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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"text":"We did not know this was even possible.  ","type":"text"}]

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: TACOMA FIGHT!</title>

Today's social media find comes from jensonkona, who keeps on truckin'.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: TACOMA FIGHT!

We did not know this was even possible.   

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Crime & Courts

Columnists

The flashing blue light caught my eye from across the Longs parking lot, and for half a second I looked for a squad car. There wasn’t one.

The light sat up on a pole, bright and tireless, flanked by two cameras and a speaker. Every so often the speaker cleared its throat to remind me, and the myna birds, that these premises were under surveillance.

Without leaving the lot I had wandered into Oceania. This is Hawaiʻi now.

We are used to it, which is the strange part. The locked cases came first, only for the obvious things — cold medicine, cans of Spam. Then they spread. Now you summon a clerk with a key to buy honey, or laundry detergent. The plastic barrier that did not exist a few years ago is now as common as the shopping cart. The pole in the lot is the next turn of the same screw.

We have quietly traded places. The man who steals walks out with his arms full and his pulse even, having learned that little will happen to him. The man who obeys the law frets over a lapsed car registration or the fender he tapped. The thief is hard to find. But the taxpayer is right there, with an address.

Some of this we chose. In 2016 the Legislature raised the felony-theft line from $300 to $750, the first such change since 1986. Some argued that the increase was necessary to keep up with inflation, though 1986's $300 was worth $657 in 2016 — lawmakers essentially excused an extra nearly $100 worth of theft as non-felonious. But others sold it as mercy, and as thrift besides: fewer felonies, which means fewer prisoners and a smaller bill. When the tenderhearted and the tightfisted want the same thing, what they usually want is to stop paying for something. What we stopped paying for was justice, and the camera arrives when the state steps away.

The thief is not beyond love. The addict on the sidewalk is a man God made and Christ died for, and a city that forgets it turns cruel in a hurry. But there is a mercy that is only cowardice in better clothes.

To watch a man sink into what is destroying him and call your inaction compassion is to flatter yourself at his expense. Real mercy wants his good, and his good includes consequences. The civil ruler, Paul writes, “beareth not the sword in vain.” The sword is part of the office.

There is a bill for all this. Stores call their losses shrink, and shrink is folded into the price of everything you carry to the register. The guard, the wired cases, the minutes spent waiting for someone to unlock the condiments — everyone pays to cover the lawlessness of a few.

The state has one job it cannot hand to anyone else. It must protect the people who keep the law and discipline the people who break it. Order is not a luxury bought only when the budget allows. It is the first thing government is for. When the state does this work, the honey can sit on an open shelf. When it quits, a private company bolts the honey down and hoists cameras up on poles.

Justice is not mysterious. We could enforce the repeat-offender laws already on the books, and set a theft threshold a thief has some reason to fear. We could fund the courts and police well enough that a stolen cart leads to more than a shrug. We could also watch the law-abiding a good deal less than we do.

There is an old story about a pole like the one in the lot. When the Israelites in the desert were dying of snakebite, God had Moses raise a bronze serpent. Whoever looked at it lived. It was a strange mercy, and it worked. The trouble came later. Generations on, they were still burning incense to the bronze snake as though the metal had saved them. A king named Hezekiah finally broke it apart and named it Nehushtan — a thing of bronze.

We have hoisted another Nehushtan. The pole can record a theft, but it cannot reform the man committing it.

History runs in seasons, and a law that sleeps can wake again. Meanwhile, we pray for the only lifting-up that ever healed anyone. Not bronze on a pole, but the Son of Man raised on a cross, who reaches the man standing under the cameras. The blue lights will keep flashing over him. They were never going to save him.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Longs security camera 16x9

<title>Why Hawaiʻi locks up the honey</title>

The honey is locked up and cameras watch the lot. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on what Hawaiʻi bought when it stopped paying for justice.

Why Hawaiʻi locks up the honey

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

As the halfway point of 2026 approaches, a bevy of new laws are set to take effect.

[{"type":"text","text":"Here’s some of the new state laws to look out for starting July 1:"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Shipping costs will likely increase"}]

, a measure authorizing annual automatic cost adjustments for interisland shippers for the next several years.

While interisland shippers — which, in effect, means Young Brothers LLC — have had to apply for approval from the Public Utilities Commission for any rate changes, starting in July, the PUC can develop and apply a “water carrier inflationary cost index automatic adjustment mechanism,” which will apply annual cost adjustments without any need for applications.

Those adjustments cannot be more than 5% each year, and are intended to reflect annual changes to the Department of Transportation’s wharfage rates.

The automatic adjustments are scheduled to go into effect July 1 of each year through 2032.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Your jet ski joyrides are going to cost more"}]

, increases penalties for various nautical misadventures, including:

[{"type":"text","text":"• Violating speed restrictions on a boat or jet ski,"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Reckless or careless operation of a vessel or jet ski,"}]

• Operating a vessel or jet ski without valid safety education or insurance coverage,

[{"type":"text","text":"• Unauthorized mooring of a vessel or jet ski,"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"• Operating a vessel or jet ski while intoxicated,"}]

• Serving, selling, drinking or possessing alcohol within state small boat harbors or boating facilities,

• Abandoning an animal within state small boat harbors or boating facilities,

Each of these violations will be considered a petty misdemeanor and will incur fines of up to $1,000 and a possible jail term of up to 30 days.

Your fish market must tell you where your ahi comes from

Lawmakers were concerned in 2025 that, due to a loophole in seafood labeling requirements, vendors were not disclosing the country of origin for ahi tuna products.

Because of this, lawmakers found that a substantial percentage of ahi products sold in Hawai‘i claim to be “prepared fresh” or “locally made” despite using foreign-caught and pre-frozen ahi.

 requires large retailers selling any raw processed ahi in Hawai‘i to include a label stating the fish’s country of origin.

You can take family leave if a family member is deployed

Currently, Hawai‘i's family leave statutes does not align with federal family leave laws, which have allowed spouses, children or parents of active-duty military members to take family leave when those family members are deployed overseas.

, which Green signed into law in May, changes this. Beginning in July, employees with military spouses, children, siblings, grandchildren or parents will be allowed four weeks of family leave per year for “qualifying military exigencies,” a phrase that refers to a person’s active-duty deployment to a foreign country.

Anyone claiming said family leave will be required to provide a copy of official military orders for documentation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Your building permits could come through faster"}]

 allows people applying for building permits for single-family and multi-family housing projects to request to have their permits expedited.

Starting July 1, an applicant can send a request to their county for an expedited permit if 60 days have passed since the initial complete application without the county’s approval.

Eligible projects must not be located within flood hazard areas or on storm-vulnerable shoreline parcels, and must still be stamped by licensed engineers.

The expedited process is temporary; however, by July 1, 2031, it will be repealed.

Your charitable donations will have a clear destination

, requires solicitors that collect donated property such as clothes to disclose where those donations are actually going.

While people may believe that the items they donate actually directly go to charities, this isn’t always the case. In many cases, the solicitor merely sells the items, and donates some or all of the proceeds from that sale to the charities.

Act 112 requires solicitors to clearly disclose who operates a given collection receptacle and whether the donated items will be sold and the proceeds paid to a charitable organization. It also requires those solicitors to inform users as applicable whether their donations are tax-deductible contributions.

Said solicitors are also required to provably pay proceeds to a charitable organization within 45 days.

State capitol 022725

<title>New laws coming in second half of 2026</title>

Several new laws are set to take effect beginning July 1. Here are some highlights.

New laws coming in second half of 2026

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Imagine waking in the middle of the night, unable to move. Aside from your own breathing, the world is silent. Your eyes are open, and you’re fully aware of your surroundings, but for some reason, you can’t turn over, sit up, or even lift your head. You feel intense pressure on your chest as if someone is sitting on you. Then you feel something start to choke you, and you see a dark shadow that seems to be sitting on your chest. You begin to panic, and you try to scream or call out, but the sound doesn’t escape your throat. Just when you think the end is near, whatever is holding you lets go. You jump up, turn on the light, and look around your room, but you don’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Found in different cultures around the world, beliefs about the “choking ghost” or “pressing ghost” share similar descriptions. Almost all of these beliefs explain the terrifying experience as a supernatural attack. Some cultures believe the cause is a witch or a demon sitting on one’s chest to steal one’s breath, while others say a dark entity or spirit means to immobilize or suffocate its victim.

Scientifically, reports of choking ghosts can often be explained by a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. According to well-documented studies, the brain releases two chemicals that suppress most muscle activity during normal sleep. This is meant to keep us from acting out our dreams. Generally, these chemicals wear off by the time we wake up. However, in some people, sleep paralysis typically occurs when the body remains temporarily paralyzed while the person partially wakes. When this happens, the person may find themselves unable to move, speak, or call for help.

Many people who have experienced the choking ghost have also reported difficulty breathing or feelings of pressure on the chest as if someone is sitting on them. As their brain is still transitioning between dreaming and waking, vivid hallucinations are common and include seeing shadowy figures, hearing voices, sensing a presence in the room, or feeling as though someone is choking them.

While the sensations can feel intensely real and frightening, sleep paralysis is generally harmless and usually lasts only a few seconds to a few minutes.

Whether the experience is attributed to sleep paralysis or something more mysterious, tales of a choking presence have persisted in Hawai‘i as well. Some of the most chilling reports emerge from the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center.

Completed in 1918, the Territorial Penitentiary was a 9-acre facility and consisted of an X-shaped building with a watchtower in the center, surrounded by 20-foot-high walls. The administration offices, laundry, and toilets were housed in separate buildings, along with the “incorrigible ward” that was added later. The buildings were completely demolished, and the prison site was expanded to 16 acres in the 1970s, replacing the large buildings with multiple smaller ones.

Today, the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center is famous for its notorious choking ghost. According to a 1984 newspaper column, guards at the prison recall the haunted guard’s squad room next to the execution chamber, where they were unable to sleep due to encounters (and fear of encounters) with the reported choking ghost. I’m sure it offered little relief to know that the choking ghost was not biased and reportedly affected the prisoners as well. 

When we posted a video about OCCC on our social media pages, a number of followers commented and messaged us about having experienced the choking sensation personally while either employed or incarcerated at the facility.

We know that science has studied this phenomenon and has explained sleep paralysis. Maybe the occurrence is common enough that it seems to happen more often in a place where so many people live and sleep in close proximity. But does it happen as often in school dormitories, or military barracks, or hospitals?

Aside from the choking ghost, OCCC seems to be home to other hauntings as well. One former Sargent there said that when he was working in the tower, he would hear someone coming up the steps, but when he looked, there was no one there. And a few times, when he leaned back and put his legs up to rest, something would unceremoniously knock them down. He quickly learned to remain vigilant.

My own brother-in-law, who was a guard there, repeated the story about the tower stairs and said some guards have actually seen an apparition in the stairwell. He also shared that guards and prisoners would hear the trap door of the hanging room snap open, although they knew the door had been welded shut since capital punishment in Hawai‘i was officially abolished in 1957. 

One man stated that when he was employed at OCCC years ago, he often heard the trap door slam open, even though he knew no one was there. Once, he was assigned to the isolation cells, which were said to be painted all black inside. One night, he was curious to know what it looked like, so he decided to peek into an empty cell.

He slowly opened the door and leaned in, and saw an empty room. But as he began to back away and close the door, something caught his eye. He looked again, and there, in the back of the room, were several faces looking back at him. He slammed the door shut and continued his shift, avoiding that room as much as possible.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I am no longer curious,” he said."}]

While modern science points to sleep paralysis as the likely cause of a choking ghost in a place where it often occurs, it still can’t explain other ghostly phenomena reported in the same facility.

Oahu Community Correctional Center

<title>The Choking Ghost at OCCC</title>

As if prison wasn't scary enough, prisoners and guards alike at O‘ahu Community Correctional Center have many tales of a choking ghost stalking the facility, as well as other apparitions.

The Choking Ghost at OCCC

More than 200 candidates are running for elected offices in Hawai‘i and will appear on ballots this year. See the candidates for city and county races, 

Tuesday marked the filing deadline for prospective political candidates to submit their nomination papers to run for office in the upcoming 2026 elections. The 2026 primary election will be held Saturday, Aug. 8, with the general election set for Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Here are the candidates for statewide races. 

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

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

U.S. Representative candidates, District II

State Senator District 5 (Wailuku, Kahului)

State Senator District 8 (Kaua‘i, Ni‘ihau)

State Senator District 9 (Hawai‘i Kai, Diamond Head)

State Senator District 10 (Kaimukī, Kapahulu, Mō‘ili‘ili)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"• Incumbent Les Ihara Jr., Democrat "}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"• Jackson Sayama, Democrat  "}]

State Senator District 11 (Mānoa, Makiki, Punchbowl)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"• Incumbent Carol Fukunaga, Democrat "}]

State Senator District 13 (Liliha, Iwilei, Nu‘uanu)

State Senator District 14 (Moanalua, ‘Aiea, Fort Shafter)

State Senator District 15 (Kalihi, Māpunapuna)

State Senator District 17 (Mililani Town, Wahiawā)

State Senator District 19 (Pearl City, Waipahu)

State Senator District 20 (‘Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe)

State Senator District 21 (Kalaeloa, Kapolei)

State Senator District 25 (Kailua, Waimānalo)

State Rep. District 3 (Hilo, Keaukaha, Kea‘au)

State Rep. District 4 (Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hawaiian Beaches)

State Rep. District 5 (Kea‘au, Mountain View, Volcano, 

Pāhala, Punalu‘u, Nā‘ālehu, Hawaiian Ocean View

State Rep. District 6 (Captain Cook, Kailua-Kona)

State Rep. District 7 (Kailua-Kona, Honokōhau)

State Rep. District 8 (Hawi, Waimea, Waikōloa)

State Rep. District 12 (Pukalani, Makawao)

State Rep. District 13 ( Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Kaho‘olawe)

State Rep. District 15 (Hā‘ena, Hanalei)

State Rep. District 16 (Wailuā, Līhu‘e)

Kōloa, Po‘ipū, Kalāheo, Ele‘ele, Hanapēpē, Waimea

State Rep. District 18 (Portlock, Hawai‘i Kai)

State Rep. District 19 (‘Āina Haina, Niu Valley)

State Rep. District 20 (Leahi, Wai‘alae, Kaimukī)

State Rep. District 21 (Pālolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise)

State Rep. District 23 (Mō‘ili‘ili, McCully)

State Rep. District 25 (Ala Moana, Downtown Honolulu)

State Rep. District 26 (Makiki, Punchbowl)

State Rep. District 27 (Pacific Heights, Nu‘uanu)

State Rep. District 28 (Sand Island, Chinatown)

State Rep. District 29 (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley)

State Rep. District 30 (Kalihi, Hickam Village)

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: TACOMA FIGHT!

ASD Staff

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: TACOMA FIGHT!

Authors

ASD Staff

Reporter

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social meets Hawai‘i Skies

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Neighborhood weather updates

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Island vibes

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

Most read