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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!</title>

Todayʻs social media find comes from jasonpolakaw, a collection of foil board fails.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

Columnists

Last week, State Sen. Brenton Awa rose on the Senate floor. He clarified that the Senate doesn’t “condone violence.” Then he held up a letter of recognition for “Mister Ambassador of Aloha.” The commendation was intended for a shirtless man recorded beating a tourist on Maui. The tourist had been filmed earlier throwing a rock at a monk seal.

The clip of Awa’s remarks has been viewed 29.3 million times on his 

. In the chamber where laws are made, a sitting senator stood to commend a man for a beating.

The tourist was wrong. That part isn’t in dispute. Throwing a rock at a protected animal earns charges, and ought to. The question is why a senator commended the man who beat him.

Awa represents State Senate District 23, which includes Kāneʻohe and the rural areas of the North Shore, including Kahaluʻu through Lāʻie, Kahuku to Mokulēʻia. It is one of the most conservative and religious districts in the state, with a significant presence of Christians and Mormons. Though they differ on major theological issues, they share most moral commitments. Many of them read Scripture and try to live by it.

Paul tells the Roman church plainly: never avenge yourselves, for vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He will repay. He says this in Romans chapter 12. In the next chapter he describes the magistrate as the servant of God who carries the sword on God’s behalf. The magistrate is the appointed avenger of wrath against the wrongdoer. Awa sits in the office Paul describes. To commend a man for taking justice into his own hands is to undercut the office God established to do that work.

A reader may reply that the justice system fails locals, that private justice is what’s left when the courts won’t act. There are two answers. The first is that the system was working. The whole state was outraged. The tourist was being identified and pursued. The vigilante did not help. He committed a crime of his own, and gave the tourist a grievance to point to.

The second answer is older. Vigilante justice doesn’t end disorder. It feeds it. Shakespeare worked this out in Verona, and the Capulets and Montagues are not a model anyone wants for Hawaiʻi. Due process is the rope that pulls communities out of that pit.

The seal speech was not a stray moment. Awa brought a polygraph to the floor during the $35,000 paper bag scandal. He has made props a feature of his floor speeches. He posted a video walking viewers to Rep. Linda Ichiyama’s office after she killed his bill prohibiting foreign ownership of land, and she received death threats. His congressional campaign website celebrates his record of voting no more than any other legislator. The posture is consistent: media first, lawmaking second.

A rock thrown at a seal and the beating of a tourist got Awa to stand and speak. The everyday violence in Hawaiʻi — robberies, killings, home invasions — has not moved him the same way. Neither has abortion, though his Christian and Mormon constituents care about it as deeply as any voters in the state. Awa casts his no votes and counts them on his campaign website. But a ceremonial no vote does not save a life.

He has a platform few legislators command. He could use it to speak about the issues his district cares about. He has chosen to use it to glorify lawless violence.

Moral leadership in a minority caucus is possible. It starts with respect for the office, since God has established it. The slow work of building coalitions and passing bills must follow, since social media clips don’t affect statutes. Underneath all of this lies the harder discipline of applying Christian conviction even-handedly. It must name the sins of allies as readily as opponents, the populist right as readily as the progressive left. A lawmaker who held those things together would be doing something that all of Hawaiʻi has been waiting for.

On opening day this session, Awa quoted James: “Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” He should have taken his own advice. Later in that 

, he told his colleagues, “We can accomplish impossible feats just by showing aloha. In other words, the next time you’re feeling like throwing blows, throw aloha.”

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Awa upscaled

<title>'Mister ambassador of aloha'</title>

It's a bad look for the word "aloha" when it's used to commend a vigilante beat down, as state Sen. Brenton Awa did last week, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa.

'Mister ambassador of aloha'

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 just launched its new happy hour, which is available daily from 4 to 6 p.m. in the eatery’s bar and lounge area.

Start with discounted beverages like liliko

i spritz ($10), a variety of martinis ($10) — choose from matcha, tropical, mango, and lychee and peach — sake specials ($12) and featured wines by the glass ($10 each).

While not part of the happy hour drink menu, the eatery also just revamped its signature cocktail line-up with new additions ($18), including Olena mamaki tea, Rabbit Island, cucumber margarita and an espresso martini.

The happy hour dishes feature half-portions of popular items from the a la carte menu. The poke nachos ($12) are a customer favorite. They feature four different chips — won ton, sweet potato, taro and shrimp chips — topped with shoyu ‘ahi, spicy mayo, yuzu crema, green onions, pickled red onions, pea tendrils, kizami nori and edamame. The dish is full of contrasting textures, which makes it especially fun to eat.

The brisket sliders ($17) are a happy hour exclusive. These housemade rolls are stuffed with barbecue brisket, pickled onions and guava barbecue sauce.

’s new Paniolo burger from the a la carte menu — which also includes brisket — these sliders are sure to please.

The coffee rib-eye steak ($20) is another popular choice and is probably one of the best deals on the menu. It’s coated with a coffee demi glace and served with an arugula salad with tarragon dressing.

If you’re looking for comforting flavors, opt for the barbecue chicken pinsa flatbread, which is topped with kiawe barbecue chicken, mozzarella cheese, parmesan, peppers, red onions and barbecue sauce.

Other happy hour dishes include a lobster roll ($17), margherita pinsa flatbread ($10), seared ‘ahi ($12), kiawe smoked pork ribs ($17), chicken wings ($12) and garlic fries.

Insider tip: Ask about the restaurant’s new secret menu, which also should be accessible via a QR code on the menu. The secret menu currently features a burrata salad ($18), burnt brisket tips ($17), cheesy bread ($12) and a bone-in beef rib platter ($85).

The latter is impressive and designed to share. The platter includes six slider buns, pickled vegetables and barbecue sauce. The bone-in beef rib is available in limited quantities; the meats are smoked in-house. The fork-tender beef is flavorful in and of itself; the sweet and tangy barbecue sauce just takes it to the next level. 

Meanwhile, the cheesy bread features a garlic sourdough bread with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses in the middle.

Guests can enjoy complimentary self-parking for 2.5 hours with restaurant validation.

Complimentary 2.5-hour self parking with restaurant validation

100 Sails happy hour 030226

100 Sails Restaurant & Bar just launched a new chef selection dinner buffet, available from 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays. This buffet costs $62 per adult; instead of action stations like prime rib or sushi handrolls, it features specialty items like roasted beef tri tip, guava barbecue pork ribs, mushroom risotto and more.

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New weekday dinner buffet at Prince Waikīkī

The sizzling omurice — fried rice topped with an omelet and demi-glaze sauce, served on a hot skillet — is one of the most popular dishes. Happy hour runs daily from 5 to 7 p.m.

Chez Kenzo happy hour spread 011426

Budget Bites: Chez Kenzo Bar & Grill’s $9 happy hour

<title>New happy hour at Prince Waikīkī</title>

100 Sails Restaurant & Bar’s new happy hour menu is available daily from 4 to 6 p.m. in the restaurant’s bar and lounge area. Dishes include poke nachos, brisket sliders — a happy hour exclusive — coffee rib-eye steak and barbecue chicken pinsa flatbread. Also new: The eatery’s secret menu, which includes a mouthwatering bone-in beef rib platter.

New happy hour at Prince Waikīkī

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Screenwriter Chris Kekaeniokalani Bright’s first experience with “Lilo & Stitch” was when he was nine years old. His mother, Lynell Bright, led the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus in singing 

“I was too young to be in the choir, which I was really bummed about,” Bright told Aloha State Daily. “But I did get to go watch them do the recording, which was amazing because I was sitting in the recording studio watching through the glass. And then cut to 23 years later, and I was doing the same thing, watching my mom with the choir now — from a different role.”

Bright was one of the screenwriters for Disney’s live action version of “Lilo & Stitch,” which premieres May 23. He is also a graduate of Kamehameha Schools.

“It just feels like it's Christmas morning, and you've wrapped the present, and you know it's going to be really good, and you can't wait for everybody to see it,” Bright told Aloha State Daily. “I feel like we made something special, and I can’t wait for the world to see it.”

Compared to the original animated movie, the story is “similar in the sense that the heart of it, we've kept the same,” Bright said.

The live action story explores more of the relationship between Nani, who is 18 years old, and Lilo, her little sister, who falls under her care after their parents unexpectedly die in an accident. There are some new characters and different relationships, he added.

“We really had to dissect the original movie to figure out what is at the heart of this, what makes it work so well? Why is it so emotional?” he said. “And of course, it's about ‘ohana, and it's also about being broken but still good. There's so many wonderful themes in there.”

 previously wrote “Conviction,” which made the 2018 Black List, an annual survey of Hollywoodʻs top unproduced screenplays. It was sold to Warner Brothers. Although he now has multiple screenplays to his name, he never intended to be a writer. 

He wanted to be a drummer for Broadway musicals. He planned to major in music at Chapman University until a serious hand injury derailed his plans. Bright took six months off and when he returned to classes, he “just couldn’t play in the same way,” he said.

“I just so happened that semester to be taking a screenwriting class — screenwriting 101 — and I loved it,” he said. “The teacher knew of my situation, and she was really sweet, and she was like: Have you ever thought about making this a career?”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He switched his major to film studies."}]

“It was a blessing in disguise — one of the hardest things I went through in my life, but ultimately ended up getting me where I am now,” Bright said. “But it was never the plan.”

Currently, he is working on a television show. He also wrote a script centered around family which takes place in Hawaiʻi. He will be directing that next year.

Being able to work on the live action “Lilo & Stitch” at the same time as his mother was “pretty cool and pretty full circle,” Bright said.

What was the hardest part of writing this screenplay?

“Knowing that so many people love this — including myself — feeling the pressure of that and wanting to just do it right, was the biggest challenge,” he said. “It was really wanting to honor the movie before it, honor the heart of it, honor how much it means to so many people all around the world, especially people from Hawaiʻi.”

Chris Kekaniokalani Bright

<title>“Lilo & Stitch” is a family affair for screenwriter Chris Kekaniokalani Bright</title>

For this writer, the reveal of Disney’s live action version of “Lilo & Stitch” on Friday, May 23, feels a bit like handing off a present on Christmas morning where “you can’t wait for everybody to see it, and you’re just waiting for them to open it.”

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!

Authors

ASD Staff

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Island vibes

Gotta catch ‘em all — at Ala Moana Center: voices from Pokémon GO’s “Wild Area: Global” event

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