Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

A new shave ice option is now available as a delicious way to beat the heat.

Happy Lemon Koula sign 060325

’s Kakaʻako's new snowy brown sugar shave ice ($6) features fluffy layers of finely shaven ice topped with condensed milk and brown sugar syrup.

Happy Lemon Hawaii shave ice 060325

If you want to take your dessert to the next level, you can opt to add various toppings for $1 each. Toppings include boba, Oreos, lychee jelly, fresh mango chunks ($1.50) and mango boba ($1.50).

This new shave ice is currently only available at Happy Lemon’s Ward location.

Happy Lemon pineapple shave ice 060325

Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays

<title>Happy Lemon Hawaiʻi launched a new snowy shave ice</title>

This brown sugar dessert is only available at the boba shop’s Kakaʻako location.

Happy Lemon Hawaiʻi launched a new snowy shave ice

A new shave ice option is now available as a delicious way to beat the heat.  Happy Lemon Hawaiʻi’s Kakaʻako's new snowy brown sugar shave ice ($6) features fluffy layers of finely shaven ice topped with condensed milk and brown sugar syrup.  If you want to take your dessert to the next level, you can opt to add various toppings for $1 each. Toppings include boba, Oreos, lychee jelly, fresh mango chunks ($1.50) and mango boba ($1.50). This new shave ice is currently only available at Happy Lemon’s Ward location.  CONTACTHappy Lemon HawaiʻiKoʻula (Ward Village) 1000 Auahi St., Honoluluhappylemonhawaii.comInstagram: @happylemonhawaiiOpen 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

In what turned out to be her penultimate game as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Panita Thanatharn was getting a glimpse of her future. 

The University of Hawai‘i and Long Beach State were pitted against each other in the inaugural round of the Big West Tournament on May 7, a game the Rainbow Wahine won 10-8. Both teams eventually had their 2025 seasons end in the double-elimination tournament. 

With longtime Hawai‘i coach Bob Coolen set to retire following the season after 34 years at the helm, interviews for his replacement were already underway at the time. Although Coolen 

endorsed assistant coach Dee Wisneski for the job following his final game

, Thanatharn ended up being the choice for UH acting athletics director Lois Manin. 

Thanatharn was named the new Hawai‘i head coach on Wednesday

 after 16 seasons at Long Beach State, the same school where she was a player from 2002 to 2007. Although she's never lived in the Islands, her familiarity with the Rainbow Wahine comes from coaching against them annually ever since the 'Bows joined the Big West Conference prior to the 2013 season. 

"A lot of respect for Hawai‘i. Very familiar with the conference and going out there every other year and just a lot of respect for Hawaii and the university and the team, and so it was a opportunity that I just couldn't pass up," Thanatharn said. "So, super excited, and I can't wait to get there and bring that winning culture and tradition back, and I know it could do big things, and it's supported very well, so I just can't wait to get there."

The daughter of Thai immigrants, Thanatharn, 42, has lived most of her life in California, with the exception of a two-year stint at UNLV from 2009 to 2010. Born in Downey, Thanatharn was raised in Whittier and Chino Hills. Although her father was familiar with soccer but not baseball, Thanatharn was surrounded by baseball as a child and was handed down a right-handed glove from her brother. She began to throw with her right hand even though she writes with her left hand. 

During her childhood, Thanatharn also competed in swimming and water polo, which she believes supplemented her athletic abilities. 

After eventually transitioning from baseball to softball, Thanatharn stood out on the diamond and eventually made her way to Long Beach State. A devastating leg injury during her sophomore year sidelined her for multiple seasons, and she estimates she's had "seven or eight" surgeries. Despite not being able to play, Thanatharn was able to remain around the program. It is there that she developed her passion for collegiate coaching. 

Thanatharn played and coached under Kim Sowder, who like Coolen, retired following the 2025 season. 

"No timing is good timing for anything sometimes. My goal has always been to be a head coach. I wasn't going to just be a head coach, or apply to every school across the country just to have that head coaching title," Thanatharn said. "A little bit younger my career, I kind of did that. I was like, 'I'm gonna go.' Then I was like, hold on, you're still pretty young. You don't know everything yet. Let's just learn from my mentors and stay put. 

"I obviously think (Sowder) is a great, great coach, but more than anything, a great person as a player, a coworker, a friend, and I'm going to do a lot of things that I've learned from her and bring that over here."

Thanatharn has spent time recruiting in her hometown of Chino Hills, a place she considers a recruiting hotbed. At Hawai‘i, she also intends to convince the 

"If you could keep your best kids at home, that's what you want to do," Thanatharn said. "Have them represent your community and your state with a lot of pride, and there's just something different about your home school, and I'm going to try to keep them home as best as I can."

When the Rainbow Wahine take the field in 2026, it'll be their last year in the Mountain West Conference. But a new era will already be underway with Thanatharn coaching the Rainbow Wahine. 

"A lot of respect. A job like this doesn't come up very often. This has been 30 something years. So, definitely going to continue to build on what Bob has done and just continue to elevate it and make it a the best experience I can for the student-athletes," Thanatharn said.

Panita Thanatharn 2 060425

<title>New Hawai‘i softball coach Panita Thanatharn set to make inroads in Islands</title>

Despite having no previous ties to the school or state, Thanatharn was chosen as UH's new head softball coach on Wednesday.

New Hawai‘i softball coach Panita Thanatharn set to make inroads in Islands

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Prison reform advocates have urged Gov. Josh Green to reconsider a $30 million investment into a “superjail” to replace the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center.

 currently on Green’s desk includes an item dedicating $30 million for plans, land acquisition, design and construction for a new OCCC to replace the current aging and dilapidated jail.

The full replacement jail is estimated to cost upwards of $900 million and would have more than 1,300 beds, compared to OCCC’s 950.

But a coalition of reform groups gathered at Green’s office Wednesday urging him to strike that item from the budget.

“Hawai’i is at a crossroads,” said Liam Chinn, coordinator of the Reimagining Public Safety in Hawai‘i Coalition, a group of organizations and residents that promotes “decarceration” policies. “We can either spend a billion dollars on a superjail or pursue more cost-effective solutions.”

Chinn said that increasing the total number of beds at the jail will only incentivize law enforcement agencies to fill them, which will inevitably lead to the same overcrowding and understaffing issues that already plague OCCC.

[{"type":"text","text":"“This means more kanaka maoli will be put in cages,” Chinn said."}]

Chinn said that about 60% of Hawai‘i's jail population are merely being held pre-trial for minor crimes, and needn’t be imprisoned at all if they could just afford bail.

Chinn acknowledged that OCCC’s current conditions are unacceptable, but added that any new jail facility will take five years or more to actually be usable. Decarceration policies, he said, are quicker.

The state should therefore invest in a smaller facility to improve conditions at OCCC and a “historic expansion” of social programs and crisis centers to divert offenders from prisons and toward rehabilitative services, Chinn said.

Nikos Leverenz of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai‘i said it costs about $200 a day to keep someone incarcerated in the state, but, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, Hawai‘i is the third cheapest state in the nation for outpatient drug rehabilitation services.

“Not many things are cheap in this state,” Leverenz said. “But treatment is.”

Carrie Ann Shirota, ALCU of Hawai‘i's policy director, said municipalities in states such as New Jersey and Indiana have introduced programs that have decreased incarceration rates and also crime rates. For example, bail reform policies in Indiana’s Cass County reduced the county’s pre-trial jail population by 80%, through a series of reforms that allowed people who couldn’t afford bail for minor offenses recourse.

The coalition presented a series of budget recommendations to Green’s office, which urged the governor to pause planning for the jail and instead invest $250 million into “diversion infrastructure” — policies aimed at connecting offenders to support and treatment services.

Those recommendations noted that 40% of Hawai‘i's jail population are homeless, which, along with poor reentry programs to help ease former inmates back into society, results in high recidivism rates. The state should instead into permanent supportive housing programs, the coalition recommended.

While that investment would be high — the coalition recommended a minimum of $150 per year — Chinn said such programs cost an average of $30,000 per person per year, compared to the $112,000 per person per year it costs to incarcerate someone.

Other recommended investments included $80 million in workforce training programs, $200 million in mental health and substance abuse treatment, and $75 million in youth development programs.

Green was not present to receive the coalition’s recommendations, however.

[{"type":"text","text":"The deadline for Green to announce what he intends to veto is June 24."}]

IMG 5964 16x9

<title>Prison reform coalition urges Gov. Green to halt OCCC "superjail"</title>

Advocates asked Green to veto $30 million in state budget to design a 1,300-bed replacement for OCCC.

Prison reform coalition urges Gov. Green to halt OCCC "superjail"

[{"type":"text","text":"The University of Hawai‘i has hired a new softball coach. "}]

Longtime Long Beach State assistant coach Panita Thanatharn was announced as the program's new head coach on Wednesday, replacing 

"We are thrilled to welcome Panita to our athletics 'Ohana," acting athletics director Lois Manin said in a release. "She has a deep passion for the game and the competitive spirit to build a winning culture. We are confident that her integrity-based leadership and unmatched work ethic will inspire our student-athletes to grow on and off the field. She brings excitement to the future of our softball program."

"I am so pumped and honored to be the Head Softball Coach at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa," Thanatharn added in the release. "I'm grateful for the trust and confidence and I'm looking forward to the journey ahead! I can't wait to meet the team and learn about them and their families. 

"Academically, Hawai'i is one of the top universities in the world, and paired with its breathtaking beauty, I'm confident we'll attract outstanding student-athletes who are just as exceptional off the field as they are on it. I'm ready to get to work and start building relationships and am committed to winning in the classroom, in the community, and on the field."

Thanatharn played collegiately at Long Beach State from 2002 to 2007, earning a master's degree from the school in 2008. After beginning her coaching career at her alma mater, she spent two years as an assistant coach at UNLV from 2009 to 2010. 

Thanatharn then returned to Long Beach State in 2011. Since 2016, she was the associate head coach for The Beach, serving as the team's hitting coach while also assisting in recruiting. 

Long Beach State went 27-22 in 2025, while Hawai‘i went 33-20 in 2025, taking down LBSU in the first round of the inaugural Big West Conference tournament. 

Hawai‘i will play one last season in the Big West in 2026 before becoming full-time members of the Mountain West Conference. 

Panita Thanatharn 060425

<title>Hawai‘i hires Panita Thanatharn as new head softball coach</title>

Thanatharn replaces Bob Coolen, who retired following the 2025 season

Hawai‘i hires Panita Thanatharn as new head softball coach

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawaii History

Columnists

Imagine wandering through Nu‘uanu Valley in the late 1700s; no framed houses or churches, no golf club, no paved roads. Try to picture what it must have looked like: a lush rainforest that gives way to sweeping lo‘i kalo, the irrigated terraces where Hawaiians farmed taro, and kauhale, groups of traditional Hawaiian homes. Cool streams teeming with ‘o‘opu (goby fish) and ‘ōpae (freshwater shrimp) wove through the land. Before any paved road connected Honolulu to the Windward side of O‘ahu, footpaths traversed the valley and beyond.

In 1795, the valley saw one of the greatest battles in Hawai‘i history, Kaleleaka‘anae, the Battle of Nu‘uanu, when O‘ahu chief Kalanikupule and his 9,000 warriors attempted to defend their reign against Kamehameha and his invading army of 12,000 warriors from Hawai‘i Island. From the beaches of Waikīkī toward the top of the valley, the violent clash of armies fought desperately to conquer the opposing side. This single, bloody battle was the defining moment in Kamehameha’s attempt at bringing the Hawaiian Islands under one rule.

After the fighting was done and the bodies were buried, after the lo‘i were repaired and replanted, life returned to normal for most people. But the imprint of violence, desperation, and death remained on the land, with much of it culminating on this quiet stretch of road.

Nu‘uanu Pali Drive is the site of numerous tragedies, including the infamous murder of Therese Wilder by a pair of escaped convicts in 1948. But that’s not all.

Old Hawai‘i newspapers show that between 1949 and 1957, there were nearly 200 accidents on this two-mile stretch of pavement, with dozens of injuries and several deaths. Although this treacherous drive was known for its sharp, nearly 90-degree turns, speeders weren’t deterred and were soon caught in the clutches of the “death curve” and Morgan’s Corner.

After the Department of Transportation smoothed out the sharpest bends and built the Pali Highway, car crashes became less frequent, but the weight in the air never lifted. Morgan’s Corner and Judd Trail, both tucked along Nu‘uanu Pali Drive, soon gained a reputation for being haunted. A homicide in the 1980s and a suicide in the 1990s only deepened the sense of unease, feeding the legends that still cling to that area. To this day, thrill seekers flock to that lonely road in search of those chicken skin moments and perhaps hoping to glimpse a ghost.

Aside from the hauntings and eerie feelings along the Nu‘uanu Pali Drive, there are other things, more ancient and more spiritual.

A few years ago, I met author and paranormal enthusiast David Weatherly. David has a breadth of knowledge and a calm, cool energy about him, which makes conversations fun and enlightening. While showing him around the island, I shared some history of Hawai‘i and stories about haunted locations. I drove up Nu‘uanu Pali Drive and parked on the wrong side of the road in front of the Board of Water Supply building. There, I began to explain the Battle of Nu‘uanu and the history of the night marchers. As if on cue, a strange mist appeared before us in the middle of the road. Really strange.

It hovered in front of us like a large, floating sphere. Its lower tendrils drifted upward, then curled inward, folding back into its center as if breathing in itself.

[{"type":"text","text":"“That’s an interesting kind of fog,” David mused."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don’t think that’s fog,” I replied."}]

As it approached us, the mist became thicker, almost more solid-looking. Instinctively, we sat still and said nothing. The ghostly sphere seemed to move with intent as it slowly passed us, constantly churning in a slow, unnatural loop. We watched through the car mirrors as it glided into the forest and then back out again, continuing along the roadway, never dissipating, still in the shape of an odd, floating ball. We wouldn’t talk about it for the rest of the drive until we got to Zippy’s.

Then, all David had to say while nodding and chewing on his food was, “Night marchers. Had to be.”

Another witness to strange things on that lonely road is a now-retired Honolulu Police Officer and respected friend.

On a rainy November night in 2019, I received a phone call a little after midnight. It was my friend, the police officer I’ll call “M.” There was a bit of hesitation in his voice as he asked me if I could come out and bless his car.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Tonight?” I asked."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"He replied, “Yeah, right now, if can.”"}]

Without pause, I told M that I’d be right there. Since we were both up, my wife came with me, and we met him at the top of Nu‘uanu Pali Drive, where he was parked. M was supervising traffic while a construction crew worked on repaving the Pali Highway. When we arrived, M was waiting outside his car. We shook hands, and he immediately began to explain that just before calling me, he was sitting in his car and was amazed to see an army of pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owls) fly by, heading ma kai (toward the ocean) on Nu‘uanu Pali Drive. Shortly after, night marchers quietly followed the path set by the pueo.

M said he was so stunned by what he saw that he hadn’t immediately noticed the lone pueo flying around in his car, which he said was impossible since his windows were rolled up. That’s when he jumped out of his car and called me.

Though the road has changed, its history continues to linger. From ancient legends to modern tragedies, Nuʻuanu Pali Drive still carries the weight of its past as the stories of hauntings pass from one generation to the next, reminders that some places remember.

Nuuanu Pali Drive Mauka 2

<title>Beware Nu‘uanu Pali Drive</title>

Lush and beautiful as it may be, Nu‘uanu Valley also has a dark side as the site of the battle that defined King Kamehameha's Hawai‘i and as the home to infamously haunted Morgan's Corner.

Beware Nu‘uanu Pali Drive

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

It's a busy, bustling, blue sky morning in 

a small group gathers outside of St. Augustine by the Sea Catholic Church — a joint outreach team that includes members of the Waikīkī Business Improvement District and its Safe and Sound Waikīkī program, the Institute for Human Services, Waikīkī Health and other business partners.

Each Wednesday they take to the Waikīkī district on foot, meeting homeless individuals where they are, providing basic on-the-spot medical care and connecting individuals to social services and further health care options — to those who want it. Some do. Others don't.

A lot of the work aims to build trust among those unsheltered on the street — some individuals may not accept help at first, but might do so later.

The long-term goal is to get everyone into stable housing, connected with long-term health care, or get individuals more receptive to receiving services, Katie Kaahanui, executive coordinator of Safe & Sound told Aloha State Daily.

On May 28, Aloha State Daily joined the walk through Waikīkī, observing the work they do. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The first stop — Kūhiō Beach Park."}]

Locals and visitors alike make their way down Kalākaua Avenue — walking their dogs; visiting the shops along the popular thoroughfare; making their way to the bright blue waters, sunscreen lathered on, floaties in hand. A group of girls perform hula on the sand. The pink facade of the Royal Hawaiian stands out in the background.

[{"type":"text","text":"The bright slice of paradise is a contrast to the reality some here face."}]

At  Kūhiō Beach, Dr. Louie Gangcuangco, a physician with Waikīkī Health, approaches and introduces himself to a man sitting on a bench. After they talk, the doctor digs into his medicine bag and pulls out supplies to treat a wound on the man's leg.

Sue Willick, an outreach specialist with the Waikīkī Business Improvement District and one of WBID's Aloha Ambassadors, approaches another man sitting nearby and introduces herself. We don't hear what she says, but she talks to him for a bit.

She calls herself a "walking referral booth." Whatever someone needs, she'll connect them with the right people.

When we asked later why this kind of work is important to her, Willick's answer is simple: compassion.

Kaahanui said the joint partnership launched in January, "because we noticed that there were some gaps in the amount of time that people were connected to services."

This effort began as a partnership between WBID and Waikīkī Health, but an existing partnership with IHS made the outreach team bigger, she said.

"It was my goal to do whatever we could to decrease the amount of time [it takes for] people [to] get connected to really critical pieces of care that they need," she said. "Whether it's housing, whether it's shelter, health care services, we want to all come together and have everybody on board who can provide those services for everyone."

Desiree Mosiman, general manager of International Market Place, joined the outreach efforts on Wednesday.

"I believe in the mission and the approach that the WBID and Waikīkī Health and IHS and all these partnerships are taking, and I like that Hawai‘i is trying new things, new initiatives to help our homeless community," she told ASD. "I wanted to just observe how we do this, especially because it affects all of us in Waikīkī and beyond."

As the outreach effort continues Wednesday, the group moves down Kalākaua Avenue, stopping to help others as they go.

A man whom team members say previously rejected health care efforts approaches and asks for assistance. 

[{"type":"text","text":"But the tones of the interactions vary."}]

At one point, a man who members of the team have worked with previously, approaches, upset and using obscenities.

You've got to have a thick skin, Kaahanui said, and "to not take it personally and just remember why you're doing it, and sometimes this role is the long game."

The group crosses the road and continues up Ka‘iulani Boulevard and Kānekapōlei Street, pausing briefly at Princess Ka‘iulani Triangle before turning onto Kūhiō Avenue.

Kaahanui says Wednesdays are "a lot of us just walking around and seeing who we can find, which has been kind of tricky sometimes. If it rains, it's hard."

However, a new outreach pop-up, where people can come find resources in a set location, is in the works for late next month. Details of that are still pending.

This Wednesday, Kaahanui said Waikīkī Health was able to establish two new patients and reconnect with four existing patients.

Since the partnership launched through April 30, there have been 71 outreach interactions, 15 new patients who have established care at Waikīkī Health, and 15 individuals who were given on-street medical care, according to information provided by Kaahanui. There's been one relocation, with two more in process.

[{"type":"text","text":"Kaahanui's role in WBID is fairly new."}]

"They didn't have an outreach-focused position prior to 2023, but I think it just shows that we're all here rolling up our sleeves to address the issue together," said Kaahanui, whose background is in criminal justice and mental health counseling. "I enjoy being out on the street, connecting people to care, but I realized that we need to do it collectively because no one agency can solve the issue. I think it's valuable to have the health care facility in here. They're already in district. IHS sends somebody just to focus on Waikīkī as well. It allows us to operate as one, even though we're all from different silos or sectors. I think that's what helps that cycle of somebody getting connected to long-term care."

Gov. Josh Green has often said that housing is health care. Kaahanui and Gangcuangco say the same.

"Health care can look like so many different things, but [connecting people to health care on the street] is important because it's one step in somebody's long-term recovery," Kaahanui said. "That little wound that we're treating can help get somebody's health back [or] restored. They're able to get housing, get a job, and so it's important to just take that first step with everybody."

Gangcuangco has lived in Waikīkī for more than a decade himself. He told ASD his participation is "really about giving back and hopefully making a change for the community where I actually live and work."

Waikiki outreach 2

<title>Outreach team provides medical, social services to homeless in Waikīkī</title>

The joint effort includes members of the Waikīkī Business Improvement District and its Safe and Sound Waikīkī program, the Institute for Human Services, Waikīkī Health and other business partners. They walk Waikīkī every Wednesday, meeting people where they're at. This week, ASD tagged along to see their work firsthand.

Outreach team provides medical, social services to homeless in Waikīkī

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Entertainment

Arts & Culture

It has been a busy couple of months for Kumu Hula Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu. His hālau, the Oakland-based Academy of Hawaiian Arts, competed in Merrie Monarch, which ran from April 20 through 26. This week, when Disney’s live action version of “Lilo & Stitch” debuts in theaters on Friday, May 23, his voice will be part of the soundtrack.

, the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus, and the North Shore-based brothers 

. Of that group, only Hoʻomalu and the director of the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus, 

can say they were part of creating the soundtrack for the original movie.

Hoʻomalu did the singing and some of the composing for the 2002 movie’s “He Mele No Lilo” and “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride,” performed with the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus.

This year, at Merrie Monarch, the wahine in his hālau’s performed “Kuʻe Hao O Ka Lanakila,” a mele about a railway line that stretched from Moanalua to Waiʻanae. The oli that started the performance included parts of 

which was also featured in “He Mele No Lilo” in the original “Lilo & Stitch” movie.

“On the Merrie Monarch this year, the girls kahiko, 

. We did get recognized: ʻOh, that's the oli that he did for ʻLilo & Stitch,” the original, which is called ʻKa Wohi Ku Ka Moku,’ ” he told Aloha State Daily. “It was really nice because everybody in the audience was singing. … What a beautiful gesture to the queen.”

Going into Merrie Monarch, the practice schedule for the kumu hula included hula classes every day, with kāne on one night and wahine the next, Hoʻomalu told ASD. 

“I’m different because I don't see hula and the sound of hula as the same thing,” he said. “The sound is a whole other element that’s for the hoʻopaʻa, that’s for the chanters. … Hula is for the eyes and the leo — the sound — is for your ear. It's not the same thing, but they should both make your brain dance.”

The annual competition brings Hoʻomalu back to the Hawaiian Islands. After the competition on Hawaiʻi Island, he spent time with family on Oʻahu, he said.

“It allows me to come home and to bring hula home that Hawaiʻi is not doing,” he said. “Being away from Hawaiʻi allows me to not get caught up in what everybody else is doing. … By osmosis you become like everybody else. It was like that 50 years ago, and I don't want to be like that.”

The  kāne kahiko performance of “Holo Mai Pele,” was a mele that dates back to at least 1860 and tells the story of the migration of Tūtū Pele to Hawaiʻi, he said.

“Everyone in Hawaiʻi who has done it has done it the way that the Kanakaʻole family has done it,” he said. “That's where they learned it from, and they present it that way.”

But Hoʻomalu choose to share the story as a migration from the ocean, he said. In fact, his dancers brought outrigger canoe paddles to the stage.

“He's talking about a migration, sailing from Tahiti and I am bringing it from the ocean — not land locked, but from the ocean — and presenting a new rendition of an old mele,” he said.

of other 2025 Merrie Monarch performances. 

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

Kumu Hula Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu

<title>Kumu Hula Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu shares how the same oli was featured at Merrie Monarch…</title>

Kumu Hula Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu reflects on Merrie Monarch and how hula and music are not “the same thing, but they should both make your brain dance.” An oli he performed at Merrie Monarch this year had the audience singing. It appeared in the original animated version of ʻLilo & Stitch’ in 2002. It will also be part of the soundtrack for Disney’s live action version of the movie, which debuts Friday, May 23.

Happy Lemon Hawaiʻi launched a new snowy shave ice

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining Reporter

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Happy Lemon Hawaiʻi launched a new snowy shave ice

Authors

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining Reporter

More in Food & Dining

New souffle cheesecakes and Portuguese tarts are now in Chinatown

You can get 50% off this truffle pasta for a limited time

Kevin’s Kitchen serves up Hong Kong-style cuisine

Budget Bites: Happy hour at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse

Most read