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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"We hope you get your boat one day!"}]

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Living.wit.sammy

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @Living.Wit.Sammy, who really wants to catch fish.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way

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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Government & Politics

Aloha Spirit

More than 150 dignitaries, military personnel and community members welcomed four 11-year-old children from Holy Family Home, an orphanage in Osaka, Japan, to Hawaiʻi with cheers, lei and aloha at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Monday.

As part of a 76-year cultural exchange between the orphanage and the 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds,” the children – Umi, Kanami, Ryota, and Ryuki – will stay with military host families for two weeks, while enjoying Oʻahu’s culture and attractions with planned visits to the Waikīkī Aquarium, Kualoa Ranch, the Outrigger Canoe Club and more.

The relationship between the Wolfhounds and Holy Family Home began in 1949 under the leadership of Master Sgt. Hugh O’Reilly, who secured funds and materials to build a new facility for the orphanage where they were stationed after World War II. Following O’Reilly’s death in 2006, Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit Peace Bridge formed “to carry on and expand this tradition of compassion and friendship between the Holy Family Home and the Hawaiʻi community, fostering one of the longest-running military-civilian partnerships in U.S. Army history,” according to the organization.

“It was Christmas 1949. After witnessing the conditions of the orphanage, the soldiers began to pass around an Army helmet for donations to improve the living conditions. The men raised $143 and donated it to the orphanage on New Year’s morning,” it was said during the opening remarks of Monday’s ceremony.

The soldiers of the regiment spent their spare time repairing the facility. “In 1957, the Wolfhounds invited two children to visit their soldiers and familiy stationed in Hawai’i. Thus began the longstanding tradition we’re witnessing today.”

Hugh O'Reilly Jr. was present at the festivities and has helped continue his father's legacy.

Lt. Col. “Teddy” Borawksi, 1st Battalion Commander said, “We’re honored to host our four special guests Umi, Kanami, Ryota, and Ryuki, for the next two weeks and we look forward to sharing our lives, our traditions in this beautiful island that we call home.

“As Wolfhounds, we are known for being ferocious in battle and compassionate in peace. The children of the Holy Family Home embody the spirit of compassion and we are privileged to be your gentle wolfhounds. It is hard to put into words how much it means to us to continue this tradition. One born from the hearts of Wolfhounds long before us. Our commitment to this bond is just as strong today as it was decades ago. And we will not allow this cherished connection to fade.”

Gov. Josh Green presented a proclamation to Borawski, marking Aug. 18, 2025, as "Wolfhounds Day." 

, he made a stop at Holy Family Home to meet with the children and staff, he said.

“It was just so loving, and there was so much care,” Green recalled from that visit.

“You are honorary citizens today. We are grateful that you will be able to share our culture, and then be able to go back and share your experiences. … Our young guests, we hope this will be an amazing trip with long lasting memories and new friendships. … Let’s hope for another 76 years of love and compassion.

On behalf of Mayor Rick Blangiardi, City and County of Honolulu Chief of Staff Andy Sugg,

echoed the governor’s sentiments, while thanking the host families, among others, and presented a proclamation from the city. 

“The turnout is unbelievable,” he said of Monday’s event. “I didn’t know what to expect, but this is really incredible. ... So, thank you all for your dedication and for your commitment and for thinking of the children. There’s a lot going on in the world and we often forget that this is the future and we’ve got to really nourish and take care of all of our kids."

President of Peace Bridge Rika Hirata shared more history, describing the organization’s role “as a bridge between the Wolfhounds, Holy Family Home and the local community.”

The nonprofit’s mission is “to sustain and grow upon this tradition of aloha,” she continued. Its website states the aim is to continue “legacy of peace and love for the children of the Holy Family Home.”

“On behalf of Peace Bridge, I thank all of you for your support and ask for your continued support in the future,” she said.

Peace Bridge is volunteer-run and has supported more than 150 children without families. Learn more about the local organization, 

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Japanese orphans 2025

<title>Turnout for Osaka orphans at HNL ‘unbelievable,’ says gov’t official</title>

Four 11-year-old children from Holy Family Home in Osaka, Japan, landed at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Monday met with cheering, lei giving and aloha, from dignitaries, the U.S. Army “Wolfhounds,” and local nonprofit Peace Bridge and its community supporters. These orphans will stay in Hawai’i for two weeks with military host families, while enjoying  Oʻahu’s culture and attractions, promoting international peace and partnership.

Turnout for Osaka orphans at HNL ‘unbelievable,’ says gov’t official

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Construction of the third section of Honolulu's Skyline rail system has taken another step forward as transit officials ready for the second segment to open this fall.

A blessing and groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this week at the future site of the 

Ka‘ākaukukui, or Civic Center, station in Kaka‘ako for the next phase of the project, the city center guideway and stations.

The CCGS project includes the construction of nearly three miles of elevated guideway and six rail stations, starting near the 

Kahauiki, or Middle Street Transit Center, station and ending at the the Civic Center station, just east of the intersection of Halekauwila and South streets, an announcement from HART, or 

the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, noted. Construction is expected to be finished by 2030.

The first part of the work will begin in the Iwilei area and includes drilling shafts for the columns that will support the guideway, the announcement noted, adding that working hours will span from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays as needed. HART officials say the hours, though, depend on where they're working.

HART — the public transit authority responsible for planning and building the rail system for the City and County of Honolulu —  

 for the design and construction of the CCGS project to Tutor Perini Corp. in August 2024.

CEO and Executive Director Lori Kahikina told Aloha State Daily Monday afternoon that reaching this point is "very meaningful for this team."

It's the second or third time that HART has tried to procure the last segment, she said, "and to finally actually do it, what a milestone it was for all of us."

Utility work for this segment of the rail has been underway for the last two years, but Kahikina said the hope is that the utilities will be finished in the Downtown Honolulu area by the end of the year and the Dillingham corridor by next summer.

"But soon you'll start to see the shafts being drilled and the columns coming up also before the end of the year," she says. 

"Then, once you start seeing the columns come up, of course then the guideway goes on top of that, but simultaneously, they'll start the stations," Kahikina continued. "So maybe in about two years, you'll see stations start to come up."

"Everything's going to be foundation work, then you'll just slowly start to see structure come up out of the ground," Deputy Project Director Matt Scanlon told ASD.

Kahikina says it's premature to talk about possible detours and general road closures, but she noted that the state Department of Transportation director had some "questions and concerns, so we want to see how can we change some of the maintenance and traffic to make sure we minimize the impact."

"We're not going to be able to eliminate it — it is a reality of construction — but hopefully it's not going to be as intrusive as Dillingham  ... . But [it's] a little bit premature to share how many lanes we're going to be closing and in what direction."

Anyone who's driven Dillingham Boulevard in recent years has witnessed the ongoing work that has shifted traffic patterns and caused delays.

Scanlon says that once contractors begin building the guideway, "they'll put down more of a permanent barrier."

On Dillingham, they'll largely be "building in the middle, so you'll see more of a fixed maintenance of traffic setup and then they'll just have an assembly line," he explained. "They'll start with the foundations and then the columns and they'll build the guideway, so it'll start to look like an assembly line going down the road and a little less haphazard than the utilities were, with cones moving around a lot."

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

 and spans just under 11 miles from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium. This section includes the rail's first nine stations: K

aualakaʻi (East Kapolei), Keoneʻae (University of Hawai‘i-West Oʻahu), Honouliuli (Hoʻopili), Hōʻaeʻae (West Loch), Pouhala (Waipahu Transit Center), Hālaulani (Leeward Community College), Waiawa (Pearl Highlands), Kalauao (Pearlridge), and Hālawa (Aloha Stadium).

The second section, running 5.2 miles from Aloha Stadium to the Middle Street Transit Center, is on track to open in October.

This portion will add four more stations to the route: Pearl Harbor, the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Lagoon Drive and Middle Street.

Trial operations just began late last month and the safety certification is being done in coordination with city state and federal agencies, 

(Eastbound passengers take note: you have to exit the train at the Aloha Stadium station before it enters segment two. Once the train returns westbound to the station, you can board the train to continue your trip).

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced during his State of the City address in March this segment of Skyline would 

According to Kahikina, segment two is in "system demonstrations," which measures the train's service availability and evaluates its performance and reliability.

Tsuda said they need to reach a 30-day rolling average of 98.5% availability.

"Once we finish that, then we have met all the requirements and we can turn it over to DTS for revenue service," he says. "Right now, based on where we are, we are still on track for the Oct. 15 grand opening and then the 16th ... for passengers to ride."

HART also has to "safety certify the system," which will run concurrently with this demonstration, he noted.

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

What lessons have HART learned from earlier segments of the rail that they can use during the construction of the third?

[{"type":"text","text":"There's a whole list, Kahikina says."}]

"We've gone through a number of items as we finished off segment one and turned over to [Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services], and as DTS has been operating segment one, they've provided some lessons learned that we're implementing," Project Director Vance Tsuda told ASD.

Among the changes you might see include the canopies on the station platforms, he noted. For example, segment one and two have a tensile fabric canopy but segment three will have a more traditional metal roofing material.

Scanlon said, too, that the way the guideway is being built is also changing.

The first two segments have been constructed with "precast segmental construction," where individual segments, "almost like Lego pieces," were built off-site in West O‘ahu and trucked in, he explained. The segments were then assembled with an overhead gantry, or overhead suspended crane, and tensioned together.

"We're going to be building the city center with a more traditional pre-cast girder system," Scanlon continued.

Before, the stations were tired more to when the guideway came through, he says.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We're building for the first time six stations at once.\""}]

Scanlon says that building the guideway and stations independently will allow the contractor to start the stations much sooner than in the first two segments, and will save both time and money.

More information about the rail project can be found at 

25 0227 CCGS Blessing Site 33

<title>HART breaks ground on next phase of Honolulu rail project</title>

A blessing and groundbreaking ceremony was held Aug. 11 at the future site of the Ka‘ākaukukui, or Civic Center, station in Kaka‘ako for the next phase of the project, the city center guideway and stations.

HART breaks ground on next phase of Honolulu rail project

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

's newest location is celebrating its grand opening on Monday, July 21 at 8 a.m. The business’s new Mo‘ili‘ili location is in the former space of Kōkua Market.

Honolulu Coffee’s flagship store and Experience Center closed last October

, and used to be located on Kapi‘olani Boulevard. Chick-Fil-A will soon fill its old spot.

The grand opening festivities will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, exclusive first-day menu specials, behind-the-scenes bakery demonstrations and giveaways for the first 25 customers.

The new café and bakery is spearheaded by director of culinary operations Brian Sung, who is a classically trained pastry chef and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu.

The bakery will offer an expanded menu of housemade pastries, breads and café specialties that are designed to pair with Honolulu Coffee Co.’s signature drinks. We’re told the beverage menu is the same; you can still find customer favorites like the Hawaiian latte (coconut and macadamia nut syrup with espresso and milk), local latte (made with Lā

ie vanilla and macnut honey), and ube latte.

Be on the lookout for seasonal offerings, including the haupia cold brew, strawberry matcha and yuzu palmer.

The bakery’s expanded menu highlights a variety of specialty croissants; all pastries are made from scratch. Sweet options include the chocolate brownie, ube Chantilly and cereal milk croissants. Savory options abound in the form of ham and cheese, hot dog and kimchi Spam croissants. The latter features a Spam-studded pinwheel topped with a spicy kimchi kewpie glaze; the hot dog croissant includes a savory Redondo hot dog inside and is topped with honey mustard sauce.

If you want something especially photogenic, go for the ube croissant, which features a luscious, homemade ube filling and comes topped with shredded coconut.

The cafe also features heartier entrées. If you’re in the mood for something breakfasty, choose from options like a burrito with Portuguese sausage ($14.50), quiche Lorraine ($13.75), avocado toast ($16.50), pancake stack ($14.95) and loco moco ($15.95).

The avocado toast ($16.50) features housemade sourdough topped with avocado, pickled tomatoes, cucumber, onions and arugula, and is topped with a lilikoʻi dressing. The loco moco ($15.95), meanwhile, highlights a seasoned beef patty over a bed of white rice. It’s topped with an egg and the café’s signature coffee-infused demi-glace and serve with crispy fried onions.

There are also various acai bowl renditions, ranging from a classic with strawberries, blueberries, bananas and granola ($16.50) to The Hawaiian ($17), which comes with organic superfruits, granola, bananas, almond butter, macadamia nuts and coconut flakes. There’s even a build-your-own acai bowl option (starting from $12) with toppings like cacao nibs, chia seeds, macadamia nuts and more.

If you want more of a lunch entrée, go for the three-cheese grilled cheese ($16.95) — made with cheddar, gruyere and provolone cheeses — muffaletta sandwich ($16.95) with ham, salami and olive salad, or omurice ($17.50). I’m especially excited about the latter — not many cafes have omurice on the menu — which features a fluffy omelet filled with kalua pork and housemade fried rice and smothered with coffee-infused demi-glace and green onions.

The seating for this location is mostly outdoors, making it more conducive for takeout. There’s a free parking lot in the back of the building; the entrance is on Kahuna Lane.

Honolulu Coffee Co mural 071625

<title>First look at Honolulu Coffee Co.’s new bakery on South King</title>

The biz is celebrating its grand opening in Moʻiliʻili on Monday, July 21. The new artisan bakery and café will feature an expanded menu of homemade pastries, breads and café specialties to pair with its signature coffees.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: When there’s a will, there’s a way

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Wipe out!

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Always grinding

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: How local are you?

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Most read