values statement and is an umbrella policy document for the Island and Community Plans. The...
Hanafura~Sakura
In the 18th year of Tenmon (A.D. 1549) when Francisco Xavier landed in Japan from Europe the crew of his ship had carried a set of Hombre, 48-card Portuguese playing cards, which became extremely popular with the Japanese. Through a colorful history of being banned...
A Community Conversation About Water
Water questions everywhere... Water resources and water usage are critical issues for Maui County. FOCUS MAUI NUI is a voice and a vision for Maui Nui’s future created for and by the people who live here. People like you. FOCUS MAUI NUI continues a series of...