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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"text":"It's the thought that counts.","type":"text"}]

I Stock 184655693

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Introducing the "loose" shaka</title>

In today's social media find, krystilez demonstrates a shaka so minimal it barely exists.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Introducing the "loose" shaka

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"There are two different types of bulldogs...."}]

Smile 26 4 15

<title>Daily Smile: Wednesday, April 15, 2026</title>

There are two different types of bulldogs....

Daily Smile: Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

Kohelepelepe, commonly known as Koko Crater, is a large volcanic cinder cone that rises up over Hawai‘i Kai, creating a prominent landmark along the far eastern shore of O‘ahu. It was once part of a vital radar site on O‘ahu that tracked aircraft approaching the island.

The “staircase” along the southwest ridge consists of over one thousand railway ties, rising roughly 1,200 feet in elevation over a distance of less than half a mile. Originally built by the U.S. Army during WWII, it was the base of a gas-powered tramway meant to transport equipment and supplies from the base camp at the bottom of the crater to the summit.

After the site’s decommission, the tramway became a popular hiking site, attracting people of all ages and backgrounds. Seeking a challenging workout and amazing views, hikers can be seen from before sunrise to well after sunset. But with so many people visiting this trail every day, could it be haunted?

Byron, a realtor friend of mine, recently shared his story about the Koko Crater Trail with me. In his thirties, he was hit with a bombardment of bad news, all within 24 hours. From his job to his relationship, to his parents’ relationship, it seemed everything was falling apart.

Frustrated, he found himself driving around the Koko Head Terrace neighborhood, where his parents’ home was. He wasn’t very familiar with the area since his parents bought a house there after Byron and his sisters had all grown up and moved out. He drove past a few baseball fields, and a pair of “Road Closed” signs made him turn into a parking lot at Koko Head District Park.

As Byron sat there, thinking about everything that had gone wrong in a single day, he noticed that several couples and a few groups of people had passed him, walking up the closed road. Curious, he got out and followed them. Ill-prepared for such an excursion, Byron found himself at the foot of a long line of steps leading up a tall hill. Although he was still in his work clothes, a sports jacket, tie, khakis, and loafers, he gave no thought to what he was wearing; he just began climbing.

Other hikers, who were dressed appropriately, looked at him strangely or asked if he needed help. He didn’t reply; he just kept going, focusing only on the next step in front of him until he reached the top. Then, he just sat at the edge of a concrete slab and cried quietly. After a while, as he began to stand up to leave, a woman about his age plopped herself down next to him.

“Auē! What a journey,” she said, “I forgot how high this trail is. I haven’t been up here in so long!”

It must have been hours, but they talked as if they were old friends. To this day, Byron said he can’t recall exactly what they talked about. What he does remember is that the Hawaiian woman shared the water from her small Hydro Flask. And somehow, the water never ran out.

Finally, Byron decided it was time to leave, and the woman asked if she could accompany him back down the trail. On the way down, the woman began speaking only in Hawaiian, and before he could explain that he didn’t understand, he suddenly did.

“Ua ho‘opakele au i ku‘u kaituahine,” she said. 

At the bottom of the trail, he turned to thank the woman for keeping him company, but she had already quietly disappeared. He assumed she ran off ahead of him and didn’t think much about it. Just then, a local couple approached him and asked if he was alright. They told Byron that they saw him coming up the trail in his suit and felt that something was wrong, so they kept an eye on him. They figured he was fine once he settled down at the top of the trail, even though he was crying.

“You not hot in that suit?” the man asked, “You must be dehydrated?”

Byron said he was fine and that he and the Hawaiian woman shared water from her flask. Puzzled, the couple said they didn’t see anyone approach him while he was up there. They saw him talking to himself and gesturing, even bringing his hand up to his mouth several times. But no one was with him. They followed him to make sure he got down the trail safely, but he was alone the whole time, they said.

Curious and a little freaked out, Byron went home to research the trail and the crater and came across an old Hawaiian legend. He read that the crater was formed inadvertently by the goddess, Kapō‘ulakīna‘u. In an effort to save her sister Pele from the pig god, Kamapua‘a, she removed her vulva and threw it as a lure to draw the pig god away. It left an imprint where it landed, and the crater was named Kohelepelepe after that event. When Kamapua‘a followed the lure, Pele was able to escape.

I know Byron’s story isn’t exactly spooky, but it is pretty unique. I haven’t heard anyone say they encountered anything like that on the trail. He can’t say for sure that he met a Hawaiian deity, and he can’t explain how he understood what she was saying in Hawaiian, but whoever she was, his talks with her lifted something off his shoulders. Although they didn’t exactly disappear the way the woman did, Byron’s problems didn’t seem as big as they did the day before.

In my own experience, the scariest thing that happened to me after hiking the Koko Crater Trail (out of the blue with no prior exercise or warmup), was getting scolding from my wife as I lay in bed with every muscle in my legs throbbing. At least I brought my water with me.

Koko Crater Trail on Kohelepelepe

<title>A mystery on the Koko Crater Trail</title>

If you think climbing 1,000 steps is scary, just wait until you hear who — or what — you might meet at the summit!

A mystery on the Koko Crater Trail

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

Several new retailers and restaurants have recently opened at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu and more are set to open soon, the center announced Tuesday. Here’s what you should know.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What's New:"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Coming Soon:"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Relocations and renovations:"}]

Ala Moana Center opened in 1959 and is the world's largest open-air shopping center with more than 2.4 million square feet of retail space. It offers more than 350 stores and restaurants, including 160 dining options.

(ICYMI: Last month it was announced that longtime anchor tenant Neiman Marcus 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Always aline 041426

<title>What's new at Ala Moana Center</title>

The shopping center has welcomed a number of new tenants with more coming soon.

What's new at Ala Moana Center

Letters to the Editor

As an Environmental Science and Environmental Studies major at Chaminade University, an intern with the Snail Extinction Prevention Program, and a volunteer at the Bishop Museum malacology department, my life revolves around Native Hawaiian land snails. I see firsthand how habitat loss threatens these unique creatures and how the Green Fee can safeguard the state’s natural resources.

Green Fee funding will be crucial for environmental protection, conservation and habitat restoration projects, which are vital for the survival of our native snail species. I urge our decision-makers to support the Green Fee project portfolio as recommended by the 

. This portfolio has been carefully crafted through collaboration with community members, state agencies, and experts, ensuring it reflects the needs of our environment. By preserving the Green Fee projects, we can enhance conservation efforts, restore critical habitats and protect the rich biodiversity of our Islands.

[{"type":"text","text":"Calista Ancog, Salt Lake-Moanalua"}]

Greenfriends

<title>Letter to the Editor: Keep the Green Fee project portfolio intact</title>

A Chaminade student shares how habitat loss threatens Native Hawaiian land snails and how the Green Fee can help safeguard its resources.

Letter to the Editor: Keep the Green Fee project portfolio intact

Donalyn Dela Cruz photo

Donalyn Dela Cruz

Viewpoints

Sports

At 4 years old, Kalānōweo DeSoto loved to skateboard. His mom would take him and his siblings to the Hickam Skate Hangar, where they spent hours skating the mini ramps. But DeSoto was focused on something bigger: the action taking place at the towering 12-foot vert ramp at the front of the hangar.

He would watch teens drop into the ramp again and again. After about eight months of observation, the young DeSoto committed.

“He went up there to the top of the vert ramp, probably a dozen times before he dropped in,” said his mom Mālia Kaʻaihue. “He watched it and looked at it and walked back down, and then finally, one day he just did it.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He was the youngest to ever do it."}]

That willingness to study, wait, and then commit carried over the years from dropping into vert ramps at skate parks to riding mountain-high waves at some of the world’s most challenging surf breaks.

Now at 18, DeSoto is the youngest invitational surfer ever to win the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout and the only competitor in event history to win titles in two disciplines at Pipeline: the longboard and shortboard.

At the 2026 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout in January, 40 of the world’s top shortboard surfers gathered at the iconic Banzai Pipeline on Oʻahu’s North Shore for the invitational competition. DeSoto delivered a standout performance, earning Best Overall Performer and Shootout Champion honors, along with Best Barrel Ride.

“The Backdoor Shootout has always been about honoring surfers who truly understand Pipeline, not just how to ride it, but how to carry themselves in the lineup,” said Kūʻiʻoʻokalani Young, who coaches DeSoto.

Hosted by Da Hui, in collaboration with Hui o Heʻe Nalu, the annual invitational is held in memory of Duke Kahanamoku.

“It’s such an important contest that it just meant so much to me to win that,” DeSoto said. “It was a big goal of mine for a really long time. Just to even be in a contest at Pipe was a big goal, and winning one was just crazy.”

It’s an achievement that DeSoto has been working towards since being inspired by his older sister, Puamakamae, a nine-time National Scholastic Surfing Association National Champion.

“At first it was for fun and everything, and then I started taking it seriously maybe when I was like 13,” DeSoto said. “I still love it and have so much fun doing it.” Just being in the ocean, you really can do anything you want. It’s freedom. You can be so creative, you can do so many different things.”

His parents say that the ocean has been a part of their eight children’s lives from the time they were “in the womb.”

Born and raised in Mākaha on Oʻahu’s West Side, DeSoto comes from a deep waterman lineage as the son of world champion longboarder Duane DeSoto, who described watching his son as one who is aligned with the ocean.

“That is always the best surfer, the one who’s able to naturally just do their art on the wave – and the wave is it’s like a relationship right, the wave and the person is totally in sync,” said Duane DeSoto.

DeSoto, who first surfed with his dad as an infant, finds purpose in the ocean beyond competition.

Whether surfing, bodysurfing, paddling, or any other ocean discipline, DeSoto seems limitless. When not training, he is often fishing or volunteering with youth at Nā Kama Kai Ocean Safety & Conservation Awareness Clinics. He also serves as an ambassador for the Smile Wave Fund.

“It’s also like just continuing on my culture and surfing is a cultural practice, not just sport,” explained DeSoto who hopes to achieve a world title. “It’s both – the end goal is a world title and to show the world our cultural practice.”

Part of that practice is displayed in the way DeSoto will kilo (observe). Just as he did as a 4-year-old studying older skaters perform 12-foot drops down a vertical ramp, DeSoto is always studying the ocean.

“His intellectual IQ in the ocean is insane because he’s so observant and is kiloing all the time,” said Kaʻaihue. “Even if he’s dropping into a 30-foot wave, it’s calculated, it’s processed. He’s already seen himself come out of it before he’s dropped in.”

That may explain DeSoto’s quiet demeanor. He’s what Kaʻaihue describes as a “silent observer.”

“He has like very much a kūpuna spirit where he’s not always talking and saying a lot, but he’s thinking,” she added.

[{"type":"text","text":"And, he’s learning."}]

“[Surfing] has taught me a lot about respect, like respect for the ocean, respect for the people,” DeSoto said. “You also have to have respect in the lineup to be respected.”

Surfers advance through a competitive qualification system, beginning with regional World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) events, progressing to the Challenger Series, and ultimately earning a place on the elite Championship Tour, where the world’s best compete for a world title.

DeSoto hopes to one day win a world title on the WSL Championship Tour and perhaps represent Hawaiʻi in the Olympics, but his immediate focus is the next QS event.

Another contest is always on the horizon. DeSoto’s approach remains the same: watch, learn, and when the moment comes, commit.

This article is reprinted with permission from 

OHA's Ka Wai Ola newspaper: "Kalā DeSoto: Watching, Learning, and Committing" by 

, in its April 2026 issue, Vol. 43 No. 4. Read more at 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Kala DeSoto 16x9

<title>Rising pro surfer Kalā DeSoto finds purpose in the ocean</title>

In January, 18-year-old surfer Kalānōweo DeSoto from Mākaha became the youngest invitational surfer to win Da Hui Backdoor Shootout held on Oʻahu's North Shore — and the only competitor in event history to win titles in both longboard and shortboard categories. Learn more about what got him in the water and his hopes for the next competition and beyond.

Rising pro surfer Kalā DeSoto finds purpose in the ocean

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

Thereʻs plenty to do this weekend. From live music in Waikīkī to stage performances at Kumu Kahua Theatre. There are also events like Rebuild Oʻahu to help those impacted by the floods; 

ʻIolani Fair, which raises funds for students; and Forest Bathing at Moanalua Gardens. See the full list of activities on Oʻahu:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, April 17"}]

There will be an auction, food, including 

, rides and games, a general store — with lei poʻo, baked goods, exclusive logo wear, and handmade quilts —  and an area for keiki. ʻIolani School will host ʻIolani Fair from noon to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18. 

 Kumu Kahua Theatre has “Blu’s Hanging” on stage now, which is based on the coming-of-age novel by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. The story follows a Hansen’s Disease survivor as he mourns the death of his wife and struggles to provide for their kids. The production runs Thursday to Sunday. It closes on April 26. 

, plus fees, and there are discounts for seniors and group orders. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, April 18"}]

The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting

 will host a Rebuild Oʻahu event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the gymnasium at Waialua District Park. The event is designed to help those impacted by recent floods get resources and support to rebuild. Participating vendors include the Building Industry Association, American Institute of Architects, 

Honsador Lumber and more. DPP is also offering 

, with staff to answer questions about zoning and permits. 

Symphony sets sail with ode to Hōkūleʻa. 

Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra will perform “Raise Hawaiki,” a symphony about Hōkūleʻa, the double-hulled voyaging canoe that has inspired generations of navigators this weekend. On Saturday, April 18, HSO will perform excerpts from “Raise Hawaiki” at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall. The family-friendly event includes opportunities for keiki to learn how to tie nautical knots and see classical instruments up close. On Sunday, April 19, “Raise Hawaiki” will be 

performed in its entirety for the first time

 by the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. That performance will feature the Oʻahu Choral Society along with illustrations of voyaging canoes by 

, the composer of “Raise Hawaiki,” recently spoke with Aloha State Daily about his inspiration for the piece. 

Special Olympics Hawaiʻi Truck Pull & Spring Fest. 

Show your support for Special Olympics Hawaiʻi by participating in the truck pull. Teams of eight will compete to see which group can pull a 40,000-pound Coca-Cola semi-truck 30 feet with the fastest time at Ka Makana Aliʻi. There will be food trucks, vendors, a first responders vehicle display and family friendly activities and entertainment. Admission to the Spring Fest is free. Spectators are welcome for the truck pull. To participate in the truck pull, teams must raise at least $2,000, which is $250 per person for a team of eight. 

The eldest son of Bob and Rita Marley will release “Brightside,” his first studio album in eight years, with a vinyl exclusive on 

, which is Saturday, April 18. It includes “Make it Paradise,” which features 

The album releases digitally on Friday, May 1. Marley recently spoke with ASD about his new music and his recent benefit at The Republik in Honolulu. 

Ahead of Earth Day, which is April 22, Forest Bathing Hawaiʻi is offering a guided forest therapy walk at this historic public park. The green space is part of property originally 

bequeathed by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to Samuel Mills Damon

. This two-hour forest bathing walk will take attendees on a mindful stroll of the lawns and gardens. The event includes tea and light snacks. The walk starts at 10 a.m. Tickets are $70, plus taxes and fees. 

Ledward Kaapana performs for free in Waikīkī. 

Catch the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning slack key guitarist 

’s free performance at Waikīkī Beach Walk. Kaapana performs with a range of instruments, including 

steel guitar, ʻukulele, autoharp and bass guitar, and is equally renowned as a baritone and falsetto vocalist. The National Endowment for the Arts named Kaapana a 

. His free hour-long performance starts at 5 p.m. at the Waikīkī Beach Walk Plaza. 

Still need to make plans for Mother’s Day coming up Sunday, May 10? Aloha State Daily’s Food and Dining Reporter Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can help. Check out the guide to 

Where to celebrate Mother’s Day-part 1.

Ledward Kaapana

<title>Ledward Kaapana, Hōkūleʻa tribute and more: What to do on Oʻahu Friday, April 17, to…</title>

Looking for weekend plans? From catching a free concert from the legendary Ledward Kaapana to listening to “Raise Hawaiki,” a symphony about Hōkūleʻa performed in its entirety for the first time by the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, here are some of the things you can do this weekend on Oʻahu.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Introducing the "loose" shaka

ASD Staff

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Introducing the "loose" shaka

Authors

ASD Staff

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Neighborhood weather updates

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Island vibes

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