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[{"type":"text","text":"\"When my husband asks me what we did today...\""}]

Smile 26 1 10

<title>Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026</title>

"When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

 "When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Government & Politics

Columnists

 over the death of anti-ICE activist Renee Nicole Good, killed Wednesday when she drove her car toward an ICE agent while engaged in obstructing their work. This includes Hawai‘i Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Mazie Hirono, and Rep. Jill Tokuda, whose commentary aren’t really getting any scrutiny locally.

First thing I notice is that Schatz and Tokuda used their personal X accounts, rather than their official accounts. Right off the bat this tells me they’re trying to put some distance between their words and their public role, as if that were possible. They don’t write under pseudonyms.

[{"type":"text","text":"Schatz had this to say on his personal X feed:"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Tokuda posted this:"}]

So a lot of finger-pointing here, but none where it belongs. What is it that put Good out on the street in the first place? What led her and her wife to 

, organizing with fellow travelers to willfully going out to interfere with ICE operations?

Someone planted in her head the idea that she was resisting an illegal authoritarian regime and for that, we can thank, in part, Schatz and Tokuda themselves, who have been enthusiastic purveyors of such language for years.

Here's Tokuda, just one day prior to the Minneapolis incident, doing something similar, albeit with a more pleasant demeanor.

. There was a riot, mostly spontaneous. What impact do you think it has when a Congressional representative keeps insisting that there had been one? (And isn't it odd the way the word "propaganda" figures so prominently in her post?)

Our democracy endured because it was never threatened in the first place. And in this defense of democracy that she’s praising, surely Tokuda remembers that it included shooting a woman to death? 

The federal action she’s praising includes Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd killing 

Comparing her two messages, one might conclude that when feds shoot a woman trespassing in her workplace, it’s good and honorable, but when they do so protecting themselves or our communities, it’s an impeachable crime.

Here's Hirono, using the word "regime" deliberately, still sending the message that there is some evil to resist:

Rep. Ed Case, at this writing, doesn't seem to have posted anything about the ICE shooting. On the subject at hand, there is this recent, more ambiguous post. Something important happened, something unsaid, we're supposed to remember what. 

Schatz, Tokuda, and Hirono, are among a chorus of voices that have been radicalizing their followers to regular and ongoing protests and obstruction of federal law enforcement. Now they're waving the bloody shirt of the woman they radicalized to further their political obstruction of a duly elected president, in furtherance of … what, exactly?

Bizarrely, the wholesale embrace of an entire category of lawbreakers. For some inexplicable reason, Democrats have chosen, as the hill they expect other people to die upon, illegal immigrants rather than the citizens who actually elected them. 

You can sympathize with those who broke the law in pursuit of a better life in America, but the fact is, even the sweetest and kindest of them are quite literally outlaws. They can no more expect to stay than you or I could if we took a trip somewhere and just never came home. There isn't a nation on Earth that wouldn't send us back for breaking their immigration laws.

The weirdest thing of all is, the Democrats have been doing this so loudly and for so long, that you almost have to work to remember: This is insane! 

It’s not just the things that Schatz, Tokuda and Hirono say that makes things worse. It’s what they don’t say. They know full well that Congress itself passed the immigration laws that the Trump administration is enforcing. These laws are binding on the executive branch. Trump didn't make up these laws and agencies out of thin air. Congress did. It’s interesting that the “my democracy!” crowd, always prattling on about the supposed authoritarian Trump, never takes responsibility for having passed these laws in first place, and demonstrates no willingness to change these laws through the democratic process. 

If you don’t like the immigration enforcement going on, the grown-up, civilized, democratic thing to do is introduce legislation changing those laws, debate it, vote on it. Instead we have the entire Democratic party, top to bottom, from Congress to street-level obstructionists, attempting to negate duly passed laws through riots, protests, emotional manipulation, foot-stamping temper tantrums and the pursuit of martyrdom.

There’s nothing democratic about any of that. It's emotional totalitarianism in place of peaceful debate.

And side note: If your goal is totally open borders — which would be the net result if the street theater protestors get their way — you better have a plan we can discuss for how America is supposed to support as many as 8 billion people, because that’s who would qualify for entry.

I'll end on this, since Tokuda's post includes a cherry-picked video with narration meant to minimize the danger faced by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Well, there are other videos you might want to consider:

If Hawai‘i's Congressional reps are so concerned about insurrections, they might want to spare a post or two to talk Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz off the ledge of launching Civil War II:

A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Minneapolis ICE shooting Getty Images 2255109935

<title>Pipikaula Corner: Schatz, Tokuda, Hirono, fanning flames over ICE</title>

Three of our Congressional reps have spent years participating in a narrative that America is occupied by an illegitimate, authoritarian regime. It's getting their followers killed.

Pipikaula Corner: Schatz, Tokuda, Hirono, fanning flames over ICE

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

[{"type":"text","text":"Don’t call it a merger."}]

Rather, Hawai‘i Medical Service Association, or HMSA, and Hawai‘i Pacific Health, this week announced plans for a new partnership the leaders of these organizations say will improve access to care and address health care affordability in Hawai‘i.

As part of the partnership, HPH and HMSA would create a new nonprofit parent organization called One Health Hawai‘i “to align strategy, strengthen collaboration and improve coordination statewide across Hawai‘i’s health care system,” an announcement on Wednesday noted.

During a news conference Wednesday, HPH President and CEO Ray Vara, said it was an “exciting day, but it really comes from a premise of something that we all know all too well, and that is that we’ve got a real affordability issue here in the state of Hawai‘i. Frankly, I would argue that it’s the greatest challenge facing our state.”

Health care might not be the single largest contributor to affordability in the Islands, but Vara says it’s “certainly in the top three or four.”

“And as someone who’s an insider in the industry, I’m, frankly, quite concerned,” he continued. “I’m worried about its long-term sustainability. I look at it from a health care provider perspective. I’ve seen it from the outside looking in as from an insurance perspective and I certainly recognize it from a community perspective.”

The intent of One Health Hawai‘i is to create “an affordable, sustainable, high-quality accessible health care system for the people of Hawai‘i,” he says.

Dr. Mark Mugiishi, CEO of HMSA, shared similar sentiments and says it’s time for a structural change.

“The world is replete with examples of companies that didn’t change, right? Whether it’s Blockbuster, Liberty House, there’s a whole bunch of big, big companies in Hawai‘i that don’t exist today because they didn’t evolve,” says Mugiishi, who was born and raised in the Islands and has been in health care for his entire career. “And yet, there are other companies that have done great things evolving. Whether it’s Netflix or Amazon or Uber, they’re all part of our life today because they evolved with what was needed to move us into a new direction of how we live our lives. That’s what we hope this will do for health care and the reason for that is that [an] integrated entity under a common parent that leads in affordability and access will allow us the opportunity to bring a lot of fundamental changes to the way health care is delivered. We’re very, very, very excited to bring that to all of you in the state. That will be part of the mission of both of our great organizations and we’re really, really excited about all of that.”

Mugiishi noted that the proposed system is an open system and that all providers are needed to join.

“We want our members to be able to see the doctor of their choice, to go to the facility of their choice, and so we will include everyone in this initiative that we’re watching,” he says.

Established by social workers in 1938, HMSA is the largest health insurer in the Islands. HPH is a not-for-profit health care system with four medical centers — Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children and Straub Benioff Medical Center in Honolulu, Pali Momi Medical Center in ‘Aiea and Wilcox Health in Līhu‘e — and other clinics around the state.

Vara noted that this proposal is a partnership or an affiliation rather than a merger, with both HPH and HMSA coming together under a new parent but continuing to operate largely the way they do, respectively. The real opportunity, he says “comes through the efficiencies that we get through alignment between the two entities under the parent.”

The proposal aims to address some of the issues that drive health care costs up, the announcement noted, including minimizing administrative burden such as duplicative paperwork, tests and authorizations; improving chronic condition management through better coordination, targeted outreach and community-based support; shifting appropriate services to lower-cost settings; and eliminating inefficiencies so people can receive health care earlier.

Mugiishi says that for someone looking for a provider or seeking health care, the process should be easier.

“Today the process is very fragmented,” he says. “We have some data about what providers are accepting new patients. Providers have some data about who’s eligible to go see them and what their coverage is like. In an integrated entity, it’s all shared in one database, one understanding, so the process should be much more seamless.”

According to Vara, the proposal will have to go through a number of state agencies to include a certificate of need process, which is overseen by the State Health Planning & Development Agency. Find more about that 

There also will be conversations with the attorney general and the state insurance commissioner, as well as federal approvals required, he noted, adding that they’ve already had conversations with Gov. Josh Green, himself a physician.

Aloha State Daily reached out to the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs with questions about the proposal for the state insurance commissioner and received a comment from the Hawai‘i Insurance Division in response:

“At this time, it is unclear whether the Insurance Division will have jurisdiction over this proposal. We will need to wait for the HPH-HMSA filings to determine whether there are insurance-related implications. At that time, we will know whether the Insurance Division will be a part of the approval process.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Vara says the process itself could take between six to 18 months or more."}]

The boards of both HPH and HMSA have authorized the companies to move forward, and the organizations will now take the next steps in the process, submitting the proposal to the appropriate state and federal agencies for review.

One Health Hawai‘i would be led jointly by Mugiishi and Vara as co-CEOs, and governed by a newly formed board.

Find more information about the proposed plan, including frequently asked questions and what it means for patients, providers and employers, at 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

HPH HMSA 010726

<title>HMSA, Hawai‘i Pacific Health announce partnership plan</title>

The leaders of these organizations say the proposed affiliation aims to improve access to care and address health care affordability in Hawai‘i

HMSA, Hawai‘i Pacific Health announce partnership plan

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 — a brand-new condo with 972 residential units and two, 44-story towers — is also home to a new food hall.

Located on the ground floor of the Liona Tower, 

 is celebrating its grand opening from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, Jan. 17. The food hall is soft opening with limited hours (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.) from Jan. 9 to 16.

[{"type":"text","text":"The food hall features both indoor and outdoor seating."}]

The space features 12 locally owned restaurants, and offers customers a variety of local and international flavors. Not all of the vendors are open yet; some have limited menus for the soft opening.

Vendors include FEAST by Jon Matsubara, King Thai Cuisine, Mangiamo Gelato, Middle Eats, Ninja Sushi, Sadie’s BBQ Honolulu, Serg’s Mexican Kitchen, Soul Chicken and more.

During today’s friends and family preview, participating vendors were serving samples and were open for business.

Serg’s Mexican Kitchen features the same menu as its Mānoa location. Meanwhile, the food hall is the first location for new vendors like Mangiamo Gelato.

On grand opening day, families are invited to enjoy keiki activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To access Midtown Eats, customers can enter the parking garage from the building’s Liona Street entrance and park on floors 1 to 2.5. Validated parking will be available.

Midtown Eats interior 010826

<title>New Honolulu food hall is now open</title>

Midtown Eats, the new food hall at The Park on Keʻeaumoku, is celebrating its grand opening from 10 a.m. to midnight on Jan. 17. The food hall is soft opening during limited hours from Jan. 9 to 16. Aloha State Daily got a tour of the new space.

New Honolulu food hall is now open

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Keoni DeRenne grew up during the University of Hawai‘i baseball program's golden age, back when his father, Coop, was an assistant coach under Les Murakami. 

Baseball has been DeRenne's life from an early age. He ended up becoming quite the player himself and had a large selection of scholarship offers during a successful high school baseball career at ‘Iolani. DeRenne chose the University of Arizona and enrolled in 1997, citing his relationship with its coaching staff, which made multiple trips to O‘ahu to secure and affirm his commitment. 

DeRenne was an All-Pac 10 shortstop at Arizona and consistently caught the attention of MLB scouts, turning pro when he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 12th round of the 2000 MLB Draft. His journeyman career as a player included eight seasons across five different MLB organizations in the minor leagues, as well as three seasons in independent ball. 

Following his playing career, DeRenne shifted to coaching, where he's been a part of three organizations, most recently with the Kansas City Royals as an assistant hitting coach. 

Although his baseball journey has pulled him away from the Islands, DeRenne continues to make frequent trips to his home state in the offseason, where he can be seen helping out the next generation of ballplayers. He was recently at a free University of Hawai‘i keiki camp at Les Murakami Stadium, where he fielded dozens of questions from an eager group of youngsters. 

Questions ranged from hardest pitcher he's ever faced to kindest teammate, as well as recommendations for college. "No reason for you to leave," interjected Hawai‘i head coach Rich Hill. DeRenne continued to be patient with the young players and their families, sticking around for pictures and autographs. 

"Every time I do come to this stadium, the few times that I've come since high school because the season kind of overlaps, I reflect on my childhood life, right? Because this is where I grew up from the time that my dad was coaching here. It always brings back great, fond, core memories and then opportunities like this," DeRenne told Aloha State Daily. "Coach Rich has been so gracious to let me come back, and something like this is my way to give back in a small way. I'm just honored that they want me to come out to share my story a little bit.

"Anytime that I can give back, especially in the baseball community, man, to me, it's an honor. It's what I want to do, and it's the platform that I have that allows me to be able to pay it forward."

Following the 2025 season, the Royals decided not to bring back their assistant hitting coaches in DeRenne and Joe Dillon, though DeRenne was able to land on his feet. The next destination in DeRenne's baseball journey is with the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, where he'll serve as the hitting coach on a two-year deal. Tampa will be his ninth different MLB organization as either a coach or a player. 

"I'm very grateful to go to an organization who has done a really good developing players, drafting players, developing coaches and front office personnel," DeRenne said. "If you look around Major League Baseball, their fingerprints are all over it, whether it's in the Minor Leagues, in the Major Leagues, front office, and a lot of those people have come from Tampa Bay to start, so I'm really excited to see what they got going on over there and how they operate, because it's going to help me grow. And hopefully it gets it gives me an opportunity to get back to the big leagues, which is still my my dream and still my goal: To be able to coach at the Major League level and win a World Series."

DeRenne originally joined the Royals in 2020 as the Minor League hitting coordinator. Ahead of the 2022 season, he was named an assistant hitting coach for the big league club, the first time he was in a Major League dugout as a coach or a player. During his time in Kansas City, he worked with some of the biggest stars in the sport, most notably Bobby Witt Jr.

"My time with Kansas City was nothing but unbelievable memories, relationships that I've been able to create and still have to this day, and they're lifelong friends and relationships that I'll carry to the day I'm done, or to the day I die. I'm very thankful that they gave me the opportunity to coach at the Major League level, to achieve my dreams as a little kid," DeRenne said. "I have nothing but respect for everybody that's there. I wish the players great, great luck, great health moving forward. And that's the one thing that I'm going to miss the most, is just the relationships that I've had with all the people there. 

"It's still kind of new to me, as far as the wound hasn't healed or closed up. But I know that once I close that chapter and move on, I'm going to be right back to where I need to be. Baseball is baseball. But I'm so, so thankful for that chance that they gave me six years ago to be a part of the organization."

DeRenne is one of the longest tenured members of a growing fraternity of coaches in MLB organizations with Hawai‘i ties. Baldwin alumnus 

Kurt Suzuki was named the manager for the Los Angeles Angels

 in October, while Waiakea alumnus Kai Correa was named the bench coach for the New York Mets, also in October. Meanwhile, Leilehua and Hawai‘i-Hilo alum Brendan Sagara is a pitching strategist for the Texas Rangers. ‘Iolani alumnus Mike Fetters was recently the bullpen coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, which reached the World Series in 2023. 

Other coaches from Hawai‘i in the pro ranks include Kamehameha alumnus Kanekoa Teixeira, the manager of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Braves, as well as Punahou alumnus Bryson Nakamura, the hitting strategist for the Miami Marlins. Additionally, ‘Iolani alum Jordan Hara was recently named the hitting coach for the Florida Complex League Cardinals, the rookie-level affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. 

"Very grateful and proud to be a part of that, but I only got there because I had a lot of help. God blessed me with the right people in my life. I'm just very grateful to be able to pass on and share knowledge," DeRenne said. "That's part of my job at the end of the day, no matter what, to get our players better, wherever I'm at, get the organization better, and then being able to come back home during the offseason and share some of that with some of the local boys who seek me out for any help that I can give them. And it's an honor for me to be able to do that."

Keoni DeRenne 010726

<title>Keoni DeRenne keeps his heart in Hawai‘i during various pro baseball stops</title>

DeRenne, the new hitting coach for the Durham Bulls, was recently at Les Murakami Stadium assisting at a UH keiki camp.

Keoni DeRenne keeps his heart in Hawai‘i during various pro baseball stops

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

[{"type":"text","text":"Bus fares in Honolulu could get more expensive soon."}]

The Honolulu City Council is considering a long-in-development 

 to update the city’s bus fare structure, a process which will simplify a range of fare discounts but will also increase most fares across the board.

Under the proposal, a single adult fare, paid in cash, will increase from $3 to $3.25. And while the cost of a HOLO Card two-hour pass or day pass will remain the same — $3 and $7.50, respectively — a HOLO Card monthly pass will increase from $80 to $90, while an annual pass will increase from $880 to $990.

Youth fares will face similar increases. Single cash fares will increase by $0.25, monthly passes will go up from $40 to $45 and annual passes from $440 to $495. As before, two-hour and day passes will cost the same as now.

DTS Director Roger Morton told Aloha State Daily that these hikes are expected to generate about $2 million in additional revenue, which will go to offset the deficit that the transit system typically operates at.

Morton explained that the department’s budget this year is about $430 million, while revenue from passengers is only $50 million. While he said that this is “a large delta,” he added that most municipal transit systems operate at a deficit.

The $0.25 cost increase for cash fares is intended to disincentivize the use of cash on buses altogether, which Morton said is more expensive for the department to handle. Currently, about $11 million of rider fares come from cash payments.

“Personally, I’d love for that to go down to zero,” Morton said. “Maybe when we’re at a point where nobody uses cash for groceries.”

Morton added that the last bus rate hike was in 2022, which was a similar increase: an adult monthly pass rose from $70 to the current $80, for example.

Meanwhile, the city’s current separate fare structures for senior citizens, passengers with disabilities and paratransit passengers will be merged into a single “reduced fare” category that is also shared by “individuals with extremely low incomes,” a threshold determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Morton said this will help reduce “anomalies” in the fare system. For example, he said a person currently enrolled in DTS’ TheHandi-Van service can buy an annual pass for $35, but a person not enrolled but with a disability must pay more.

Broadly speaking, this consolidation also will result in fare increases. Resident senior citizens currently spend $1.25 for single rides and $3 for a daily pass, but are not charged for monthly or annual passes. The new reduced fare tier will charge all eligible users $1.50 for a two-hour pass, $3.75 for a day pass, $20 for a monthly pass and $50 for an annual pass.

Morton guessed that about 100,000 of Honolulu’s current riders are currently eligible for this tier, but added that even more could qualify without knowing it.

The Council voted in support of the bill on first reading Wednesday with little discussion, forwarding it to its first committee hearing.

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

Authors

ASD Staff

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