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Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Craig Washofsky at Kailua Beach. "

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26 1 12 Craig Washofsky

<title>Hawai‘i Skies: Sunrise to start the day</title>

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Craig Washofsky at Kailua Beach.

Hawai‘i Skies: Sunrise to start the day

Today&#039;s Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Craig Washofsky at Kailua Beach. &quot;What a great way to start the day!&quot; To submit your Hawai&#039;i Skies photo, visit us online or email: general@alohastatedaily.com

Arrasmith Portrait

Perry Arrasmith

Government & Politics

Columnists

Primaries in Hawai‘i are brutal, especially when several candidates compete for a party’s nomination. In a state as heavily Democratic as Hawai‘i, the net result is a number of local races where Democrats are elected in their respective primaries and there is no general election.

There was a time when local legislative races were arguably more competitive and more politically diverse. It was a time when state house and senate districts were larger, when candidates were selected from a crowded primary race, and when multiple Democrats and Republicans faced-off in a single general election.

Elections in Hawai‘i would be more competitive and politically diverse with this model, known popularly as multimember districts (MMDs). If we want more dynamic races, there’s no reason why MMDs shouldn’t eventually return to local legislative races.

In Hawai‘i, MMDs used to be a big thing. 

“When we became a state in 1959,” former Republican State Senator Fred Rohlfing 

 in 2011, “Hawai‘i’s bicameral Legislature was elected employing MMDs for both the Senate and the House. For example, four senators and four representatives were elected in the general election from the districts of East Honolulu from a party slate of up to four selected by each party in the primary. Every voter in our district could cast up to four votes for both senators and representatives.”

MMDs gave voters more votes–and choices. They could also select both Democrats and Republicans as their favored candidates. One could pick an old-school conservative Republican and a new-age liberal Democrat. They could guarantee a legislature with more ideological diversity. 

In his own case, the Republican Rohlfing was elected alongside a Democrat, Vincent Yano. “Many issues can be handled in a bipartisan fashion,” he recalled. “Even substantive issues can be the subject of a team effort.” 

That’s how it also worked for Neil Abercrombie, a progressive Democrat who was first elected to the State House in 1975. In the community of Mānoa, he was elected alongside Republicans like Hiram Fong, Jr. 

MMDs are still permitted in Hawai‘i, although they’ve been absent for over four decades. The reason dates back to a botched reapportionment effort in 1982. 

Hawai‘i’s Constitution, in addition to explicitly permitting MMDs (see 

), also requires the State to review the boundaries of existing districts every ten years. To do so correctly, two standards must be met. 

Firstly, the total number of seats in the House and the Senate must be apportioned among the basic island units of the entire State. A district, for instance, could not be drawn from a chunk of Lāna‘i and the Hawai‘i Kai neighborhood of O‘ahu.

Secondly, the re-drawing of districts (in response to population changes) would require that the average number of registered voters in each district to be “as nearly equal to the average for the basic island units as practicable.” Every House district in Maui County needed to have the same average amount of registered voters as possible, and the same went for every other county. 

As long as you meet those two standards, the State Reapportment Commission should be able to draw either single-member districts (where only one candidate is elected, as it the case in every House and Senate seat), or (as it did before 1982) MMDs. 

In 1982, however, Hawai‘i’s Reapportionment Commission’s plan was thrown out in the U.S. District Court case of 

. The court found the plan faulty due to its methodology for factoring the state’s population (the State had drawn districts on the basis of registered voters, not total residential population). The State of Hawai‘i’s 1981 Reapportionment Commission was in a bind and needed to speedily create a new plan, and subsequently threw away MMDs in the process. 

1982 marked a practical change in culture, not a true change in law. State law has never been amended to expressly ban MMDs, nor are MMDs unconstitutional. They still exist at the county level (look at Maui or Kaua‘i) and at-least ten states have legislatures with some form of MMDs.

A Call for the Return of Multimember Districts

Just because Hawai‘i follows the principle of ‘one-person, one-vote’ does not mean that MMDs are no longer possible. 

The last serious effort to restore MMDs in Hawai‘i occurred in 2011. Former Republican State Senator Rohlfing supported the return to MMDs, and believed that the Reapportionment Committee could legally restore them as part of their plan to re-draw the boundaries of Hawai‘i’s districts.

In May 2011, then-Governor Neil Abercrombie was also open to the idea, although he 

 that MMDs would need to be expressly permitted via an amendment to the State Constitution.  

In June, the State Reapportionment Commission ultimately voted 

 the idea by a narrow difference of five-four. At least one member of the reapportionment commission believed that MMDs were unconstitutional. This was not true. An unreleased letter from the office of the Attorney General confirmed that MMDs were still possible. 

Here and there, the concept of MMDs has appeared during legislative sessions. In 2023, Senate President Ronald Kouchi introduced 

Technically speaking, Hawai‘i’s Constitution still permits MMDs, although it holds that “not more than four members shall be elected from any district.”

The concept is largely defunct, for now. Candidates will jockey for their party’s nomination, and the grand majority of local races will be sleepy moving into November. 

Our elections will be stilted affairs. MMDs should return — and make them more interesting. 

Capitol Jan 2026

<title>In Hawai‘i, where are the multimember districts?</title>

Election season is a good time to ask — why doesn't Hawai‘i go back to having multimember districts? In a such a system, more of Hawai‘i's voters would have representation in the state Legislature.

In Hawai‘i, where are the multimember districts?

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

In Tokyo, Japan, Tsukiji Outer Market is a popular tourist attraction where customers can find a variety of street food, restaurants and specialty vendors.

One of the market vendors is popular for its larger-than-life shrimp crackers — which has a whole shrimp pressed inside — and the treat has gone viral on social media in recent years.

, you now don’t have to go to Japan to enjoy a similar treat.

Ebi senbei is the main attraction at Yamitsuki Gyotaku Senbei, according to business owner Shingo Katsura. Katsura, who is from Japan, thought it would be a good idea to bring popular Japanese street foods to Hawai

“The ebi senbei is a popular one — it’s all over Japan,” he says. “We’re using Kaua

Customers can currently find the new business at the FarmLovers Kaka

ako market every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, and at the Ono Grindz and Makeke market at Wai Kai (in ʻEwa Beach) from 4 to 8 p.m.

Katsura says the business is starting with senbei, but will eventually expand its menu.

“‘Yamitsuki’ means ‘addicting’ (in Japanese); this is just the beginning with the senbi,” he says. “Eventually, I want to have multiple Japanese street foods, like in those night markets (in Japan).”

Senbei are made to order; each takes about 6 minutes to cook, according to Katsura. Customers can choose from Kaua

i shrimp ($12) or octopus ($12) senbei, or opt for a combo to include both seafood. So far, he says the shrimp senbei has been slightly more popular.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I like doing one shrimp and one octopus as a combo,” he says."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Creating the senbei batter was a result of a lot of trial and error."}]

“Whenever we’re at the house, there’s flour everywhere,” Katsura says. “It’s super crispy, but it’s a balance of different types of flour, plus the temperature.”

Katsura recently added smoked ‘ahi dip to the menu, which can be enjoyed with the senbei ($3) or a la carte ($12 for an 8-ounce container).

“It’s like our little play on chips and dip,” he says. “I teamed up with a local fisherman; I make the smoked ‘ahi and the ‘ahi dip.”

Customers can look forward to more senbei flavors — including some dessert options, according to Katsura.

“It could be ube or Kona coffee with a dark chocolate drizzle on it,” he says. “We’re just getting started. Sometimes we get backed up (when making the senbei), so when that happens, please be patient with us.”

While the senbei is designed to be enjoyed immediately, the business can also wrap senbei to-go. We took ours home, and we were pleased to discover that even the next day, it retained its ultra-crispy, crunchy texture. 

Yamatsuki Gyotaku Senbei owner 012226

<title>Where to find Japan-style shrimp crackers on Oʻahu</title>

Owner Shingo Katsura recently opened Yamitsuki Gyotaku Senbei, which can be found at various markets around Oʻahu. The business — whose name means “addictive” in Japanese — specializes in crispy senbei, but plans to expand its menu to include other popular street foods.

Where to find Japan-style shrimp crackers on Oʻahu

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Aloha Spirit

You’ll find the word “kāhuli” in the first lines of the 

Meaning to change, to alter, to overturn, kāhuli — pronounced KAH-hoo-lee — has been chosen by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language as the 2025 Hawaiian word of the year.

“In the Kumulipo, kāhuli describes the transformation that warmed the earth and unfolded the heavens, catalyzing the formation of the universe itself,” UH said in a recent announcement.

Ka‘iu Kimura, director of the Hawaiian language college, said in the announcement that kāhuli speaks to fundamental transformation, “not surface change, but the kind of shift that reorders everything.”

"This meaning resonates as we navigate change on multiple fronts: federal shutdowns affecting vulnerable ‘ohana, rising costs reshaping island economies, climate disasters whose recovery continues across our communities. Political movements challenge unjust systems globally, while our communities grapple with the cost of simply remaining home,” the announcement notes.

“The word kāhuli acknowledges that transformation can feel disruptive, but it’s also how new worlds emerge," Kimura says. “We're living through an era of kāhuli politically, environmentally and culturally.”

In an emailed response to questions, Kimura told Aloha State Daily that this is the second year that 

 has selected a Hawaiian word of the year.

“The ultimate goal is to normalize the usage of ʻŌlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian language) which is the mother tongue of these Islands,” she says.

 was mākia, which means "aim, motto or purpose."

According to Kimura, the selection is a collaborative effort between Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikōlani and UH Hilo’s university relations, which has staff members who are graduates of the Hawaiian language college and are fluent speakers themselves.

“They bring both communications expertise and deep grounding in 

lelo Hawai‘i to the process,” she says. “This allows us to root the selection in the college’s scholarly work and language expertise while also ensuring the word speaks meaningfully to contemporary experiences and can be communicated effectively to diverse audiences.”

The process of selecting a word takes several weeks, as they reflect on the year, discuss potential words and their layered meanings, and “carefully craft the framing in both Hawaiian and English,” Kimura notes.

“The selection process is both reflective and intentional. We consider major developments and experiences over the past year—globally, nationally, and especially locally for our Hawai‘i ‘ohana and communities,” Kimura says. “Our focus is on examining these experiences through a Hawaiian lens: What do our Hawaiian perspectives, practices, traditions, and understandings — informed by our 

lelo Hawai‘i — reveal about what we’ve experienced? How can our language help us frame, understand, and learn from these events in ways that honor both our traditions and our current realities?

“It’s important that the word we choose resonates across audiences — with fluent speakers and non-speakers alike,” she continued. “This means the English expression isn’t always a direct translation, because sometimes there isn’t one that fully captures the depth of the Hawaiian concept. Instead, we work to ensure the English conveys the same depth and significance as the Hawaiian, even if the words themselves differ. This takes time and careful consideration to get right.”

(And ICYMI: UH Hilo professor of Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies Larry Kimura, who happens to be Ka‘iu Kimura's uncle, is often called the godfather of the Hawaiian language revitalization movement. Read more about Larry Kimura and his work to perpetuate the Hawaiian language 

Magic Island sunset 0925

<title>Hawaiian Word of the Year: Kāhuli</title>

Chosen as the 2025 Hawaiian Word of the Year by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, kāhuli speaks to fundamental transformation, “not surface change, but the kind of shift that reorders everything.”

Hawai‘i Skies: Sunrise to start the day

ASD Staff

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Hawai‘i Skies: Sunrise to start the day

Authors

ASD Staff

Reporter

More in Hawai'i Skies

Hawaiʻi Skies: Canʻt wait for time in the water

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