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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"text":"Things can go wrong when you try to make a good impression!","type":"text"}]

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Must be the "seefood" diet</title>

Today's social media find comes from hawaiisonly, living off the bounty of the ocean.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Must be the "seefood" diet

Things can go wrong when you try to make a good impression! 

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Columnists

Stand-up comedian Tumua is doing crowd work somewhere on the Mainland, and 

 from the audience. The guy is from Kauaʻi, not born and raised, but “flown there, grown there.” He hasn’t lived there in nine years. While Tumua works the crowd, the guy shouts “chee hoo.” Tumua says, “That’s a solid chee hoo, man.” He does it again. Tumua has to shush him.

It’s a small moment, and Tumua plays it off with dry affection. The guy is playing out what he remembers of a place he left nine years ago. Much of the crowd never lived there at all.

Frank De Lima didn’t have that problem performing locally. Most of his audience hadn’t left. They were in the room — sharing the same plate lunch memories, cringing at the same accents, laughing because every joke was an inside joke. This wasn’t an introduction to local culture. It was a reminder, a celebration, even a reinforcement.

The plantation village was a truly different kind of place — shared land, shared labor, ethnic groups pressed close together with no way out. Filipinos, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Hawaiians were all crowded into the same neighborhoods and schools. What came out of it — the food, the humor, the pidgin — came from people who couldn’t opt out of each other.

Even as that world was dissolving, people reached back for its symbols. By 1978, a political movement called Palaka Power had taken the plantation worker’s cloth as its name — a clear link to the past. The Palaka Power 

 said so plainly. The writers also noted, in the same breath: the ILWU was declining, sugar and pine would soon be gone, the Democrats of the ‘54 Revolution had mostly left the arena. They chose the symbol precisely because the reality was already receding. The myth was always partly constructed. But it was backed, then, by people who had actually 

The built world that replaced the plantation village included public housing, suburbs, and apartments. The Mainland has all of those. And then came radio, television, the internet, smartphones, and eventually TikTok.

Stand in the Sandy Beach parking lot on a Saturday. A kid near the lifeguard stand is hitting a vape and dancing to a song trending in Atlanta. The shaka sticker on the bumper is working harder than it used to. But social media didn’t cause any of this. It arrived to find the flattening of culture mostly finished and has been tracking it ever since.

The audience for local content skews diaspora: Aunties in Vallejo, Kalihi kids now in Las Vegas, people holding onto something they can’t quite name.

Nostalgia is real. But it runs in one direction. You can package a memory and ship it to Fresno. What you can’t do is put it back. A friend put it plainly: are we our own cover band?

Distinct cultures are not accidents. They grow from particular people living side by side. The plantation village wasn’t a brand. It was a neighborhood. The shaka sticker can travel, but the neighborhood can’t. Something real is lost when a place becomes content.

. He’s reaching for something he actually had, once. What is it, exactly? The memory of a place, a people. The kind of memory that swells within and erupts in shouts — or tears. It’s the memory that many hold of Hawai‘i, even those who visited only for a week.

Nostalgia can become sinful when we deceive ourselves. It’s easy to romanticize farm labor from the comfort of air-conditioned offices, but the plantations were not a paradise. And neither is Hawai‘i. The past is worth a visit, but no place to make a home. 

That’s a solid chee hoo, man — but once is enough. Shush.

Pineapple Plantation housing 16x9 Large

<title>What's in a chee hoo?</title>

Generations removed from the plantation era that forged it, local culture is in danger of becoming a nostalgia-fueled performance of itself, writes ASD columnist Sterling Higa.

What's in a chee hoo?

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 just opened its second store. The business — whose original location is in Ward Village — opened on Kūhiō Avenue, in the former space of Ice Monster.

The eatery is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. It’s bigger than the Ward Village space — it can seat around 70 customers — with an expansive counter, booth and outdoor seating available. Counter seating is first-come, first-served; reservations will be accepted for tables via OpenTable.

The menu at the Waikīkī store is mostly the same as the one featured at Ward Village. For breakfast, customers can enjoy dishes like broiled shio salmon, salmon flakes and ikura set, udon deluxe and the gyudon beef bowl set. The latter is one of the most popular options at the Ward Village location.

Customers who want a grab-and-go breakfast can choose from an assortment of onigiri. Options include salmon ikura ($3.59), salmon kombu ($3.59), crunchy ume ($3.59), shiso wakame ($3.39), salmon ($3.39), spicy negi mentaiko ($3.89) and more. We’re told more gourmet flavors will be added to current selection. Grab-and-go bentos and negitoro bowls will eventually be available.

If you’re dining for lunch and dinner, appetizers range from seared ‘ahi tataki ($16) and hamachi carpaccio ($12) to yakitori chicken skewers. For the latter, you can order by piece ($3.50) or choose sets of three ($10) or five ($15).

The hand roll selection is extensive, including everything from Hokkaido scallop with spicy mayo ($7) and New Zealand king salmon ($7) to blue crab ($7), unagi ($8) and Hokkaido ikura ($6.50). There are also vegan-friendly options like cucumber ($5), creamy avocado ($6.50) and umami mushroom ($8).

Nigiri sushi usually comes with two pieces per order. Choose from blue fin akami ($10), blue fin otoro ($18), seared garlic truffle salmon ($12) and more.

Customers can also opt for a variety of sashimi, including a nine-piece sashimi trio ($22). Meanwhile, the nigiri flight ($28) — a five-piece sampler including akami, chutoro, otoro, New Zealand salmon and hamachi — features Nori Bar’s most popular fish.

The eatery’s chirashi bowl ($33) — comprising maguro, salmon, hamachi, Hokkaido scallop, ikura, uni and tamago — is another customer favorite.

The eatery also offers non-seafood entrees, including spicy miso ramen ($23) and tonkotsu ramen ($19). The latter features a rich, creamy pork broth with black garlic oil and braised pork char siu.

Validated parking is available for customers at Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach (two hours of free parking with a $35 spend; four hours of free parking with a $70 spend).

Validated customer parking at Hyatt Centric Waikīkī Beach, floor six (two hours free parking with $35 spend, four hours free parking with $70 spend)

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Nori Bar Waikiki spread 040126

<title>Nori Bar Hawaiʻi opens Waikīkī location</title>

The hand roll spot — whose original location is in Ward Village — just opened a second location on Kūhiō Avenue, in the former space of Ice Monster. This store is bigger than the Ward Village one, but features the same menu. Nori Bar Waikīkī will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Nori Bar Hawaiʻi opens Waikīkī location

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Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

One week after the Wahiawā Dam came feet away from failing, the state will begin to take over ownership of the area’s irrigation system.

The century-old dam’s current owner, the Dole Food Company, has been unwilling or unable to mitigate various safety issues, leading the company to propose donating the properties to the state.

Two weeks ago, the Board of Land and Natural Resources was scheduled to officially take over management of lands associated with the Wahiawā Reservoir, but the board meeting was postponed due to the first Kona low storm of the month. On Friday, after the second Kona low emphasized the dam’s weaknesses, the Board will finally decide whether to approve the transaction.

Should the Board approve the acquisition, lands associated with the Reservoir will fall under the care of the DLNR’s Division of State Parks, while repairs to the dam and spillway will be carried out by the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Andrew Laurence, DLNR’s Communications Director, told Aloha State Daily. 

However, the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity is responsible for acquiring the dam and spillway, and making any necessary improvements to that infrastructure. 

Once DAB’s improvements to the dam are complete, the dam and spillway will be transferred again , this time to the state Agribusiness Development Corporation, a division of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The Reservoir will remain with DLNR

Dole initially proposed donating the dam to the DLNR in 2021, after the DLNR fined Dole $20,000 for failing to address the dam’s undersized spillway, which doesn’t meet modern federal design standards.

, written prior to the storms this month, noted that “the dam is anticipated to overtop during storm events” and that “the aging concrete spillway structure integrity is uncertain and may potentially be compromised during a significant flow event.”

Following Dole’s 2021 proposal, the state Legislature passed 

 allocating $26 million to DLNR to acquire the dam and spillway and bring them up to safety standards. That bill set a deadline: the transaction must be completed by the end of June or else the funds will lapse.

Following the 2023 bill, Laurence said the DLNR has been conducting various assessments of the Reservoir parcels involved in the transactions. Amid those assessments, teams found several environmental violations, including improperly stored petroleum products leaking onto the soil, floor drains from a neighboring autobody shop emptying onto the land, and more.

These violations are cited in the BLNR report as additional justification for the DLNR to take over the land.

Several farmers and agricultural groups have submitted testimony supporting the state takeover of the dam, although that testimony was written before last weekend’s flooding.

The Hawai‘i Farm Bureau wrote that the Wahiawā Irrigation System cannot be replaced by individual farmers in Central and North O‘ahu, who rely on the irrigation system to sustain their operations, particularly during drought conditions. Consequently, state ownership is preferable to the possibility of Dole selling the land to other private owners which may raise water rates or disrupt water availability.

Dole itself also testified in support, noting that the company has been seeking to transfer the property to the state for years.

This article has been corrected to clarify the state agencies involved.

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<title>What's next for the Wahiawā Dam?</title>

Ownership changes coming throughout Wahiawā Irrigation System.

What's next for the Wahiawā Dam?

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

A new apartment opened last week in ‘Aiea, bringing 302 affordable rentals to the community.

Located across from Pearl Harbor, the 25-story Nāulu Apartments was developed through a public-private partnership led by California-based 

Ground broke on the complex in June 2023. At that time, it was called Hālawa View Apartments II, the second phase of Hālawa View Apartments, which was renovated in 2014.

But the journey to get here actually began when conceptual plans were developed around 2017, PDG President Joe Michael told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions.

"After the entitlements were approved through the City and County, we applied for LIHTC [Low-Income Housing Tax Credits] from the state and were subsequently awarded in late 2019," he says. "Then Covid-19 hit and like many projects in the pipeline during the pandemic, our timeline was delayed. We were hit with construction cost increases, interest rate increases, permitting delays and tax credit pricing decreases (less equity into the deal). 

"However, once we had completed all that and finally broke ground, the construction proceeded quickly," Michael continued. "Our contractor, Nordic PCL, completed the project ahead of schedule and under budget. We utilized the savings to implement upgrades for the residents."

The $168 million project received financing from the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp., the City and County of Honolulu and Bank of Hawai‘i, with LIHTC, "syndicated by Hunt Capital Partners through a proprietary fund with JP Morgan Chase," a recent announcement from the developer noted. The government financing requires that rents remain affordable for low-income households for at least 61 years.

Nāulu — designed by AHL — offers studio, one-, two- and four-bedroom units for households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, values that vary depending on household size.

Currently in the City and County of Honolulu, the income limit at 60% AMI is $63,840 for a single person, $72,960 for a couple and $91,200 for a four-person household. You can find the 

Rents, based on the 2024 U.S. Housing and Urban Development guidelines, will range from $704 for a studio for individuals at the 30% AMI level to $2,402 for a four-bedroom for those making 60% AMI, according to the announcement.

For its residents, Nāulu offers a fitness center, kids' club, study lounge for after-school programs, a multi-level sky lounge with views of Pearl Harbor and an outdoor plaza with barbecue and picnic areas, the announcement notes. There are also charging stations for electric vehicles, car share access, bike storage and the complex is within walking distance of the Skyline rail station at Aloha Stadium.

Local artist Kamea Hadar also created a mural with an ‘iwa bird inspired by Nāulu's namesake, has curated eight other artists to "enhance the common areas" of the complex and is designing a second mural on the parking garage with the help of local residents, the announcement says.

“Nāulu Apartments is an incredible achievement and a powerful example of what we can accomplish when government, developers, and community partners come together with a shared purpose,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in the announcement. “This project delivers more than 300 aﬀordable homes for local families at a time when housing is our most pressing challenge. We are deeply proud to support developments like this that provide stability, opportunity, and hope for generations to come.”

Michael says PDG is a third-generation, family-run company whose mission has "always been about creating communities where families can thrive." 

"Hawai‘i faces one of the most severe housing crises in the country — rising costs and limited land make it especially challenging for working families to find a safe and affordable place to live," he continued. "Our family has been developing, preserving, and operating affordable housing on O‘ahu since the mid-1990s. Over the years, we’ve developed more than 4,000 multifamily units in the Western United States, with over 620 located in Hawai‘i and another 212 in the pipeline for Maui. Each project is an opportunity for us to contribute to the local community and help alleviate the pressure on families struggling to stay in the place they call home."

[{"type":"text","text":"It's \"incredibly rewarding\" to see this project come to fruition."}]

"A project of this scale requires years of planning, countless hours of collaboration, and perseverance through the hurdles that arise along the way," Michael says. "At the recent grand opening, a few families came up to me and expressed their gratitude for being able to live at Nāulu. They told me their stories, holding back tears, and were filled with happiness and gratitude. That is what it’s all about — knowing that 300 families appreciate all the work you put in for all those years."

Some studio units are still available. Applications can be found at 

 or by visiting the Nāulu leasing office onsite at 99-009 Kalaloa St.

More about Pacific Development Group's other projects in the Islands can be 

Naulu apartment

<title>Affordable rentals open in ‘Aiea</title>

Located across from Pearl Harbor, Nāulu Apartments brings 302 affordable units to the community.

Affordable rentals open in ‘Aiea

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Hawaii History

 since June, signs off on all his emails, “Glad to be here.”

“That's the way we finished speaking to each other on the 

. It's a way to remind yourself how fortunate we are, despite the rigors and the demands of a job, to be able to live, work and contribute to our community in a place like this,” Hiltz told Aloha State Daily. “So, a culture of both gratitude and growth will be important for us as we chart the next course.”

With a passion for aviation and its history, Hiltz has held several leadership roles throughout is near 23-year U.S. Navy career, including as an instructor pilot, officer-in-charge of multinational exercises, the commanding officer for Navy recruiting in the Pacific Northwest, and most recently, as the executive officer and director of strategy for hypersonic and cruise missile systems within the Indo-Pacific region.

Prior to retiring from the military in March, he was also a Blue Angels pilot from 2012 to 2014, having flown the museum’s Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet, 

which was added to its collection in 2021

Hiltz said he aims to bring passion and a “service-based mindset” to the role, formerly held by Executive Director Elissa Lines, who retired in June 2024.

“I feel very grateful to stand on the shoulders of the men and women that founded this museum, and many of them are still working in various capacities,” he said.

“The good news is that I’ve got a passion for this based on my upbringing. I’m a product of museums like this; my dad took me to aviation museums, and I was able to sit in the cockpit of an airplane and go to airshows. And so, I definitely developed a love for aviation at a young age. I learned a lot of lessons in the military, one of which was in flight school, I got sick on my first nine flights. You quickly realize you can’t always control that, but you can control your preparation, attitude and energy you bring to it. Those things I try to bring to this role … and do a good job to steward this aviation battlefield into its next decade.”

As CEO, Hiltz will lead the strategic vision, planning and operations of the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum to advance its mission of preserving America’s World War II aviation battlefield. He is responsible for overseeing the museum’s budget and workforce, exhibit development and educational programming, among other areas, that strengthen its nationwide presence and partnerships.

“The museum is only 18 years old at this point,” he said. “The founding phase took a lot of hands-on effort from the board and staff to get it to where it is. Then, you have a transition phase where you continue to build on that, flesh out policies and procedures, that allow us to appropriately care for this place, and I think the board used this phase three as sort of an institutional phase. … They reimagined this CEO role to be the primary steward of management. The board is entrusting me and the staff to lead us into the next phase of this great institution.”

Hiltz currently manages 73 staff members, not including about 24 contracted support staff and more than 200 volunteers, he noted.

“We’re always looking to hire for passion, train for skill. It's a really unique organization and is very vibrant and fun,” he said. “I can tell you that each person is motivated by a patriotic sense of service to their community, to their country and to the men and women that were serving here on Dec. 7, 1941 – and we take great care to steward that appropriately.” 

His current priorities include expanding the campus, improving the visitor experience and education, and providing workforce development opportunities for future pilots.

“One thing that drew me to the role was the growth vector of this museum,” Hiltz said. “We just recently finished a renovation of our operations building of the control tower here, and you can take it right up. We recently added an aviation learning center where we can bring keiki students and educators in to help give them an experience about the science and physics behind aviation. We are about to undergo reimagination of America's aviation battlefield to make sure that our campus is displayed in a way that's befitting of its historical significance.”

He noted that the museum recently acquired a PBY-5A Catalina seaplane on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum. “It was here on Dec. 7, 1941; they were the long-range eyes and ears of the American Navy fleet the Japanese wanted taken out; therefore, the first target of the first wave of the attack.” The Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, will complete the restoration over the next couple of years before bringing it to Hawai’i, he said.

Other acquisitions are underway that are not yet ready to be announced, he added.

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum also supports two aviation pathways, one on-site pilot training program for ages 16-21 and an A&P program for high school juniors to become certified airplane techs. “Those two efforts we’re really proud of because it's a way to give back to the place where we live and work. I think many people connote Pearl Harbor as just a tourist destination, and we want to be clear that we are more than that."

"Aviation is an expensive business: the equipment, fuel and training is a real cost barrier to people,” Hiltz said. “It's one reason that I never did any flight training, despite my love of aviation as a kid. My family couldn't afford it, so I was lucky to be able to go and get that training through the Navy. But we went to provide kamaʻāina with that opportunity to get that first taste of aviation without the barriers to entry of it."

For more information about the programs and its sponsors, 

His advice to those interested in getting their wings? “

There are a lot of different avenues can lead to a cockpit. … I was fortunate to learn about the Navy ROTC scholarships, so the Navy paid for my University of Notre Dame degree, and then I returned that in-kind by serving in naval aviation. … Excellence opens doors. If you do a great job with whatever endeavor you’re pursuing, people are going to notice that and want to help you achieve your goals. I think excellence is a great way to open doors for yourself and others."

Within the first few months on the job, Hiltz introduced a daily open cockpit. “I got the spark to fly because I was able to visit museums and put my hands on the controls, flip switches and look at the gauges. So, I wanted to make sure that we offered that same experience to every single guest to maybe launch them to pursue their dreams, as well.

Hiltz added that the museum hosted the Blue Angels before 

. “It was fun to bring a lot of my new teammates to come see my old team fly the same place where I was flying when I met my wife 13 years ago. It was very poignant for me.”

Many people have helped him get to where he is today, Hiltz said, including his parents, wife, brothers and those he has served with.

Specific to landing this role, he credits his 

first Air Wing Commander Capt. Sterling Gilliam, who is currently executive director of the National Naval Aviation Museum. “He was very helpful in helping me understand the things that would make a successful career here. I owe him a lot in my previous and current professional life.”

“Additionally, the other person who alerted me to the position opening was my dad’s college roommate, Capt. Eddie Fishburne, executive director of the Navy Supply Corps Officer Foundation. … He’s also the same person that told me about that Navy ROTC scholarship, so twice in my lifetime, this one person really changed the trajectory of my life."

As a leader, Hiltz said he’s been learning to “trust the excellent staff” and “do what I can to empower them to be their best selves."

Having lived off and on the island over the past several years, he along with his wife – whom met in Honolulu in 2012 – and two daughters are settled in Kailua.

When asked what he enjoys most about living and working in Hawai

spirit of the Islands, the mana – the ability to blend all that together. My drive into takes me up the H3, which feels like you

’re stepping back in time with the beautiful vistas, then across the

 bridge to Ford Island, a reminder of the work we

’re called to do here. We’re really fortunate to call this our home, and just remind ourselves every day how lucky we are.”

This weekend, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum will be hosting several free events in commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the end of World War II. More information about the festivities can be found 

Interested in sponsoring or attending the museumʻs annual "For Love of Country Gala," 

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum CEO John Hiltz 16x9

<title>Former Blue Angels pilot John Hiltz leads local nonprofit museum</title>

Get to know the new CEO of Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, who was appointed by the board of directors in June to take the organization into its next phase.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Must be the "seefood" diet

Authors

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