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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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Kook Slams SML

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Costco policy</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @KookSlams, who is definitely taking advantage of Costco’s return policy.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Costco policy

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Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

Business & Tourism

Kamehameha Schools has sold its remaining interest in the Royal Hawaiian hotel, selling the lease fee landholdings under the iconic pink oceanfront resort to Japan-based Daisho Co. for $510 million.

The transaction closed Nov. 6, KS said in an 

According to KS, the property will continue to be held and operated under its current long-term ground lease to 

Daisho Co. is a private, family-owned company with hospitality holdings in Asia and the Pacific, KS noted. This is the company’s first commercial venture in the Islands.

, KS says it manages its portfolio as one that “evolves to meet the needs of the trust and the Native Hawaiian community.”

“In a globally competitive market, Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha must manage Pauahi’s portfolio with care and strategy, mindful of how best to position our ‘āina to serve the evolving needs of our lāhui, both today and for generations to come,” the announcement states. “This means sometimes acquiring ‘āina, sometimes restoring it, and at times, when conditions call for change, releasing lands so their value can further the mission in new ways.”

KS sold the buildings and improvements at the neighboring Royal Hawaiian Center in 2014 — you can read more 

 — but said in the Nov. 7 announcement it is “not presently considering a sale” of its remaining interest in the lands underneath the shopping center.

Crystal Rose, chair of the KS Board of Trustees, said in the announcement that the trust only sells land “after much deep and agonizing consideration.”

“Our kuleana is to steward a dynamic portfolio that best serves our trust. At the same time, we know that our lands carry historical significance, especially this one, which our founder and generations of ali‘i before her had nurtured,” she says.

KS CEO Jack Wong said in the announcement that in the coming months, KS will meet with its school communities, alumni and lāhui to discuss and better explain its changing role as a landowner.

Dubbed the “Pink Palace of the Pacific,” what’s now called the Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikīkī, opened nearly a century ago on Feb. 1, 1927, and was built for $4 million by the Matson Navigation Co., as a “luxurious resort for Matson passengers,” a 

Following the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy recreation and morale office leased the Royal Hawaiian, “transforming the resort into a major rest and relaxation center for Navy personnel,” the site reads. “The resort was restored to its pre-war elegance in 1947.”

KS is one of the largest landowners in the state, according to the 

, ranking third behind the state and federal government with more than 363,000 acres.

In August 2024, KS announced it would pay a total of $872.5 million as part of a $4 billion global settlement in the wake of the 2023 Maui wildfires. Read more about that 

It’s also gearing up for another legal battle: Virginia-based nonprofit Students for Fair Admissions recently filed a 

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Royal hawaiian unsplash

<title>Kamehameha Schools sells land under Royal Hawaiian for $510M</title>

Japan-based Daisho Co. is now the fee-simple owner. The property, however, will continue to be held and operated under its current long-term ground lease to Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, KS says.

Kamehameha Schools sells land under Royal Hawaiian for $510M

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 has a new eatery in West Oʻahu. Haliʻa by Side Street Inn, located in Wai Kai (in the former Kitchen Door restaurant space) officially opened yesterday to the public.

Opening a west Oʻahu restaurant location has been in the works for years, according to Lisa Meyer, who co-owns Hali‘a by Side Street Inn, Side Street Inn on Da Strip and the original Side Street Inn on Hopaka Street with business partner Cheryl DeAngelo. (DeAngelo also co-owns Bubbly & Bleu, a Kaimukī-based charcuterie business, with her husband, chef Fred DeAngelo.)

“People have been asking for so long, ‘When are you coming to the west side?’” she says. “Colin (Nishida) always wanted to open someplace on the west side. When we came here (to Wai Kai), it felt good; it’s very family oriented. We’re just happy we’re here; everybody’s so excited.”

“We have been looking at various locations for Side Street Inn on the west side,” DeAngelo adds. “This location came at the perfect time, and we love everything about it — amazing views, perfect size and lots of parking!”

The name “Haliʻa” means “fond remembrance,” according to Meyer, who says the restaurant name was chosen to honor Nishida, who died in 2018. Prior to his passing, though, both Meyer and DeAngelo came on board to help their friend with his business.

“When we thought of the name, we wanted to honor him,” she says. “It’s Haliʻa by Side Street Inn, people will know it’s Side Street food.”

The food menu is the same as Side Street Inn’s other two locations. The ‘Ewa Beach location will eventually have seafood specials, but that’s still to come.

The fresh, island-style poke (market price) comes highly recommended; choose from options like shoyu and spicy ‘ahi, along with kimchi tako poke, limu tako poke and ocean clams poke.

We opt for the spicy ‘ahi poke, which features a spicy-mayo style with sweet onions, green onions, tobiko, Sriracha drizzle and furikake. The fish tastes fresh and the poke packs some heat, due to the generous amount of Sriracha.

If you’re craving something lighter, go for the tofu salad ($13 half portion, $20.50 full portion). It features spring mixed greens topped with tofu, bonito flakes, kizami nori, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, sesame seeds and oriental dressing. The pieces of tofu are so soft, and we enjoyed the salad’s refreshing flavors.

If you order the eatery’s boneless kalbi, it’s served on a sizzling platter, just like the sizzling rib-eye steak (market price). While I usually order bone-in kalbi when getting Korean-style short ribs, I highly recommend this boneless version because it’s buttery and boasts that melt-in-your-mouth texture. The short ribs’ tenderness, along with the marinade’s sweet-yet-savory flavor, makes this one of the most memorable dishes of the evening.

No visit to Side Street Inn is complete without its loaded fried rice. This savory staple ($25) is loaded with bacon, Portuguese sausage, char siu, green onions, peas and carrots. Its slightly smoky flavor and savoriness is just as good as I remember.

Of course, if you want to upgrade your fried rice, you could get “The Works” version ($29), which includes kimchi and lup cheong.

Side Street Inn’s famous pan-fried pork chops ($33) are a crowd pleaser. They’re thick, meaty and sure to satisfy.

If you’re dining with a group, you can also opt for Colin’s Classics prix fixe menu ($161 for 4-5 people, $317 for 8-10 people), which features a variety of the eatery’s bestsellers. The menu includes edamame with Alae salt; farmer’s salad (mixed greens topped with grape tomatoes, avocado, Maui onions, capers, and bay shrimp with red wine vinaigrette and Okinawan potato curls); signature fried rice; garlic fried chicken; famous pan-fried pork chops and sizzling boneless kalbi.

Desserts include the eatery’s signature peanut butter crunch ($15), brownie served with Roselani’s vanilla ice cream ($13), Mom’s sweet bread pudding ($13), lilikoi creme brulee ($13) and chocolate haupia puff ($14). The peanut butter crunch was something I remember ordering at Side Street Inn’s Kapahulu location, so we just had to get it.

The decadent dessert features a bread pudding-like base topped with a layer of peanut butter crunch, Roselani’s vanilla ice cream and a chocolate drizzle. It’s dense and indulgent, but that crunchy peanut buttery layer will keep you coming back for more.

Stay tuned — the eatery plans to start a weekend brunch menu and add new seafood specials to its dinner menu in the upcoming months. Customers can also enjoy live music, which will be starting soon.

“We are excited that we get to be a part of the west side,” DeAngelo says. “People travel to our locations in town, and we are excited that we can bring our food to them. In addition to dine-in, we will be doing a lot of takeout and catering. The events at Wai Kai are awesome, too.”

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Open 4-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, open 4-11 p.m. Fridays-Sundays

Halia by Side Street Inn chef Fred De Angelo 080425

<title>Haliʻa by Side Street Inn is now open in ‘Ewa Beach</title>

The new eatery is in the former space of Kitchen Door at Wai Kai. You can still find Side Street Inn’s classic dishes, including that signature fried rice and pan-fried pork chops, along with new seafood dishes and brunch coming soon.

Haliʻa by Side Street Inn is now open in ‘Ewa Beach

Government & Politics

The City and County of Honolulu will next week open its waitlist for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Anton Krucky, director of the city's Department of Community Services, said in a statement Friday that the program provides rental assistance to expand housing options for eligible low-income and vulnerable families.

“We recognize the need for rental assistance is great and that families are anxious to apply. With the online application system, applying is quick, easy and free.”

Friday, July 18. They'll be randomized and 3,000 will be selected through a lottery and placed on the waiting list.

"There is no first-come, first-served advantage, and only one application will be allowed per household," the city noted in an announcement Friday. "There is no guarantee for eligibility or housing assistance after applying."

"In the one week that the waiting list is opened, we received well over 11,000 applications," 

a city spokesperson told Aloha State Daily in an email

. "The city uses a lottery process to then select 3,000 to be on the waiting list. Historically, it has taken a little over three years to get through the 3,000 households on the list."

he waitlist last opened on Feb. 6, 2023, they said.

While there are a number of factors that affect how quickly the city gets through the waitlist, the spokesperson says that for this cycle, "we have been fortunate to have recently received increased funding from HUD to expand the number of vouchers that we can support and therefore finish the current list sooner than it's tracking and open up a new list."

 details eligibility requirements and notes that the program provides rental assistance for eligible families at or below the "very low" income limits set by HUD, or 50% of the area median income. No less than 75% of new admissions must have incomes at or below HUD's "extremely low" income limits, or 30% AMI.

According to income limits shared on the site, 30% AMI for a four-person household is $45,600, while 50% AMI for a household of that size is $76,000.

Honolulu Hale 020525

<title>Honolulu to open waitlist for Section 8 voucher program</title>

Pre-applications received next week will be randomized and 3,000 will be selected through a lottery and placed on the waiting list.

Honolulu to open waitlist for Section 8 voucher program

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

 has been playing harp with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, formerly Honolulu Symphony, for 44 years. The principal harpist is set to retire this season. She will be recognized at HSO’s Masterworks concert finale on Sunday, June 15, but will play through rest of the season, which ends in August.

“It feels exciting, but also it's sort of bittersweet,” she told Aloha State Daily. “I have loved my time with the Hawaiʻi Symphony, the Hawaiʻi Opera Theater and Ballet Hawaiʻi, and we must include those other two because the orchestra plays for all those things. Although we have a symphony schedule, in that symphony schedule is also an opera schedule and a ballet schedule.”

HSO will perform Brahms Symphony No. 1 for the Masterworks concert finale. 

When asked how many concerts she performed with HSO in an average year, Uejio didn’t know.

“I haven't counted them out, because I figure I'd be overwhelmed,” she said. “That's a lot of music that has to be practiced and learned.”

For each concert, she loads her 90-pound harp, which is taller than she is, into her Toyota Sienna along with a music stand, bench and bags.

Uejio was interested in harp from a young age. Her father, a Lutheran minister in Pennsylvania used to point out harps and comment on their beautiful sound. Her uncle, a professional organist, played with a harpist at church.

“By the time I was three or four, I was convinced that I was going to play harp,” she said.

Uejio started piano lessons in second grade. She started to learn the harp in seventh grade. Her father had planned on buying a used harp, she said. The family took a road trip to New York City to look at instruments, but they were expensive. 

“On the drive home, they told me that they couldn't afford a harp right now,” Uejio said. “I'd have to wait a little longer, etc. But unbeknownst to me, in a back room, they had taken him to see a harp that was in pieces. … He and mother cashed in their insurance policies and bought that harp without telling me. When it was put together and fixed, they had it shipped to our neighbor who kept it in their bedroom until Christmas Eve, when they somehow got it next to the Christmas tree. It was a very exciting morning when I walked downstairs and saw my first harp there.”

As part of HSO, the opportunity to share her instrument with people was memorable since audience members often had not seen a harp up close, she said. After retiring from HSO, Uejio looks forward to more free time.

“The symphony schedule has ruled my life for 44 years,” she said. “I try not to travel when it's a symphony work week.”

Retirement allows more opportunities to perform at weddings, funerals or parties. Uejio also plays piano, organ — and occasionally harp — at Central Union Church. She will continue to teach harp lessons to keiki and adults.

Uejio met her husband, Glenn, while attending Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He grew up in Kaimuki and is known for his store, 

one of the first tenants at Ala Moana Center.

Their children share her love of music. The oldest daughter, Rebecca, plays piano, harp and organ. Currently, she is a music teacher at a school district in Modesto, California. Their middle child, Steven, played trumpet at ʻIolani School. Their youngest, Kirk, picked up the clarinet.

“We're not trying to make every student the professional,” she said. “We’re just trying to give them a love of music and let them appreciate what's possible.”

Constance Uejio

<title>HSO harpist Constance Uejio to retire, you still have a chance to hear her play</title>

This Oʻahu-based harpist will finish more than four decades with Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra in August. She is being recognized at the Masterworks concert finale featuring Brahms Symphony No. 1 on Sunday, June 15.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Costco policy

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Costco policy

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media Editor

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Starbucks holiday launch draws crowds for limited-edition cups

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Dreams do come true

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Going big

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Take a trip

Most read