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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Dogs are cooler than humans</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @HumphreySaccaro, stylin’ in his lifted yota.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Dogs are cooler than humans

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Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

Dew-Anne Langcaon, CEO of Honolulu-based Vivia Cares, Inc., says that the home care industry is made up of a lot of small businesses — businesses that are driven by owners wanting to help seniors at home.

“Consequently, when it’s a lot of small businesses, we tend to not have any organization, no way to speak as an industry with one voice,” she told Aloha State Daily. “And right now, with health care in the chaos that it’s going through, [there’s] an increased emphasis on helping people stay out of the hospital, stay out of expensive institutional care and stay in the home. The home care agency is becoming a much more important part of the continuum of care, but we don’t have a way to plug into the formal health systems to look at the advocacy, when we’re talking about new Medicaid rules and new Medicare rules.”

Local home care providers can now find support from the Home Care Association of America, or HCAOA, a nationwide a trade association for private-duty home care providers that recently established a new chapter in Hawai‘i.

Founded more than two decades ago in Indianapolis, the organization supports nearly 4,500 home care agencies across the country, a recent announcement noted.

“Now with a local chapter, home care agencies in Hawai‘i have direct access to HCAOA resources and a platform to collaborate on best practices, workforce development and quality care initiatives to enhance care for Hawai‘i families,” the announcement reads.

Langcaon, along with Cecilia Fong, administrator of Griswold Home Care; Cory Kataoka, Director of BAYADA Home Health Care; and Jenny Cambra, director of operations at Senior Helpers, joined forces to start the Hawai‘i chapter.

“The Home Care Association of America is a very large organization nationwide and it’s specific to home care, which is why it really resonated with us,” says Langcaon, who serves as chair of the Hawai‘i chapter.

Home care, the non-medical support provided to a senior in their home, is different from home health, Langcaon explained. Home care providers can aid with things like showering, meals, medications or taking an individual to doctor appointments.

It’s generally not covered by Medicare, she says, as opposed to home health, which offers more professional skilled services — such as registered nurses, physical therapy or occupational therapy — provided in-home after a hospitalization.

Home health, she says, has been “part of the health care ecosystem for decades” and those providers are typically large organizations, “but home care has generally been a small business activity.”

Langcaon says there are about 14,000 small home care agencies nationwide that support seniors living at home. There are 138 licensed home care agencies in the Islands, according to the state 

Department of Health Office of Health Care Assurance

“Things are changing very rapidly as society is aging and the home care agencies have to understand the political and regulatory landscape that’s changing very rapidly in our community and nationwide,” she says. “But as a small business owner, generally, you don’t have the time or attention to keep track of all those things, and that’s really the goal of this association — to help the small business owners keep track of what’s changing in the landscape and what are some of the other opportunities and regulations that might be coming down their way.”

Franchises, for example, have more corporate-level support to help them keep up with the changes in an evolving industry, Langcaon says, but solo practitioners or small business owners don’t have the same kind of resources.

“There [are] so many changes swirling around. It’s very difficult to be a small business person on an island trying to just do good work, so we’re hoping people will join the organization.”

She echoed those sentiments when asked about the benefits of joining.

“I think the main issue is so many things are changing around their world that, as a small business owner, you can’t just put your head in the sand,” Langcaon says. “It’s going to affect your business. We’re trying to make it easy for them to stay in touch, keep abreast of the issues so that they can be nimble and that their business can continue to thrive in a very rapidly changing environment.”

An inaugural chapter conference for home care providers statewide will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at Dave & Buster’s Ala Moana, and will include a federal legislative and regulatory update, panel discussion about the state of home care in Hawai‘i with officials from Medicaid, Veterans Affairs and the state Office of Aging, a caregiver panel discussion and more.

. The cost is $150 for HCAOA members and $250 for non-members.

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Homecare

<title>Home Care Association of America launches Hawai‘i chapter</title>

HCAOA is a nationwide a trade association for private-duty home care providers that recently established a new chapter in Hawai‘i. The organization supports nearly 4,500 home care agencies across the country.

Home Care Association of America launches Hawai‘i chapter

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

For San Jose State offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann, there was no hiding it. Saturday's game against the University of Hawai‘i means just a little bit more to the former Rainbow Warrior player and coach. 

"You'd like to say every game is the same but there's a little bit of extra oomph to want to win this one," said Stutzmann, who was also a standout receiver at Saint Louis. "That's where we're from, born and raised, played there, coached there, and it's the Dick Tomey Legacy game. There's a lot of tie-ins to this game. But at the same time, too, the way that we treat it is just another game. They're all the same. You don't get a bonus point."

Saturday's matchup between Hawai‘i (6-2, 3-1 Mountain West) and San Jose State (2-5, 1-2), which kicks off at 4:30 p.m. HST on Saturday at CEFCU Stadium, will be a pivotal game for each team in achieving their current goals for the season. A win for the Rainbow Warriors would keep them in Mountain West championship game contention, while San Jose State's bowl hopes would improve with a win. 

The game between the Rainbow Warriors and Spartans will be for the Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy. Tomey was Hawai‘i's head coach from 1977 to 1986, as well as San Jose State's head coach from 2005 to 2009. 

In addition to Tomey, the connections between the 'Bows and Spartans run deep. San Jose State head coach 

 is a Hawai‘i alum and Lāʻie native. Meanwhile, former Hawai‘i standout offensive lineman John Estes is SJSU's O-line coach, while former UH receiver Billy Ray Stutzmann is the wide receivers coach for the Spartans. Furthermore, analyst Kolney Cassel was a backup quarterback for Hawai‘i in 2018. 

San Jose State's roster has five players who graduated from a Hawai‘i high school in Tama Amisone (Kapolei), receiver Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa (Kahuku), offensive lineman Laakea Kapoi (Saint Louis), tight end Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole (Campbell) and defensive lineman Quicy Likio (Saint Louis). 

Spartans linebacker Champ Kapanui is the son of UH quarterbacks coach Chad Kapanui

"Very respectful of their program, the coaches in the program, a lot of Hawaii ties, guys that we call brothers," said Hawai‘i head coach Timmy Chang, whose father, 

, was Niumatalolo's junior varsity basketball coach at Radford. "We love to see them do good. They know what we do and we kind of understand what they do."

Both offenses run modern variations of the run-and-shoot, the offense that former Hawai‘i coach June Jones brought to the Islands from 1999 to 2007. 

Pieces of the run-and-shoot offense are evident in Stutzmann's own offensive philosophy, which he calls the spread-and-shred offense. Stutzmann's mind for offense has earned him praise in each of his coaching stops, which have included stints at Washington State, Utah Tech and Texas State in addition to UH and San Jose State. In 2025, both Stutzmann brothers have overseen the development of Spartans sophomore Danny Scudero into one of the country's top receivers. The 5-foot-9 slotback has 870 yards and eight touchdowns on 56 receptions. 

As Craig Stutzmann prepares to coach against his alma mater for the first time, he acknowledged the progress the 'Bows have made under defensive coordinator 

. In Stutzmann's eyes, the UH defense is the backbone behind their 6-2 start. 

"Defensively, that's where they hang their hat. I don't know Dennis Thurman. I never met him, but I got a lot of respect for him," Stutzmann said. "What he was able to do last year and turn that defense around, and this year, they're really good. They don't do a lot, but what they do, they know it like the back of their hands. They play hard. They play fast, they're physical, they're going after the football. I really think that's the heartbeat of their team, is defense. It really sets the tone for how they play as a team. It's gonna be a tall task and a good challenge for us but we'll be up to it."

Historically, San Jose State has a 23-22-1 advantage over the Rainbow Warriors. While the rivalry is close on paper, the Spartans have had Hawai‘i's number on the field, winning four straight over the 'Bows. In the most recent matchup between the teams in 2023, San Jose State walloped the Rainbow Warriors 35-0 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex behind former UH quarterback Chevan Cordeiro. 

UH redshirt freshman quarterback Micah Alejado wasn't on the team at the team at the time, but he was at the game on a visit. 

"I think some of the guys still have that taste in their mouth," he said. "So, it's one of the games I want to get back."

It's been over 30 years since Niumatalolo last coached with Hawai‘i as a graduate assistant in 1994. As he continued to climb the coaching ranks, which included 15 full seasons as Navy's head coach, his heart remained in the Islands. 

"That's still my home. It's gonna be exciting to play them and play Timmy, especially since he's doing a really good job. Really proud of him. To be honest with you, I watch them a lot and pull for them a lot. If they're not playing us, I'm always pulling for the University of Hawai‘i. That's my school. Just not this week. Every other week, I'm pulling for the Rainbow Warriors," he said. 

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Craig Stutzmann 102825

<title>Hawai‘i connections run deep on San Jose State roster and coaching staff ahead of…</title>

In UH's pivotal game at San Jose State this weekend, the Rainbow Warriors will face a team that has a combined 10 coaches and players with ties to the Islands.

Hawai‘i connections run deep on San Jose State roster and coaching staff ahead of Saturday's matchup

Andrea Cavaliere

Hawaii History

Columnists

The Aloha Theater first opened in 1932 and it has been entertaining the residents of Kealakekua ever since. Constructed by the Tanimoto family, it was originally a movie house showing silent films and talkies to the growing community in South Kona.

“It was a film theater for the migrant workers in the area, just so they had somewhere to come and let loose on the weekends,” said Chelsea Ahern, managing director of the Aloha Performing Arts Company, which has taken up residence in the theater since 1987. “It became a venue for live shows later on.”

The Aloha Theater’s role began shifting away from film and toward live performance in 1939, when the Kona Lions Club staged a live performance of "Who Wouldn’t Be Crazy?" That single production marked the beginning of what would become nearly a century of live community theater in West Hawai’i.

(Click through slideshow for then and now:)

I had the pleasure of touring the Aloha Theater and seeing its maze-like backstage, where I wandered down narrow hallways into all sorts of rooms, including a costume room lined with dresses and wigs soon to be drenched in blood for their upcoming production of "Carrie: The Musical," and an expansive and mysterious basement filled with old props and materials from past shows. Against one wall leaned the plywood-built houses of Bikini Bottom from a previous production of "The SpongeBob Musical

 I also got to meet the theater’s unofficial mascot, Demi, a dog who, as one staff member joked, “thinks she’s part of the cast and knows how to follow a cue.”

During the tour, Ahern talked about all the work that goes into preserving such an old structure. “There’s always something that needs to be fixed,” she told me, directing us away from a room that was an active construction zone. “Lucky we have so many people willing to help.”

One of those people is Sarah Athens, the theater’s artistic director. Athens describes the chance to develop and rehearse community theater productions on the Aloha’s stage as a gift. “The whole building is full of emotion,” she said. “All the hopes, dreams, and feelings that have been created on the stage, they stick around in a building like this. It has its own spirit.”

“We’re not a professional theater,” she continued. “We open auditions to everyone, no matter your skill level. Anyone can be an actor. Anyone can be an artist. All you have to do is want it.”

“There’s something magical about coming to the theater and seeing your dentist on stage,” Athens added. “It humanizes people. It puts us all in the same boat.”

The Aloha Theater clearly has a lot of spirit, and according to some, it has a few spirits too. Athens described moments when the air suddenly turns cold and the motion sensor paper towel dispensers start going off on their own. “It happens all the time,” she said.

The tenants next door would agree. The Aloha Theater shares a wall with a restaurant called The Theatery, and the staff there have their own stories. “The music will just stop,” said Traci Wilkey, general manager. “And sometimes things will fly off the shelf, even when there’s nobody around.”

It seems like that’s part of the deal when you share a wall with a hundred-year-old theater.

Outside, the original movie projector still sits near the front doors; it’s the same one they used to show silent films in the 1930s. “It’s been out of commission for decades, but it’s recently been repurposed,” Ahern said. “A chicken decided it was the perfect place to lay her eggs.”

Ahern is new to her role as managing director, and she says exciting things are in store for the Aloha Theater. “We’re really revitalizing,” she said. “The community has kept it alive for decades, and now it’s time to grow even more.”

If you’re looking for something to do on Hawaiʻi Island this Halloween, stop by the Aloha Theater for their live production of "Carrie: The Musical

 a classic horror story brought to life by the hardworking cast and crew of the Aloha Performing Arts Center. You may even encounter one of the theater’s real spirits before the night is over.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Aloha Theatre

<title>Hawai‘i Then and Now: Kealakekua's Aloha Theater</title>

Built in 1932 for movies by the Tanimoto family, this South Kona landmark started offering live theater performances as early as 1939. Now it's the full-time home of the Aloha Performing Arts Company, where, Artistic Director Sarah Athens says,  "Anyone can be an actor. Anyone can be an artist. All you have to do is want it.”

Hawai‘i Then and Now: Kealakekua's Aloha Theater

Aloha Spirit

When Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the Toronto Blue Jays punched their ticket to the World Series with a dramatic 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 20, the Mid-Pacific baseball community beamed with pride. 

Kiner-Falefa, a 2013 Mid-Pacific alumnus, has played at the Major League level since 2018, building a reputation as a trusty utility player. His presence in the Major Leagues alone marks the first and only time a player from the school has reached the show. 

With the Blue Jays trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 7 against the Mariners, Kiner-Falefa fought off an 0-2 single, setting the stage for a 3-run home run by George Springer. Toronto secured its spot in the World Series for the first time since 1993, where it would face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. 

 head coach Dane Fujinaka, a 2011 MPI alum, watched the pennant-clinching game on television. As soon as the Blue Jays won, he contemplated buying tickets to see his former high school teammate in person. He then realized that if someone were to make the trip to watch him play, it should be Dunn Muramaru, head coach of the Mid-Pacific varsity baseball team since 1987. 

"That night, I just kind of ran through my head how cool it would be to be able to go watch," Fujinaka recently told Aloha State Daily. "And I just thought of coach Dunn because being in a coach's shoes, I couldn't imagine having one of my current players grow up and become a big leaguer and then play the World Series. And that's something that doesn't happen often. It happens sort of once in a lifetime, right? I was like, You know what, we got to send him up there. I think that's like the icing on the cake for him with being inducted into the (American Baseball Coaches Association) 

"It was honestly really easy because people want to find a way to give back to him because he's given so much to everybody."

Fujinaka was a senior when Kiner-Falefa got his shot to join the varsity team as a sophomore. Although Kiner-Falefa played sparingly that year, the two maintained a friendship over the years. Fujinaka, who worked with the Blue Jays organization for three seasons before getting the HPU gig in 2021, says he still keeps in touch with colleagues during his time with the organization. They all gush about Kiner-Falefa, who signed with them in 2024, then was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates that same year, but rejoined in time for the 2025 postseason. 

"It's unbelievable to just see the way he carries himself," Fujinaka said of Kiner-Falefa. "He's the heart and hustle guy on every team, it seems like. They all said tremendous things about him as a person and a teammate. He's kind of like their spark plug. It doesn't shock me, because he's literally done everything that every club has ever asked of him."

Muramaru will have a former player serving a prominent role on each team. In addition to Kiner-Falefa, 2007 MPI alumnus Will Ireton has served as an interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani since the 2024 season, one of his roles as the team's director of Japanese operations and strategy. 

Fujinaka successfully purchased two tickets to Game 3 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, which begins at 2 p.m. HST on Monday. He was able to purchase a pair of upper level tickets above the third base dugout, priced at approximately $1,200 apiece. Muramaru will be accompanied by Mid-Pacific pitching coach Craig Hayashi. They were the best seats available when Fujinaka purchased them, and when he checked for tickets the next day, none were available.

When Fujinaka reached out to his network, agreement that Muramaru deserved to be at the World Series was so strong and unanimous that the contributions needed were met within hours. Fujinaka sent out another update to say that he had raised enough money, but funds still came in. The excess money will go to Muramaru and Hayashi, with helping MPI's baseball program floated as one of the possible uses.  

Fujinaka estimates that about 50 people chipped in, with 30 to 40 of them former MPI baseball players. An additional 10 to 15 are other coaches, teachers, or those who simply learned something from Muramaru and appreciated what he gave to the game. 

"I was just in shock," Muramaru said when he was informed of the efforts to get him to the World Series. "It's hard to explain. It's like, wow. You don't really think that you did that much to deserve all that. I'm just overwhelmed."

Muramaru, 71, will continue to coach the baseball team at Mid-Pacific when a new season begins in the spring. His run with the Owls includes five state titles and six runner-up finishes. When he tuned in to Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, the feeling he got seeing two former players was priceless. 

"I was thinking, wow, you have two people in the World Series from the same high school," he said. "That's kind of neat. Must be kind of rare."

Kiner-Falefa was an All-State shortstop for Muramaru who bypassed a college commitment to San Jose State to go pro immediately out of high school. After making his Major League debut in 2018 for the Texas Rangers, the franchise that drafted him in 2013, Kiner-Falefa has played for four different teams, carving out a role as a respected utility player. He has played every single position on the field, with the exception of first base. As a mop-up pitcher, teams have scored just two runs off of him in his 6.2 career innings. 

"Really proud of him and just the way he carries himself," Muramaru said. "All the years he's played, we're just proud of him, as far as being from our place and how he represents not only our school, but the state of Hawai‘i with how good a person he is."

Although he's not a player, Ireton receives far more screen time than Kiner-Falefa due to his presence as Ohtani's interpreter. During games, Ireton also serves Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who tossed a complete game to help the Dodgers even the World Series at one game apiece heading back to Los Angeles. 

"He didn't play too much for us, honestly," Muramaru said of Ireton, who played collegiately at Occidental College and Menlo College. "But a really good teammate. Everybody liked him, and he was just a really good person. I think that goes a long way. And I'm pretty sure that's what (the Dodgers) saw in him, too."

The funds raised covers tickets, transportation and one night at a Los Angeles hotel. Muramaru and Hayashi are teammates in a softball league and had a playoff game on Sunday and will arrive in LA on a red-eye that lands on Monday. 

"It was funny because I said you guys don't have to fly the red-eye Sunday," Fujinaka said. "Why don't you guys go up a day before the game? Their softball team is in the playoffs and they cannot miss it. Both of those guys are just ultimate teammates. They're not willing to even miss a softball game to go up a day earlier for the World Series. I thought that was pretty fitting."

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Dogs are cooler than humans

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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