Wednesday night was the first Slack Key Guitar Show at West Maui’s Napili Kai Beach Resort since the August 8 wildfires that destroyed almost all of nearby Lahaina. The evening began with a Hawaiian chant from Wainani Kealoha (who later performed some extraordinarily graceful hula). and a thank you to the audience for coming out to the first show following a tragedy that took nearly 100 lives, gutted Lahaina’s treasured historical landmarks and razed the homes of thousands of people, including several workers at the resort. Having driven past Lahaina and seen some of the destruction first-hand on my Read more
West Maui
Parts of West Maui officially opened for business today. But it’s unclear if that will remain the case. Maui’s County Council unanimously passed a resolution on Friday (Oct. 6) asking Governor Josh Green to delay the opening because area residents are still traumatized by the August 8 fires that killed nearly 100 people and destroyed almost all of the town of Lahaina. “I hope that it sends a loud message,” Maui County Councilmember Tamara Paltin said in a story posted at Hawaii News Now. “We need certain things to be able to open to to tourism. We need stability of Read more
The governor of Hawai’i has set October 8, two months after the terrible fires that destroyed Lahaina, as the date for West Maui businesses to re-open. That obviously does not include Lahaina itself, where there’s very little left and where emergency workers continue to clean up and look for bodies. But it DOES include Ka’anapali, Honokowai, Kahana, Napili and Kapalua. Most of my visits over the years have been concentrated in that region, so it’s a part of the island I know pretty well. With that in mind, here are 30 places I’ve enjoyed in my time on the magical Read more
The Hawaiian government has asked visitors to stay away from West Maui until October 8 so it can deal with the terrible damage from the Lahaina fire. But it’s encouraging visitors to head to other areas of the island and support businesses that rely on tourist dollars. That’s especially so for smaller, independent shops versus the Costco’s and Starbucks of the world. Besides dining or shopping, there are tons of great nature spots to see and enjoy. West Maui definitely needs time to heal. But the area that’s closed for tourism is a tiny fraction of the island of Maui, Read more
