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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

I still don’t understand why they made Ka Makana Aliʻi an outdoor mall.

@DaCheehoos

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Keiki with attitude</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @DaCheehoos, who’s shedding light on every town.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Keiki with attitude

I still don’t understand why they made Ka Makana Aliʻi an outdoor mall.  Make sure you follow @DaCheehoos on Instagram!

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

On Saturday, a pair of high school football teams at the heart of communities affected by wildfires will meet in the inaugural Unity Bowl. 

 the Lahaina wildfires, Lahainaluna High School will host California's Paradise High School for a football game at Sue D. Cooley Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. 

Most members of Paradise High School's football team were elementary schoolers when the 2018 Camp Fire blazed through Northern California's Butte County, which includes Paradise. But like their Lahainaluna counterparts, their lives have never been the same since. 

"There's going to be a football game that's going to be played, but I think it represents much more than that," Lahainaluna coach Dean Rickard told Aloha State Daily. "It's more than just a football game. It's basically a historic meeting between two teams and we're forever connected now by tragedy, resilience, and basically, the determination to rebuild after both of our communities suffered catastrophic wildfires."

Rickard was the co-head coach for the Lunas back in 2019, back when the school won its fourth consecutive HHSAA Division II title. That same season, Paradise won its first 12 games of the season, its first since the 2018 Camp Fire. Both teams served as sources of pride in their respective communities before tragedy struck and became large symbols of hope afterwards. 

"Football has been like the catalyst for both towns, right? I mean, for their community, our community, it's a sense of unity and identity," Rickard says. "As long as we can stand together, we can be able to lift one another up and move forward with hope. We may be separated by thousands of miles, but the game is actually a celebration of shared healing and like I said before, a reminder that staying united allows us to rise, and that's what the game is gonna be about." 

Paradise High School administrators initially reached out in 2024 with the idea of a home-and-home series with Lahainaluna, and the Lunas are planning to make the return trip to Paradise in 2027. 

Paradise's team departed Northern California on early Thursday morning and made it to Maui thanks to multiple fundraising efforts, including a $15,000 donation from star NFL quarterback and Butte County native Aaron Rodgers. 

On Sunday afternoon, Lahainaluna and Paradise's football teams will meet at the 

OUTRIGGER Kāʻanapali Beach Resort for a gathering between both programs, which also includes parents and coaches. Rickard calls it another opportunity for the teams to "talk story and build a brotherhood." Paradise will then head back home on Monday. 

Activations include a lū‘au for both teams, organized by Maui chef Zach Sato, who also started a 

 with the goal of putting on a memorable feast. 

Paradise enters the game 1-1, while Lahainaluna is 0-2, an uncharacteristic start for a program that had been the dominant force in Maui high school football for over a decade. In 2024, Lahainaluna had its winning streak of consecutive Maui Interscholastic League games snapped at 46, but recovered in time to make the state playoffs, where it was knocked off by Leilehua. 

When asked about his team in particular, Rickard believes Saturday's contest will have special meaning to Lahainaluna's seniors, who were freshmen during the 2023 wildfires. 

"A lot of our seniors are still feeling the impacts because they still haven't rebuilt the homes yet. They're still displaced, whether it's FEMA housing or some other rental assisted housing," Rickard said. "A very emotional game for both towns. The high school kids from Paradise were like 9, 10 years old at the time, so they actually experienced it from a younger age, going through what they had to do through in the rebuild and where they're at now, and the community is coming back and thriving again. 

"That is something that when we get together and we mingle and have camaraderie after the contest itself is done, that's where I think our kids are going to feel it more, and they're going to be developing lifelong friendships with these players, by sharing stories and I think it's good for these kids mentally, physically, and just good for the soul overall."

Lahainaluna football 090326

<title>Inaugural Unity Bowl to bring high school football teams affected by separate wildfires…</title>

Kickoff between Lahainaluna and California's Paradise High School, a pair of teams that endured devastating wildfires in recent years, is set for 6 p.m. at Sue D. Cooley Stadium on Saturday.

Inaugural Unity Bowl to bring high school football teams affected by separate wildfires to Lahaina

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

The University of Hawai‘i is seeking public feedback on revisions to its plan for managing Mauna Kea.

While UH is set to relinquish control of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve — more than 11,000 acres on the summit of Mauna Kea, where the observatories are — to the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority in 2029, the university this week 

 a proposed revision of its master plan for the land, which was last updated in 2022.

According to UH, the changes to the plan are intended to align the document with Act 255, the 2022 law that created the MKSOA. As such, the bulk of the changes remove language from the plan stating that decommissioned observatories on the summit “will not be available for future astronomy use.”

While UH representatives declined to comment on the changes to Aloha State Daily, Act 255 specifies that, as management of the mountain transitions between UH and MKSOA, the transition management plan should prioritize the reuse of observatory sites and footprints for new facilities, as opposed to developing facilities on undeveloped or undisturbed land.

For example, where the plan previously said the sites of now-decommissioned observatories Hōkū Kea and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory had no potential for future use, but, in the proposed new plan, are only “highly unlikely” to be reused.

The UH Board of Regents requested the revisions to the plan in February, amid the development this year of 

, a bill that set deadlines for MKSOA to complete elements of the transition, or else summit authority will revert to the university.

Pertinently, HB 2592 also stipulated that any rule changes UH implements during the transition period will be taken up by the MKSOA after the transition is complete. Therefore, UH’s revisions to the master plan, if approved, will be adopted by MKSOA in 2029.

UH’s notes about the revisions include a disclaimer about whether the changes are in service of the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope, the controversial observatory long proposed for Mauna Kea summit. The disclaimer states that the revisions “could affect the alternatives available to a wide range of possible future astronomy projects, not only TMT.”

Interested parties are encouraged to read the revisions and submit feedback 

 through Sept. 16. UH will also discuss the revisions at a Sept. 8 meeting of the Mauna Kea Management Board and a Sept. 10 meeting of the MKSOA board.

The revisions will also, eventually, need to be approved by the UH Board of Regents at an undetermined future meeting.

MKSOA had not yet reviewed UH's initiative regarding the proposed changes, but will address the matter at the next MKSOA meeting on Sept. 10.

Telescopes

<title>UH seeks public feedback for changes to Mauna Kea plan</title>

Amendments to Mauna Kea Master Plan allow for new facilities to be built on old facility footprints.

UH seeks public feedback for changes to Mauna Kea plan

 "Lowell could be near major hurricane strength when it moves  close to the western Hawaiian Islands late Monday and Monday night," according to the 

.  "Regardless of the hurricane's exact track and intensity, there is a  risk of storm surge, wind, and rainfall impacts for portions of  Hawaii, particularly Kaua‘i County, early next week."

Residents are advised to "closely monitor the  progress of Lowell through the upcoming Labor Day weekend, listen to  the advice of local officials, and ensure they have their hurricane  plan and supply kit in place. Watches are likely to be issued for a  portion of the state on Saturday. Swells from Lowell are likely to cause life-threatening surf  and rip current conditions in portions of the Hawaiian Islands  during the next several days. These swells are likely to increase  early next week."

Residents are urged to make storm preparations as Hurricane Lowell is expected to veer toward the state over the weekend.

The National Weather Service’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicts that 

, which is currently passing south of Hawai‘i, will abruptly turn north around Saturday and begin passing closely west of the state as a major hurricane by Monday, with Kaua‘i particularly close to the hurricane’s path.

Consequently, people are advised once again to secure their properties in advance of the storm and to ensure they have 14 days worth of supplies — food, water, pet food, medical supplies, batteries, etc. — ready for each member of their households.

 says Lowell will likely bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the state over the next several days. The storm is currently a Category 4 storm — with wind speeds between 130 and 156 miles per hour — and is only anticipated to weaken to a Category 3 hurricane, with winds between 111-129 mph — by the time it makes its closest approach to Kaua‘i, according to the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency.

KEMA warns that coastal flooding is possible along the island's south- and west-facing shores, and that people should stay well away from the shorelines on Monday, when the most significant surf is expected.

Preliminary NWS wind forecasts predict a 20% to 40% chance of tropical-storm-force winds — e.g. winds averaging higher than 39 miles per hour over one minute — on Kaua‘i by Tuesday. O‘ahu has a 5% to 10% chance of those same winds.

However, the exact trajectory of the storm is still unpredictable; if Lowell tracks more to the east, stronger winds are possible. KEMA warns that major-hurricane-force winds of more than 110 mph, with even stronger gusts, are possible.

Consequently, KEMA recommends residents prepare now while the storm is still days away. Residents should assemble portable go-kits in case of evacuation, in addition to a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, any needed prescription medications and one gallon of water per person per day.

“Build your kit, fill your gas tank, secure your yard, check on your neighbors and your kūpuna, and talk story with your 

ohana about your plan before the weekend arrives,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami. “If Lowell passes us by, we will have lost nothing but a little time. If it does not, we will be grateful we started today.”

Residents are also advised to check weather conditions before going outside this weekend, as outdoor recreation areas, rivers and trails can quickly become hazardous, and rescues may not be possible depending on conditions.

Gov. Josh Green announced Thursday that he has dispatched six additional high-water vehicles to Kaua‘i and has authorized the deployment of additional National Guard personnel to the island.

Emergency shelters or refuge areas on Kaua‘i are not currently open, but the public will be notified if they are. Residents statewide should 

 to emergency alerts via the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency and their county’s Civil Defense or Emergency Management department.

On O‘ahu, residents are also advised to stock up on supplies and secure their properties.

“We are heading into a holiday weekend, and the last thing we want is for people to become complacent or completely tune this out,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. “We are not telling everyone to run out to Costco and load up on toilet paper and water. We are asking you to be aware. Pay attention to the city, your local weathercasters and news stations, and keep an eye on the forecast.”

Currently, another hurricane in the Central Pacific — Hurricane Karina — is expected to pass north of the state, and weaken to sub-hurricane strength by the end of the holiday weekend. 

032036 5day cone 16x9

<title>Residents urged to prepare as Lowell predicted to veer stateward</title>

Hurricane Lowell, currently a powerful Category 4 Hurricane, is anticipated to make an abrupt 90-degree lurch northward this weekend, bringing it close to Kaua‘i.

Residents urged to prepare as Lowell predicted to veer stateward

WEB square crop Hayley Lehman Headshot RGZ1636

Haley Lehman

Crime & Courts

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will rule by Friday on the future of state House District 43 after incumbent Kanani Souza challenged the tiebreaker in the Republican primary election.

Candidates Kristen “Kanani” Souza and Sheila Medeiros, both Republicans, tied with 842 votes in the August primary. 

 that if a race ends in a tie, the chief election officer in a state race, or the clerk in a county race, will decide the tie "by lot."

Election officials put Souza and Medeiros’ names in plastic eggs, placed those eggs in a lauhala basket and selected Medeiros in a drawing on Aug. 15. Since Souza and Medeiros were the only candidates in the election and from the same political party, Medeiros was named the representative-elect for House District 43.

, suing Hawaiʻi Chief Election Officer Scott Nago, Acting Honolulu City Clerk Chadd Kadota and Honolulu Elections Administrator Rex Quidilla

asking the justices to invalidate the tiebreaker method.

Quidilla testified Wednesday that two District 40, precinct three voters were mistakenly given ballots to vote in District 43, precinct 3 on election day at Kapolei Hale. That created two overages for House District 43-03 and two underages at House District 40-03 in which there was a discrepancy between envelopes received and the ballots counted. Quidilla called this an “isolated error” based on his review of the investigation.

Once ballots are in the machine, election officials cannot tie ballots back to individual voters to ensure every voter’s right to secrecy.

While state law requires election offices to decide ties by lot, there is no rule or policy that dictates the method.

Nago said that the tiebreaker method mimics how the Office of Elections decides the order that political parties show up on the primary election ballot, and that the office has been using that method since prior to 2020.

The overage/underage report for Oʻahu was compiled on Aug. 20, five days after the drawing, according to Nago. He said that the overage/underage report is not part of the initial tabulation but the post election audit, and does not impact the results of the election.

Associate Justices Todd Eddins and Lisa Ginoza grilled Nago, Kadota and Quidilla, and their attorneys, Wednesday morning at Aliʻiōlani Hale.

Souza’s attorney, Thomas Otake, argued that the justices should order a new primary election.

that candidates or political parties can file a complaint in the supreme court when there are “provable fraud, overages, or underages, that could cause a difference in the election results.”

“We now know that there were two illegal ballots that were cast and that could have affected the outcome,” Otake said. “The question is not whether or not something needs to be done, but what.”

Otake suggested that a new primary election could take place at the same time as the general election or at a later date.

“Essentially what we’re suggesting is that if there was no other way to decide on who the winner was, then we should leave it to the voters,” he said. “We don’t just throw our hands up in the air and say ‘we can’t do anything so we’re just going to let it stand.’”

Otake also took issue with the lack of a formal rule determining how a tie is broken, and argued that the state should provide a plan, hear public input and decide on a rule.

“I cannot imagine that if it went through that process, that an Easter egg in a lauhala basket would’ve been the rule,” he said.

Justice Eddins asked, “even if it wasn’t the Easter egg and lauhala basket for a tie in the general election, say it was a flip of a coin, don’t you still need a rule for that anyway?” Otake said that was his point exactly: “there needs to be a rule. It needs to be promulgated.”

Deputy Attorney General Kendall Moser, representing the state, stood by state statutes that dictate that the chief elections officer decides a tie by lot.

“We assume that the statutes that govern the Office of Elections are constitutional and that the chief elections officer and the office generally follow those statutes," he said. “We simply have a set of statutes as written as the Office of Elections, we follow them.”

If something does need to change in how a tie is broken, that’s “for someone else to decide.”

Ginoza asked, “is it the state’s position that the most important thing is to declare a winner, even if the votes cannot be accurately counted?”

Moser said that it was the state’s position that a winner has been declared, and Souza has to prove that Nago’s decision on how to break the tie was incorrect.

The justices challenged Moser with multiple hypotheticals, like what the court should do if there was fraud that caused a tie, what should happen if the same situation involving the two voters at Kapolei Hale impacted the senate district and what the remedy would be if they declared the tiebreaker method improper.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What happens next?"}]

Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna said the court will rule in the case by Friday.

Justices brought Nago back to the stand near the end of the hearing and asked what a second primary election would look like if they did rule in Souza’s favor. Nago said that the Office of Election could place a second primary race between Medeiros and Souza on the general election ballot, but those ballots would be sent to all District 43 voters, not just residents who identify as Republican voters in a primary. The office could also call for a special primary election after the general election.

Ballots for the general election will be printed by Sept. 11.

Medeiros told the court that she did not object to the tiebreaker method in August.

“I respectfully request that the certified results remain in place unless the court determines that the law requires otherwise,” she said.

Souza told reporters after the hearing that she believes the justice’s questioning was a sign that they will call for a new election.

“I’m very pleased today that truth came to light, transparency prevailed and that’s ultimately what matters to me,” she said. “I do think that I’m not here fighting for myself, I’m here fighting for the voters of House District 43 who deserve a representative that they’re actually electing.”

Kanani Souza

<title>Supreme Court to decide future of House District 43 primary</title>

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in the election contest of the Makakilo primary race that was settled by a tiebreaker in August.

Supreme Court to decide future of House District 43 primary

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

In our oral tradition, Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanoes, came from a far-off place called Kahiki. Her beauty and mana were unrivaled, but her carelessness and her short temper often brought conflict and destruction in their wake.

As stories of antiquity were passed down from mouth to ear, details sometimes changed depending on who told them and how they interpreted them, including the tales of our akua. Some details of Pele’s story differ, but the overall arc of her tale remains the same.

In one version, Pele’s uncle Lonomakua gave her an ʻōʻō, a digging stick imbued with mana. The ʻōʻō was called Pāoa, and her uncle taught Pele how to use it to control her own mana. One day, when Lonomakua was gone, Pele accidentally caused a raging fire that burned down the family home. Pele’s sister was angry and exiled Pele, then pursued her across the ocean, never letting her rest.

Another telling of the tale says that Pele’s older sister, Nāmakaokahaʻi, the goddess of the sea, was married to the powerful demigod ʻAukelenuiaʻīkū. On his way to the shore to go fishing, ʻAukele came upon the beautiful Pele and immediately desired her. Thus began an affair that would bring about a conflict between fire and sea that would eventually shape the Hawaiian Islands.

Enraged after discovering the affair between her husband and her sister, Nāmakaokahaʻi attacked Pele. Pele cried to their parents, who told her she must leave to find a safe place for their family. Entrusted with her youngest, most beloved sister, Hiʻiakaikapoliopele, Pele set off to find a new home with Nāmakaokahaʻi in furious pursuit.

The story comes together again as Kamohoaliʻi helped Pele by guiding her travel on his waʻa kaulua, his voyaging canoe. As they made their way across the Pacific, they could hear the waves of Namakaokahaʻi right behind them. They reached the northwest Hawaiian Islands, but every time they came across land, Namaka drove them away. Finally, the small group of siblings reached the island of Kauaʻi. Pele dug her ʻōʻō into the earth and created Puʻukapele, the hill of Pele, where they were able to rest. But their respite was cut short as the glow of Pele’s fire was reflected on the clouds above, alerting Namaka to their whereabouts. Huge waves from the sea forced Pele to flee once more.

Pele built a new home on Oʻahu, digging her ʻōʻō into the ground once, bringing forth a great quantity of fiery rock. It is said that Hiʻiaka called their new home Laeʻahi because, to her, the view of the craterʻs profile from the east looked like the lae (brow) of the ʻahi (tuna). Again, the rage of Nāmakaokahaʻi would not let them be, and waves of salt water drowned Pele’s flames. Pele and Hiʻiaka were driven away once more. In modern times, the name was shortened to Lēʻahi. Today, the crater is widely known as Diamond Head.

Some Hawaiian scholars note that another translation of Lēʻahi could mean “wreath of fire.” At its summit, fires were kept burning to guide voyaging canoes that were traveling along the coastline. It is said that there was a heiau at the top of the crater dedicated to Laʻamaomao, goddess of the wind, to redirect the winds that might extinguish the flames.

Pele’s journey continued southeast through the Hawaiian islands, eventually ending up at Kīlauea, where she resides today. However, there are numerous modern-day reports of Pele sightings across the islands, even on the slopes of Lēʻahi.

One man shared that he was riding his bike up the hill on Diamond Head Road one evening. As he reached the lookout, he passed an older woman wearing a long brownish colored dress or wrap over one shoulder, standing in the middle of the empty parking lot. The man said he nodded to the woman as he rode by, and she nodded back. Then he stopped for a bit to take in the view, and when he glanced behind him, the woman was gone. Any other day, he would have assumed the person just got into a nearby car, but there weren’t any cars around them.

As he’d only been living on Oʻahu for nearly a decade, he didn’t immediately make any assumptions. He said he was just puzzled. That is, until he shared the story with some friends at work. His coworkers were convinced he came across Pele.

Another story was shared with me about an encounter in roughly the same area. This time, a young man and his girlfriend were driving up Diamond Head Road and noticed a woman sitting on a rock wall. The sight of her caught their eye, particularly because the wall was at least four feet high. It wasnʻt easy to climb a wall that high without getting scratched up. The woman had dark brown skin and long white hair, and was wearing a long, plain white muʻumuʻu. As the woman was sitting on the wall, she was leaning forward against a long wooden walking stick.

The couple drove past the woman, but the young man was suddenly overcome with a strong urge to stop. He hit the brakes right in the middle of the road and turned his head back to look at the old woman. She seemed to be looking past him, or through him. He asked his girlfriend if she saw the woman. She had, but urged him to get them out of there.

He put the car in gear, and as he slowly drove away, he looked in his mirror only to see that the woman had disappeared. There was no one sitting on the wall, no one on the sidewalk. She was just gone.

A second later, a car came speeding around the bend ahead of them. The driver swerved to miss a mailbox and spun out, coming to a stop facing the wrong direction barely 20 feet in front of them.

“I’m Japanese, but I was born and raised here,” he said. “We all know the stories from small kid time, but I never really believed things like this happened anymore.”

Diamond Head Full Moon

<title>Sightings of Pele at Lē‘ahi</title>

You might associated Pele most with the active volcanoes of Hawai‘i Island but ancient myths — and contemporary encounters — tell of her presence on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu as well.

Sightings of Pele at Lē‘ahi

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 opened its new coffee shop, Kaffe Kāhala, late last year. The shop is located on the resort’s lobby level (along the Wall of Fame). It took the former space of a retail shop.

The café is a casual grab-and-go spot, but it's open to the public (you don’t have to be a hotel guest to check it out). It features a self-serve premium Illy coffee machine, with iced and hot options for beverages like Americano ($6-$7), cappuccino ($6-$8), caffe mocha ($6.50-$8.50) and more.

The café serves freshly baked pastries, which are from Dean & Deluca Hawai

Pastries range from Echire butter croissants ($9) and Echire butter pain au chocolat ($10) to three cheese honey bread ($9). Dean & Deluca Hawaiʻi’s croissants are known for their crispy, flaky yet light texture.

Customers can also choose from assorted musubi and gourmet sandwiches. If you’re craving dessert, opt for a rotating selection of cakes and treats from La Palme D’Or, a dessert shop in Ala Moana Center.

[{"type":"text","text":"The café is open daily from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m."}]

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Keiki with attitude

Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Keiki with attitude

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

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