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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

We’ve all got uneven tans — yes, your Jesus slippah tan counts, too.

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Good times and tan lines</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @Kirajbeltran, with a mean tan.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Good times and tan lines

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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

known for its loaded, customizable acai bowls 

is celebrating the first anniversary of its business this Sunday, Sept. 21.

The celebration will be at the businessʻs Kāneʻohe storefront, and will include festivities like a lion dance, live music and food from popular vendor 

HI Cravings Windward is also offering a BOGO deal for its customers on Sept. 21 only. When you buy an acai bowl, you can get a free ‘Ekahi (small) acai bowl, which is 10 ounces ($6.75 value).

All bowls include granola, raw honey, strawberries, bananas, pineapples and grapes. Customers also get an acai base of choice — select from acai, or strawberry guava, mango, coconut or acai sorbet.

You can customize your acai bowl with a variety of toppings, or go for one of the pre-set menu options. The Bliss bowl is a customer favorite. It features a base of your choice — if you order the ‘Elua, or regular-size bowl, you get two flavors — along with bananas, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cookie dough and a drizzle of your choice.

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Open 3-7 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

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<title>This acai bowl shop is celebrating a milestone with a BOGO offer</title>

HI Cravings Windward is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its business this Sunday, Sept. 21. Customers can take advantage of a buy-one-get-one-free acai bowl offer from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This acai bowl shop is celebrating a milestone with a BOGO offer

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Christian Shimabuku

Sports

For multiple weeks, Micah Alejado's status was 

The University of Hawai‘i quarterback played one healthy half of football in the team's season-opening win over Stanford. Since then, his injured right ankle has been one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Rainbow Warriors in 2025. 

Alejado ended up missing two consecutive games, both wins for the Rainbow Warriors, as backup Luke Weaver displayed his full capabilities in victories over 

As the 'Bows enter conference play against rival Fresno State on Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, there was no hiding UH's intent before or after Tuesday's practice: Alejado will be a full go. 

"He's expected to go this Saturday and be the quarterback," Chang said following Tuesday's practice. 

While speaking to media for the first time since the postgame press conference against Stanford, Alejado reflected on the weeks since 

. He's received treatment on his ankle three times a day. 

"Daily, it was wake up, get treatment before practice, come out, support the guys and try to help coach them up a lot, and then after go back and get treatment again, and then take some time off, and then come back to treatment in afternoon," Alejado said. "I was getting some type of treatment three times a day. It was more so just to be able to stay on top of it. It was hard mentally just coming back and slow process for sure. But it was definitely great for me, and I feel great right now. Probably the best it's been a long time, so it'll be fun."

 in various drills and workouts in practices leading up to the team's game against Portland State, Alejado also got plenty of mental reps in while wearing a headset during both the Sam Houston and Portland State contests. 

"It was definitely a different experience just hearing what the coaches are saying," Alejado said. "Hearing the reactions and hearing the communication for the coaches, I think it's definitely a great experience for somebody to have if they want to go into the coaching level. Seeing how coaches are operating, calling plays. Having a headset and taking a step back and watching, it was fun."

Giving his teammates pointers and seeing how the offense operates from the sideline was a valuable experience for Alejado, but his heart remained set on returning to the field and 

 the redshirt freshman displayed in spurts over the past two seasons. 

Eager as he was to play, Alejado understood he needed to give his ankle time to heal in order to return to the best version of himself. 

"We flew back from Arizona that Sunday and woke up on Monday, and I felt I'm not putting the team in the best position to win," Alejado recalled. "We sat down and talked about it and thought the two weeks would help me a lot, and sat down with trainers about what the recovery process would look like. And it's paying off a lot."

There will be no easing Alejado back into the swing of things. Hawai‘i coaches continued to give intense instruction towards players on Tuesday ahead of the team's rivalry game against Fresno State. 

The Rainbow Warriors and Bulldogs have been conference rivals in both the WAC and Mountain West, with Fresno State holding an all-time advantage of 30-25-1 in the series. 

Saturday's contest, which kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, will be the last meeting between the 'Bows and Bulldogs for the foreseeable future. Fresno State is 

 in favor of a revamped Pac-12 next summer. 

"The history of Bulldog and Warrior football...those battles that we've had, there's extra history, and love playing them and they love playing us, and it's a good battle," said Chang. "Them leaving and the unknown of playing them again, it is what it is. But we'll just focus on this one."

The Rainbow Warriors and Bulldogs are both 3-1 overall heading into Saturday's contest, but neither team has played a Mountain West game in 2025 prior to Saturday. The game figures to serve as a tone-setter for conference play. 

"What a big game," Chang said. "It happens to be an opponent, a familiar foe that is playing very well, a well-coached team, first-year coach (Matt Entz) that has a great pedigree and is installing that toughness through that old Pat Hill mentality back into that football team. What a challenge for us. Both teams are 3-1. Opening up conference play is pretty exciting. 

"We got to go out there and compete and look at the game plans and then execute the game plans. It was a great practice today, and we need more great practices throughout the week to give us a chance to to perform on Saturday."

Micah Alejado 091625

<title>Micah Alejado returns to practice ahead of Hawai‘i's Mountain West opener against Fresno…</title>

Alejado was sidelined for consecutive weeks with a right ankle injury.

Micah Alejado returns to practice ahead of Hawai‘i's Mountain West opener against Fresno State

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Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

[{"type":"text","text":"A Kailua-Kona man previously convicted of murder is going back to court."}]

In 2019, Brian Lee Smith was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the fatal shooting of Thomas Ballesteros, Jr. in June 2018.

According to court records, Ballesteros and his friend Nikolaus Slavik were picking mangoes across the street from Smith’s home. When Smith approached them, an altercation began that ended with Ballesteros shot in the head and Slavik shot thrice.

At trial, Smith had testified that he had fired a handgun in self-defense, and that Ballesteros had previously broken into his house. Nonetheless, a jury found Smith guilty of second-degree attempted murder and three gun-related offenses.

But a seemingly minor quirk in that murder charge led to a years-long legal challenge that finally ended Friday, Sept. 12, when the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Hawai‘i Island Circuit Court for another trial.

“It’s a mixed result for us,” Andrew Kennedy, attorney for Smith, told Aloha State Daily, adding that Smith is still facing a potential life sentence on the murder charge.

, the legal principal outlining a defendant’s mental state. Kennedy explained that, because “you can’t sentence people for an accident,” certain crimes require prosecutors to include in their accusation that the defendant intentionally performed the criminal act in question.

, or state of mind, for the murder charge — alleging that Smith “intentionally or knowingly” shot Ballesteros — Kennedy argued they failed to apply it consistently.

A person who uses a firearm in the commission of a felony is subject to a sentencing enhancement that imposes a mandatory minimum sentence — up to 15 years in the case of second-degree murder. The state pursued this enhancement in Smith’s case, but did not also declare the 

During oral arguments earlier this year, Kennedy outlined a hypothetical situation where this inconsistency could sentence someone unfairly.

“Picture a situation where a person is walking, they pick up a bag,” Kennedy told the Supreme Court in July. “They put that bag on their back, and everyone agrees this person has no reason to know what’s in that bag. They sit down, they start smoking some meth. A cop comes by, says ‘hey you’re committing a felony,’ arrests them. Says ‘can I look in the bag?’ Person says ‘Sure, go for it, I don’t even know what’s in there.’ In there is a firearm.”

In this situation, Kennedy said the bag holder would be subject to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of up to three years, even though the person was not “intentionally or knowingly” in possession of a firearm.

While this scenario bears little resemblance to any description of the Ballesteros shooting, Kennedy argued such a case would violate the defendant’s due process rights and potentially invalidate the prosecution’s case.

Ultimately, however, the Supreme Court concluded otherwise. Writing for the majority opinion, Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald — in one of his final opinions, as he retires at the end of September — determined that prior case law suggests that state of mind is not relevant for a sentencing factor and, even if it was, Smith had never suggested in previous testimony that he was unaware of the gun he possessed.

Despite that opinion, the case is still remanded to Circuit Court for a retrial, which Kennedy said was going to happen regardless of the Supreme Court outcome. But in that trial, Smith will, once again, face a potential life sentence with a mandatory minimum sentence of up to 15 years.

I Stock 2163789360

<title>Kailua-Kona man headed for retrial in 2018 murder case</title>

Brian Smith was sentenced to life in prison for murder in 2019, but a legal dispute will send him back to court.

Kailua-Kona man headed for retrial in 2018 murder case

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Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

 on Saturday, Sept. 13, drew thousands to Waikīkī. The event was a one-night-only tribute to George Brooks Veikoso, known as 

, who died in July. Tickets to the event were free and 

Fiji was known for his island/reggae music and lived in Hawai’i as a teenager, according to Spotify, where he has more than 975,000 monthly listeners.

 were expected to attend the event, according to city officials. 

The Honolulu Police Department made no arrests “despite the unprecedented crowd size," the agency shared. It did tow 30 vehicles, according to representatives of HPD. The department declined to share how many officers were present at the event, which also had more than 150 private security, according to organizers.

The tribute had planned performances from Common Kings, Maoli, The Green, Sammy J, 

, Ekolu, Josh Tatofi, Mana’o Company, Three Plus, Rebel Souljahz, Siaosi, Irie Love, Spawnbreezie, Hot Rain, Na Drua, Peni Dean, Damon, Loleka, Jeff Rasmussen, H Dawg, Bet, Westafa, Sean Na’auao, Na Wai, Hawaiian Style Band, Ilona Irvine, Finn, Johnny Suite and more, according to the event’s website.

The event was hosted by Davey D, Lina Girl, Big Koa, BigBodyCisco, and Mikey Monis.

It was livestreamed to more than a quarter of a million viewers, according to YouTube. As of Monday, Sept. 15, the concert had 

In honor of the occasion, Rick Blangiardi, the mayor of the City and County of Honolulu declared May 10, Fiji’s birthday, as "George Veikoso Day." 

Gov. Josh Green declared Sept. 13, 2025, the day of the concert, as “Fiji Day” in a proclamation describing him a “pioneer of Pacific Island sound” and “affectionately called the ʻKing of Island Reggae.’” The proclamation also recognized his 10 solo albums and awards that include the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Male Vocalist of the Year in 1998 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Music Awards in 2021.

The City and County of Honolulu had multiple departments working on the event. The Department of Enterprise Services oversees the 

, where performers took the stage. Just outside, community members could also get ticketed access to see the show via a large screen inside Kapi’olani Regional Park, which falls under the jurisdiction of Department of Parks and Recreation.   

The event included a flower drop, where a helicopter released petals on the crowd below.

“That was a really iconic and beautiful part of the event,” Kainoa Enos, public information officer for the Department of Enterprise Services, told Aloha State Daily. “It was really, really beautiful.”

"For the Fiji concert, the park was left in good shape after the show, and operationally the event went smoothly from our perspective," shared Nate Serota, with the Department of Parks and Recreation. "People started arriving in the park that morning for the show."

Fiji Tribute concert

<title>'No arrests' in Fiji Tribute concert, HPD says</title>

Aloha State Daily reached out to several city departments, including the Honolulu Police Department and those overseeing the Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell and Kapi’olani Regional Park, which each hosted events for ticket holders.

'No arrests' in Fiji Tribute concert, HPD says

Government & Politics

Aloha Spirit

Emotions ran high at the Duke Kahanamoku Statue in Waikīkī Friday as scores gathered to mourn the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, co-founder of conservative media organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University. And as the fallout from the killing continues to reverberate worldwide, Hawai‘i conservatives came together to grieve.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Joshua Marquez, organizer of the Friday vigil, to Aloha State Daily. “I’ve been watching Charlie for years. I’ve been a big fan.”

Marquez said the Friday event was a grassroots-organized event, not directly affiliated with Turning Point or any specific conservative organization. Marquez expected attendance of up to 200 people. At the event's busiest, there seemed to be more than 100 attendees at a time, although the distinction between intentional attendee and interested passerby was blurred, given the Friday night Waikīkī beach crowds.

“People don’t think of Hawaiians as conservative,” Marquez said, but gestured to the gathering as a sign to the contrary. “He was turning everybody more patriotic.”

The vigil consisted of prayer, praise songs and testimony from attendees. Alongside pictures of Kirk were printouts of Bible verses, art of Kirk and Jesus Christ in an embrace, and a sign reading “Charlie Kirk is a martyr,” as the crowd sang worship songs together.

As the event went on, several people took up the microphone to commemorate Kirk and his mission. Several urged forgiveness and warned against choosing hate. 

Rocklin Youngstrom, chair of the Hawai‘i Young Republicans, said she became politically active at 16 during the COVID-19 pandemic, participating in online debates and “learned all the best points from Charlie Kirk." Last year, she attended the Republican National Convention, where she was able to meet Kirk personally.

“He was so much more than just Republican politics,” Youngstrom told ASD.

Glen Miguel-Matsumoto, former president of the Turning Point chapter at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, said Kirk was “one of the boldest people of our generation,” who was able to reach out to a wide range of people.

This was a virtue repeated by several attendees and speakers, who extolled Kirk’s willingness to speak with anyone and offer them a chance for debate.

“He brought everyone together,” Marquez said, sporting a shirt reading “1 out of 3 liberals is just as stupid as the other 2.”

One attendee, Rachel — she declined to be identified with a surname — said Kirk had become “the voice for Gen Z,” and was “changing the direction of the country in the best way.”

“I hope young people will rise up in the multitudes and affect the future of the country,” Rachel said. “Bring it back to a godly country.”

Many predicted support for Turning Point and conservatism in general will grow following Kirk's death.

“Now, more than ever, people have to come to Christ as fellow Americans,” Youngstrom said, addressing the crowd, before adding that “it is good versus evil now.”

Miguel-Matsumoto said the UH-Mānoa Turning Point chapter has been largely dormant for the past few years, but expects it will reactivate amid a swell of interest.

Darlene Mizrahi, a student at Hawai‘i Pacific University expected to take over leadership of a multi-campus Turning Point Chapter, said she has met her closest friends through Turning Point, which she said feels like a second family as she studies out-of-state.

As for Kirk’s death itself, attendees floated different theories as to the killer’s motive. As of Friday, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was in police custody as a primary suspect.

“I think he’s mentally ill,” Marquez said. “He couldn't accept the facts that Charlie was saying.”

“[Kirk] did nothing to anyone,” said attendee Sheryl Bieler. “He would give anyone 15 minutes to debate him … you’re gonna kill him for that?”

Rachel said Robinson had been misled by the media, which she said had unfairly painted Kirk and Turning point as “fascists and Nazis.” She referenced messages engraved on bullet casings in Robinson’s possession, one of which read “hey, fascist! Catch!” and then the sequence of arrows, ↑ → ↓↓↓, associated with the Antifa movement 

 argue the engravings are video game references.

[{"type":"text","text":"“But we’re not fascists and we’re not Nazis,” Rachel said."}]

The civility of the event was only interrupted once, during a minor altercation as the vigil wound down. A group of passersby shouted obscenities and flashed the middle finger, leading to a confrontation with one or more attendees, according to attendees. 

“It was a scuffle that turned into a brawl,” Bieler said, although the fight was broken up very quickly with no arrests, as Marquez and others urged attendees to focus on commemorating Kirk. But Bieler said the fight proved that conservatives are ready to fight following Kirk’s death.

[{"type":"text","text":"“They woke us up,” Bieler said. “We’re not playing games anymore."}]

“We’ve allowed this for too long,” Bieler went on, citing, for example, her disagreements with transgender ideology.

“We’re not ever gonna stop,” Marquez told ASD. “Charlie’s gonna be with us forever.”

20250912 192149 16x9

<title>Hawai‘i conservatives mourn Charlie Kirk</title>

Scores gather on Friday for a vigil in memory of slain conservative commentator.

Hawai‘i conservatives mourn Charlie Kirk

Punahou School graduate Brandon Finn understands the power of a stare. It is something the actor does as 

when his father, King Kahekili of Maui, orders him to hunt down the main character of the series, Kaʻiana, and bring him back, dead or alive.

“And you see this moment where the camera racks focus and … Prince Kūpule is looking at Kahekili without saying any words, as if: ʻI cannot believe you are asking me to do this. ... And as your son, it is my responsibility to follow your lead.’ ”

The scene was “brutal” but marked his favorite moment to shoot, he told Aloha State Daily. 

King Kahekili was played by the New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison. Finn credits Morrison with encouraging him to hold his stare in that scene. For Finn, the role involved "a lot of homework with what that father and son dynamic was like,” he said.

“And that's a separate thing from the language itself, because obviously I spent a lot of time learning Hawaiian language, learning ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi,” he added. “But in terms of what's happening between the two of them as father and son, that’s something [where] I ended up delving into my own relationship with my own father.”

Written by Thomas Pa‘a Sibbett and Jason Momoa, the Apple TV+ mini-series launched its first episodes on Aug. 1. It follows Kaʻiana, played by Momoa, as he tries to unify the Islands before Western colonization. The eighth episode drops on Friday, Sept. 12, and the season finale comes out on Friday, Sept. 19.

Prior to filming “Chief of War,” Finn had not spoken more than a few sentences in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, he said. To get ready for this role, he worked closely with an instructor.

“His name is Kiawe Goodhue, and we just went lesson after lesson non-stop for a month and a half because I knew it needed to sound the right way," he said. "Let alone it's the right thing to do in terms of responsibility owed to the people of Hawaiʻi, their ancestors, their history and their cultures.” 

Finn was born in Maui. His family moved to Oʻahu when he was about two years old, he said. 

“But Maui is my birthplace,” he added. “And later on in life, all of these things led themselves to where I find myself today, playing Prince Kalanikūpuli, the last reigning king of Maui Island in Hawaiian history. I had this pinch me moment. I could not believe I'm born on Maui and in my lifetime, I get to bring Kalanikūpuli to life through ʻChief of War’ with Apple TV, let alone the platform that they have with 45+ million subscribers in over 100 countries.”

Finn wants viewers of the show to take with them an appreciation of language.

“You know what's beautiful?” he said. “The one that really gets to me is ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the language. And there is already a resurgence of the language within Hawaiʻi. But I feel as if ʻChief of War,’ being as big as it's become thus far, will only move that needle further in the direction of having people interested in Ōlelo Hawaiʻi. And not just people from Hawaiʻi — people born and raised, who are of Hawaiian ethnicity — but also people who would love to come, visit, spend time and if it sparks their interest  learn Ōlelo Hawaii, as well, if that's something that interests them. Because that's how the language lives on forever.”

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"Chief of War"

<title>Punahou School graduate is in “Chief of War”</title>

Brandon Finn, a graduate of Punahou School, explores complicated father and son relationships in his role as Prince Kūpule in the Apple TV+ mini-series, “Chief of War.” He shares his favorite scene to shoot and how he learned ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi for the role.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Good times and tan lines

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Good times and tan lines

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Running late

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: PTO preparations

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When locals become tourists

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Stink eye

Most read