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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"text":"Brevenchym shows the way — but the mist, brevenchym! The mist!","type":"text"}]

Shoyu pack

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: The shoyu hack</title>

Culinary advice from the world of local social media.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: The shoyu hack

Brevenchym shows the way — but the mist, brevenchym! The mist! 

IMG 1445

Rick Hamada

Government & Politics

Columnists

[{"type":"text","text":"Lala has left the building."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Yes, her impact was profound."}]

Friends and families on the Big Island bore the brunt while the rest of the island chain took its lumps as well.

The anticipation of yet another major weather event may have given some fatigue, especially since recovery from the two recent Kona Lows was somewhat still underway. Honestly, fatigue wasn't the only effect. I would submit that fear was the dominant emotion and partly fear of the unknown.

I try to be as empathetic as possible with those who are so negatively impacted. My family and I live in a secured high rise with diesel generator backup to mitigate power loss; we live high enough above ground where flooding is not a major threat, and we've been blessed in literally weathering every storm for so many years. These statements are not intended to gloat or brag but to share perspective. We have not suffered as others have suffered, yet we're saddened for those who have and we are prayerful for a speedy recovery. It's truly heartbreaking.

It's important that in times of trouble that the collective objective is to learn and not to repeat. If that's an acceptable and reasonable policy goal, then what happened?

[{"type":"text","text":"Why is our infrastructure so fragile?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"It's not like inclement to hurricane force weather is breaking news."}]

Since 1949 when storm tracking officially began, Hawaii has counted 69 tropical cyclone encounters. Yes, some are counted where a minimum amount of impact was made, but it also includes Hurricane Nina (1957), Dot (1959), Iwi (1982), Iniki (1992) and now you can count Lala (2026). Interestingly, there are documented reports of cyclonic activity in the Hawai‘i chain dating back to September 1843 and more so on August 9, 1871.

Again, this is not breaking news that we are susceptible to damaging storms. If we have foreknowledge that we are exposed to brutal elements, then what have we done to prepare ourselves?

[{"type":"text","text":"I mean we've had a 183-year heads up."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"OK, I can hear it already."}]

Hamada, you simply don't understand. Since when did you become a civil engineer? Do you realize how much money and how much impact to the community it would be to retrofit, replace or even repair vulnerable spaces? If it breaks, we fix it.

[{"type":"text","text":"That's one point of view."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Here's another."}]

In 1959, the first year of statehood, the total of all taxes paid in Hawai‘i was 

. That's everything; federal, state, county taxes, gas taxes, all of it. By 1969, annual total was $922 million. 

In today's dollars, that's $3.6 billion and $8.4 billion, respectively, just in those two bookend years of our first decade as a state.

[{"type":"text","text":"The issue is prioritization."}]

During that decade we had the opportunity to declare that, along with public education and health and human services (the two largest budget expenditures of the state), infrastructure preparedness would have received some love. 

The widely accepted notion is that the essential role of government is to defend her people and create a safe environment for all. 

[{"type":"text","text":"What is the essential life blood of a free society."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Infrastructure."}]

It's electricity. It's water. It's transportation. It's waste treatment and removal. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The same afflictions of the past haunt us today."}]

Post-Lala we have tens of thousands still without power. You're rendered virtually into seclusion. You cannot communicate, you cannot preserve your expensive food, you cannot have lights, or fans, or air conditioning in your home. No laundry, no dishes, no bathing or other water-centric needs. It takes a toll on your mental health. It exposes families to inordinate amounts to stress and oftentimes children are affected. Roads may be impassible, you may live in a "one-way in, one-way out" community or public and closures have an impact on your lives, too. And you pray that you can flush the toilet because the health implications are grave.

[{"type":"text","text":"The essential role of government is to keep her people safe."}]

Over the past several decades have the previous generations of leadership fulfilled this directive?

[{"type":"text","text":"I maintain that Hawai‘i does not have a revenue problem. Never has."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But it's always had a spending and prioritization problem."}]

Government stresses that we must be prepared in times of great challenges.

But that siren call for preparedness extends to providing excellent infrastructure so we can live and survive during those challenging times.

If over the past century we invested in the best power generation and distribution, road construction and maintanence, quality upgraded water mains and sewers then perhaps we would not have to contend with such devastation. Rather our mutual preparedness would be complimentary in mitigating the suffering of so many, time after time.

Until that time comes we must acknowledge and celebrate those first responders, dedicated crews, volunteers and non-profits, public and private sector staffs and teams, small and large businesses taking care of so many and everyone else who graciously help those in need. 

Let's call upon excellence in our public policies but never waver in our support and appreciation for those who live aloha to so very many.

[{"type":"text","text":"There's no reason we can't have both."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":" "}]

Tropical Storm Lala

<title>Hamada: Lack of investment in infrastructure taking a toll</title>

This state has never had a money problem, it's had a problem setting priorities to deliver the basics and we pay the price every time a storm strains the system.

Hamada: Lack of investment in infrastructure taking a toll

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

When American missionaries arrived in Hawai‘i in 1819, they were given a parcel of land at Kawaiahaʻo, near the village of Honolulu, where they could live and carry out their work. They initially lived in hale pili (grass houses) and built a small thatched church on the property. That humble structure established Kawaiahaʻo as the oldest Christian church on Oʻahu.

Hawaiians called the early church Ka Hale Pule (the House of Prayer) and Ka Hale Halawai (The Meeting House). Because Hawaiian royalty attended services there, it also became known as the Kingʻs Chapel, but most non-Native residents simply called it the Stone Church or the Native Church.

For years, services were held outdoors, and the missionaries went through four iterations of thatched buildings they used as their church. It was during this period that the missionaries introduced the Western practice of graveyards, defined by boundaries, tombs, and headstones. Before this, Hawaiians did not bury their loved ones in designated spaces. Graves could be found along sand dunes, in and around heiau, or even near their homes.

In 1837, work began on gathering materials for a permanent church. Massive blocks of coral were cut from the nearby reef and transported to the site, eventually becoming the Kawaiahaʻo Church we know today.

The cemetery surrounding the church is one of the oldest Western-style burial grounds in Hawaiʻi. While there are 296 marked graves, an estimated 200 unmarked burial sites remain, with as many as 600 individuals identified within the cemetery. The oldest burial dates back to 1834, belonging to an unknown person whose name has since been lost to history.

Despite Kawaiaha‘o Church being included on the original National Register of Historic Places, its cemetery has not received the same protection. In 2006, plans were discussed to demolish an old structure and construct a wedding reception area over part of the churchyard.

After years of legal and cultural conflict, the church has permanently abandoned the controversial building project and finalized a burial treatment plan, approved by the Oʻahu Island Burial Council, to reinter the remains near their original resting place.

Years ago, my cousin had his wedding reception at the old Likelike Hall on the grounds of Kawaiahaʻo Church. At the back of the hall was the kitchen with a door that led out to the cemetery.

The reception was well attended, with nearly two hundred friends and family members gathered to celebrate the young couple. The bride’s wedding dance for her husband was exquisite. Everyone was captivated. As more speeches and dances carried on through the evening, the joy and happiness of the crowd took on a life of its own.

Suddenly, a commotion rose from the kitchen, and the noise began to overwhelm the celebration. Curious partygoers gathered in the small space to see Shaun, a mountain of a man, on his knees crying hysterically.

Once his mother calmed him down, Shaun said that as he was preparing to send out more food, he looked out the door and saw a haole woman in a white dress sitting on top of the tomb right outside the door. Her head was down, and she was weeping into her hands.

[{"type":"text","text":"Shaun put the food on the counter and asked the woman if she was okay."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“My child,” the woman wept, “He died of the dropsy.”"}]

Shaun said her weeping was so bitter that it moved him to the point of chicken skin and pity. He told his mother he placed his hands on her shoulders to gently help her sit up and get a better look at her face. As she straightened and looked up at Shaun, her face was not flesh, but smoke slowly vanishing into thin air. Suddenly, the rest of the woman’s body followed, dissipating into nothing.

Word spread quickly, and people began leaving the reception, especially those who had parked in the cemetery lanes. Night was falling, and perhaps their paranoia made the wedding guests a bit panicked about spirits lurking in the graveyard.

A few months later, the security firm that patrolled the church grounds called my home at 3 a.m. I worked at the immersion preschool on the grounds of Kawaiaha‘o, and because I lived nearest the church, I was a security contact.

Security said they heard furniture moving in the classroom, then a woman’s voice. When I arrived, everything was in order. All the chairs were stacked on top of the tables so the janitors could sweep and mop. The desk hadn’t been moved, and the toys were all put away. Nothing seemed out of place. I called the security firm back to let them know everything was in order, turned the alarm back on, and locked the door from the outside.

[{"type":"text","text":"That’s when I saw her."}]

The haole woman dressed in white, standing next to the door, looking at me. 

[{"type":"text","text":"“My child died of dropsy,” she said."}]

Then her face became smoke. I didn’t wait to see what would happen next. I jumped over the fence, not even bothering to fiddle with the gate. I got in my car and sped off. The whole thing took a few seconds, but I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

I’m sure I screamed out of fear. I can’t really remember. Either way, I never answered a late-night call from the security firm after that.

Kawaiahao Church Cemetery Large

<title>Among the Graves at Kawaiaha‘o</title>

Nearly 200 years ago, American missionaries at Kawaiaha‘o Church introduced the Western practice of graveyards with tombstones. While the living carry on with church services and wedding receptions and happy occasions, grief seems to bind some spirits to the graveyard — unhappy souls who make their presence known.

Among the Graves at Kawaiaha‘o

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

Hawai‘i Island bore the brunt of Hurricane Lala this weekend and some isle businesses were hit hard by the passing storm.

"Of course, our members in Ka'ū have been hardest hit. Some businesses there have lost practically everything," 

Carla Kuo, executive officer at the Hilo-based 

Most businesses in Hilo have been up and running and doing what they can to support our community. Some businesses in our surrounding areas are still without power, some without water, but we know service providers are out there doing the best they can to get people back online.

About 40,400 Hawaiian Electric customers across the state remained without power as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to a 1 p.m. update from the utility. Of those, approximately 26,900 are on Hawai‘i Island.

Kuo says HICC has been sharing resources with its members, including a push to report residential, business and agricultural damages to the Hawai‘i County 

 so the island can qualify for federal disaster assistance; that the 

 is accepting donations and volunteers; and that the 

Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services

Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Hawai‘i Island Strong Fund

 to provide resources for disaster response and recovery and is encouraging its members to do the same, Kuo says.

"Overall these disasters are always tough on our community and our small businesses and we will see and hear more in the coming days," she says. "We thank our emergency responders, county, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations for working long hours, coordinating resources, caring for our neighbors and helping our community navigate these challenging times. We’re grateful to everyone working behind the scenes and on the front lines for their dedication, compassion and commitment."

Kuo says HICC has around 340 members, just two to three of which are in Kā‘u, “

but we have members outside the area who do business with farmers there and purchase their products. I do not know yet how many businesses may have been lost, we’re still reaching out to our members to see how we can help.

In Kā‘u's Nā‘ālehu community, Punalu‘u Bake Shop is one of the businesses that saw major damage from the storm.

The shop, which is noted to be the southern most bakery in the United States, has suffered "catastrophic damage," general manager Zachary Kennedy said in a video posted to Instagram on Monday that he said also serves as a media release.

"We're trying to see what's salvageable. We're doing a damage assessment right now, but early on, I can tell you the bakery has suffered catastrophic damage at this point," he says in the video. "It's going to take time for us to get everything together. It's going to take time for us to come up with a plan. ... The bakery will come back. It's just going to take time and it's going to take a lot of work."

We are still assessing the full situation and it will take time to get everything back in order. The damage is truly unimaginable," an earlier Instagram post signed by Kennedy reads. "The most important update: all of our employees are safe and healthy. We closed the bakery as a precaution ahead of the storm, so no one was on site."

The bakery says that all online orders have been suspended, it is unable to produce any products and stores will not have its products available.

(ICYMI: ASD spoke with statewide business organizations about the impact of the storms on local businesses. You can 

Getty Images punaluu bake shop hurricane lala

<title>Hawai‘i Island businesses impacted by Hurricane Lala</title>

Some businesses in Kā‘u have lost nearly everything, officials with the Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce say.

Hawai‘i Island businesses impacted by Hurricane Lala

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Food & Dining

Looking to shop for the holidays ... in August? The Made in Hawaiʻi Festival and Hawaiʻiʻs Finest Best of Hawaiʻi Mākeke combined will bring more than a thousand local vendors to the heart of Honolulu. 

The Duke Kahanamoku OceanFest also wraps up this weekend and puts the spotlight on surfing, swimming and more in Waikīkī. 

Aloha State Daily put together this list of ways to spend the weekend:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, Aug. 21"}]

The Duke Kahanamoku OceanFest runs through Monday, Aug. 24. Some of the upcoming events include a surf invitational, a one-mile swim, surfboard water polo and more. Duke’s Ocean Fest honors

five Olympic medals — including three golds

 — and was an ambassador of surfing to the world and part of the legendary Waikīkī Beach Boys. 

 including artists, makers and entrepreneurs to the Hawaiʻi Convention Center from Thursday, Aug. 20, through Sunday, Aug. 23. Last year, the event drew about 

, as previously reported by Aloha State Daily. Food & Dining Reporter Kelli Shiroma Braiotta caught up with several first-time vendors for the upcoming Made in Hawaiʻi Festival including 

. The event, which is run by the Hawaiʻi Food Industry Association,

features live music from award-winning artists, chef demonstrations and more. 

, and we look forward to meeting readers at booth S-3009! Stop by to play some games, win prizes, and learn more. 

. The album features the sounds of the ocean and coqui frogs, as well as a cello, ʻuliʻuli and a Hawaiian nose flue. Taimane spoke with ASD about “Li’ulā” ahead of its release, 

highlighting songs like “Kai Mahina,” “Nightmarchers” “Hilo Night” and “Until We Meet Again.” 

She will be one of the headliners at the third annual Maui Music & Food Experience on Friday, Aug. 21, which is the day of the album’s release. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, Aug. 22"}]

Catch live music at the Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search. 

Want to hear Hawaiian music at the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival? Stop by the Main Stage on Saturday, Aug. 22, to see the finalists for the 19th annual Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search. Past winners of the competition have gone on to win Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards. This year, the competitors are: Makana Arce, Moon Kahale, Keawe Kaluhiwa and ʻĀlewa. Starting at 2:30 p.m., each will play up to 20 minutes of non-stop music. The winner of the contest gets a one-month paid contract at Kani Ka Pila Grille, which is part of Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort. 

, which runs from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. Featured entertainers include High Watah, Ooklah the Moc, Three Plus, Johnny Suite, Likkle Jordee, Small Axe, Kapu System and more. Tickets start at $30.75, including fees. From Friday, Aug. 21, through Sunday, Aug. 23, Hawaiʻi’s Finest will also host its free 

, which brings more than 300 local vendors selling food, fashion, and more, together at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Parking is $8. 

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce, American Savings Bank and Trust for Public Land will host the Battle of the Bao at ʻAʻala Park in the heart of Chinatown on National Bao Day. The event celebrates bau, which is known locally as manapua. Guests will receive free samples of bau, while supplies last. They can also vote for their favorites as local restaurants compete for the title of “Best Bao / Manapua” before a panel of judges. Free. 

This event — which was rescheduled from its original date of Saturday, Aug. 15, due to weather — honors the enduring legacy of legendary slack-key guitarist and Hawaiian music pioneer Gabby “Pops” Pahinui. Listen to live musical performances at Waikīkī Beach Walk. Free. 

Go to the Perry & The Posse Show at Limelight. 

The Perry & The Posse Show will bring its second live show to Limelight Hawaiʻi near Ala Moana Hotel. The show, which runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and includes a breakfast buffet, will feature the KSSK 92.3 Saturday Morning Live Radio Show with Michael W. Perry, Sweetie Pacarro, and Karen Keawehawaii. The original Perry and the Price show began in 1983

, bringing a live show to audiences in Waikīkī for years until 2016. Tickets are $60 for adults and $36 for keiki. 

E Ulu a Paʻa is an annual fundraiser for the museum, which includes a gala with keynote speakers Sig and Kūhaʻo Zane on Saturday, Aug. 22, as well as an online auction, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 23. The auction has more than 80 items, including a handmade vintage kimono and behind-the-scenes tours of the Bishop Museum. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":" "}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sunday, Aug. 23"}]

Attend the 10th Annual Hoʻolau Kanaka Oʻahu Ka ʻŌnohi o Nā Kai. 

This event, presented by Puaʻāinahau Foundation Inc. and Hālau Nā Mamo o Puʻuanahulu,

 brings award-winning hālau and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning musicians to Moanalua Gardens. 

Hoʻolau Kanaka Oʻahu Ka ʻŌnohi o Nā Kai also features demonstrations from experts in Hawaiian crafts and traditional practices. The event includes a craft fair, plus options to purchase ʻono food. Presale tickets are $25. Admission for keiki who are between five and 11 years old is $15. 

Perry Posse Show

<title>Duke’s Ocean Fest, Perry & the Posse Show, Made in Hawaiʻi and more: What to do on Oʻahu…</title>

Watch surfboard water polo, listen to live music or shop more than 800 local vendors at the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival this weekend. Ready to make plans? Here are 10 things you can do on Oʻahu this Friday, Aug. 21, through Sunday, Aug. 23.

Duke’s Ocean Fest, Perry & the Posse Show, Made in Hawaiʻi and more: What to do on Oʻahu this weekend

Arrasmith Portrait

Perry Arrasmith

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Your vote matters. "}]

Until a tie results. Or, actually, with the thanks of a tie. 

When enough voters vote (or fail to vote), ties sometimes happen. When ties occur in statewide elections, it falls on Hawai‘i’s Chief Election Officer to settle the score. 

The current officer, Scott Nago, publicly drew the names of candidates locked in tied votes from a box on the afternoon of Saturday, August 15. It was posted publicly on the State Office of Elections’ YouTube 

Through Nago, candidates were selected by a drawing (in this case). The basis of this authority lies in 

, or state law. “In case of the failure of an election by reason of the equality of vote between two or more candidates,” Section 11-157 of state law finds, “the tie shall be decided by the chief election officer or clerk in the case of county elections by lot.”

For Republican Senator Kurt Fevella, this was the 

 of defeat. Former State Representative Bob McDermott had tied with Fevella by a vote of 1,212-1,212. McDermott won the drawing. He will now be the Republican nominee for a State Senate seat in ‘Ewa.

For Republican Representative Kanani Souza, this was also the 

 of defeat. Souza tied with Sheila Medeiros, who had tied with Souza by a vote of 842-842. Medeiros won the drawing too. She will be the Republican nominee for that contested House seat in Kapolei. 

In at least two instances, we know now that an election could be decided by a coin or the drawing of a name from a box, not a vote. Maybe next time. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Reason This Happened"}]

The basis of this system can be traced, at least in statehood, to a 1970 

 that provided that candidates subject to a tie would need to agree “in a signed statement to the use of a lot.”

The system placed faith in a candidate’s ability to find an amicable solution to a tie. In democracy, however, passion can overrun such stability. When bitter rivals fail to agree, chaos ensues.

That happened in 1988. In the case of that year’s primary election cycle, Democratic Rep. Romy Cachola faced former Democratic Representative Connie Chun in a race for a State House seat in the communities of Kapālama and Foster Village. In a primary election on September 17, each candidate received 1,795 votes. 

“Oddly enough,” Jerry Burris of the Advertiser observed, “the tie could have been avoided if every voter in the 39th had been paying close attention. Some 173 persons cast blank ballots and four punched a puka for both Cachola and Chun.” 

Neither candidate could agree on the method to settle a tie. A previous court ruling had declined to weigh in on the question of how to settle a tie where both candidates refused to compromise. The then-Lieutenant Governor, Ben Cayetano, also knew that the law provided little direction (lieutenant governors used to oversee elections).

The House seat would lie vacant if no candidate was selected, leaving then-Governor John Waihe‘e with the political football of filling the ‘vacancy’ that resulted from this political impasse. Since there were no other candidates from another political party in that seat, it seemed reasonable to have both Cachola and Chun jump into a rematch in the general election of Tuesday, November 2, 1988. 

Given the complex nature of this race, the election itself was more of an advisory exercise. Cachola prevailed over Chun by a vote of 2,917-2,840. On November 9, 1988, Waihe‘e made an appointment. He picked Rep. Romy Cachola over Chun. 

 which spelled out the exact procedures for settling a tie. However, given that these procedures heavily relied on in-person voting and precinct results, they were phased-out by 

 of the 2019 legislative session. The law quietly removed the recount procedures in the event of the tie, and fully vested the authority in the “chief election officer” or the county elections clerk (in the event of a county election).

This is where history throws us into the present predicament. Unlike 1988, there will be no run-off elections between Souza and Medeiros or McDermott and Fevella. This is due, in part, to the simplicity of the 2019 law. 

There is also no convoluted procedure to recount the votes, nor will a court arbitrate any disagreement where the two candidates cannot settle on a method to break a tie. 

After 4,108 votes were verified and two ties faced confirmation, an election officer functions as a referee and picks two winners. There is no debate. It is settled. 

And that’s a republican form of government. If we want to refine it, the 2027 legislative session (with perhaps Medeiros and/or McDermott as new members) will be the arena for debate. 

Tie breaker election drawing 16x9

<title>Election ties and the game of a box</title>

In Hawai‘i's recent primary elections, two tied races were decided with, essentially, a lottery. ASD political historian Perry Arrasmith explains how this came to be legal and when it's been used in the past.

Election ties and the game of a box

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Lala showed us our vulnerability. Hundreds of thousands lost power. No firm damage numbers are in yet, but they will be large. No total can capture what this storm means for a family that has lost their home or a loved one. Though not deadly on the scale of the Lahaina wildfires, this disaster is no small thing.

Traffic signals went out across the islands. Honolulu’s Board of Water Supply reported loss of pressure in the mountain ridges of metro Honolulu. And two sewage spills resulted from a backup power failure at Ala Moana Wastewater Pump Station.

And yet Lala was not a direct hit. Its worst devastation fell on the rural southern tip of the Big Island, which is sparsely populated. Even there it broke rainfall records, unleashing dangerous floodwaters, with wind and rain combining to cause tremendous damage.

Hurricanes are a fact of life in these Islands, and more will come. Lala was barely a Category 1, and its worst impacts landed where few people live.

What happens when a stronger storm hits urban Honolulu? What happens if it cripples the airport and the port? The tourism plant that pays so many of our bills would go dark along with everything else, and the military and construction sectors would not be far behind.

Lahaina gives us a preview. Three years after the fires, tourism there has yet to recover, and the commercial core has not been rebuilt to any significant degree.

Some of this delay is due to community resistance, nurtured by a cadre of professional activists who would like to tear down capitalism writ large. Some stems from government inefficiency and corruption. But some of it is a plain economic judgment. Why invest in commercial property in an area prone to wildfire?

Widen the lens and the question gets uncomfortable: Why invest in Hawaiʻi at all, exposed as we are?

Japan faces the same exposure. It is battered by earthquakes and typhoons, and like us it is aging fast, which has slowed its growth. But Japan is a technology and manufacturing power with some of the best disaster response in the world. And it remains a high-trust society, one that bands together in crisis rather than dividing.

Recoveries from such disasters run K-shaped. The affluent, those with somewhere else to live, those whose work survives a blackout — they do fine. The super wealthy don’t weather storms; they flee them, decamping by private jet to their other villas. Meanwhile those whose homes were destroyed, whose wages stop when the power does, suffer.

The GoFundMes and nonprofit funds and federal assistance will launch, as they always do, and they will go only so far. In Lahaina the assistance programs are already winding down, and the disaster is already being forgotten.

“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 27:12). Households will take stock now: keep more food and water in reserve, perhaps add solar panels or battery backup to keep a refrigerator running. But those adaptations are not available to all families. The divide begins before the storm comes.

There are broader economic arrangements to be made. The state must wrestle with how to reduce the impact of natural disasters on its key industries: tourism, the military, and construction. Meanwhile, businesses and investors will evaluate risk, and insurers will adjust their models and pricing. All this is done quietly, with the effects hard to measure. Where on the ledger does a canceled investment show up?

And there are deep political questions. Since the Lahaina wildfires, Hawaiian Electric has appeared flat-footed. It is paying for decades of deferred investment in the grid. Major transmission lines cross mountainous terrain, and they failed again in this storm. These lines are hard to fix on a good day, near impossible mid-storm. Even neighborhood distribution has failed. For decades, 

 were laid in the ground without any protective layer. These lines drown whenever flooding is severe.

HECO’s finances leave little room to harden the grid before the next storm. It sought legislation capping its wildfire liability and 

In Nāʻālehu, floodwaters swept homes off their foundations; in Kaʻū, bridges were destroyed. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why a storm that spared Honolulu should serve as a warning.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: The shoyu hack

Authors

ASD Staff

Reporter

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