WAILUKU - In three years, customers may no longer be given plastic bags when purchasing items at Maui County retail stores. On Wednesday, the County Council's Public Works and Facilities Committee took an initial step and recommended the adoption of a bill to bar retail businesses from giving out plastic bags at the point of sale beginning Jan. 11, 2011. Plastic bags would be prohibited regardles

HANA - Hana High and Elementary School plans to appeal a report that placed the campus in the lowest status possible because of its failure this year to meet raised proficiency benchmarks in reading and math. Principal Rick Paul said Wednesday that he's not sure that the appeal will change the East Maui school's status under the No Child Left Behind Act, but he wants to at least correct the recor

WAILUKU - The Maui County Council's Land Use Committee voted unanimously for a two-year permit that would enable the Hale Hookipa Inn in Makawao to continue to operate as a transient vacation rental. The four-bedroom, short-term rental at 32 Pakani St. is zoned residential and has attracted both the support and ire of neighbors. Cherie Attix's 21,079-square-foot home was placed on the national a

WAILUKU - After more than four months in bureaucratic limbo, a personal watercraft is on its way to being donated to the county in memory of an 8-year-old boy killed in a car crash last year. The County Council Public Works and Facilities Committee on Wednesday recommended adoption of a resolution to accept a personal watercraft, trailer and other accessories from the Will Smith Foundation. The r

PUKALANI - A program to set up a HI-5 redemption center in Pukalani has residents of the area concerned over traffic on a busy stretch of highway and the appropriateness of the location within their residential neighborhood. "We were shocked that there was a protest," said Roger Yamagata, general manger for Maui Disposal, which is operating the redemption center on a 1.65-acre lot owned by the Ch