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Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Landin Seto on the Wai Kai Wave. "There was a show in the water and the sky, and both were epic!"

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<title>Hawai'i Skies: Surf show</title>

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Landin Seto on the Wai Kai Wave.

Hawai'i Skies: Surf show

Today&#039;s Hawai&#039;i Skies was captured by Landin Seto on the Wai Kai Wave. &quot;There was a show in the water and the sky, and both were epic!&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

Located in the former space of Nami Kaze, 

Thirty Eight restaurant opened for dinner at Pier 38

The eatery just launched its new lunch menu, and the restaurant is now open from Monday to Saturday.

According to chef de cuisine Daysen Masuda, the lunch menu is inspired by familiar flavors and plate lunch fare.

“I wanted to do something different from your normal plate lunch,” he says. “I feel like this menu is familiar to everyone — misoyaki butterfish, ‘ahi belly, Korean fried chicken and loco moco are staples here in Hawaiʻi — but we’re putting our own spin on it here. Here at Thirty Eight, how could we make it a little more elevated?”

Appetizers include popular selections from the eatery’s dinner menu, including maguro cabbage ($21), poke crackers ($12), calamari katsu ($17) and cabbage Caesar ($16).

The mix plate ($26) is not only aesthetically pleasing, but equally tasty. It includes a daily catch — in our case, guava chili ‘ahi — short ribs, spicy ‘ahi, watercress salad, potato salad and Spam fried rice.

“When you go out and eat a plate lunch, you want to have a little bit of everything,” Masuda says. “Especially here at Thirty Eight, we’re using really good seafood and fresh ‘ahi, so we wanted to highlight it. It’s just a mixture of flavors.

“The Spam fried rice is actually my mom’s Spam rice,” he adds. “(When I was) growing up, she made that for potlucks. I’m also a big fan of potato salad, so you gotta have potato salad. The potato salad is dusted with chermoula (a blend of spices); that’s paying homage to chef Mourad and (previously) working with him.” 

The black cod ($28) is served with shredded cabbage, potato salad and white rice. Meanwhile, the Korean fried chicken plate ($20) features a generous portion of chicken.

“We’re using the chicken quarter at dinner for the huli huli chicken, so I wanted to cross utilize that as well, but who doesn’t want a nice, big portion of chicken for lunch?” says Masuda, who notes this is one of his favorite dishes.

“It’s kind of inspired by my mom’s Korean fried chicken, but we do add a little bit of guava jelly in there,” he says. “It’s a little sweet and a little spicy.”

The eatery’s loco moco ($24) is expected to be a local favorite. The beef patty is topped with two sunny side up eggs, brown gravy and Hamakua mushrooms, and is served with rice.

“Everything starts with good quality,” Masuda says. “We’re using Prime ground beef topped with local eggs; we make grown gravy from scratch.”

The ‘ahi belly plate ($22) features local big-eye ‘ahi with ponzu butter, potato salad, watercress and white rice.

For dessert, diners can enjoy scoops ($9 each) from ice cream business Please Come Again, located in Kailua. Choose from shiso mint chip — topped with freeze-dried strawberries — and Vietnamese iced coffee, which is topped with condensed milk and cocoa nibs. Masuda notes that the restaurant is currently working on a dessert program.

“I’m excited (for this menu); for lunch down here at the pier, there’s a lot of guys that work around here, but a lot of tourists and locals. as well,” he says. “Lunch is always a little more casual; this is what I think people will like.

“That’s the cool thing about this project — we have a blank slate,” he adds. “Hawai

i is such a big melting pot of diverse cultures, so that’s why you’ll get some Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese flavors here, but it all works because that’s Hawai

Open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch, 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner Mondays to Saturdays

Thirty Eight Honolulu lunch spread 030626

<title>Thirty Eight Honolulu launches lunch service</title>

The new eatery, which recently opened for dinner at Pier 38, just debuted its new lunch menu. The menu features some of the most popular pūpū from the dinner menu, along with elevated plate lunches like a mix plate, Korean fried chicken, loco moco and more.

Thirty Eight Honolulu launches lunch service

Arrasmith Portrait

Perry Arrasmith

Columnists

People outside of Hawai‘i maintain a great deal of curiosity about the Islands. There is no place where this is more apparent than Youtube. 

Youtubers love dissecting Hawai‘i’s problems. People love watching them. 

Random independently produced documentaries published on the site often attract millions of views. One 

 published a year ago, for example, profiled Hawai‘i’s power grids. 

Before you assume it’s a boring topic, keep in mind that the video has since attracted two million views. People want to learn more about Hawai‘i.

On Youtube, national and international media organizations use the lack of paywalls to continually attract audiences years after a story is published. 

Of these, the hardest-hitting example is John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight.” On August 15, 2024, Oliver published a 

 that quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views. 

As of January 2026, the video has racked up 5.9 million views. For people with limited knowledge of Hawai‘i who search for the Islands in Youtube’s search bar, Oliver’s reporting can serve as an introduction.

AJ+, a publication that received support from the government of Qatar, financed a similar 

. Even after they are published, these videos continue to circulate on the internet, suspended in a perpetual state of accessibility.

While these media organizations might have the resources to push these pieces, they are not the most fascinating content creators investigating Hawai‘i. 

Many creators on the platform operate independent brands, many of which also craft content tailored to specific audiences craving shorter-form documentaries. Their documentaries and short-form videos matter, as their educational content has a major impact on how millions of people around the world perceive Hawai‘i.

The scripts of these documentaries can often take the form of longer pieces in journalism, explaining complex issues in an entertaining, audiovisual format. 

One channel, Cogito, has developed at least two videos documenting Hawai‘i’s systemic issues for an international audience. 

, to date, has garnered more than four million views. Cogito is run by 

, a Youtube content creator whose LinkedIn lists him as being located in Spain. 

It was followed earlier this year by another 

 which concludes that America’s island communities, such as Puerto Rico and Hawai‘i, are collapsing. 

“America’s islands are dying,” the video concludes in the first minute. “They’re crushed by debt. Life has become unaffordable, and those who call these islands home are being forced out at a rate that you’d expect to see in wartime.” 

Another producer, RealLifeLore, took the opportunity to relate the U.S. military’s takeover of the Hawaiian Islands. Their 

 was published over two years ago, earning 4.4 million views. 

Even before Oliver and these two media channels, the independent journalist 

 pursued her own investigation into Hawai‘i. While it is difficult to know how these journalists and content creators inspire each other, their fascination with Hawai‘i is singular. 

Both Cogito and RealLifeLore told stories about Hawai‘i that earned audiences that more than double Hawai‘i’s population. Beyond John Oliver and mainstream news sources, their videos showed that people want to learn more about Hawai‘i. 

RealLifeLore, Half As Interesting and Wendover Productions

Three channels have had a bigger influence over Youtube than even mainstream news organizations. They have collaborated in the past on videos on other topics (such as

), and their content often focuses on the novelties of Hawai‘i. 

 on why it is difficult to travel between the Islands by boat has 6.3 million views. It is a veiled critique of Hawai‘i’s failure to provide enough transportation access by boat between the state’s most populated islands. The video’s reach is striking, surpassing even John Oliver’s viral report. 

 by Wendover Productions opens at a Safeway on Kapahulu Avenue in Honolulu. It covers the unique logistical challenges facing the State of Hawai‘i, whose closest port is Los Angeles. Wendover Productions focuses on geographic anomalies, rendering Hawai‘i a natural topic in terms of its relative population size and geographic isolation. “It’s as far from Los Angeles as New York,” their video opens. “As far from Anchorage as Norway. As far from Japan as Afghanistan.” Hawai‘i is a natural topic for their curious audience. 

To foreigners, Hawai‘i is a novel place because of its nuances. Our aluminum cans, for instance, are evidently weird. 

 on Hawai‘i’s rigid aluminum cans attracted nearly twice the population of the Hawaiian Islands. It is inspired by Half As Interesting, a channel with very close ties to Wendover Productions. Both Wendover Productions and Half as Interesting were created by Sam Denby, a successful Youtube content creator.

, Half as Interesting couldn’t help but also poke fun at the construction of the Highway Interstate Three (H-3), the most expensive highway in U.S. history.

Perhaps Hawai‘i’s residents don’t know how much the world wants to know about Hawai‘i. 

There is ample room for local documentaries to tell more stories about Hawai‘i for audiences beyond our shores. 

In the last six months, two different Youtube channels have profiled Hawai‘i’s airlines and their challenges. One 

 published less than six months ago examined the collapse of Aloha Airlines, earning a quarter-of-a-million views. A more provocative 

 submitted less than three months ago has opined that Hawaiian Airlines will not survive. 

These videos also tell us a lot more about the world than Hawai‘i. The world, through platforms like Youtube, is trying to understand Hawai‘i’s challenges. Our highways, aluminum cans, and political history are all natural topics. 

Hawai‘i has an intellectual audience. More of our people need to produce content for this audience. If we are so frustrated with the world’s ignorance about these islands, we need to become the world’s educators. 

Youtube screen

<title>The best Youtube videos on Hawai‘i’s problems</title>

Content creators from outside the Islands have made compelling, long-form videos about conditions in Hawai‘i, observes ASD columnist Perry Arrasmith. Here are some of the best, plus a call for Hawai‘i's own filmmakers to get in the game.

The best Youtube videos on Hawai‘i’s problems

Daily Smile

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Smile 26 3 5

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, March 5, 2026</title>

The Three Stooges...

Daily Smile: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

Two military officers stationed in Hawai‘i have been busted this week for sexually exploiting children.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawai‘i Ken Sorenson announced Tuesday that 22-year-old Rumaldo Valdez, former Navy petty officer, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for the possession and promotion of child pornography.

The following day, Sorenson announced a conviction in a separate, unrelated case: 44-year-old Ross Andrew Brown, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was convicted on two counts each of attempted sexual enticement of a minor, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted receipt of child pornography.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Valdez"}]

In the Valdez case, the FBI was first alerted to his reported activities in 2021, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children submitted a tip that several people were using a Discord server to produce and share child sexual abuse material.

According to a criminal complaint, a confidential source on that server told the FBI that one user — operating under variations of the username “Duck” — had coerced an underage girl into sending him a sexually explicit video, which “Duck” then used to blackmail the girl.

The source claimed “Duck” had thus manipulated the girl into cutting the word “duck” into her arm, which she filmed. “Duck” then shared the video online — the FBI special agent who wrote the criminal complaint stated that participants in such child exploitation rings often use such media, called “fansigns,” as “trophies.”

“Duck” had also previously been tied to an online group called “Greggy’s Cult,” a ring of people that produced and distributed similar material before seemingly disbanding around 2021.

In any event, the FBI had linked “Duck” to Valdez through his IP address and Discord email by 2024. In May of that year, agents seized his computer and hard drives from the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific in Wahiawā.

On Valdez’s hard drives agents found several encrypted files containing child pornography, including at least one involving the murder of an infant and multiple depicting a toddler being tortured.

Elsewhere on Valdez’s drives, investigators found multiple images and videos of children displaying variations of the “Duck” username.

Valdez pled guilty in October 2025 to possession of child porn. Much of the court documents surrounding his case are sealed to the public; however, a sentencing memorandum by his defense attorney argued that Valdez was a minor when he began his activities — only 15 or 16 when he first became involved in “Greggy’s Cult” — and that he had joined the Navy “to get away from the destructive online extortion that he was involved in and tried to build a productive future for himself.”

Nonetheless, Valdez was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

“Let Valdez’s sentence serve as a warning to any other depraved and sadistic individuals who seek to harm and exploit children – there is nowhere for you to hide, no corner of the internet you will not be found, and no stone we will leave unturned to bring you to justice,” Sorenson said in a statement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Brown"}]

Meanwhile, Brown’s arrest came following a sting by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division.

According to a criminal complaint, a CID agent posed as a 14-year-old girl in 2023 using the now-defunct anonymous social media app Whisper. The agent’s posts prompted responses by a user who was eventually identified as Brown.

During their online conversations, Brown repeatedly made sexual comments toward the agent, believing that he was flirting with a 14-year-old.

Eventually, they made plans to meet in person in April 2023 at Schofield Barracks. The agent requested Brown bring a specific type of gum, and Brown dutifully bought the gum en route, without knowing he was being surveilled. CID arrested him promptly at the rendezvous point.

At a trial in February, Sorenson presented 38 other sexually explicit conversations between Brown and people presenting themselves as girls as young as 12 years old, including explicit images purportedly of minors. At least one of those conversations involved Brown unsuccessfully attempting to meet with a 15-year-old girl for sex at an airport hotel in 2021.

While a jury found Brown guilty of six out of the 17 charges against him, he will not be sentenced until June 23. He remains in custody, despite several motions by his attorneys for his release.

“It is a profound breach of trust to both our military community and the public we serve, when a senior military officer commits crimes that exploit the vulnerable,” said CID special agent in charge Ruben Santiago in a statement.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Courtfed

<title>Two military officers busted for child sex exploitation</title>

A Navy petty officer and an Air Force lieutenant colonel have been respectively sentenced and convicted for sexually exploiting minors online.

Two military officers busted for child sex exploitation

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

Already thinking about the weekend? Aloha State Daily is here to help you make plans for the entire ʻohana. From live music at First Friday at Capitol Modern on Friday, March 6, to free admission to ʻIolani Palace for kamaʻāina on Sunday, March 8, there are lots of events on Oʻahu this weekend.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"FRIDAY, MARCH 6"}]

 has open a new spot in Downtown Honolulu. The new location at 700 Bishop Street — next to Komala Curry and in the same building at Bar Leather Apron — offers bentos and musubi, as well as chicken katsu. 

Watch the Ballet Hawaiʻi Performing Ensemble. 

The Ballet Hawaiʻi Performing Ensemble will share classical and contemporary ballet in these performances, which run Friday through Sunday, at the Ballet Hawaiʻi Honolulu Studio. Tickets are $24. 

Listen to music at First Friday at Capitol Modern. 

Enjoy live music from Keahi Delovio and Aolani and browse art galleries at Capitol Modern, the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. This family-friendly event starts at 5 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. Performances start at 6 p.m. There will also be opportunities to purchase food. Free. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"SATURDAY, MARCH 7"}]

Back by popular demand, this all-women captain and crew will set off on a two-hour whale watching cruise. Complimentary Irish coffee or mimosas, as well as non-alcoholic refreshments, are available. The whale watching trip is a collaboration between Honolulu Snorkel Co. and Oʻahu Boat Cruises. The boat departs at 7:45 a.m. from Kewalo Basin Harbor. Tickets cost $45 plus fees and taxes. 

Paddle at Kualoa/Hakipuʻu Canoe Festival. 

The event is organized by the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation along with a number of nonprofits including the 

Polynesian Voyaging Society, which operates Hōkūleʻa

. The festival starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. at Kualoa Regional Park. There will be lots of hands-on activities, including a chance to jump in and paddle. 

, the education director for the PVS, shared some of the activities that ocean-goers of all ages can participate in at the one-day festival. 

This Vinyasa yoga session is donation-based or free. All levels are welcome. Bring a mat and towel to the Kakaʻako Waterfront Park. 

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Mele Haliʻa: Maelia Carter & Ka Pā Hula O Ka Ua Noe O Waʻahila

. Kumu Hula Maelia Carter brings her award-winning hālau, Ka Pā Hula O Ka Ua Noe O Waʻahila, to the Waikiki Beach Walk stage. Watch the performance at 5 p.m. Free. 

 Kamaʻāina are invited to take a free tour of ʻIolani Palace, available in English or ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.  Enjoy hands-on activities such as lauhala weaving with Keoua Nelsen and Kōnane lessons. There are also opportunities to make a floral kūpeʻe with Maxeen Shea and more. Naomi Nascimento will offer lauhala earring workshops at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sign-ups for those workshops start at 8:30 a.m. at the Kīnaʻu Gate on Richards Street. There will also be performances from Hālau O Nā Pua Kukui with Kumu Hula Ed Collier, Ke Kula Kaiaupuni ʻo Ka Waihona o ka Naʻauao and ʻOhana Krug

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

First Friday at Capitol Modern.

<title>Live music, whales and yoga: Your guide to this weekend</title>

Wondering what to do on Oʻahu this Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Aloha State Daily did the research, so you can plan weekend adventures. Ready for live music? Head to Capitol Modern. Want to get out on the water? Try whale watching or canoe paddling.

Live music, whales and yoga: Your guide to this weekend

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

 wants to tax property to fund Hawai‘i’s public schools. Not just any property — “residential investment properties” worth $3 million or more would face a new state tax. The money, legislators promise, will rescue our long-neglected schools.

The Department of Education already operates on roughly 

 per year — money drawn from a General Fund that collects income taxes, corporate taxes, and the general excise tax. That’s money from every working person’s paycheck and grocery run.

This new property tax wouldn’t replace any of that. It would stack on top of it. A second layer of taxation for a system that can’t account for the first. The move to amend the constitution should trouble every taxpayer. Hawai‘i’s own state constitution reserves property taxation exclusively to the counties. HB2147 doesn’t just ask for more money. It asks the state to reach into the one tax domain the constitution kept local.

Here’s what they’re not telling you: Hawai‘i’s Department of Education doesn’t have a funding problem. It has an accountability problem. And no amount of money fixes a system built to ignore parents.

Look at the track record. We spend nearly 

 of students are proficient in math. Only 

 are proficient in language arts. Nearly 

 don’t show up regularly. The Heritage Foundation 

 dead last in education choice and freedom. These aren’t funding problems.

 know something is broken — the single-district system, crumbling buildings, teacher salaries lagging behind comparable professionals. But here’s what they miss: the structure is the failure.

A statewide Department of Education means parents in Hilo have exactly the same say in what schools teach as parents in Honolulu. Which is to say, almost none. Board of Education members are appointed by the governor, not elected.

When families can’t get answers, they leave. More than 15% of Hawai‘i students attend private school, that’s more than 50% above the national average. Another 4% are 

. Charter enrollment has jumped 10% since 2019 while traditional public school enrollment 

 So why does the state keep making it harder?

The progressive position contradicts itself. They champion democracy and local control for everything except schools. They correctly note that Hawai‘i’s school system is bizarre. But their solution makes it worse.

The correct answer? Break up the statewide Department of Education. Maui, Hawai‘i, and Kaua‘i counties are much wealthier than in 1959. County governments already run police departments, parks, and water systems. They can run schools. Most states already do it this way, and most outperform Hawai‘i.

And here’s what no one in the Legislature wants to talk about: next to Medicaid, education is the single largest line item in Hawai‘i’s state budget, funded through a General Fund that runs on income taxes and the general excise tax. Moving schools to the counties doesn’t just change governance. It changes the tax structure. The state constitution already assigns property taxation exclusively to the counties. If counties fund their own schools the way most of America does — through local property taxes and elected boards — the state no longer needs the massive income tax bite it currently takes to run a centralized system. That means real tax relief for every working family in Hawai‘i. The progressive establishment won’t tell you this because they don’t want you doing the math.

When school board members are your neighbors, you can vote them out. When your property taxes fix the leaky roof at your kids’ school instead of vanishing into state bureaucracy, you see results. Local control isn’t magic, and county officials get captured by special interests, too. The difference is you’d have somewhere to show up and do something about it.

The teachers’ union loves this statewide system. One governor’s race every four years beats dealing with actual parents at four different school board meetings. Much easier to lobby Honolulu than face a room full of angry moms in Hilo.

“More money will fix the schools” has become an article of faith in Honolulu — recited every session, never questioned, never fulfilled. What we need isn’t a new tax on property owners. We need a system that recognizes what every parent already knows: nobody cares more about your children’s education than you do. This isn't just common sense — it's how God designed it. Parents are the ones He charges with raising their children, not bureaucrats in Honolulu. Local control is closer to that design. It's still not the thing itself.

Instead of handing the state new taxing power, call a constitutional convention. Dismantle the statewide monopoly. Return education decisions to parents, and, at minimum, to local communities with elected boards who answer to them.

HB2147 should be rejected, not because education doesn’t need investment, but because this bill invests in the wrong thing. It feeds a centralized monopoly that has already proven it can’t deliver results at $24,000 per student. Why would $25,000 be different?

Every dollar poured into this system isn’t reform. It’s ransom. Paid to a bureaucracy that holds families hostage because they have nowhere else to go.

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<title>More money won’t fix what’s broken in Hawai‘i’s schools</title>

A bill before the Legislature would give the state powers it has never had to tax property, arguing it would give to money to education. The state wants us to forget that Hawai‘i's public schools already have enormous tax funding available to no other state — direct access to our income taxes and the GET we pay on every purchase we make. ASD columnist Sterling Higa has a counter proposal.

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