Upate on the Maui County B&B and vacation rental crackdown. Most of the rentals and B&Bs operating on the three islands in Maui County (Maui, Molokai, Lanai) have shut down under threat of $1,000 per day fines. No word on when they will open up. This means that there are basically no places to stay on Maui or Molokai outside of the traditional tourist hotels and condos strips. Less than 50 permitted properties for the entire county exist in the small inn, B&B or vacation rental space. On the North Shore, there are less than a dozen permitted accomodation rooms, so if you want to windsurf and stay on Maui, book in Wailea or Kihei. Upcountry Maui is, likewise, off limits. The Maui Vacation Rentals Association has a good running tally of news articles on the topic.

—Alex, 09/06/07