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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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TheRealHong

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Stepped on</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @TheRealHong, who misstepped.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Stepped on

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Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

Columnists

At a quarter past eight on a wet Monday morning in January, Anderina Petero boards the Handi-Van outside the Jack in the Box on McCully and falls asleep against the window before it reaches the freeway. She has just finished her sixth graveyard shift of the week. Her daughter Marianeina, twenty-one, the cashier at the same restaurant, sits beside her. They are going home to a shelter in Waiʻanae.

Civil Beat sent more than a dozen reporters and photographers across the island for this year’s Point-In-Time count. The count is an annual tally of homeless people on O‘ahu. The reporters went to meet the people the counters were looking for. It is a 

 from a paper that leans left. It is unflinching about the homeless.

The count ended with 4,539 homeless people on O‘ahu. This number can be spun to suit one’s narrative. The stories underneath are less obliging.

A mother and daughter work the Jack in the Box graveyard shift in McCully. They commute by Handi-Van from a shelter in Waiʻanae. A man cycles in and out of the state hospital. Each time, he is released under Act 26 because he is not mentally fit to stand trial for the petty crime that brought him in. A meth user in Pāwaʻa park has tried every rehab program. They are “just on replay,” he says. His friend died at the park of an overdose a year ago. Two men sit on the District Court steps, newly out of jail. They scrounge bus fare while their girlfriends remain inside, soon to be released. A woman with a bad knee and a medical history of three strokes lives under a bridge. She has cleared the trash from a fouled stream and seen an eagle ray return to the water.

The progressive account of homelessness is mainly a cost-of-housing problem. It fits the mother and daughter exactly. A fifty-dollar rent increase was the final straw for them. It does not fit the man in the park. He has tried every rehab program and remains in the park. It does not fit the insane man. He is the heir of a twentieth-century reform. That reform closed the state hospitals and promised something else would replace them. Nothing did.

The conservative account says homelessness is moral failure, and the answer is to clear the encampments. It fails when it meets the woman living under a bridge. She had a job and a home before three strokes took both. She exercises more visible dominion under an overpass than most of us in our homes. It fails against a working mother praying her way through six graveyard shifts a week.

There is real work here for the state, and conservatives who pretend otherwise are not serious. Honolulu’s housing supply has been throttled by zoning, permitting, and policy that protects the property values of the already-housed. A median one-bedroom rent above $2,000 is a political achievement. Only policy can undo it.

The state can also restrain the publicly destructive, and currently does not. 

 sends a man who cannot stand trial back onto the same streets to commit the same offenses. We call it compassion. But it is the abandonment of a legitimate sphere of state authority in the name of compassion. The man and the public both pay for it.

What the state cannot do is reform a soul. The drug rehab programs that succeed tend, it turns out, to be religious. The man in Pāwaʻa park does not need another program. He needs what no program can deliver. A program that addresses conduct without aiming to save his soul has missed the point entirely.

Every person in the count is an image-bearer of God. Every person in the count is also fallen. To remember one without the other is to slide into sentimentality or contempt. Neither has ever helped anyone.

God works ordinarily through families, through churches, and through the small voluntary associations. They gather to meet needs without being asked. The modern welfare state has spent six decades displacing these little platoons. It is now puzzled that it cannot replace them.

This does not excuse those little platoons, many of which have failed to serve the needy. Anderina wears a bracelet that reads John 3:16. She is a member of a church in Kailua. She has not been there in two Sundays. The Handi-Van takes 90 minutes each way from McCully to Waiʻanae, six nights a week.

Does her church know? Do they care? It is not clear.

At a quarter past eight on a wet Monday in January, on a Handi-Van rolling west toward Waiʻanae, she sleeps with her head against the window. Perhaps today will be a day for rest.

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Anderina Marianeina

<title>The stories underneath</title>

ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa explores how an extensive story on homelessness by Civil Beat raises issues where both the political left and political right can do better on their approaches to solving the problem.

The stories underneath

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

’s Kapahulu location is still a hot spot among locals. The biz recently launched a new happy hour menu, available from 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays.

“We mixed in popular dishes with local favorites (for the happy hour menu),” explains marketing director Crystine Ito. “It includes not only things that our local guests like, but also what our visitors like, like the loco moco plate.”

The happy hour menu features $5, $10 and $12 specials. The eatery’s small Slush float, chili rice bowl, chili fries, gravy fries and saimin are $5 each during happy hour.

“We don’t do alcoholic beverages, but I feel like fries are on every single happy hour menu,” Ito says. “We wanted to make sure that we had all of our fries — our gravy fries (regular price $5.50), chili fries (regular price $6.95), and regular fries with the barbecue burger (regular price $6.25) — on the menu.

Featured $10 specials include the chili plate, barbecue burger with fries, and Spam and two egg plate. No matter what they order, customers can rest assured that the happy hour portions are the same as the regular-priced dishes.

[{"type":"text","text":"“You’re going to get the same big portions,” Ito confirms."}]

Finally, $12 specials include the drive-in’s chili dog plate, barbecue pork plate and loco moco plate. The chili dog plate (regular price $12.95) features two wieners served with the business’s famous chili.

“The chili dog plate is very popular,” Ito says. “It’s definitely reminiscent of Hawai

“The dish that I think is overlooked a lot of the time is the barbecue pork plate,” she adds. “A lot of locals really like it, but you won’t see it (featured) in the magazines. But if you try it, it’s really good, and it’s good with the chili.”

All plate lunches come with one scoop of macaroni salad and two scoops of rice.

In-person and online pick-up orders are available for happy hour menu items. Customers can phone in their orders, or order online for pick-up during the happy hour time period, Ito confirms.

“We hope people will come and enjoy it,” Ito says. “It’s a small way for us to offer a little bit of a discount for our customers. We wanted to be able to do something new.

“We were thinking about it (this concept) from the beginning of the year,” she adds. “It is subject to change; maybe every so often, we’ll add something new or take something off. You might start seeing items that are not even on the (regular) menu during happy hour.”

Happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays

Rainbow Drive In Kapahulu hh spread 052026

<title>Rainbow Drive-In has a new happy hour</title>

The business’s new happy hour menu is at the Kapahulu location only on Mondays to Thursdays. Customers can enjoy $5, $10 and $12 specials, ranging from small Slush floats and chili fries to barbecue burgers and loco moco plates.

Rainbow Drive-In has a new happy hour

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

A new memorandum of understanding between Maui County and Maui Land & Pineapple Co. sets the stage for the county to acquire MLP's West Maui water infrastructure.

In an announcement Monday, the county says this move marks the first phase of a broader effort that aims to also secure other private water systems in Olowalu and Launiupoko. 

"This will increase public stewardship of West Maui's drinking water systems from 45% to 93% while supporting much-needed housing development for local residents," the announcement notes.

If the acquisition is approved, here are the West Maui water assets the county stands to gain, according to the announcement:

An existing upcountry well in Piʻiholo would also be acquired, along with land for additional well sites and water storage, and non-water infrastructure assets that include a Mokuʻula land parcel, Kahana roadway and land in Hāliʻimaile for a police substation and a fire station, the county says.

Additionally, the MOU also "creates opportunities for the county to increase workforce and affordable housing supply for local families," the county says.

"We want to restore balance in our community," Mayor Richard Bissen said in a video posted to the 

. "Part of that comes with making sure we have an adequate water supply that we can provide not only for homes being built, but for emergency response, for agriculture, for environmental uses. This is a long-term, generational resource."

Throughout 2025 and into 2026 alone, much of Maui County experienced varying drought conditions. (You can find current and historical drought conditions 

"As this severe drought has demonstrated, Maui needs greater interconnected infrastructure and system resiliency to ensure reliable service during emergencies, including drought and wildfire events," MLP CEO Race Randle told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions. "More interconnected systems create important redundancy and operational flexibility, helping ensure water can continue flowing where it is needed most during critical moments while also supporting the rebuilding of Lahaina and future housing opportunities for local families.

“Since I became CEO, MLP’s leadership team has focused on realizing the full potential of the company’s assets to help meet Maui’s needs today and for future generations," he continued. "The MOU represents an important step toward strengthening Maui’s long-term, island-wide water security while also supporting efforts to expand housing opportunities so local families can continue to live and thrive on Maui."

Randle says that a strategic review of the company's water infrastructure began in early 2025 and MLP has been in active discussions with the county for roughly a year.

The agreement, Randle says, "reflects a shared commitment to responsible stewardship of Maui’s water resources and long-term resiliency planning for the community.” 

If successful, the transition of water assets into public stewardship would be a "positive outcome" for both the county and the company, he told ASD.

“MLP has been a careful and responsible steward of these lands and water systems for generations, and we are encouraged by the county’s commitment to continue that stewardship for the benefit of the Maui community," Randle says. "MLP’s Honokōhau Ditch System is highly efficient and continues to deliver water from Honokōhau Stream to oﬀstream users whenever sufficient water is available for diversion and in accordance with state regulations. We believe this collaboration can help build on that foundation and create a more resilient and sustainable future for Maui.”

According to the county, the purchase price will be established through formal county appraisals and system assessments, but as of Monday, estimates were not yet available.

Conditions of the final sale are still being negotiated and the acquisition must be approved by the Maui County Council.

Bissen earlier this year announced that the county is in negotiations with MLP, Kamehameha Schools and West Maui Land to acquire "key water system assets" that include the Olowalu and Launiupoko irrigation and water companies, the announcement noted.

"If successful, water systems in West Maui, including both drinking and irrigation, will transition from 25% to 65% publicly owned," the county says. "More importantly, public stewardship of drinking water systems in West Maui will increase from 45% to 93%, representing a major step toward ensuring this essential resource is managed in the public trust."

 was founded in 1909 and today stewards more than 22,000 acres of land and approximately 247,000 square feet of commercial properties.

 in Maui Circuit Court alleged that MLP failed to maintain its Honokōhau ditch system to the detriment of nearby property owners and businesses.

TY Management Corp., the owner and operator of the Kapalua Plantation Golf Course — where the PGA previously hosted the 

 — and Kapalua Bay Golf Course; Hua Momona Farms LLC; Plantation Estates Lot Owners' Association; Association of Apartment Owners of the Coconut Grove on Kapalua; and the Association of Apartment Owners of the Ridge at Kapalua filed the complaint.

, accusing TY management of breach of contract for failing to responsibly reduce its water use during drought conditions.

 filed last September by TY and the Plantation Estates Lot Owners’ Association, accused MLP of improperly annexing land to seize power within the Kapalua Resort Association.Trials for both cases are long way off. The former suit has a trial date scheduled in March 2027, and the latter has a trial date in June 2027.

Aloha State Daily reporter Michael Brestovansky contributed to this article.

County MLP MOU

<title>Maui County looks to acquire water assets from Maui Land & Pineapple</title>

The county says this move marks the first phase of a broader effort that aims to also secure other private water systems in Olowalu and Launiupoko.

Maui County looks to acquire water assets from Maui Land & Pineapple

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

Ready to make plans for the long weekend? Some of the events coming to Oʻahu soon include 

 ceremonies, a benefit gala for Hawaiʻi Foodbank, and a car show in Hawaiʻi Kai.

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Want to help create the 38,000 lei placed on the graves of the service members laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific? Join one of these 

bring lei you made at home to one of the donation sites

. Hawaiʻi Foodbank is hosting its inaugural Nourish Gala where guests can enjoy a cocktail reception, multi-course dinner with curated tasting stations and live music from 

, and the Hoʻoheno Duo at ʻAlohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach. The event supports the Hawaiʻi Foodbank. Individual tickets are available for $375. Tickets must be purchased by Thursday, May 21. 

Catch this special exhibit about Robert Cazimero. 

A special exhibit honoring the legendary musician, composer and Kumu Hula Robert Uluwehionāpuaikawēkiuokalani Cazimero has been extended through Saturday, May 30, at Gallery ‘Iolani, which is located on Windward Community College’s campus in Kāneʻohe. Learn more about the 

kumu hula of Hālau Na Kamalei o Lililehua

, which was the kāne overall winner for the Merrie Monarch Festival of 1976, the first year that men were allowed to compete, as previously reported by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He was also part of The Brothers Cazimero, a 

more than two dozen Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards

, which performed decades of May Day is Lei Day concerts at Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. The gallery is open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily, except Sunday and Memorial Day. Free. 

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Head to the Waikīkī Community Center and join in this hands-on event where attendees can make and toss 

. Made of clay, rice bran, molasses and microorganisms, Genki Balls are said to digest sludge and leave water cleaner, although there is 

. Up to 28 participants can attend this event which runs from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Tickets cost $10 plus fees. 

Head to the Waikīkī Aquarium and support University of Hawaiʻi alumni owned businesses in a special market, starting at 9 a.m. Admission is $5 and includes access to the Waikīkī Aquarium. Want to start the day earlier? Arrive at 8 a.m. for a pilates sculpt workout led by Annie Chang, a current UH student, for $30, which include access to the aquarium, the class and a towel. 

Wear white and head to this yacht party, hosted by Atlantis Cruise. Drinks are available for purchase. Boarding starts at 9 p.m. The yacht returns at 1 a.m. Individual tickets start at $125. A pair of tickets can be purchased for $170, plus fees. 

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Ready to add some dinosaurs to your life? “T. rex” chronicles the story of three boys discovering a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil in North Dakota in 2022. It will be playing at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Bishop Museum’s J. Watumull Planetarium. Admission is $5 per person and includes access to the planetarium’s lobby exhibit, “Wayfinders: He Waʻa He Moku, He Moku He Waʻa,” plus a seat in the theater. Tickets to the rest of the museum are an additional cost. 

The Honolulu Museum of Art will offer a guided tour of its Renaissance Collection. These tours start at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Gather in the front of the Central Courtyard for tours which are between 45 and 60 minutes. These tours are included in museum admission, which is $15 for kamaʻāina and free for youth who are 18 years old or younger. 

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The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and there will be an oli, a speech from Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, a presentation of wreaths, a firearm salute, a military aircraft flyover, and performances from the Royal Hawaiian Band and Sounds of Aloha Chorus, as well as 

. The ceremony also features taps. Parking is limited. Additional parking is available at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School starting at 7 a.m., and a courtesy shuttle will take attendees to the cemetery. Free. 

Join Gov. Josh Green, Maj. General Stephen Logan, and Lt. Col. John Alamodin for the Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Hawaiʻi State Veteran’s Cemetery in Kāneʻohe. There will be a musical prelude by the 

Spend Memorial Day at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, where you can visit the 

 (reservations recommended, although some standby admission is available) or the 

 submarine. Visitors can also book a tour to Ford Island, where they can visit the 

, where authentic WWII hangers hold a variety of aircraft and visitors can step into flight simulators. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial’s visitor center is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Cruise over to the Hawaiʻi Kai Towne Center and check out this showcase of classic cars in the parking lot in front of Costco. The event starts at 2 p.m. Free. 

. This Memorial Day ceremony brings thousands to the water’s edge to release floating lanterns and remember loved ones and fallen service members at Ala Moana Beach. The ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. 

 are available on a first-come, first-served basis with pick up between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., or as long as supplies last. Messages can also be added to 

Learn why these volunteers keep coming back, 

Planning to be outside this weekend? Send us your pictures of rainbows, sunsets and more for a chance to be featured in our Hawaiʻi Skies series. Include your name and where the picture was taken plus why the moment was special. 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i

<title>What to do on Oʻahu for Memorial Day weekend</title>

From sewing lei for service members to the Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi, there are lots of events happening on Oʻahu this weekend. Aloha State Daily rounded up some of the ceremonies and activities, so you can make plans.

What to do on Oʻahu for Memorial Day weekend

Last week, State Sen. Brenton Awa rose on the Senate floor. He clarified that the Senate doesn’t “condone violence.” Then he held up a letter of recognition for “Mister Ambassador of Aloha.” The commendation was intended for a shirtless man recorded beating a tourist on Maui. The tourist had been filmed earlier throwing a rock at a monk seal.

The clip of Awa’s remarks has been viewed 29.3 million times on his 

. In the chamber where laws are made, a sitting senator stood to commend a man for a beating.

The tourist was wrong. That part isn’t in dispute. Throwing a rock at a protected animal earns charges, and ought to. The question is why a senator commended the man who beat him.

Awa represents State Senate District 23, which includes Kāneʻohe and the rural areas of the North Shore, including Kahaluʻu through Lāʻie, Kahuku to Mokulēʻia. It is one of the most conservative and religious districts in the state, with a significant presence of Christians and Mormons. Though they differ on major theological issues, they share most moral commitments. Many of them read Scripture and try to live by it.

Paul tells the Roman church plainly: never avenge yourselves, for vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He will repay. He says this in Romans chapter 12. In the next chapter he describes the magistrate as the servant of God who carries the sword on God’s behalf. The magistrate is the appointed avenger of wrath against the wrongdoer. Awa sits in the office Paul describes. To commend a man for taking justice into his own hands is to undercut the office God established to do that work.

A reader may reply that the justice system fails locals, that private justice is what’s left when the courts won’t act. There are two answers. The first is that the system was working. The whole state was outraged. The tourist was being identified and pursued. The vigilante did not help. He committed a crime of his own, and gave the tourist a grievance to point to.

The second answer is older. Vigilante justice doesn’t end disorder. It feeds it. Shakespeare worked this out in Verona, and the Capulets and Montagues are not a model anyone wants for Hawaiʻi. Due process is the rope that pulls communities out of that pit.

The seal speech was not a stray moment. Awa brought a polygraph to the floor during the $35,000 paper bag scandal. He has made props a feature of his floor speeches. He posted a video walking viewers to Rep. Linda Ichiyama’s office after she killed his bill prohibiting foreign ownership of land, and she received death threats. His congressional campaign website celebrates his record of voting no more than any other legislator. The posture is consistent: media first, lawmaking second.

A rock thrown at a seal and the beating of a tourist got Awa to stand and speak. The everyday violence in Hawaiʻi — robberies, killings, home invasions — has not moved him the same way. Neither has abortion, though his Christian and Mormon constituents care about it as deeply as any voters in the state. Awa casts his no votes and counts them on his campaign website. But a ceremonial no vote does not save a life.

He has a platform few legislators command. He could use it to speak about the issues his district cares about. He has chosen to use it to glorify lawless violence.

Moral leadership in a minority caucus is possible. It starts with respect for the office, since God has established it. The slow work of building coalitions and passing bills must follow, since social media clips don’t affect statutes. Underneath all of this lies the harder discipline of applying Christian conviction even-handedly. It must name the sins of allies as readily as opponents, the populist right as readily as the progressive left. A lawmaker who held those things together would be doing something that all of Hawaiʻi has been waiting for.

On opening day this session, Awa quoted James: “Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” He should have taken his own advice. Later in that 

, he told his colleagues, “We can accomplish impossible feats just by showing aloha. In other words, the next time you’re feeling like throwing blows, throw aloha.”

Awa upscaled

<title>'Mister ambassador of aloha'</title>

It's a bad look for the word "aloha" when it's used to commend a vigilante beat down, as state Sen. Brenton Awa did last week, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Stepped on

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Stepped on

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Neighborhood weather updates

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Island vibes

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