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Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Katie Helland at The Royal Hawaiian. "The last light at The Royal Hawaiian, while celebrating with friends."

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25 10 23 Katie Helland

<title>Hawai'i Skies: Last light</title>

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Katie Helland at The Royal Hawaiian.

Hawai'i Skies: Last light

Today&#039;s Hawai&#039;i Skies was captured by Katie Helland at The Royal Hawaiian. &quot;The last light at The Royal Hawaiian, while celebrating with friends.&quot; To submit your Hawai&#039;i Skies photo, visit us online or email: general@alohastatedaily.com For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

[{"type":"text","text":"Kam Bowl is now open in Pearl City."}]

The restaurant opened in Times Square Shopping Center, in the former space of IHOP. The eatery 

 and re-opened in July under new ownership and under a new name, Aliʻi Diner.

At the new Pearl City restaurant, customers can expect the same signature dishes Kam Bowl was known for according to co-owner Ryder Yoshida, who says the menu is currently limited to the most popular dishes.

“It’s smaller and more simple,” Yoshida says. “We’re concentrating on getting the stuff people like before adding more things.”

Kam Bowl Pearl City did some renovations to the restaurant’s interior, such as adding new booths for seating.

“The kitchen was pretty much empty; we had to re-do the whole kitchen,” he says. “The hard part about it is the restaurant is big and the kitchen area to prepare food is small, compared to the Kalihi location.”

The menu features dishes like the eatery’s famous oxtail soup ($24.95), hamburger steak ($18.95), loco moco ($18.95) and Japanese breakfast ($18.95). The latter includes miso soup, toss salad, two eggs and a choice of mahi or salmon.

The restaurant now uses wagyu beef to make its hamburger patties, according to Yoshida.

“This is the first time we’re using wagyu beef,” he says. “We’re trying to keep prices reasonable.”

Dishes like hotcakes and sweet bread French toast are available from 7 to 11 a.m. Many plate lunch-style entrees come with white rice and a choice of toss or mac salad.

On the eatery’s opening day — Aug. 1 — regular customers from Kam Bowl’s Kalihi location were eagerly eating breakfast. Yoshida encourages diners to check out the new space.

“I was sitting in here before we opened, and people would ask, ‘Are you guys open yet?’” he says. “I kept on saying, ‘Pretty soon, pretty soon.’ Just come and try our food.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Kam Bowl Pearl City is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m."}]

98-1264 Kaahumanu St. Ste. B03, Pearl City

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Kam Bowl Pearl City owner 080126

<title>Kam Bowl is open in Pearl City</title>

The eatery is now open in Times Square Shopping Center, in the former space of IHOP. Customers can look forward to signature dishes like oxtail soup, loco moco, hamburger steak and more.

Kam Bowl is open in Pearl City

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Crime & Courts

The group challenging the state’s new anti-corporate law is asking the courts to suspend the law until the case is resolved.

, Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i sued state Attorney General Anne Lopez and Nadine Ando, director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, as the first legal challenge against Act 11, a measure, signed by Gov. Josh Green in May, intended to limit the ability of corporations to spend money on political campaigns.

That lawsuit sought to have Act 11 declared “unconstitutionally void and unenforceable,” arguing that the law violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

On Friday, Grassroot Institute filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, calling on the court to prohibit Lopez and Ando from enforcing any component of Act 11, including any sanctions or fines, for the duration of the case.

 attempts to circumvent the ruling of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court verdict that found unconstitutional the passage of laws prohibiting political spending by corporations. 

 of Act 11 have argued that it does not contradict the Citizens United verdict, but instead limits the “artificial-person powers” afforded to corporations by the state to exclude political spending.

The motion argues that Grassroot Institute, as a nonprofit with a history of advocating for or against various ballot issues throughout the years, would be negatively impacted by the enactment of Act 11.

“Act 11 is already harming Grassroot’s fundraising, as well as the plans Grassroot can make based on that fundraising,” according to the motion. “Two donors have already said that they will decrease or refrain from donations because of the Act’s restrictions.”

The motion also enumerates a number of legal arguments against Act 11, in particular that its underlying legal theory — that the state can completely control what rights a corporation has — is flawed and unsupported by Supreme Court precedent.

If followed to its logical conclusion, the motion argues, the law would ban news media like the New York Times from the state but for exceptions for “any bona fide news story … distributed through the facilities of … any print, online or digital newspaper.” This exception, the motion argues, is also a misinterpretation of the Press Clause of the First Amendment, which cannot be invoked only for specific, traditional news media.

“The state can point to nothing that would make a giant corporation that owns a newspaper any less corrupting than a small business that does not,” the motion reads. “Nor can the government argue that the media enjoys some special First Amendment protection that would justify extra protection.”

In addition to the request for a preliminary injunction against the measure, the motion also requests that the court waive any bond requirement in the case or at least reduce it to a negligible amount. It concludes by further requesting a hearing at an unspecified later date where both sides will be able to present oral arguments for 30 minutes each.

[{"type":"text","text":"The state has so far not responded to the lawsuit."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Act 11 is set to take effect July 1, 2027."}]

Hawaiʻi State Capitol

<title>Lawsuit calls for preliminary suspension of Act 11</title>

A follow-up to the Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i's lawsuit against the state over the new anti-corporate-spending bill urges the courts to prevent the enforcement of the law as the suit progresses.

Lawsuit calls for preliminary suspension of Act 11

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

LĀ‘IE — For the Le Jardin boys volleyball team, destiny was decided by a vote. 

With O‘ahu battered by heavy rain, flooding and lightning strikes on Friday, the possibility of postponing the HHSAA Division II championship match between Le Jardin and Pearl City at BYU-Hawai‘i's Cannon Activities Center to a later date was floated to both teams. 

Back in Kailua, Le Jardin already loaded its team bus on campus. Head coach Makana Wade told his team they didn't have to play on Friday if they didn't want to, that tournament organizers could move some things around to get the match played later in the weekend. Wade asked his players to raise their hands if they wanted to play on Friday.

"Everybody's hand went straight up," setter Brennan Nakayama said. "We just knew we were ready for this, and we knew what we needed to do."

Following a commute to the North Shore that lasted three hours due to traffic brought on by the weather, the Bulldogs arrived prepared to do something the school had never done before. With a 25-18, 25-9, 25-21 sweep over Pearl City, Le Jardin won its first HHSAA boys volleyball championship in school history. 

"Just a real surreal feeling," Wade told Aloha State Daily following the match. "When I took this job, this is the last thing I could ever dream of, was being here. I'm just so happy for Le Jardin and everybody there for believing in me and giving me this job. And so blessed to be able to coach these amazing players."

When he saw the look of determination in his team, Wade knew they were destined to take the title home. 

"I wish everybody could have seen inside our bus for three hours. You would have thought we were gonna play UH or something," Wade said. "The guys were so locked in, having fun. I kept getting calls from our AD, my dad asking, 'Sure you wanna play tonight, coach?' I'm asking the guys, 'Are you sure?' And they're yelling at me, like, yes, of course. There's no way we weren't going to play this match tonight. I think we really took what was ours tonight."

The notion of playing against UH is something Wade would have deep knowledge of. The son of Hawai‘i head coach 

, Makana Wade was a UH men's volleyball assistant coach for multiple seasons. He departed the program in January in order to take the position of Le Jardin head coach, as NCAA rules prohibit one from coaching high school and collegiate teams of the same gender and sport in the same season.

leading Hawai‘i to a national title on Monday

 since arriving back to Honolulu on Tuesday. After taking care of business on Monday, Charlie Wade made it clear where his priorities were during the program's celebration event on Wednesday. Ahead of a scheduled autograph session, Wade told the thousands of fans gathered at the Stan Sheriff Center that he'd have to leave early in order to watch his son coach. 

On Friday, Charlie Wade sat courtside across from the Le Jardin bench, locked in on the match. When the Bulldogs secured the victory, father and son shared multiple long embraces following the match, the look of pride in Charlie Wade's eyes undeniable. 

"Very cool," he told ASD. "He's been coaching with me at the club level, and obviously the last couple years at the collegiate level. He's always kind of had that analytical brain that it takes to be a good coach, and he and I have spent uncountable hours out walking the dogs at night and talking about coaching. He's asked me about a lot of different stuff over the years, and it's great to see him take on that role as a head coach and have to deal with playing time and all that other stuff that is not coaching that's a part of it, but not the X's and O's part. He's doing a great job and has a lot of passion for it, so fun to see him have some success."

"I don't think we have enough time to talk about what I've learned, but I think the basic is just be a guy that people can lean on and trust," Makana Wade said when asked what he learned from his father. "My dad has taught me countless things, and I'm just so happy to be able to learn from him every day, really. I wouldn't be here without him."

For the 2026 season in particular, Makana Wade worked closely with UH associate head coach Kupono Fey on analytics and strategy. He suddenly received the opportunity to run his own program at just 21 years old. 

"It was really hard to leave," Makana Wade said. "I love those guys to death. It was only gonna be a special job like this, a place like this, where there's amazing people, amazing kids. ... It was pretty crazy. I got hired, couple weeks later, we had tryouts, and then next week we're playing our tournament, then we're playing ILH. It's been a pretty hectic couple months, but it's all worth it in the end."

Makana Wade, a UH-Mānoa junior, also had a French final exam he had to take on Friday morning. "It's been a crazy day, but it's been awesome," he said. 

On Friday night, the Bulldogs were in control for the entirety of the match. Nakayama paced the offense with 39 assists, while La‘akea Kamahale had 20 kills on 31 swings. Following a commanding win in Set 2, Le Jardin took a comfortable 24-19 lead in Set 3. After consecutive Pearl City points to cut the lead to 24-21, a calm Makana Wade called timeout to make sure his team was composed. The Bulldogs finished their 2026 campaign 16-1 and state champions for the first time in school history.

"Our whole team can't thank him enough for how lucky we are to have him," Nakayama said of Makana Wade. "The knowledge and experience is super cool. The scouting reports, and how tight he keeps the team and everything, all the way to the bus rides, everything you want. I think we started a legacy."

For the Wade family, the week started with Charlie and Kainoa Wade winning an NCAA championship. On Friday, Makana Wade coached his own team to a championship, capping an unforgettable week for a family that has no plans to stop chasing greatness in the sport for the foreseeable future. 

"Monday seems like a long time ago," Charlie Wade said. "It doesn't seem like it's the same week, but obviously very cool, a lot of positive stuff."

Added Makana Wade: "I'm just so happy for my dad, and they worked really hard this season. To be able to do this too is just a surreal feeling."

Makana Wade 051626

<title>Makana Wade coaches Le Jardin to first state title in boys volleyball</title>

Makana Wade, the son of UH men's volleyball head coach Charlie Wade, led the Bulldogs to the HHSAA title in his first season at the helm.

Makana Wade coaches Le Jardin to first state title in boys volleyball

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

 has acquired three contiguous properties along the Kapi‘olani corridor for a combined price of $36 million.

The parcels, which total about 1.3 acres, are located at 1322, 1338 and 1356 Kapi‘olani Boulevard.

“This acquisition reflects our long-term vision for the Kapi‘olani corridor as a vibrant, high-density neighborhood within the Ala Moana neighborhood,” Tim Lee, CEO of JL Capital said in an announcement Friday. “With this site, we’re excited to continue shaping and improving the existing corridor with a thoughtfully planned and connected project that will elevate the experience of living in urban Honolulu.”

Details on a project scope and timeline will be announced as plans progress, the announcement noted.

Lee told Aloha State Daily via email that the parcels "presented a rare opportunity to secure a sizable, contiguous footprint in one of Honolulu’s most well-connected and visible urban corridors."

Their location makes the properties "exceptionally well-suited for a future project that supports the area’s evolving mix of residential, commercial and transit-oriented uses," he says.

"Another advantage of the Kapi’olani corridor is the potential for excellent ocean views due to the open sightlines over Ala Moana Center and surrounding mid-rise structures."

 last sold in August 2022 for $6.85 million. Meanwhile, 

 sold for a bit more than $10.7 million in September of that same year — a total sale price of nearly $38 million. Hoaka Heights, LLC was the fee holder for all three parcels, according to the records, which don't appear to have been updated since the JL Capital acquisition.

"We see the Kapi‘olani corridor as one of Honolulu’s most dynamic areas of growth, connecting Ala Moana, Waikīkī and Downtown with access to retail, recreation and emerging transit infrastructure," Lee told ASD when asked about the developer's focus on the area. "It's a natural location for thoughtfully designed projects that align with the city’s long-term vision for a walkable, connected urban core. Our investments here are part of a long-term vision." 

JL Capital, a real estate and private equity firm founded in 2017, has completed or initiated a number of major projects in Honolulu's Ala Moana neighborhood and along the Kapi‘olani corridor in recent years, Lee says.

, a $507 million mixed-use twin tower condominium and hotel at 1388 Kapi‘olani Blvd. 

Renaissance Honolulu Hotel & Spa, a Marriott brand

, the developer's planned luxury high-rise at 1538 Kapi‘olani Blvd. 

. Lee says construction on this project is slated to start in 2026.

, an adaptive reuse project that will convert a five-story former office building at 

 into affordable rental apartments. A ground-up project at 

 will create another 37 affordable units.

"Each project serves a different market need — ranging from affordable rentals to hospitality and market-rate ownership — and collectively, they contribute to the emergence of a 'neighborhood within the neighborhood,'" Lee says.

In June, it also was announced that JL Capital 

 in Tournet Hawai‘i Inc., a travel and transportation agency focused on the Korea-Hawai‘i market.

Hawai'i Skies: Last light

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Authors

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