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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Always packin’</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @keaukahageneral, always prepared when the snackies come.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Always packin’

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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.

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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.”

Enos shared the department’s event debrief was scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17. 

"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

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Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

A conference this month aims to offer local insights on workforce trends, provide updates on Hawai‘i's economic future and recognize people driving innovation across the Islands.

Future of Work 2026: County Voices, Statewide Vision will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, 2454 S. Beretania St. in Honolulu.

It's a partnership between the Hawai‘i Workforce Development Council, Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i and AE Consulting. Tickets for the third annual Future of Work conference are still available and registration is open until Monday, Sept. 22. Cost for general admission is $125 and includes a light breakfast, buffet lunch and parking. 

"The aim of the conference is really to think about the fact that Hawai‘i's workforce is in a pivotal moment," Vanessa Rogers, vice president of workforce development for the chamber, told Aloha State Daily. "We know that across sectors, folks are facing talent shortages, there's challenges around rising cost of living, and a big challenge is the brain drain and making sure that we're keeping 

"The conference, its impetus, was really to provide a shared space for employers, educators, policy makers, community leaders, to all come together and to lift up the challenges, lift up the successes and then align on solutions," she continued. "The goal is really to move beyond just discussion and to create a space where we can identify some collective action that will strengthen the local talent pipelines and create more resilient future-facing job opportunities."

[{"type":"text","text":"Rogers says that each year, the conference has had a different focus."}]

The inaugural conference looked at the top seven employment sectors and brought in a leader from each to present on trends, challenges and opportunities in those areas, and featured an economic overview from economist Paul Brewbaker, she noted. The second conference focused on private-public partnerships and the pathway from education to career, spotlighting the chamber's sector partnerships.

[{"type":"text","text":"This year, Rogers says the focus will be county-by-county insights."}]

"We're bringing county leaders to talk about some of their unique challenges and solutions that will lead up to the overall statewide vision," she says, noting that the chamber's role in the event "is really helping to craft the agenda, identify some of those key speakers, plan the logistics of the event and heavily promote it through our networks."

The agenda this year includes a keynote on Hawai‘i's economic future from 

 and Oceanit CEO Patrick Sullivan, county presentations and Voices of the Future student panel.

"As we continue to evolve, we want to make sure that we are including a wide range of audiences, and also to note that there are key differences in workforce challenges across the counties," Rogers says of this year's focus. "The challenges that rise up on Oʻahu are not the same ones as on the Big Island or on Maui. We wanted an opportunity to really uplift what all of those unique challenges were and learn best practices around how to address some of those challenges from what's happening and what's going well in some of the counties. Then really having that larger focus on what's the statewide vision, what are the similarities and differences in the approaches that we take per county in order to fulfill the overall vision for the state around workforce."

The Hawai‘i Workforce Development Council also will recognize recipients of the third annual Workforce Development Hero Awards at the conference. The awards honor "key contributors to workforce excellence across the Islands, 

acknowledging their dedication and innovation in advancing employment opportunities and skill development in Hawaiʻi,

" the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said in an 

[{"type":"text","text":"The 2025 winners are:"}]

Dan Doerger, executive director, Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training,

and Julie Morikawa, founder and president, ClimbHI, on O‘ahu; Katie Taladay, director of workforce development, Maui Economic Development Board, on Maui; Jackie Kaina, executive director, Kauaʻi Economic Development Board on Kaua‘i; Clinton Mercado, executive director, Hawaiʻi Workforce Development Board on Hawai‘i Island; and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Daniel Iaela with Hawaiian Council (

formerly the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

“Each of this year’s Workforce Development Heroes has gone above and beyond in creating pathways to opportunity,” Workforce Development Council Executive Director Bennette Misalucha said in thar announcement. “Their efforts have empowered individuals, strengthened communities and contributed to the overall resilience and competitiveness of Hawaiʻi’s workforce.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Finalists will also be recognized."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Future of Work 2026: County Voices, Statewide Vision"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"When: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24"}]

egistration is open until Monday, Sept. 22. Cost is $125. 

Future of work

<title>Explore the 'Future of Work' in Hawai‘i at upcoming conference</title>

A partnership between the Hawai‘i Workforce Development Council, Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i and AE Consulting, Future of Work 2026: County Voices, Statewide Vision is planned for Sept. 24.

Explore the 'Future of Work' in Hawai‘i at upcoming conference

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Food & Dining

, a new open-air restaurant and bar overlooking Kahului Bay at 

, will hold its grand opening — complete with tropical cocktails and pūpū, local entertainment, lei-making and more — on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

, Hampton Inn & Suites Maui North Shore first welcomed guests in May. The 136-room hotel property sits on the historic site of the former Maui Palms Hotel, which operated between 1950-1990 and was demolished by 2002, 

“The Palms Bar & Bites pays tribute to the former Maui Palms Hotel while bringing a fresh, modern feel to the space,” 

, area general manager of Hampton Inn & Suites Maui North Shore, told Aloha State Daily by email. “The name honors the property’s history, and the restaurant reimagines it as a relaxed, open-air spot where guests can enjoy island flavors and ocean views.”

The property offers traditional Hawaiian experiences for guests, including a Sunset Ceremony and Oshibori, a daily essential oil-infused towel ritual, according to the hotel. As for amenities, “Guests can relax at the ocean-facing pool, take advantage of the modern fitness center, and enjoy pet-friendly guestrooms, daily breakfast, and complimentary beach amenities such as beach chairs, towels and umbrellas.”

Open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the restaurant features light bites, tropical cocktails and shareable plates including steak and seafood dishes like coconut shrimp with sweet chili-pineapple dipping sauce, housemade furikake chips, poke bowls and loco moco.

The Palms Bar & Bites' happy hour runs daily from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., featuring $6 draft beers, $12 cocktails 

 from rum classics like The Palms Mai Tai and Blue Hawaiian to innovative concoctions called That’s My Jam and Tequila Mockingbird 

 and $4 off all food items. Keiki food options are also available. Local residents can enjoy 10% off food, the hotel notes.

who has managed properties across the Hawaiian Islands for more than a decade 

 more about how business is going, lessons learned so far, and what he’s most excited about for the debut of this restaurant.

How has business been since you opened earlier this year? Who are your guests, and what’s been their feedback? 

Hampton Inn & Suites Maui North Shore officially opened in April 2025, and it’s been an exciting first season. We’ve welcomed a mix of travelers, from couples and families to solo adventurers. Guest feedback has been incredibly positive, with many complementing our oceanfront location and views, and signature Hawaiian traditions like our nightly sunset ceremony and cultural programming.

Why is now the right time to open this restaurant? Who designed/built out the space?

 We’re excited to officially open The Palms Bar & Bites, which feels like the final touch in bringing the Hampton Inn & Suites Maui North Shore project to life. With the high season for travel winding down, we’ve been bringing in a lot of locals, so it's been fun to share this with the community. 

Local cultural advisors played a key role in shaping the space, ensuring it honors the community’s heritage and provides a memorable guest experience.

What is your favorite item on the menu, and what do you like about it? 

The poke bowl brings together fresh, vibrant flavors on one plate, offering a satisfying balance of taste and presentation. 

How many local jobs has the hotel created? Are you still hiring for any key positions? How does the restaurant’s team source ingredients and/or how did they curated the menu offerings? 

Our team has grown to more than 50 positions across the hotel and restaurant, with hiring still underway for a Chief Engineer role. The majority of our ingredients are sourced locally, and while we don’t have a traditional executive chef, our menu was thoughtfully curated to celebrate fresh, regional flavors.

What have you been learning lately as a leader? 

As Mark Twain said, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

Maui Hampton Inn GM Serkan Hizliok 16x9

<title>Maui hotel GM talks new restaurant, business</title>

Serkan Hizliok, area general manager of Hampton Inn & Suites Maui North Shore, shares about The Palms Bar & Bitesʻ Sept. 16 opening — including who helped with the design/build and his favorite item on the menu — and how business has been for the new 136-room property on the shores of Kahului Bay.

Maui hotel GM talks new restaurant, business

Government & Politics

Real Estate

Hale Mōʻiliʻili, a new affordable high rise under construction at the former Bowl-O-Drome site in Mōʻiliʻili is taking shape — and fast.

The Department of Hawaiian Homelands broke ground on the project, its first high rise development for beneficiaries, last December.

"The development is progressing nicely," DHHL Director Kali Watson recently told Aloha State Daily. "They're about three, four months ahead of schedule, so that was exciting to hear."

Hale Mōʻiliʻili will include a 23-story tower with 271 units — 23 studios, 23 one-bedroom units; 203 two-bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom units — as well as a two-story townhouse with seven three-bedroom units and a 290-stall parking structure.

 about the groundbreaking, DHHL noted that the Stadium Bowl-O-Drome bowling alley — which opened its doors in 1955 — closed in 2004 and sat idle since. The nearly 2-acre property borders Old Stadium Park and was originally acquired from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources in 1995.

The Hale Mōʻiliʻili project team said in a statement emailed to ASD in late August that the project was approximately 40% complete.

"The superstructure of the residential tower (and centerpiece) of the development — which will house 271 of the project's 278 total units — is approximately 90% complete. The remaining work is focused on the exterior facade, as well as the interior mechanical, electrical and finishing systems.

"Progress is also underway on other key elements of the project. Crews are set to complete the first floor of the parking structure [in September] with the remainder of the structure scheduled for delivery by next summer. The townhouses and retail spaces will follow, slated for completion just a few months after the parking structure.

"The entire development remains on track for delivery in the final quarter of 2026."

The development team said that the project is ahead of schedule, largely due to "the extensive time investment" in the pre-construction planning stage.

Watson said the high rise condo is the first of its kind under the department's programs, and DHHL is looking to replicate that in different areas. 

He also thanked project developer Stanford Carr "for his ability to put the funding together," working with a number of organizations to do so.

DHHL said in December that the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation Board of Directors approved $41.5 million in low-interest loans through the Rental Housing Revolving Fund; approximately $4.7 million in annual federal and state low-income tax credits, through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit or LIHTC program; and $80 million in tax-exempt private activity bonds.

It's a different approach, Watson says of the new development, especially it being a high rise in central Honolulu, close to the University of Hawai‘i and within walking distance of amenities, restaurants and other services.

DHHL said in December that tenant income thresholds for Hale Mōʻiliʻili will range from the 30% to 100% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual median income requirements. You can find the 2025 income limits for the City and County of Honolulu 

DHHL also noted in December that the O‘ahu residential waitlist stood at more than 11,400 people. In April, the department said that it was on track to award more than 2,600 leases in 2025. Read more about that 

Hale moiliili 090525

<title>DHHL project at former Bowl-O-Drome site is ahead of schedule</title>

Hale Mōʻiliʻili will include a 23-story tower with 271 units, as well as a two-story townhouse with seven more units.

DHHL project at former Bowl-O-Drome site is ahead of schedule

A third Hawai‘i court is now involved in the complexifying legal battle to save the Ha‘ikū Stairs from demolition.

The Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs, a nonprofit group advocating for the preservation of the historic staircase, 

 a lawsuit in June challenging the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ approval of a plan to demolish the stairs.

That lawsuit, filed in Honolulu Circuit Court, is the Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs’ third active case challenging the city. Another case from 2024 is still pending in Circuit Court, while a 2023 case is pending in the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

As of Thursday, the most recent case was remanded to the Hawai‘i Environmental Court for jurisdictional reasons, splitting the defense of the stairs across three separate courts.

Timothy Vandeveer, attorney representing the Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs, told Aloha State Daily that no demolition can happen until the 2023 appeal is resolved, thanks to an injunction granted by the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

“That injunction is very hard to get,” Vandeveer said, explaining that the ICA only grants such orders if the plaintiff seems to have a high chance of successfully winning their case.

The three lawsuits all concern in some way a 2019 environmental impact statement by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, which was at the time the stairs’ owner. The BWS had resolved to demolish the stairs and had consequently drafted the impact statement to determine the environmental effects of doing so.

Ultimately, however, the stairs were not demolished but were transferred to the Honolulu Parks and Recreation Department in 2020, with plans for the stairs to reopen to the public in some capacity — they are currently closed to all public use. The Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs at the time took this decision as an indication that plans to demolish the stairs had been dropped.

But when the new County administration took over in 2021, talk of demolishing the steps was renewed, and the City Council voted in a non-binding resolution urging their destruction in order to prevent hikers trespassing and potentially being injured or stranded on the mountain.

As plans to demolish the stairs once again escalated, the City and County invoked the 2019 BWS environmental impact statement to satisfy the requirement for environmental analysis.

This became the crux of the 2024 lawsuit, which argued that the BWS impact statement was outdated and that a new analysis was necessary.

For example, the statement does not consider the historical significance of Omega Station, the decommissioned radio station at the summit of the stairs, because in 2019 it had not yet reached the 50-year threshold for consideration as a historic property. Because the station is now more than 50 years old — while it began as a radio station during WWII, the station was decommissioned following the war and was refitted in the 1970s as a Coast Guard station — it is now eligible for historic preservation, and the suit argues that should be reflected in any impact statement.

“It’s absolutely a historic site,” Vandeveer said. “That place helped us win World War II.”

At the same time, the State Historic Preservation Division concurred with the demolition plans, which became a core issue for the 2023 lawsuit. The suit argues that SHPD’s agreement was based on incomplete data: for example, SHPD had not been informed of a 1999 historic preservation covenant protecting the stairs, which the suit argues makes the division’s concurrence invalid.

And the latest suit argues the SHPD’s decision to agree with demolition conflicts with its own stance in 2019, when the division advocated for the stairs’ preservation. The suit accuses the City of “flip-flopping,” abruptly changing course without any explanation or due process.

“I find it very questionable coordination between the City and the state on this,” Vandeveer said. “This shouldn’t be a political issue. It’s really a failure of imagination on the part of the government.”

The BWS, Council and SHPD have all cited safety concerns as their reasons for demolishing the stairs, with the Council resolution claiming that there were 160 calls for emergency services relating the stairs in 2017.

[{"type":"text","text":"But Vandeveer said those concerns don’t bear out."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s the only hike in the world with a handrail,” Vandeveer said."}]

The Friends of Ha‘ikū Stairs have repeatedly argued that there have been no reported injuries or deaths associated with the stairs, and that, because people are going to attempt to climb the picturesque Ko‘olau Mountains anyway, stairs or no stairs, keeping a safe route where emergency services can stage responses is safer than demolishing the easiest way to descend the slope.

In any event, with the injunction in place, the stairs are likely to remain in place for awhile longer at least: no court dates are currently scheduled for any of the three cases.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Always packin’

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Always packin’

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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