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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Man’s best friend</title>

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Man’s best friend

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Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Business & Tourism

A new University of Hawai‘i economic forecast predicts a difficult next few years as recession looms.

Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization, described a newly released third-quarter economic forecast as “bleak,” with multiple national and global factors driving down the state’s prospects.

[{"type":"text","text":"“The risks seem stacked against us,” Bonham said."}]

The forecast, released Friday, predicts a “mild recession” in the state over the next year as tourism falters: “not too deep or not too long,” Bonham said, with the worst impacts expected toward the end of 2026 before a gradual recovery over the following years.

Bonham said the state has been relying on domestic tourism, with international tourism still having not quite recovered from the impacts of Covid-19 and the Lahaina fires. But as the U.S. economy weakens, Mainland tourism has seen a sharp downturn. By mid-2026, UHERO predicts 5% fewer tourist arrivals than at the end of 2024, with quarterly tourist spending expected to fall by more than $600 million.

At the same time, tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump’s administration have left businesses feeling “overwhelming uncertainty,” Bonham said. He said some businesses are unable to get any quotes for materials more than three months out because nobody can predict how much more anything will cost that far away.

UHERO predicts that, by the end of 2026, “tariffs will have raised Hawai‘i prices by about 1.5% over what they would otherwise have been. This will represent a permanent annual cost of perhaps $1,400 for a median-income household.”

Compounding the issue is the loss of unauthorized immigrant labor, which will continue to increase the price of produce. Between the impact of immigration crackdowns and impacts of tariffs, UHERO forecasts an inflation peak of about 4% at the end of 2026 — which, UHERO notes, is a lower peak than previous predictions, thanks to recent reductions to inflation. 

[{"type":"text","text":"But UHERO predicts broader losses across the entire labor market. "}]

"Job losses will be seen across virtually all local industries," the forecast warns, expecting about 2,400 job losses among federal workers alone. As cuts to federal contracts compound and the tourism industry shrinks, knock-on impacts will spread across the state's private sector.

Hawai‘i employment is still about 15,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels, and Bonham said that this year’s estimated job growth is predicted to stand at about 0.7%.

“The number of jobs in Hawai‘i basically hasn’t changed since January,” Bonham said.

Bonham said it isn’t only bad new across the board. The construction industry, he said, is expected to be the only sector in the state to grow during the recession, with the redevelopment of Aloha Stadium, the construction of the last leg of Skyline, and other military construction projects expected to bring nearly 40,000 jobs over the next five years.

Even so, the jobs gained by construction will hardly offset the total job losses predicted statewide. By the end of 2026, the UHERO report predicts about 1,000 additional construction jobs compared to this year — and more than 5,000 jobs lost in other sectors, primarily in government positions.

Through all of this, Bonham said there are some potential off-ramps. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether the Trump administration tariffs are legal in November. Depending on that verdict, he said, the worst of the tariffs may not go into effect, staving off the worst impacts of the recession.

But Bonham was not optimistic. Even if the tariffs are partially reversed, there is no guarantee that the Trump administration can’t reintroduce them in different forms — once again leaving businesses uncertain about the future.

“There is a possibility that some of the new threats at the federal level will convince Democrats to come to the table and we avoid a government shutdown,” Bonham said. “I think the biggest off-ramp is … the U.S. economy bouncing back. With all these investments in AI infrastructure … maybe the U.S. economy will surprise everybody.

“What could help is if the very wealthy continue to thrive,” Bonham said. “The top end of the income distribution contributes enormously to visitor spending here.”   

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Hawaii A2003147 2110 250m

<title>"Bleak" economic report predicts recession</title>

UHERO forecast warns about rising costs, stagnant jobs as tariffs and federal government job cuts continue.

"Bleak" economic report predicts recession

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Arts & Entertainment

 — located between Hawaiian Hall and the J. Watumull Planetarium at 

 — has been in its soft opening phase for a few weeks now. Inspired by the culture and traditions passed down by kūpuna (elders), Tūtū’s Place is named in honor of Nancy Toguchi, who co-founded Highway Inn with her husband, Seiichi, according to third-generation Highway Inn owner Monica Toguchi Ryan.

Toguchi Ryan has fond memories of Sunday dinners in Waipahu with her grandpa, but says that her grandma died in 1975, when Toguchi Ryan was only around 3 years old.

“How I’ve gotten to know my grandmother was really through the stories that customers shared with me,” she says. “As we know here in Hawaiʻi, ‘tūtū’ is an endeared term, typically for our grandmothers. In this case, I really wanted to honor my grandmother, Nancy Toguchi, and all of the tūtūs out there, both in Hawaiʻi and across the oceans. They’ve often been the keepers of recipes and cultural preservation.

“When we think about who we ask for a good banana bread recipe or a mango bread recipe, it’s typically our tūtū,” she adds. “For some people, it’s their grandfather. Tūtū’s Place is really named in honor of our grandmothers and grandfathers.”

Highway Inn was established in 1947 and has grown to be a recognized establishment for Hawaiian comfort food. Through Tūtū’s Place, Toguchi Ryan says they hope to share the traditional flavors Highway Inn has been cooking for both local families and visitors alike for more than 75 years.

The menu at Tūtū’s Place reflects Hawaiʻi’s diverse culinary heritage through a variety of permanent dishes and rotating specials. Customers will find signature dishes from Highway Inn, including the business’s famed Hawaiian plate ($16.99), which includes kiawe-wood smoked shredded pork, white rice, ‘uala (sweet potato) and choice of lomi salmon, potato-mac salad or mixed greens with lilikoʻi dressing, plus haupia for dessert.

“Our Hawaiian plate is probably our most popular dish that we serve at Tūtū’s Place,” Toguchi Ryan says.

Meanwhile, the business’s lau lau plate ($21.99) — pork or chicken lau lau with poi or white rice, ‘uala, lomi salmon and haupia — and squid lūʻau ($12.99) are served only on Fridays and Saturdays. Squid lūʻau, which features steamed lūʻau leaves that are cooked in coconut milk with pieces of octopus or squid, is a dish Highway Inn is also well known for, according to Toguchi Ryan.

Other dishes are cafe-exclusives, but feature familiar elements from Highway Inn’s menu. For example, the smoked meat & onions flatbread ($15.99) — complete with onions, bell peppers, green onions and a drizzle of smoked aioli — features the business’s popular smoked meat.

“We do a really fun dish at our restaurant; it’s called the Smoked Moco,” Toguchi Ryan says. “We’ve taken that concept and put it on a flatbread so it’s easy to eat, like a pizza.”

The menu also features plate lunches — Hawaiian-style beef stew plate ($16.99) and miso chicken plate ($16.99) — along with a variety of sourdough melts ($15.99), poke bowls ($15.99 for tofu, market price for ‘ahi), and a variety of local snacks like Portuguese sausage hot dogs ($8.99) and Spam musubi ($2.99).

Tūtū’s Place also features vegetarian-friendly options, including a tofu watercress salad ($16.99), roasted veggie wrap ($15.99), lūʻau veggie flatbread pizza ($15.99) and lūʻau veggie tart ($7.99). The latter features a lūʻau spread topped with roasted zucchini, bell peppers and eggplant on a flaky puff pastry. It’s garnished with green onions and cherry tomatoes.

Keep an eye out for rotating weekly specials. The cafe featured a pork adobo dish last week, according to Toguchi Ryan.

“The goal for Tūtū’s Place is also to honor other types of dishes,” she says. “What we’re looking forward to here is to continue highlighting different ethnic cuisines that a lot of us are familiar with here in Hawaiʻi, but maybe not if you are visiting Hawaiʻi.”

Future specials will likely include popular dishes sold at Highway Inn — including the eatery’s famed hamburger steak — and other okazuya specialties, according to Toguchi Ryan.

“The one thing about Hawaiʻi that’s really unique is many of our grandparents and parents ate very simply,” she says. “That was driven by the economic hardships of the generations that came before us. It’s in that spirit to honor that time period. We grew up eating luncheon meat and Vienna sausage; perhaps some of us don’t eat that as often as we used to. But I think there’s an importance to that, in the sense that it brings back a lot of childhood memories that we may have forgotten.”

Tūtū’s Place also offers espresso drinks featuring locally roasted coffee from Tradition Coffee Roasters, along with freshly baked pastries like banana bread ($2.99), guava or lilikoʻi-mango mousse cake ($4.99) and chocolate chip mac nut cookies (three-pack for $3.99, six-pack for $6.99).

“What we really tried to do at Tūtū’s Place was to honor Highway Inn’s story, but also recognize that there are modern things that we have now available to us that people appreciate,” Toguchi Ryan says. “We have a much wider coffee menu — that’s not something that we do at Highway Inn, but that’s something that people love.”

The cafe’s interior is modeled after a plantation-era home, and is designed to be a comfortable space for families, according to Toguchi Ryan. It features vintage decor items — including a rotary phone and lunch boxes — a communal dining table, and a keiki play corner.

“It probably took me more than a year to collect different antique pieces,” Toguchi Ryan says. “The design really is a reflection of our culture here in Hawaiʻi and many different ethnic groups that have contributed to our understanding of what a tūtū’s house might look like, back in the day.”

Creating a keiki play area was important to Toguchi Ryan, who loves seeing parents interacting with their children.

“If we’re going to say keiki are our future, then it’s the physical spaces — whether it’s public spaces or private spaces — that really demonstrate they are important,” she says. “We have a wonderful keiki space, and I’ve seen parents sitting down, playing with their keiki.”

The cafe’s Wall of Discovery — which pays homage to the building’s history as the museum’s former Hall of Discovery — depicts archival photographs that showcases a timeline of Hawaiʻi’s food history, according to Toguchi Ryan.

“It takes you from pre-contact to European contact to the plantation period to the war, and then from the 1960s to modern-day Hawaiʻi,” she says. “Hopefully, this space will become someplace where you enjoy eating, but you can also learn something about our shared collective Hawaiʻi food story.”

Particularly notable is the cafe’s wallpaper, which is inspired by vintage menu covers, according to Toguchi Ryan.

“DeSoto Brown, the renowned historian here at the Bishop Museum, has an amazing collection of many things — one of them is vintage menu covers,” she says. “DeSoto shared with us many restaurants that were really popular, but no longer exist. We took some of those vintage menu covers and turned it into a customized wallpaper. Hopefully, when people walk in, they’ll remember places like Kapiolani Drive Inn and The Willows.

“There are so many stories that get lost and buried over time,” she adds. “Hopefully this space is a good reminder of where we came from, and to ground us in that story of who we are today.”  

In the future, Tūtū’s Place will host talk-story sessions and special events that celebrate cultural knowledge and food.

Tūtū’s Place is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Museum admission is not required to dine at Tūtū’s Place. The cafe provides two-hour validated parking for restaurant patrons ($10 minimum purchase required).

Open 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Mondays-Sundays (closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day)

Two-hour validated parking for restaurant patrons ($10 minimum purchase required)

Tutus Place Monica 092525

<title>Tūtū’s Place by Highway Inn is a new cafe at Bishop Museum</title>

The new cafe is inspired by traditions passed down from kūpuna, and emphasizes comfort, hospitality and family recipes. You’ll find some of Highway Inn’s signature dishes — including that famous Hawaiian plate with kālua pig — along with cafe exclusives.

Tūtū’s Place by Highway Inn is a new cafe at Bishop Museum

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Aloha Spirit

Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra is collaborating with the University of Hawaiʻi to present “Symphony of Hawaiʻi Seas” a free concert open to the public that features moʻolelo, music and animations themed around the ocean. The concert is a collaboration between HSO and the University of Hawaiʻi’s Sea Grant College Program as well as its Department of Music.

The one-hour concert features ocean animations, symphonic music and hula. The free evening performance is open to the public and will start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at the 

. In addition to the evening performance, students in fourth grade through high school will also get a chance to see performances during the school day. Those concerts are also free.

The concert features HSO performing ocean-themed original music from local composers 

, Herb Mahelona, Takuma Itoh, Logyn Okuda and Justin Park. This music is paired with animations by Kari Noe, Janae Taclas, Dillon Valenzuela, Jewel Racasa, Sam St. John, Edward Ayano, Napua Rice, Huy Nguyen and Kieren McKee. There will also be a song composed by Rosie Alegado and Aimee Sato with a hula performance created under the direction of Kumu Hula Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaʻoleohaililani and Taupōuri Tangarō.

“The ʻSymphony of the Hawai‘i Seas’ exemplifies the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra’s commitment to serving our community through innovative, culturally resonant programming,” said Amy Iwano, the president and chief executive officer of HSO. “We’re using music along with other arts to tell stories that deepen our connection to the ocean and inspire collective stewardship of Hawai'i's natural resources. This free ʻohana concert is a powerful reminder of how the arts can unite us in caring for Hawai‘i’s future, and we're pleased to share this important message with keiki and kupuna alike.”

The animations explore the stories of native sea life and ʻaumākua. Following the evening concert, there will be a 30-minute panel discussion with the project’s animators.

"Each hand that touched this work reached through the depths of memory, knowledge, dreams, and love for the ocean, and in doing so depicted just a few ways we strengthen our relationship with ʻāina,” said Kalilinoe Detwiler, the project’s storyteller and animations coordinator and a Ph.D. candidate in UH’s Department of English. “The symphony pushes and pulls in many directions: from seascape to landscape, from memory to material, from past to future, from inherited to learned knowledge, from caring for sea life to being cared for. The relationship is reciprocal. We enter the relationship by taking action – through art, through research, through the movement of our bodies and voices in ways that align with our waters."

 works with UH’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology as well as the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administratoin to identify environmental management issues in Hawaiʻi and provide scientific research that addresses these challenges, according to its website.

 “With support from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Provost’s Strategic Investment Initiative, the ʻSymphony of the Hawaiʻi Seas’ demonstrates what is possible when animators, storytellers, cultural practitioners, composers, musicians, environmental stewards and scientists unite,” said Beth Lenz, the assistant director for strategic communications and engagement for Hawaiʻi Sea Grant. “This collective effort honors our connection to the ocean — past, present, and future — and invites everyone to experience Hawaiʻi’s marine ecosystems in a way that inspires us all to mālama i ke kai (care for the ocean).”

 Previously, HSO held similar concerts celebrating native species, including “Symphony of the Hawaiian Birds,” and “Symphony of the Hawaiʻi Forests." This is the third installment in that series.

While the concert is free, attendees must reserve tickets. To get tickets or for more information go to: 

<title>Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra offers free ocean-themed concert</title>

Want to take your keiki to the symphony? Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra is teaming up with the University of Hawaiʻi on this free concert themed around the ocean that includes animations, storytelling and hula.

Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra offers free ocean-themed concert

Hawaii History

Lopaka Kapanui had his first encounter with the supernatural as a seven-year-old kid in the hospital. Since then, he had a special connection to other worldly things.   

“During surgery, I died on the table, and after I came back is when strange things started,” he said.

Since then, Kapanui and his wife, Tanya, started the ghost tour company, Mysteries of Hawaiʻi, which offers tours of neighborhoods, as well as programming for schools and corporate events. The duo also writes a 

On Saturday, Oct. 18, Kapanui will share ghost stories, accompanied by the 

, as part of a one-night-only performance called “Hapa Halloween: Mysteries of Hawaiʻi in Concert,” at Hawaiʻi Theatre. Attendees can also arrive an hour before the concert for a costume contest and trick of treating. 

“Please come expecting to be scared, to be thrilled, but also to leave with a great satisfaction that the spirits won't follow you home, unless you want them to,” he added.

Mysteries of Hawaiʻi has been voted among the best ghost tours in the nation by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards in 2023 and 2024. Results will be announced soon for the best ghost tours of 

“Hapa Halloween: Mysteries of Hawaiʻi in Concert” will be the first in this season’s HapaSymphony series, which features local performers as headliners, alongside classical musicians. Previously, HSO has performed alongside 

, among others, as part of its programming. For the upcoming concert, the orchestra will be led by Conductor 

Music is at the heart of a lot of Kapanui’s storytelling.

“The really cool thing about the concert is when I spoke to the conductor, I told him that a lot of times stories that I write are inspired by music,” Kapanui said. “There's a story I wrote about Princess Kaʻiulani that was inspired by Claude Debussy — his composition called ʻArabesque.’ And then I told him, there's a night marcher story that's kind of brutal, but that was inspired by a group in the 70s called ʻThree Dog Night,’ and the title of the song is ʻMama Told Me (Not to Come).’ It's about these people who go on a night marchers trail and are told not to go, and it's kind of brutal.”

The concert will include seven of his stories that will be put to music, he said. It is his first time doing something of this capacity, he said.

“This is going to be the first of its kind, and I hope to do more,” Kapanui said.

This season, the HapaSymphony series consists of five concerts which pair HSO with popular performers. Featured headliners include award-winning singers and musicians. Upcoming events will feature Natalie Ai Kamauu, Keauhou, Johnny Valentine and WaiTiki 7.

As Kapanui stood across the street from Hawaiʻi Theatre, where he will perform with the symphony, he reflected on a ghost story which involves that building.

“There is one prevailing story about the spirit of an old Chinese merchant that is still seen around the theater in daytime and a lot of times in the evening,” he said. “Underneath the stage is sort of like a passageway that goes from one side of the theater to the other, and that's mostly where they see the spirit lurking. If at any time, somebody wants to do a private tour underground to go visit the spirit, let me know.”

Lopaka Kapanui

<title>Lopaka Kapanui brings ghost stories to Hawaiʻi Theatre</title>

What do ghosts, storytellers and the symphony have in common? They will be gathering for a one-night-only show at Hawaiʻi Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 18. Storyteller Lopaka Kapanui shares a behind-the-scenes look at his upcoming collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra.

Lopaka Kapanui brings ghost stories to Hawaiʻi Theatre

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"FRIDAY, SEPT. 26"}]

 is having an uni festival Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The special menu features discounts on premium Hokkaido uni, including purple 

 nigiri ($8, regular price $15), which is known for its creamy texture; green uni nigiri ($8, regular price $15), which is known for its sweeter flavor; and the uni combo ($15, regular price $30).

Kāhala Mall is hosting its three-day sidewalk sale, which includes a Mom Made Market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The sale runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the Mom Made Market on Saturday only. Shop from almost 50 pop-ups throughout the mall common areas.

Mānoa Valley Theatre launched its 2025-2026 season with 

 an island-style comedy, which has extended its performances through Oct. 5,

. Set in Hilo, the story follows a new mayor with a shady past and involves a loyal assistant, a hitman and a washerette / karaoke bar owner.

. “Smother” shares the story of a mother who goes to extreme lengths to control her daugher’s love life. It was written by 

, who is also the box office manager for the theater. The play premiered on Aug. 28 and the final performances of this production are Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

 Diamond Head Theatre  launched its season with performances of 

 a Tony Award-winning musical inspired by the 38 planes grounded in Canada after U.S. air space was closed following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. 

ickets are still available for Friday and Saturday. The Sunday performance is sold out. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"SATURDAY, SEPT. 27"}]

Aloha Festivals is celebrating its 79th year of celebrations with a month-long series of events. The annual Floral Parade, presented by ʻAlohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach, showcases fresh flowers, horses, marching bands, civic leaders and more. Watch from 10 a.m. to noon as floats and performers pass from Ala Moana Regional Park along Kalākaua Avenue to Kapiʻolani Regional Park.

This event is back after a six-year hiatus. 

 benefits Feed the People Hawai’i, a partnership forged between nonprofits 

, which started during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and fights food insecurity statewide. For this event, guests select one of the thousands of hand-thrown bowls made by the Hawai’i Potters’ Guild and enjoy a variety of foods prepared by 

, 53 by the Sea, and The Pig & The Lady, at the Hawai’i Convention Center. At the end of the night, guests take home the bowl. The cost of admission is $97.88. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"SUNDAY, SEPT. 28"}]

Henry Kapono Foundation’s month-long music festival takes place in September. As part of the celebrations, the 

 will perform with friends starting at 4 p.m. at Duke’s Waikīkī. 

 runs the On the Rise program, which launches the careers of young entertainers based in Hawaiʻi through professional shows, mentorship, masterclasses and publicity opportunities.

Kahala Mall

<title>Uni, Aloha Festivals, and live music: Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28</title>

Looking for fun plans this weekend? From food recommendations to live music, Aloha State Daily has you covered. Here are a few ways you can spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Uni, Aloha Festivals, and live music: Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

[{"type":"text","text":"The votes have been tallied."}]

 in Wailea was recently named among the top waterfront hotels and resorts in the country, coming in at No. 8 on USA Today's 10Best list of 

 in the U.S. It's the only Hawai‘i resort named to that list this year.

USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards aim to rank the 10 best in several areas of travel, lifestyle and other categories.

Other Hawai‘i hotels and resorts were among those on other 10Best lists this year.

Kōloa Landing Resort at Po‘ipū, Autograph Collection

Kōloa Landing Resort at Po‘ipū also took the top spot on the list of 

 on Kaua‘i's North Shore was No. 2 on the list of 

And an entire list was dedicated to finding the 

. Kōloa Landing Resort at Po‘ipū took the No. 1 spot on that list, followed by the 

A number of resorts in the Islands were also among those included on U.S. News & World Report's 

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Man’s best friend

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Man’s best friend

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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