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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Just rollo over them, all good!"}]

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SouthShoreBBClub

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Get boogie with it</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @SouthShoreBBClub, who avoids tourists with style.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Get boogie with it

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Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

 has acquired three contiguous properties along the Kapi‘olani corridor for a combined price of $36 million.

The parcels, which total about 1.3 acres, are located at 1322, 1338 and 1356 Kapi‘olani Boulevard.

“This acquisition reflects our long-term vision for the Kapi‘olani corridor as a vibrant, high-density neighborhood within the Ala Moana neighborhood,” Tim Lee, CEO of JL Capital said in an announcement Friday. “With this site, we’re excited to continue shaping and improving the existing corridor with a thoughtfully planned and connected project that will elevate the experience of living in urban Honolulu.”

Details on a project scope and timeline will be announced as plans progress, the announcement noted.

Lee told Aloha State Daily via email that the parcels "presented a rare opportunity to secure a sizable, contiguous footprint in one of Honolulu’s most well-connected and visible urban corridors."

Their location makes the properties "exceptionally well-suited for a future project that supports the area’s evolving mix of residential, commercial and transit-oriented uses," he says.

"Another advantage of the Kapi’olani corridor is the potential for excellent ocean views due to the open sightlines over Ala Moana Center and surrounding mid-rise structures."

 last sold in August 2022 for $6.85 million. Meanwhile, 

 sold for a bit more than $10.7 million in September of that same year — a total sale price of nearly $38 million. Hoaka Heights, LLC was the fee holder for all three parcels, according to the records, which don't appear to have been updated since the JL Capital acquisition.

"We see the Kapi‘olani corridor as one of Honolulu’s most dynamic areas of growth, connecting Ala Moana, Waikīkī and Downtown with access to retail, recreation and emerging transit infrastructure," Lee told ASD when asked about the developer's focus on the area. "It's a natural location for thoughtfully designed projects that align with the city’s long-term vision for a walkable, connected urban core. Our investments here are part of a long-term vision." 

JL Capital, a real estate and private equity firm founded in 2017, has completed or initiated a number of major projects in Honolulu's Ala Moana neighborhood and along the Kapi‘olani corridor in recent years, Lee says.

, a $507 million mixed-use twin tower condominium and hotel at 1388 Kapi‘olani Blvd. 

Renaissance Honolulu Hotel & Spa, a Marriott brand

, the developer's planned luxury high-rise at 1538 Kapi‘olani Blvd. 

. Lee says construction on this project is slated to start in 2026.

, an adaptive reuse project that will convert a five-story former office building at 

 into affordable rental apartments. A ground-up project at 

 will create another 37 affordable units.

"Each project serves a different market need — ranging from affordable rentals to hospitality and market-rate ownership — and collectively, they contribute to the emergence of a 'neighborhood within the neighborhood,'" Lee says.

In June, it also was announced that JL Capital 

 in Tournet Hawai‘i Inc., a travel and transportation agency focused on the Korea-Hawai‘i market.

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Kapiolani jl capital 101025

<title>JL Capital buys Kapi‘olani Boulevard properties</title>

The three parcels, which total about 1.3 acres, are located at 1322, 1338 and 1356 Kapi‘olani Boulevard.

JL Capital buys Kapi‘olani Boulevard properties

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

A new reality television series is being launched by Peacock and it explores the relationships between a group of friends living on O

ʻahu. The show, called “Oʻahu Shores,” drops its entire first season, which consists of six episodes, on 

The trailer, which features a lot of beach time and popping bottles of champagne was added to YouTube on Sept. 25.

“It’s not just a vacation place,” said Alex Fowler, one of the featured friends in the series, in the trailer. “This is our home.”

, who are described on Peacockʻs website. Fowler is fresh out of a relationship. Skye Baker is choosing between moving back to Guam and staying on Oʻahu. Kaui Goodness is getting to know a student, who is from Hawaiʻi but living on the Mainland. Marcus Hee is spending time on Oʻahu before heading back to the Mainland for college. Rachael Peterson is originally from Guam and has settled on Oʻahu. Kamalani Pico is an expert fisher, hunter and diver from Molokai with a new boyfriend from the Mainland. Keolu Ramos is “friends with everyone, knows all the gossip and isn’t afraid to stir the pot” according his bio on 

.  Finally, Raven Wood is part of a household of single girls living in the Kailua Clubhouse. Learn more about 

Sunset

<title>Peacock launches new television series “Oʻahu Shores”</title>

The show premieres Oct. 9 and focuses on the relationships between eight friends living on Oʻahu. Watch the trailer and learn more about the series.

Peacock launches new television series “Oʻahu Shores”

Business & Tourism

The people have spoken, casting their votes for the best hotels and resorts across the Islands in Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach

. It previously was ranked No. 1 in 2023, as well.

 earlier this year, which is part of a multi-phase, multi-year renovation.

Mike Kass, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, said in a statement that the honor is a testament to the "passion, dedication and excellence" of the hotel's more than 250 staff members "

who bring the spirit of The Ritz-Carlton to life each and every day

Rounding out the top 10 Hawai‘i hotels are 

The Laylow Waikīkī, Autograph Collection

, located on the Big Island's Kohala Coast, ranks No. 1 on the list of 

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection

Hundreds of thousands of people submitted their ratings between April 1 and June 30, and the results were tabulated by Condé Nast. Read more about the methodology 

A number of Hawai‘i hotels were also recently ranked among the best in the U.S. in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. Read more about those 

HNLRR Exterior HERO 2022

<title>Hawai‘i hotels, resorts recognized in Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards</title>

Hundreds of thousands of people voted between April 1 and June 30 to find the best hotels, resorts, cruise lines, spas, cities and more around the world, including the top hotels and resorts in Hawai‘i.

Hawai‘i hotels, resorts recognized in Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards

IMG 1445

Rick Hamada

Sports

Columnists

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"I'd like to talk with you about golf."}]

When one mentions the game of golf, what comes to mind?

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Well, it's a few things:"}]

While reactions range from positive to not-so-positive, golf is the most popular participation sport in Hawai‘i.

There are nearly 100,000 "local" golfers playing on 75 public and private courses, according to the 

I suggest that other individual "ball" sports, such as tennis and pickleball, would fall short of these numbers.

The Hawai‘i golf industry has a direct/indirect economic impact of $3.4 billion on the state's economy, per the 

Hawai‘i Golf Industry – 2023 Economic Report Summary

A celebrated sub-section of Oahu golf is the Honolulu Municipal Golf Courses.

The six muni courses include Ala Wai, Ted Makalena, ‘Ewa Villages, The Pali, West Loch, and Kahuku.

The attractions include the cost value, online tee times, promotion of walking the courses, and accessibility to the entire island.

Golf is a game that teaches life lessons.

Junior golf programs are excellent in introducing the game to our local youth.

The teachings of discipline, commitment, goal setting, and respect are invaluable and are at the center of perpetuating the game for generations.

It's the only sport that relies on self-policing.

You call rule violations on yourself, you enter your own score, and you play the game without referees and judges.

Those who subscribe to these principles respect the game and remain stewards for others to follow.

The concept of sportsmanship has long been associated with golf.

You can learn a great deal about a person by playing a round of golf together, based on how they play the game and how they treat others on the course.

However, there are some players who show no respect, integrity, or sportsmanship at all. You may even find them in your own groups.

But sportsmanship is not only on the course but with those who are fans.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ryder Cup 2025"}]

The recently completed Ryder Cup 2025 will go down in history as the 

and vitriolic event in golf's storied history. 

In 1927, British businessman Samuel Ryder established a British vs. American golf competition.

For years, and indeed, decades, America dominated.

To increase competition, the field expanded from simply the British to all of Europe.

It worked, and the biennial, three-day event has become one of the most watched and celebrated competitions worldwide.

And that is why what transpired at Bethpage Black, New York, will forever be a stain.

At the core, players are playing for pride and country.

But this time, the American team was promised more than honor and bragging rights. Only they were promised money.

A protest by one American player then led other players to demand compensation.

Should they have demanded monetary compensation for playing the Ryder Cup? No.

Qualifying to be on a Ryder Cup team is the literal dream of an American golfer. To play for your country on the world stage exceeds 

Two U.S. players refused the personal payment, but 10 more appeared to have accepted it.

However, it was not just the American players putting on a show.

In fact, it was the American spectators who truly betrayed the Ryder Cup by acting like buffoons.

During what was supposed to be an honorable and civil game of golf, the spectators hurled profane and personal insults at the European players. The unfair impeding of play and abysmal conduct was utterly disgusting and unilaterally unacceptable.

This boorish behavior escalated when, after the Europeans won the cup, a twisted idiot tried to hit European player Rory McIlroy as he was leaving the course with his wife.

Instead, whatever the spectator threw struck his wife.

Ironically, Erica, McIlroy's wife, is American, as is their young daughter. McIlroy has repeatedly sung his praises for America, which he calls home.

Is this how he and his family deserve to be treated?

U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley never issued an apology for the abhorrent way our people acted.

It took PGA Hall of Fame member and former Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson to step up when Bradley did not.

The scurrilous conduct of so many angered the legendary Tiger Woods, while others in the game denounced the play of the drunken and unruly "fans".

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"How do you fix this?"}]

You can never put the toothpaste back in the tube again.

However, the brutish atmosphere at Bethpage Black can never be allowed again. Clearly stated rules of conduct, with violations resulting in immediate discharge from the next Ryder Cup tournament grounds in four years, would be a start.

Ryder Cup Getty Images 2237626491

<title>Hamada: Golf gets a black eye</title>

Nearly 100,000 Hawai‘i golfers take to local courses every year, so a lot of kama‘āina likely saw what went down at the Ryder Cup. Not much aloha spirit on display in Farmingdale.

Hamada: Golf gets a black eye

Arrasmith Portrait

Perry Arrasmith

Government & Politics

The most bizarre section in Hawai‘i’s 

 is the one that relates to the state’s regulation of population growth. It is a testament to a bygone era informed by misguided local anxieties. 

Runaway population growth across the Hawaiian Islands once occupied the Hawai'i zeitgeist. While much of this mindset persists in the halls of society, it contrasts with Hawai‘i’s contemporary demographic woes. 

Between April 1960 and April 1970, Hawai‘i added 115,510 residents to its population, totalling 748,182 residents across the islands. It was a meteoric rise that stressed the Hawai‘i’s poor infrastructure, corrupt land management practices, and limited housing across the islands. 

Hawai‘i was a young, growing society. The median age of a resident was 25. Much of the State’s dynamism and vigour, in turn, were informed by a mix of talent both local and non-local.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Perhaps it was too much of a good thing. "}]

During this time, national commentators were fretting about the global population’s growth. Paul and Anne Ehrlich had co-authored 

in 1968. Internationally, the Club of Rome furnished the

report, which only further argued against overconsumption. Political views wrapped in scientific dogma started-off a new movement whose cultural salience was confirmed by the 1973 film 

While societies were wasteful and inefficient, these reports didn’t necessarily call for more efficiency. Instead, they called for fewer people. 

While the times have changed, our Constitution’s outdated language shows how we are still stuck in the ’70s. Through national debates over population control, Hawai‘i became a tragic guinea pig that used environmentalism to justify population control, opening the floodgates for arguments against urban development, immigration, and economic growth. 

These conversations continue to plague Hawai‘i’s zeitgeist, most notably when it comes to unnecessary conflict between economic growth and environmental stewardship.

In 1970, the Hawai‘i State Legislature passed Senate Resolution 305, establishing the State’s Temporary Commission on Population Stabilization. A 1972 report issued by the Commission suggested an inverse relationship between environmental stewardship and population growth. 

“It remains to be seen whether or not we will achieve a balance with the limits of the Hawaiian environment in this present period of growth in Hawaiian history,” the 

 warned, “but it should be recognized that with respect to maintaining the quality of the environment, population and prosperity are ‘trade-offs.’ If we expect to maintain a fixed level of pollution and impact on the environment by people in Hawaii, then any increase in one will require a corresponding decrease in the other.”

In the following year, the State Senate once again adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of an optimum state population. “The question of population equilibria among the Islands is a difficult one to answer quantitatively,” a 

 from the Department of Planning and Economic Development warned.

“One must consider the impact on the environment, what ‘quality of life’ should be used as a measure, means of developing a viable economy within a stable population, and the size of population on each Island which will bring about a desirable balance with the social and natural environment of Hawai‘i.”

Nationally, the Commission on Population and the American Future had been established by federal law in March 1970. A final 

 issued by the Commission was submitted to the U.S. Congress in March 1972, with proposals ranging from increased abortion access to voluntary sterilization to stricter immigration controls. Out of political embarrassment for its recommendations, the Nixon Administration largely distanced itself from the Commission.

However, the rhetoric which argued for limits on immigration had devastating consequences. In the present-day, arguments blaming immigrants for environmental degradation have had devastating 

Back in Hawai‘i, the reports stacked on one another. In 1972, Earl R. Babbie of the civic organization 

, a major argument for a cap on Hawai‘i’s population at one million (Hawai‘i’s population reached this threshold in the mid-’80s). 

These reports built a case for a more permanent state agency tasked with controlling the state’s population growth. As a result, the Commission on Population Stabilization and the Hawaiian Future was 

A primary architect of the measure, Nadao Yoshinga, was not solely worried about the influx of outsiders. Natural population growth among existing residents was another worry. Yoshinaga, an influential member of the State Senate, would 

 in the name of limited Hawai‘i’s population growth over the coming years. Limiting population by whatever means necessary (in the confines of the law) was the objective.

At around this time, Robert C. Schmitt, the State Statistician of Hawai‘i, 

 of the emerging field of population policy. Proponents of population control, at least in the early Statehood era, had started to organize in the late ’60s through such organizations as the University of Hawai‘i-sponsored Zero Population Growth-Honoulu, Citizens for Hawai‘i, Life of the Land, the Sierra Club, and Save our Surf. 

These groups advocated for policies to halt population migration, economic development, and other factors like densified communities in the name of environmentalism. Perhaps tragically, this misguided approach to Hawai‘i’s prevailing problems created a manichean world of values in conflict with one another.

Arguments for population control in the name of environmental stewardship had a real impact on policy in the late ’70s. Most notably, this came to a head in 1977.

During his annual State of the State address, Governor George Ariyoshi directly addressed population control, arguing for immigration controls and density regulation in the name of the ‘aloha spirit.’

“The problem of excessive population seems to be central to nearly every problem in the State.” he started. “Too many people means too few jobs and too much competition for them. Too many people means too little land for agriculture, parks, and scenic vistas. Too many people means too much crime and too much erosion of possibly our single most important commodity: the Aloha Spirit. Too many people means too much pressure on all our governmental and private institutions.” 

Ariyoshi wanted fewer people in Hawai‘i, plain and simple. To reinforce his views, the State Legislature even sponsored a 

 on population and the Hawaiian future in March 1977. 

One piece of legislation would have discriminated against recent arrivals to Hawai‘i through residency requirements for state jobs. A Federal Judge based in Honolulu, the part-Hawaiian Sam P. King, condemned the State of Hawai‘i’s flirtation with a flagrantly “anti-migratory” statute.

These attempts provide a marked contrast with the present day. In January 2025, the Department of Human Services 

 that the State suffers from a vacancy rate of 24% of all civil services positions (equivalent to more than 4,000 jobs). 

Nevertheless, Hawai‘i still inserted a section into its Constitution at the 1978 Constitutional Convention that called for population planning. To date, it is the only Constitution in the United States with such explicit language.

Instead of promoting smarter urban planning methods that conserved space while reducing sprawl or incentivizing farmers to bring more fallow agricultural land into cultivation, it was more convenient to blame the outside migrants for Hawai‘i’s development problems.

Instead of fostering solutions which invite greater societal innovation, it is more convenient to fall for an ideology wrapped in the veneer of science. 

Since 1970, Hawai‘i’s population fortunes have reversed.

Global population growth is not exponential, nor could it sustain the growth rates witnessed after the Second World War. In fact, our planet’s 

 will likely begin declining before 2100. 

The paranoia of the ’70s became irrelevant over the following decade. By 1983, the Commission on Population and the Hawaiian Future had been abolished.

For a majority of Hawai‘i’s residents in 2025, the ’70s are a foreign, unknown domain. Since Hawai‘i’s 

 was 41 as of 2024, it’s safe to conclude more than half of Hawai‘i’s population was born after 1980.

Today, Hawai‘i is missing people. It is one of the fastest aging states in the United States. The population is contracting, with more than half of all Native Hawaiians on the planet living outside of the archipelago.

Culturally, it is still easy to blame the outsider for our own problems. Instead of acknowledging our own complicitly in failing to plan for the future, it is far easier to find that the outsider is only exacerbating the problems we are not addressing. Policies which now arrest growth not only injure potential migrants. They also hurt residents.

The debates over population control in the ’70s were about a fear of change and a society’s failure to properly navigate the pressures wrought by new forces.

Contemporary conflicts over growth still magnify this attitude. Not unironically, stewarding Hawai‘i’s environment means Hawai‘i’s environment needs to also steward Hawai‘i’s people.

“It should be remembered,” Governor John Burns said in 

, “that the key ingredient in any environment is man himself: he is part and parcel of and the key to the value of our total system of symbiotic relationships on this earth. Being a part of the environment demands that we consider human economics together with biological ecology.” 

“If man is hungry, ill-housed, undereducated or poorly treated in his society,” he wondered, “what service is it to him that his environment remains in its pristine, natural state?”

A society without one cannot have the other. We need to think about growth, not stabilization. We need to think about people.

In our own time, we need a Constitution whose thinking is not tethered to the past. While the language in outdated documents like our Constitution locks our zeitgeist in another time, we need to get over our history. We need a better zeitgeist.

Crowd i Stock 1357524756

<title>Hawai‘i's bizarre legacy of population control (and why it's still here)</title>

In the 1970s, Hawai‘i gave in to fears of overpopulation, so much so that population control was put into the State Constitution.

Hawai‘i's bizarre legacy of population control (and why it's still here)

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

His brother, Dillon, will officially become one during next week's NFL Draft. 

But when it comes to carving his own path, Roman Gabriel is on his way to doing so on the basketball court. The Mililani High School senior recently signed with Bushnell University, an NAIA school in Eugene, Ore. 

Following a standout senior season with the Trojans, Gabriel was named ScoringLive's OIA West Player of the Year after averaging 17.6 points per game. The 6-foot-3 guard took a visit to Bushnell in March, earning an offer from the Beacons. He signed on Tuesday at Mililani with his family in attendance, joining rare company among Hawai‘i prep basketball players that latch on with a college team straight out of high school.

"Just feeling super blessed," Gabriel told Aloha State Daily after signing with Bushnell. "Not a lot of high school hoopers from Hawai‘i get an opportunity and chance to play at the next level. Just super grateful, proud of the work I put in, but also excited for the new chapter, and now it's time to work and get after it. So, super excited and relieved."

Roman Gabriel is the son of Garrett Gabriel, who was an All-State football and basketball player in high school, suiting up for Pac-Five on the gridiron and Maryknoll on the hardwood. He went on to play 

quarterback for the University of Hawai‘i

 football team from 1987 to 1990. If there's anyone who understands and envies Roman Gabriel's basketball journey, it's his father. 

"Everybody knows that basketball is my first love," Garrett Gabriel said, "but I ended up playing football."

Garrett and Dori named their three sons after NFL players: Garrison (named after Garrison Hearst), Dillon (named after Corey Dillon) and Roman. Each son excelled in a different sport: Garrison Gabriel was an All-OIA libero for the Moanalua volleyball team, while Dillon set the state's passing yardage record for Mililani before playing collegiately for UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon. He is a projected Day 3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which begins on April 24. 

"It's pretty special, all the different sports each of them got to experience, winning a OIA championship. The sports aspect of our lives has been fun," Garrett Gabriel said. "We were raised that way, me and my wife, always at ballparks and gymnasiums and so it's just a continuous thing that's going to be there for us because, again, we love it, and that's been part of our lives."

Bushnell University, formerly known as Northwest Christian University, is located just a mile away from the University of Oregon, where Dillon Gabriel became a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2024. During the college football season, Roman Gabriel was in attendance for three Oregon home games. He initially didn't know how close Bushnell was to UO, but he says by the time he gets to Eugene, he'll already have a barber and church in place. 

Garrison Gabriel is currently Dillon's business manager. Last May, Dillon donated thousands of dollars worth of new equipment and Nike uniforms to various Mililani High School teams through an NIL deal.  

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Get boogie with it

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Get boogie with it

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Dreams do come true

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Going big

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