Square Kady Pascual Headshot RGZ5762

Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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76.strokes

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Teed up</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @76.Strokes, who’s stuck in the tee box.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Teed up

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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Hawai‘i History

When Senior Pastor Jamie McElrath joined Olivet Baptist Church nearly a decade ago, he says he was following God’s call.

He was raised in Indonesia by missionary parents and later went on to become a missionary himself, along with his wife and children, who spent about 20 years in North Africa before settling in Hawai

McElraths called the Islands home for two years before heeding the call to missions.

“It just kind of felt like God scooped us up and brought us back — to our shocking amazement — here. So, I

’ve been at the church for 10 years come September.”

The church’s former pastor, Timothy Morita, died unexpectedly shortly after announcing his retirement, McElrath explained, “So coming into the role of senior pastor, I became responsible for everything going on. … Scripture indicates we serve as teams, not individuals, so my priority was investing in other pastors and lifting others up to serve.”

At that time, he recalled being asked about his plan for the next 10 years. Admittedly, he had no idea; McElrath said he didn’t come in with preset notions and wanted to listen and get to know the people and the community.

 healthy body will grow’ (God makes us healthy spiritually, relationally, internally and certainly within community),” he said. “My experience is not so much leading, as much as having a front row seat to watch what God has been doing.”

Located at 1775 S. Beretania St., Olivet has served the neighboring communities of Makiki, McCully, Mānoa, Waikīkī, Downtown Honolulu and beyond.

“Geography is the mother of strategy,” McElrath said quoting scholars. “The church is planted here for a purpose right between two major arteries (Beretania and King streets). It’s centrally located in the city between five or six major college campuses.”

Today, the congregation is comprised of about 250 members on Sundays who attend various Bible studies and worship services in both English and Japanese. According to historical information compiled by church member Faith McFatridge, the Japanese congregation was founded by Edwin Dozier in the early 1940s, around the same time the English congregation at Olivet Baptist Church became affiliated with 

preschool is a ministry operated by church members, designed “to bless and encourage young families,” 

McElrath told ASD. It is staffed by nearly 50 teachers and administrators who look after no more than 75 kids at a time.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" The church’s early beginnings"}]

The independent church at the corner of Young and Artesian streets, then called The Mission Church, was founded in 1926 by Joseph P. Tyssowski, an attorney and ordained Baptist preacher from Texas.

Fifteen years later, the church voted to become a Southern Baptist Church under pastor Victor Koon, rebranding as Olivet Baptist Church.

“’Olivet’ comes from the Kings James version of the Bible, referring to the Mount of Olives, which is right outside of Jerusalem. It was a place very significant during Jesus’ time on Earth; it’s the place from which he returned to heaven, it’s also the place to which he will return,” McElrath said. “So, it’s a wonderful thing to kind of keep our hearts’ gaze focused on his purpose until he returns.”

According to McFatridge’s research, the surprise military attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 impacted families in McCully that lost their homes, shut down schools and churches, and “four people in the neighborhood died.”

“Some McCully parents saw Olivet as a safe haven for their children and sent them to Sunday school,” she writes. “Others joined the congregation during those war years including Joe Bailey and J.C. Wilson. They were instrumental in getting the servicemen to attend Olivet, since it was the only Baptist church in the city.”

In 1943, Olivet paid off the original Young Street property and established a building fund to eventually purchase the Honolulu Vocational School facing Beretania Street in 1994, and the building across the Alexander Street extension for a new auditorium acquired in 1949, which was completed the following year.

“One Sunday in April 1954 was a record attendance with 1,016 in Sunday school and 217 in Sunday Training Union,” McFatridge noted.

In 1962, the church purchased the Alexander Street extension from the City and County of Honolulu, to open up parking and unify its two church buildings. Olivet celebrated its 22nd anniversary with Billy Graham, an evangelist who visited the Islands to lead the Hawai

Between the ’70s and ’80s were some shifts in leadership, and in 1986, Olivet purchased another property on Pāwa‘a Street. The church celebrated its 75th anniversary with a banquet at the Japanese Cultural Center and sent mission teams to Australia, Mexico and Japan.

Over the past 25 years, Olivet Baptist has hosted events for the community, including food and gift distributions, Easter celebrations, a Halloween Block Party, car washes and more.

“Olivet celebrated its 95th anniversary on July 4 with a virtual choir,” 

McFatridge wrote, adding that during the Covid-19 pandemic, it continued to find “creative ways for outreach and staying connected.”

The church offers pre-school and Sunday school, hula and music ministry, and transitional housing ministry, among other outreaches.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Celebrating 100 and looking ahead"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"McElrath says he’s excited for the future of the church."}]

How will Olivet sustain growth over the next century? “By continuing to seek spiritual health, being faithful and growing in our understanding of the Bible,” he notes.

On Saturday, July 4, the community is invited to join the church for a picnic featuring games and activities for keiki, door prizes, food and more. Then on Sunday, it will hold a joint worship service starting at 9 a.m. with guest speaker, John Brady, and Christian musician Bob Bennett. Later that evening, a banquet dinner will be held at the Japanese Cultural Center.

Olivet church 05

<title>Olivet Baptist Church on Beretania Street turns 100</title>

Senior Pastor Jamie McElrath shares about the church’s history in Honolulu and his hope for the congregation’s future: “A healthy body will grow.” Olivet Baptist will be celebrating this milestone with events open to the community over the weekend.

Olivet Baptist Church on Beretania Street turns 100

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Columnists

In its original conception in the 1960s, the H3 highway was to pass through Moanalua Valley, with another tunnel to be bored through Maunakapu and the Ko‘olau Range. Plans for the six-lane highway, meant to ease traffic buildup on the Pali and Likelike Highways, became entangled in a decade-long dispute leading all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The State Department of Transportation promised a scenic highway that would open up the privately held lands and, at the same time, would coordinate with the landowners to develop a historic and botanical park in the valley. While many people who claimed to be authorities on the subject said that Moanalua Valley held little archaeological or historical importance, one woman spent her lifetime recording extensive oral histories of the valley.

As early as 1902, Gertrude MacKinnon Damon kept a diary of interviews with the people whose families had been stewards of the valley, including Nāmakahelu Makaena, a kumu hula who passed on the mo‘olelo of Moanalua. The Damon family, who have lived in the valley since 1890, created the Moanalua Gardens Foundation and, by using extensive oral histories and enlisting help from conservationists, residents, cultural practitioners, and the general public, kept the plans for H3 tied up in court for nearly a decade. Finally, in a 1976 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an appeals court injunction. The Court effectively stopped the original H3 construction through Moanalua Valley when it ruled that the Department of Transportation had failed to adequately prove there were no feasible alternative routes to Windward O‘ahu.

Despite testimony that Moanalua was of little importance to Hawai‘i and her people, this sacred valley is rich in history and legend. The Moanalua ahupua‘a extends from the ridges of the Ko‘olau Mountain Range down to Āliamanu and Āliapa‘akai, through Māpunapuna to the Honolulu Airport and industrial center to Māmala Bay. One of the most sacred wahi pana within this area is Leilono.

Located on the northern side of the famous hill of Kapūkakī, now known as Red Hill, this entrance to the afterworld was in line with the burial hill of Āliamanu, where O‘ahu’s ali‘i were buried. There at the portal to the underworld stood he ‘ulu o Leiwalo, a breadfruit tree of Leiwalo. A soul would climb the tree and, from one of its two branches, would leap into pō pau ʻole, the everlasting night. However, these branches were deceiving. If a spirit was lacking an ‘aumakua and climbed onto a branch on the western side of the tree, the branch withered at once and broke off, and the spirit would plunge down into a pit of darkness. But if he climbed the other, it would bring help from ‘aumakua, and the soul would see his ancestors in the afterworld from time immemorial.

Moanalua was also the site of intense battles. In the 1780s, Kahekili, the ali‘i of Maui, attacked O‘ahu. Kahahana was the ali‘i of O‘ahu at the time, and after evading Kahekili’s warriors for two years, he was finally caught and killed. After his death, a plot was laid to kill all the ali‘i from Maui, but someone warned them, and the attack was unsuccessful. In retaliation, Kahekili and his warriors massacred all opposition and their families.

Kalaikoa, an ali‘i from Maui, built a long house and named it Kauwalua. He stripped the bones of his enemies, bound them together, and set them up inside and all around the outside of the house. The gruesome sight of this hale iwi, house of bones, stood at Lapakea on the slope into Moanalua and was visible from the shore. A housing development was built over this site, just below Tripler Army Hospital.

In a 1972 interview, Hawaii’s Living Treasure, Dr. Rubellite Johnson, shared a tale of night marchers who came down from the top of Moanalua.

Rudolph Tai, a patriarch of the Mormon Church in Hawai‘i, used to live in the old Damon Tract housing, which is now the airport industrial park. One night, he heard the ghost army approaching from the uppermost part of Moanalua. He could hear their chants, and as they grew closer, he could even hear the hiss of their burning torches as the night marchers made their way toward the sea. For two long hours, Rudolph Tai held his hands over his ears, trying to keep the sound of the ghostly procession out, until the chants and the marching slowly faded away.

But at the same time, Dr. Johnson said, the late watch on a small ship that was anchored in Pearl Harbor recorded in his log a curious event. From midnight until 2 a.m., the man saw a string of torches moving slowly from the top of Moanalua Valley, winding toward the sea where they disappeared.

There are dozens of haunting stories throughout Moanalua, including the high school, stores in Mapunapuna, and businesses in the airport industrial center. My own story took place at Moanalua Gardens.

As we were preparing for a hula festival, our kumu held practice at the gardens a few days before the event. On the way to practice one afternoon, I came across a Hawaiian woman in the parking lot wrapping cords of olonā on a spool. She sat on a chair propped up against the hedges while people walked past her without any acknowledgment.

As I started to pass her, we made eye contact, and she asked me, “Pahi? You get pahi?”

[{"type":"text","text":"She was asking if I had a knife."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“ʻAe,” I replied, “Loaʻa ka pahi.” Yes, I have a knife."}]

I removed a small knife from my pocket and showed it to her. She pulled a cord taught in front of her and nodded. I opened my knife and cut the olonā cord in the place she wanted.

She seemed relieved when she thanked me and went back to wrapping the olonā on her spool.

When I met with my kumu, I explained what happened, and he immediately pulled out his own pocketknife.

“When you go back out to the parking lot after hula, she’s going to ask you to cut the olonā again. Instead of using your own knife,” my kumu instructed, “Use mine.”

He took my knife and placed his own in my hand. Nothing more was said, and we proceeded with our hula instructions for the day. After three hours, the lessons were done, and I made my way back to the parking lot. Just as my kumu said, the Hawaiian woman was still there, winding her olonā on a spool. And just as my kumu said, the woman again asked me to cut a cord of her plant fiber.

Using the knife he gave me, I cut the olonā without incident, but instead of being thankful, the woman scoffed and spat on the ground.

She gathered her olonā fibers and her spool and walked off into the park. I watched her walk right past the security guard who was telling people that the park was closed. He didn’t even glance in her direction, and I wondered if he even saw her.

As soon as I got home, my kumu called and asked about the woman. I told him exactly what happened and asked why he gave me his knife to use.

My kumu explained that the woman was a mo‘o wahine, a very kolohe one. He said that once I used my knife to cut the woman’s cord, it became dull. If I tried to use it again to cut her olonā, it would not have worked. Then, she would have asked me to do something else.

“Whatever that something else was,” he said, “It would lead to another task, then another, until finally, it would cost you your life. Especially now, since you’re under hula kapu.”

The lesson learned that day was that even while in the process of spiritual education on the middle path, there will always be someone or something that will try to lead you astray.

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Moanalua Gardens

<title>Moanalua’s Haunting History</title>

If an old Hawaiian woman asks you to cut a cord for her in Moanalua Valley, be very, very careful what you do next. That's just once of the eerie tales of this part of O‘ahu where many battles have raged, from the invasion of Kahekili from Maui to the dispute over the route of H3.

Moanalua’s Haunting History

Christinapic2

Christina O'Connor

Crime & Courts

For Atlanta-based airline pilot Matt Alexander, the two weeks stretching from late June through the Fourth of July are always difficult.

It marks the anniversary of when his aunt, 57-year-old Kapaʻa resident Amber Jackson, was murdered on Kaua‘i. Jackson had last been seen on June 23, 2010, and was reported missing when she didn’t show up to work the following day. Her body was found 10 days later in a remote area of Keālia.

“Anniversaries are tough emotionally for the fact that she is gone, and additionally it’s frustrating that her killer is at large,” Alexander said. “Every time we think we are able to move past this and have some peace, the anniversary rolls around and it dredges up [everything]. … It all gets rehashed again every year.”

This year — the 16th anniversary of Jackson’s murder — is no exception. But, on the heels of a recent development, this year also brings renewed hope that the case will be resolved after all this time.

In December 2025, the Kaua‘i Police Department issued an arrest warrant in connection with Jackson’s murder to 57-year-old Gregory Glaser, who had previously been identified as a person of interest in the case. He is wanted for second degree murder, with bail set at $1 million. Kaua‘i police said at the time that the warrant issuance was the result of “new information” in the case.

Despite the warrant, however, arresting Glaser isn’t so easy. Glaser himself is now a missing person. He was reported missing on Hawai‘i Island and was last seen on April 12, 2025, in the Hawaiian Acres subdivision, according to the Hawai‘i Police Department.  

Earlier this week, in conjunction with the anniversary of Jackson going missing, the Amber Jackson Justice Group — a group formed by her family and friends — and KPD issued a renewed call for the public to come forward with any information that could assist in the case, including Glaser’s whereabouts.

“If anyone has any knowledge as to where we can find him, so we can have some closure, that would be amazing,” Alexander said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Feeling right at home"}]

Jackson was born and raised about an hour outside of Los Angeles, in Riverside, California, and in her 20s moved up north to Marin County, where she lived until relocating to Kauaʻi in 2000. In California, she worked for a stint at a bakery, and later worked for a few different nonprofits, including a substance abuse treatment center and an organization that helps people access legal services.

For Alexander, Jackson was the quintessential cool aunt.

He said there was a big age gap between Jackson and her older brother — Alexander’s father — and the siblings didn’t really grow up together. So Alexander didn’t meet his aunt until a family funeral when he was in his early 20s, but once they did meet, they formed a quick bond.

“I’m very fortunate that I’m an airline pilot, so I could fly back and forth easily to visit her. [I came to Kauaʻi] as much as I could,” he said.

Alexander has fond memories from those trips — he learned to surf with her at Hanalei Bay, and she introduced him to jazz music. She once hosted a group of Alexander’s friends and helped them coordinate a hike along the Kalalau Trail.

“She was very fun, very cool,” Alexander said. “Everybody that met her liked her. She was down to earth.”

While Jackson hadn’t been part of his childhood, Alexander said her warm personality made any distance between them melt away.

“[She] just immediately made you feel right at home and non-self-conscious and relaxed, which is like a superpower,” Alexander said.

Ann Spaulding, a close friend of Jackson’s from California, also describes an immediate connection with Jackson. The women met more than 40 years ago, in their 20s, and Spaulding can still recall the exact moment that Jackson came into her life.

“I was working in a little bakery in Fairfax, California, and she walked in one day and she ordered a cream puff and asked for a job.

She came to work at the bakery, and we just became best friends.

Spaulding describes Jackson as “honest, authentic, fun, nice, and funny.”

She said they bonded over their shared love of the outdoors and “had the kind of friendship where we could bare our souls to each other.”

The pair remained close even after Jackson moved to Kaua‘i in 2000.

From what Spaulding remembers, Jackson decided to move to Kaua‘i after falling in love with the island on vacation.

On Kaua‘i, she worked at the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association as a field operations secretary (HSTA officials declined an interview for this story), and bought a home in Kapaʻa, which Spaulding said she adorned with her “eclectic, whimsical and classy sense of décor,” and where she transformed the overgrown yard into a bountiful garden.

“She really did that place up, and she loved it — she loved her garden, she loved her two dogs, and she had a really nice lifestyle,” Spaulding said. “She was very caring for people — she was active in the community, and she was dedicated to the work she did and to her friends.”

Alexander said Jackson formed close friendships on Kaua‘i and had a tight-knit circle of friends that he remembers as all “very genuine, warm and welcoming” people.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Searching for answers"}]

Alexander vividly remembers the moment on that day in June 2010 that he found out Jackson was missing. It was his day off, and he was at the pool, sitting in a lounge chair when his phone rang. It was the Kaua‘i police.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He was on a flight to Kaua‘i that night."}]

Though foul play was suspected, Alexander was holding out hope that maybe Jackson had just gone hiking — something she did often — and was injured or lost on a trail somewhere. While investigators searched, Alexander launched into his own search efforts — he rented a plane and flew around the island, hoping to catch sight of Jackson along one of her favorite hiking trails. He called newspapers. He put up flyers.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Nearly two weeks went by with no answers."}]

Then, on July 3, 2010, pig hunters discovered Jackson’s body in a ravine. An autopsy revealed that Jackson suffered blunt force trauma to her head, along with other injuries consistent with assault.

Police identified Glaser as a person of interest early on. He was Jackson’s tenant; he lived in a yurt on her property. KPD pursued leads, but the investigation didn’t turn up sufficient evidence tying Glaser — or anyone else — to the murder.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The case went cold for 15 years."}]

“Over the years, successive generations of KPD detectives built on prior investigative efforts, re-interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, and traveling both interisland and out of state to follow up on leads,” the department said in a December release in announcing Glaser’s arrest warrant. “These ongoing efforts eventually uncovered new information, culminating in an arrest warrant for Glaser for Murder in the Second Degree.”

KPD declined to be interviewed for this story, as the investigation remains ongoing, and said that it cannot share details about what new information led to the arrest warrant.

Public Information Officer Tiana Victorino shared this statement via email:

“The Kauaʻi Police Department continues to pursue all available leads and remains dedicated to seeking justice for Amber Jackson. The passage of time does not diminish our commitment to this case, and we remain focused on holding those responsible accountable and providing answers to her family and loved ones.”

In response to questions from Aloha State Daily about KPD’s general process of looking into cold cases, Victorino said cold cases fall under the department’s Criminal Investigations Division, which is staffed by 13 detectives.

“Cold cases are assigned to an investigator within the Criminal Investigations Division, who is responsible for reviewing and following up on them as part of their caseload,” Victorino said. “Cold cases may receive renewed attention whenever new information becomes available, such as credible tips, witness updates, or advancements in forensic technology that allow previously collected evidence to be reexamined.”

In addition to Jackson, there are 12 other cold cases currently listed on KPD’s website, dating back to 1979.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Seeking justice for Amber Jackson"}]

Spaulding calls Jackson her best friend, but she also notes that Jackson held that title for many people.

“Amber was a wonderful person, and I loved her so much,” Spaulding said. “And she had a lot of people who called her their best friend, not just me. She was dear to many.”

Some of those “best friends” comprise the Amber Jackson Justice Group. Spaulding, Alexander and a friend of Jackson’s on Kaua‘i who did not wish to be identified or interviewed comprise the core group, alongside several others who are involved.

Spaulding said they formed the group shortly after Jackson’s murder, as a way to handle media requests. Through the years, the core group has regularly met with the Kaua‘i police and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to provide potential leads and discuss case updates. The group also conducts outreach efforts to the media and the public in an effort to raise awareness and to keep Jackson’s case top of mind.

For Spaulding, the work has been a way to deal with the loss of Jackson. Especially during the anniversary weeks of Jackson’s disappearance and her body being found, she said it feels like “there is this darkness that happens.”

“I can’t describe it, except to say it feels like a pit,” she said. “But the way that I've been able to deal with the grief, really, is to continue to get the meetings with [law enforcement],

write the press releases, get press releases out,

and keep her case in the eyes of the public.”

Now, after 16 years, the Amber Jackson Justice Group might be closer to justice than ever.

In their latest plea to the public issued earlier this week, the group asks people to “come forward with any information about Glaser’s whereabouts, network, or timeline, past or present.”

“No detail is too small or insignificant,” the group said in the release.

“There are people that have information about Greg Glaser. We know it,” Spaulding said.

Alexander said, at this point, the best-case scenario is that Glaser will be put on trial for Jackson’s murder and found guilty. Unless that happens, Alexander admits he will feel a little “shortchanged” that Glaser may never have to face what he is accused of. But even if that is not possible, Alexander still hopes Glaser will be located.

“We just want to know for sure [where Glaser is] so we can stop looking for him.

Because otherwise, we'll never know — he might still be out there, maybe doing something like this again to somebody else,” Alexander said.

If Jackson were still alive today, she’d be in her early 70s. 

Spaulding imagines that Jackson would be spending her golden years volunteering with nonprofits for causes she is passionate about, and spending time in nature.

Alexander likes to think that Jackson’s life today would be much the same as it was the last time he saw her.

“[She’d be] hanging out with her besties on Kaua‘i and doing her thing,” he said. “Life seemed not too bad at the time, so I’d imagine it’d be much the same as before — and I could go visit.”

KPD and the Amber Jackson Justice Group ask anyone with information on Glaser’s whereabouts or any other details relevant to the case to contact Sergeant Brian Silva at (808) 241-1908 or KPD Dispatch at (808) 241-1711. Anonymous tips can be sent to Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i at (808) 246-8300, on 

, or via the P3 Tips mobile app. Glaser is described as a white male, 57, approximately 5-foot 8-inches tall and 160 pounds, with long brownish gray hair.

Amber Jackson 16x9

<title>Family, friends continue to seek justice for Amber Jackson 16 years after Kaua‘i murder</title>

For 16 years, the murder of Amber Jackson on Kauaʻi has gone unsolved, but in December 2025, the Kaua‘i Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Gregory Glaser, wanted for second degree murder in connection with the case. ASD crime writer Christina O'Connor spoke with Amber Jackson's family and friends to learn about Jackson's life and their tireless pursuit of justice for her.

Family, friends continue to seek justice for Amber Jackson 16 years after Kaua‘i murder

ASD icon blue inverse lighter

ASD Staff

Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured in October 2025 by Julie Hammond at the ʻAlekoko Menehune Fishpond near Līhuʻe. "I live in Lake Village, Arkansas. One of my best friends manages radio stations on Kauaʻi (Star 94.3) and Maui (Akamai Broadcasting), and I love visiting him for weeks at a time since I'm a photographer. 

"I loved the way the shadows against the mountain changed by the minute."

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

Alekoko Menehune Fishpond near Lihue Kauai by Julie Hammond

<title>Hawaiʻi Skies: Shadows changing by the minute</title>

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Julie Hammond at the ʻAlekoko Menehune Fishpond near Līhuʻe.

Hawaiʻi Skies: Shadows changing by the minute

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

A proposal to increase liquor taxes in the state has brewers and barkeeps concerned.

 this legislative session that propose various increases to the state liquor tax. One of those bills, 

, appears to be moving forward, with the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection voting Tuesday to give the bill a favorable recommendation, despite concerns by liquor producers.

As written, the bill deletes the current state law definitions of “liquor,” “beer,” “distilled spirits,” “wine” and the like. Instead, alcohol would be taxed based on alcohol-by-volume quantities, setting higher tax rates for beverages with higher alcohol content.

At the same time, the tax rates for various alcohol categories would still increase. Currently, the state liquor tax for non-draft beer is 93 cents per gallon; for draft beer, it is 54 cents per gallon. Under HB 1991, the tax for beverages with 9.9% ABV or lower — which includes many, although not all, beers — would be $1 per gallon, a nearly 50% increase for draft beers.

Other tiers would follow suit. Drinks between 10% and 15% ABV would be taxed at $1.75 per gallon, drinks between 16% and 40% at $6 per gallon and any higher ABV beverages at $6.50 per gallon.

The bill notes that the last time the liquor tax was increased was in 1998, and, thanks to general inflation and cost increases in the intervening decades, the state has lost out on millions in potential tax revenues.

, people bought more than 25 million gallons of non-draft beer in the state between July 2020 and June 2021, collectively spending nearly $260 million. At the current tax rate, that would generate about $23 million in tax revenues; assuming all those gallons were less than 10% ABV, the seven-cent tax hike would generate an additional $2 million in revenue.

With the 46-cent tax increase for draft beers under 10% ABV, the increase is more dramatic. People in Hawai‘i bought nearly 1.6 gallons of non-draft beer between July 2020 and June 2021, spending just over $19 million. Again assuming all those gallons were below 10% ABV, the tax revenues from those sales would nearly double from a little over $860,000 to $1.6 million.

 by the University of Hawai‘i estimated that a hypothetical flat 10-cent liquor tax increase across all categories of alcoholic beverages could increase the state’s annual tax revenues by more than $57 million.

However, that paper also estimated that a 10-cent tax increase would also decrease alcohol consumption in the state by 6.9%. It states that Maryland, which increased its own alcohol sales tax from 6% to 9% in 2011 saw a nearly 4% decrease in alcohol sales within 18 months, as well as reductions in the rates of underage drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, and other behaviors.

On the other hand, several people warned the committee on Tuesday that the tax hike would be devastating to their businesses.

Steve Haumschild, co-founder of Kailua-based Lanikai Brewing, told the committee that the bill could be “an industry killer” for smaller brewers.

“We already pay some of the highest tax rates in the nation already,” Haumschild said. “And I understand that this is an old taxation, but this is stuff that could easily close down and prevent new businesses from opening here.”

Garrett Marrero, CEO of Maui Brewing, said the ABV-based tax hike would be a wild shift away from any other tax structure in the nation, and speculated that local brewers would have to have their products’ ABV tested by a third party, likely based on the Mainland, at additional cost.

Marrero also referenced another paper: a 2017 cost comparability study for the Brewers of Europe trade association, which found that the cost-per-liter to manufacture beer is greater than that for other liquors. With draft beer receiving a nearly doubled tax under the bill, profit margins for local brewers would shrink further, while larger-scale out-of-state producers would be able to more readily absorb the cost.

Marrero and Haumschild both recommended that any liquor tax law include an exemption for small producers. Haumschild suggested that a brewer that manufactures no more than 60,000 barrels a year not be included in the tax increase.

Marrero also recommended the passage of 

, a measure that would create a “small craft producer pub licensee” tax class that would enjoy lower tax rates than the current liquor taxes — a $1.98 tax per gallon on distilled spirits, far below the current $5.98 per gallon, for example.  That tax class would only apply for producers manufacturing liquor below specified quantities.

SB 2912 has been referred to Senate committees, but no hearing has been scheduled on the measure.

The committee on Tuesday, meanwhile, voted unanimously in favor of HB 1991, albeit with some minor amendments. While one of those amendments would include a 60,000-barrel small producer tax class, it would also hike taxes for high-ABV liquors even further — $13 per gallon for liquor above 40% ABV.

With one committee’s favorable recommendation, HB 1991 is still referred to the House Finance Committee, which has yet to schedule any hearings on the matter.

Aloha State Daily reached out to Rep. Scot Matayoshi, co-introducer of the bill and chair of the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, for further comment.

Aloha Beer Co Red Zeppelin glass 011326

<title>Liquor tax hike advances, despite brewers' concerns</title>

Proposal to tax booze by ABV raises rates, eyebrows.

Liquor tax hike advances, despite brewers' concerns

Micah Kāne plans to move to greener pastures … literally! By September, he will become Parker Ranch Inc.’s next CEO, overseeing 135,000 acres of land and about 40 employees.

The current CEO and president of Hawaiʻi Community Foundation – the state’s largest philanthropic foundation – plans to split his time between HCF and the ranch over the next several months until relocating to Hawaiʻi Island. 

Kāne will start full-time at the helm of Parker Ranch on Sept. 1, in place of board chair Mike Fujimoto, who has served as interim CEO since June 2024. Prior to that, Neil "Dutch” Kuyper led the ranch, which is operated by Parker Ranch Foundation Trust. The trust’s beneficiaries include HCF, Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy, Queen’s North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital and Parker School.

“Micah is an extremely talented and multidimensional leader who will immediately gel and inspire the team,” Fujimoto told Aloha State Daily by email. “He is definitely worth the wait for many reasons. For example, it is important for us that he has an opportunity to lead a smooth transition of leadership at HCF.”

Fujimoto added that initially, Kāne “will be downloading an immense amount of information from our cowboys, land managers, cultural advisors and administrative and operational folks,” in addition to board members, beneficiaries and the community at-large.

ASD spoke with Kāne about what attracted him to this new position. Here’s five reasons why he said this was the right time and place for his next move:

Kāne has led Hawaiʻi Community Foundation for nearly 10 years, in addition to serving on its board seven years prior. Now, he’s preparing to move to Hawaiʻi Island in September, where he will lead Parker Ranch Inc., home of the paniolo since 1847.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Teed up

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Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Hawai‘i Scene on Social meets Hawai‘i Skies

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Gotta catch ‘em all — at Ala Moana Center: voices from Pokémon GO’s “Wild Area: Global” event

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