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[{"type":"text","text":"Takin' care of business..."}]

Smile 26 1 31

<title>Daily Smile: Saturday, January 31, 2026</title>

Takin' care of business...

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

It’s not every day that singers and songwriters get to visit the home of Simon Cowell, one of the best known judges of 

 But that is exactly what happened for Nyjah Music and Zyah Rhythm, the

North Shore brothers competing in Season 21 of the television show, who were invited to film a judges callback round at Cowell’s house in Malibu, California.

, allows each judge to pick acts to audition a second time before a panel decides who will advance to live shows. Watch the episode at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time, which is 2 p.m. in Hawai’i, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, on NBC, to see if the brothers advance. The episode will also be available on Peacock the next day.

Here is an exclusive clip of Cowell giving the brothers feedback.

Getting an invite to the judges callback round from Cowell, who is known for being a tough judge, meant a lot to the duo.

“We were pretty stoked,” Nyjah told Aloha State Daily. “Just being there was amazing.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He was like an uncle, Zyah added."}]

“So I actually would have thought that Simon would be hard on us, just because of the videos and stuff,” he said. “He has turned down some people. But just going to his house, he made it feel like he was more of an uncle to us. It was super chill. He was super inviting and super open with his house. He told us we could jump in his pool, if we wanted.”

They did not in fact jump in the pool. They did not have swimsuits, Zyah added.

Currently, Nyjah Music and Zyah Rhythm have more than 250,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Last year, their cover of “Burning Love,” which was produced by their uncle, Bruno Mars, was featured in Disney’s live action 

 Today, that song has more than 13 million streams on Spotify.

But even with a hit like that, the auditions for “America’s Got Talent” had them nervous. Waiting backstage for 

their audition, which aired on Tuesday, June 9, on NBC

, was “pretty nerve-wracking,” Zyah said.  

“But then once we stepped on stage, we're pretty comfortable,” he added. “We did hear some people from Hawai’i in the audience. It got us pretty comfortable with the stage.”

By hearing Hawai’i, he means they heard a cheehoo.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Did they expect that? Zyah shook his head."}]

“It kind of shook the nerves away,” he said. “And it just showed that we have some people from home watching us.”

They performed their latest release, “Heartbeat,” an original single, which dropped on streaming platforms on June 15.

“It's really a universal song for people that want to show how much they love someone and how they want to be a part of someone because the lyrics are, ‘Can I be your heartbeat or the flower in your ear?’ and stuff like that,” Zyah said. “That person for us is our grandma. We dedicate it to our grandma, and it just shows how much we love our grandma, how she started it all, but she did pass away when we were little. But yeah, it's just about our grandma.”

After being off Island, Nyjah and Zyah look forward to local foods. For Nyjah, that usually involves a poke bowl at Foodland, with iced tea on the side. After flying in, Zyah likes to stop at 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

"America's Got Talent"

<title>Exclusive video: North Shore brothers talk about ʻAmerica’s Got Talent’</title>

Nyjah Music & Zyah Rhythm, the North Shore brothers who are also the nephews of Bruno Mars are back on “America’s Got Talent.” Catch them singing for Simon Cowell at his house in an episode that airs Tuesday, Aug. 4. They also unpack their latest single “Heartbeat,” which was inspired by their grandmother, and the cheehoo that calmed their nerves during auditions.

Exclusive video: North Shore brothers talk about ʻAmerica’s Got Talent’

, president and CEO of Bishop Museum, got his first experience on the 14-acre campus in the Kapālama-Kalihi district about 25 years ago, when he was starting his Ph.D. in Australia.

He focuses on studying mammals and has discovered about 

. Expeditions have taken him to New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and parts of South America and Africa, but 

some discoveries also take place at museums

During his first visit to Bishop Museum, the campus made an impression immediately.

“It’s always been one of my favorite places to come, both for its connection to my scholarly pursuits and my love of learning [and] it's one-of-a-kind uniqueness," Helgen told Aloha State Daily in early June.

founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop

, including specimens, cultural objects, photographs and films, works of art, audio recordings and manuscripts. The museum is one of the world’s largest collections and is set apart from peer museums because it was founded in Hawaiʻi during the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, he said.

“It remains a museum by and for Hawaiʻi," Helgen added. "And amongst all the peer institutions that are similar, it's the only one that was not set up specifically in a colonial center of power. It's entirely different from almost all of our corresponding museum peers. That is an extraordinary thing.”

 for the calendar year ending June 30, 2025, according to the latest Form 990 available online. Most of that money comes from grants or contributions, which in FY2025 totaled about $23.8 million, or 84% of the total revenue.

Helgen joined Bishop Museum almost a year ago, on Aug. 1, 2025, succeeding interim CEO 

partnered with the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design

 to serve as one of two museum partners that are transportation hubs for the center, which is located in a residential neighborhood.

Looking ahead, Helgen plans to prioritize revitalizing historical buildings and digitizing the collection at Bishop Museum. The museum is also planning to expand its staff and 

is opening recruitment searches for three new natural sciences curators. It recently hired a marine biologist and is in the process of bringing on a new botanist and entomologist.

Prior to moving to Hawaiʻi with his wife and 12-year-old son, Helgen was the chief scientist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute at the Australian Museum, where he oversaw 120 staff members in research and collections capacities.

“As a family, we have just been thrilled with the move to Hawaiʻi and the extraordinary spirit — the connection and welcome that we felt here,” he said. “It's just been a wonderful move.”

Helgen also previously worked at the Smithsonian Institution, where he was a research zoologist and curator for the division of mammals at the National Museum of Natural History, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

He spoke with Aloha State Daily ahead of his one-year anniversary on the job.

There's so much to absorb when you come into a new organization. What has been the biggest thing you've learned in your first year? 

I had never lived here in Hawaiʻi before. I had a lot of connection to Bishop Museum, kind of what pulled me here like a magnet when the opportunity came. But there aren't many times in our lives and careers that we get to sort of transplant into a completely different cultural setting, and that is something that has just been absolutely thrilling for me. I've loved every minute. 

Bishop Museum is such an important place for Hawaiʻi — for our understanding of history and culture and nature. One of the things that I've been learning most is the importance of the daily usage of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi here on campus. ... Language is one of the most foundational aspects of place, and here at Bishop Museum, we are all about helping to connect to place and to ground to the very history of the land where we are on this campus. Every day, as I learn more of the daily uses of ʻŌlelo Hawaii around here, I learn more and more about Hawaiʻi.

What were some of the most urgent problems the nonprofit museum's board asked you to take on in this role?

 We have a lot of things that we want to do, and one of the things that has been really pressing is — like any historical museum — the fact that we have so many infrastructure needs. We have old buildings. We have huge collections that we have to steward with great responsibility.

What are you most proud of from the past year? 

A lot of things. It's all about the people here. It's all about the achievements of staff. I'm proud that I feel like there are many things that have a different feel on campus already since August [2025], when I took over, and some of those are easy to explain. For example, in that time, we've opened an actual restaurant on campus, 

Tūtū’s Place, and that's in partnership with Highway Inn

. ... Likewise, with the gift shop, we started a new partnership with Hawaiian Council, [which owns and operates] Nā Mea Hawaiʻi, and so we have changed from a more generic provider to an entirely local set of business connections that stock that shop. As people may know, 

 for a long time, and that has now changed; they're no longer based at that location, so this is their location here at Bishop Museum. Having Highway Inn serving Hawaiian food every day and having Nā Mea Hawaiʻi here along with 

 — those are just 'enter the door and feel a little bit different' aspects, but there are others, too. 

Our team, especially in public programs and education, has been really focused on community engagement around reactivation or revitalization of particular core objects or pieces, things that have been behind the scenes for a long time. One we might have spoken about was the 

Aʻa, which was Prince Kūhiōʻs famous koa racing canoe

, and so that gorgeous canoe was sort of rehabilitated by canoe experts. ... And in November, [the canoe] was launched back out into the ocean for a wonderful event with koa canoes from all around Hawaiʻi.

What's the biggest challenge you see facing the museum today? You mentioned infrastructure, is that No. 1, or are there others? 

I think that's the most pressing. For example, people know Hawaiian Hall, and when they think of Bishop [Museum], that's almost synonymous with imagining that wonderful volcanic stone building. But its sibling is Bishop Hall, just across the way here, that is the earlier building. ... As many know, Bishop Hall was the original site of Kamehameha Schools and remained a core site of the school and the boys school in particular through the 60s. I regularly meet people out in the community that know this campus in part because they went to school here. That has been a facet of this campus for 

 and so I bring up Bishop Hall, because right now it's closed to the public because the structure is not fit for any activity right now. ... This is part of my responsibility to revitalize this really important piece of Honolulu heritage, Hawaiʻi heritage, and figure out how to bring that back to life, especially as a community space.

... Bishop Hall is not at all our only need. A lot of the needs are less visible, and they have to do with collections facilities that are behind the scenes, but are aging or need to be updated to best practice. One thing we've done during this year is from scratch, we've gotten started and built a new warehouse facility on the Bernice and Kalihi street corner. It's brand new. It has air conditioning, humidity control. And that is a facility that, for example, we're going to move all the canoes into that space. For the first time in 100-plus years, we'll have a really museum best practice purpose facility fit to look after those extraordinary objects. The need to bring our campus up to modern standards is one of the things that's just most top of mind, and that includes spaces like Bishop Hall, that should be public and activated again, as well as core spaces where we look after our most important materials.

Are staff still working on digitizing collections?

 Digitization is one of those core priorities that we have here, too. When you think about museums and the responsibility that we have holding these materials in public trust — making them as accessible as we responsibly can is a really important piece of that. Museums have come to realize that digitization is a really important part of doing that. We can only, of course, showcase a very limited percentage of things in the museum out on the public displays, but by expanding our efforts to image and document data around materials behind the scenes that's how we are going to meet some of our commitments to the broader public — and the world at large — around accessing our materials. 

Our digitization program started in earnest around five years ago. We've had smaller initiatives at times and now that is really gaining a lot of steam. ... It turns out — and this is so important for the public to realize — that the core most important resource that Hawaiʻi actually has to understand things like endangered [or] invasive species is part of the collections that are here. ...

I'd like to see us even more involved in that scientific capacity — through digitization, through the genetic work that we do here at the museum — in creating tools that are really useful for the state to meet the moment in terms of conservation, climate, endangered species, biosecurity. The museum has a pretty strong future ahead in that.

Given your extensive research and expedition experience, what is the appeal of an administrative job? 

For the last 15 years, I've been ever more involved in museum management, and all along that's meant being a scientist and a scholar, working especially in Pacific communities. But, part of it came from realizing that my career would be focused on museums and becoming very excited about that. Many people don't necessarily realize that — particularly in the natural sciences — it's behind the scenes in the laboratories and collections of the world's biggest museums that some of the most important work is taking place. So, as I realized that and I moved up the ranks as a scientist, I noticed what people might notice in any workplace, which is that there were things that I wanted to see done maybe different or better or more efficiently.

What strategies have you implemented to help retain staff? 

Some of what we focused on as an executive team most strongly in this first year have been on the well-being of staff. And that's included a deep dive into benefits, paid time off — improving both of those things. Thinking about how we can support people in matching and saving. Thinking about what we can do with professional development. ... As much as I have aloha for the museum, I knew I had so much to learn, and that has meant that for much of my first year here, I've spent that time really listening, and through that listening, thinking about, 'What am I hearing that the museum does need most?' And just the fact that we are on a better financial footing than we were a few years ago, the staff has wanted to be able to feel that in their own life, connecting through to the work they're doing here and the stability that they feel.

You recently visited the British Museum. Can you share what brought you there? Are there items from Bishop Museum on loan there? 

 in London. It was an extraordinary show, curated by 

, who was previously a staff member here [at Bishop Museum] on our cultural team. ... She was able to work at the museum to put together an absolutely remarkable exhibit. ... It was closing on May 25 and I was there, including for the closing ceremony and protocol, and it gave me an opportunity to chat with Alice, others involved in the exhibition, other leadership at the museum, including their director, Nicholas Cullinan. And just thinking about the potential for interaction between British Museum — which has the largest set of Hawaiian objects outside of the Bishop Museum — and our museum. ... And yes, we do have a couple of things that were on loan to that wonderful exhibition, and they were specifically gorgeous silver pieces that were gifted from the Royal Family of the UK to the Royal Family of Hawaiʻi. ... And until this moment had never been back in the UK.

Looking ahead, what are your goals for the next five years? 

I want to continue, of course, our footing of being a well-managed museum. Obviously, that means a firm and strong, sustainable financial footing. I want to lean into our strengths, which include historical strengths like the role we play as a Pacific-wide museum role model with our peer museums around the Pacific region. And that might include more engagement and partnership, and fellowship opportunities, other ways of engaging with Pacific partners. 

Bishop Museum CEO Kris H with shark

<title>Q&A with Bishop Museum CEO Kris Helgen</title>

This mammal-discovering scientist is now the president and CEO of Bishop Museum. Helgen shares some of the biggest challenges and accomplishments of the past year, which is his first 12 months in the role.

Q&A with Bishop Museum CEO Kris Helgen

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

A controversial Hale‘iwa housing development is once again under consideration by the Honolulu City Council.

, the Council indefinitely postponed action on a proposal to build a 150-unit affordable housing project on a 7.5-acre parcel along the Joseph P. Leong Highway, after substantial public outcry about the project’s potential impact to the surrounding agricultural community.

On Thursday, that indefinite postponement ended, with the Council Committee on Zoning and Planning ultimately moving to forward the proposal to the full Council for final approval.

The proposal itself is a request for a boundary amendment that will reclassify the parcel — called the Hale‘iwa Quadrangle — from the Agricultural District to the Urban District, a change that will allow for the development of higher-density housing.

The project itself is the brainchild of a company called Hale‘iwa Backyards LLC, which has proposed to offer about 150 two-bedroom units, 30% of which would be offered at affordable rental rates, with the remaining 70% offered at market rental rates. The company’s most recent projections, made in 2025, would put the monthly rent for a unit available for people making up to 80% of the area median income at $2,500.

During the Council’s consideration of the project last year, the Honolulu Department of Housing and Land Management considered the possibility of the County acquiring the property directly as an alternative to the Hale‘iwa Backyards proposal. In February, DHLM concluded following a preliminary review that such an acquisition would not fit into the City and County’s current financial priorities, but supported the development of housing within the Quadrangle.

But hundreds of residents testified in opposition to the project Thursday, reiterating criticisms of the proposal they’ve had for years: that it will overwhelm traffic infrastructure, that it removes potential agricultural land from the state, that it will not “keep country country.”

“This project would increase Hale‘iwa’s population and place additional strain on our roads and infrastructure, worsening the very challenges we are seeking to address through our disaster planning in an emergency,” said Cheryl Matsumoto, a member of the Waialua Community Association’s Health and Disaster Preparedness Committee. “Limited evacuation capacity can have serious consequences.”

Other residents said that there is insufficient space in the area for the roads to be expanded to allow for more traffic.

Franz Kraintz, chief of the County Department of Planning and Permitting acknowledged that increasing the amount of traffic infrastructure in the area to prevent delays would require “massive amounts of money, massive amounts of construction” and would be self-defeating: “we don’t want to build more roads because it encourages more traffic,” he told the committee Thursday.

Kraintz said DPP’s preference is to promote “alternative modes of travel,” such as public transit or biking infrastructure. But, he added that the project “has the potential to add [traffic] volume,” but is “not an absolute.”

Some Council members were critical of the project. ‘Ewa Beach Councilwoman Andria Tupola noted that the Council has heard hundreds of testimonials in opposition to the project, since last year, and yet the project has not meaningfully changed.

“When you have thousands of people in the community talking to you and you’re listening to what they’re saying … what are we supposed to say to them?” Tupola said. “’We heard all 2,000 of your voices, but we decided on no changes?’”

A representative of the property owner, Ikaika Anderson, spoke briefly at Thursday’s meeting, but only to confirm — in answer to a question by Committee Chair Ester Kia‘āina —  that the property owner would not be willing to sell the parcel to the city.

The matter was forwarded to the full Council to once again discuss the proposal at third and final reading.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Haleiwamap

<title>Controversial Hale‘iwa housing project back on the table</title>

Despite opposition, the 150-unit Hale‘iwa housing project returned to a County Council committee this week.

Controversial Hale‘iwa housing project back on the table

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

, Aloha State Daily reached out to some of the principal state personalities involved in the legislation. 

Act 11 redefines the powers that the state of Hawai‘i grants to corporations — including for profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, limited liability partnerships and more — to specifically exclude the power to give "anything of value" that could be construed as speech for or against candidates and for or against ballot initiatives.

The suit argues that this violates U.S. Constitution guarantees of free speech, freedom of association and more.

"When we passed Act 11, we built this law specifically to withstand litigation,” state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole told ASD in a written statement. “A court has never had to rule on whether a state can define the limits of the corporate powers it creates. Clearly it can."

Keohokalole was a principal author of SB2471. See ASD's interview with him on the bill 

"Act 11 does not touch the First Amendment," Keohokalole said. "It operates on an entirely different legal foundation: the authority Hawai‘i has always had over the corporations it creates. Corporations are not people. Their powers flow from the state, not from the Creator. What the state creates, the state can define.

"We have always been transparent: Act 11 applies to corporations and nonprofits alike. This is about corporate-chartered entities using state-granted powers to influence our elections, not about silencing anyone's individual voice. Let the courts engage with this argument. That is exactly what we built this for."

Act 11 was signed into law by Gov. Josh Green on May 14 as the first legislation in 16 years to challenge the Citizens United decision "on legal ground the Supreme Court has never addressed," the statement said. "Rather than disputing the ruling on First Amendment grounds, the law draws on Hawai‘i's authority as the state that created and chartered the corporations operating within its borders."

Montana is pursuing the same legal theory — one advanced nationwide by the Center for American Progress, see an interview between state Rep. Della Au Belatti and CAP's Senior Fellow Tom Moore 

 — with a ballot initiative for the November election. 

Gov. Green's office referred ASD to the Attorney General's office, as the Attorney General was specifically named in the suit.

"The Department of the Attorney General is aware of the lawsuit and is reviewing the complaint," replied public information officer Toni E. Schwartz. "Because this is pending litigation, we will not comment on the specific allegations or legal claims asserted by the plaintiffs. Act 11 was enacted by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. Questions regarding the policy rationale underlying the legislation are best directed to the Legislature. The State will review the allegations raised in the complaint and respond through the judicial process."

ASD also reached out to state Sen. Karl Rhoads — see ASD's interview with him on SB2471 

 — through his office email, but had not received a reply by the time of publishing.

Senator Jarrett Keohokalole Photo2

<title>State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole reactions to Act 11 lawsuit</title>

SB2471 was the signature piece of legislation to emerge from the recent legislative session. Now it's a law, one that's already been challenged as unconstitutional. ASD reached out to the law's backers for comment.

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 31, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Saturday, January 31, 2026

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ASD Staff

Reporter

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