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Daily Smile

It's always good to teach your dog how to let you know when he's hungry...

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<title>Daily Smile: Tuesday, February 3, 2026</title>

Daily Smile: Tuesday, February 3, 2026

 It&#039;s always good to teach your dog how to let you know when he&#039;s hungry...

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Food & Dining

in Kapolei has partnered with local, faith-based organization River of Life Mission for an all-day Community Care Event set for Monday, July 20.

According to the restaurant, it will donate “15% of qualifying sales” that day to River of Life Mission, which 

for more than 40 years has served neighbors across Oʻahu

 who are experiencing homelessness, poverty and crisis.

“River of Life Mission has been a source of hope for so many people in our community,” said Nick Lovan, Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A Kamokila, in a statement. “Fifteen percent of proceeds from those who mention the River of Life on Monday will help support their important work serving neighbors across Oʻahu.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"How does it work?"}]

Chick-fil-A Kamokila asks that guests who wish to participate in the fundraiser mention the organization at time of purchase when ordering in the drive-thru, for carry-out or while dining in. When placing a mobile order through the Chick-fil-A App, use the code “ROLM2026” (case-sensitive) before completing the mobile order.

This offer is valid only from 6:30 a.m to 10 p.m. at the 890 Kamokila Blvd. location on Monday, July 20. “The Community Care Event runs all day, and qualifying purchases made from opening to closing will count toward the donation,” per the restaurant.

Established in 1985, River of Life Mission aims to provide hope through hot meals and snack bags, outreach, practical care and connection to resources that help individuals and families move toward stability. With the aid of 17 staff members and longstanding partnerships, the organization served more than 200,000 meals in 2024 alone.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve really tried to fortify our model, as well as be more innovative in how we are able to steward our resources,” Executive Director Kealiʻi Kane Gray told Aloha State Date in a recent interview.

Funds raised would help River of Life Mission scale sustainably, while helping people transition off the streets into “new life,” said Kane Gray, who joined the organization at the helm in October 2025.

Headquartered in Chinatown, the organization also hosts nearly 240 hub events monthly across Oʻahu in partnership with local churches, ministries and service providers.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Chick fil A Kamokila sign 082625

<title>Chick-fil-A Kamokila to host fundraiser for River of Life Mission</title>

On Monday, July 20, patrons of Chick-fil-A Kamokila in Kapolei can help support the local, faith-based organization, which for more than 40 years has served neighbors across Oʻahu who are experiencing homelessness, poverty and crisis. Learn more about how to participate in the upcoming Community Care Event.

Chick-fil-A Kamokila to host fundraiser for River of Life Mission

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

Columnists

. The new law bars corporations and other “artificial persons” from spending money to influence our elections. Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, the bill’s champion, put the principle plainly: “The foundation of our democracy is that political power belongs to the people.”

The senator is right. In a democracy, political power does belong to the people. The law takes effect next July. The question then will be whether the people are prepared to hold the power that belongs to them.

Distrust of money in Hawaiʻi politics is earned. Within recent memory, legislators took bribes while in office and went to federal prison for it.

Campaign donations and paid political ads can look like bribery one step removed. The bill’s advocates reason that the state creates corporations, so the state may define their limits — including keeping their money out of our elections.

There’s a curious mix of paternalism and optimism among these “good government” advocates. On one hand, they believe voters are foolish enough to be swayed by whoever spends the most on ads. On the other hand, they suggest these same voters will govern themselves well if only the megaphones of money are taken away. But the men who founded this country assumed something closer to the opposite.

The founders read ancient history, many of them in the original Greek and Latin. They took man’s bent toward self-interest as the starting fact of politics. They built restraints to match: separated powers, staggered terms, courts insulated from the crowd.

What they founded was not a democracy but a republic, with something of the old orders built in. They gave us a President who serves like an elected king and a Senate meant to act as a natural aristocracy. Only the House was handed directly to the people, but true democracy was limited by property qualifications and racial discrimination. And the vote for the President was mediated by the Electoral College.

John Adams wrote that our Constitution was made “only for a moral and religious people.” That is why the founding generation cared so much about education. Their education was not mere job training. It was a liberal education, from the Latin word for freedom. Its purpose was to teach a man to rule himself before he presumed to rule others. Students learned history, languages, philosophy, rhetoric. And crowning it all, they studied theology — the knowledge of God.

The old colleges existed for this. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton began as schools for ministers. So did Lahainaluna, founded in 1831 to train teachers and ministers. It is often called the oldest high school west of the Rockies.

I have a friend who did everything right, as modern education counts rightness: elite prep school, Ivy League college, Harvard for law. A few years into practice, over coffee, he told me he had just read Plato’s allegory of the cave for the first time. In the allegory, prisoners sit chained in the dark, watching shadows move across a wall, believing the shadows are the world. One prisoner is freed and dragged up into the sunlight, where at first he can see nothing at all.

My friend liked the story. He read it as a story about other people. He had escaped the cave, he figured, and could now see how everyone else’s beliefs were shadows cast by the culture. What escaped him was the allegory’s caution. The freed prisoner is blinded twice — once going up into the light, and once coming back down into the dark. A man fresh out of the cave should let his eyes adjust before appointing himself liberator.

Plato knew there was a sun outside the cave. He did not know the light of Christ. Neither did my friend.

My friend is not unusual. He is the product of our “best” schools.

Many parents run their children on the treadmill that formed my friend. They choose the right preschool feeding the right prep school feeding the right college. Along the way, they mistake the résumé for the education.

David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, 

 candidates to spend several hours every day producing content. They must churn out clips for platforms where a viewer’s attention lasts a few seconds.

Plouffe is not corrupting the voters. He is describing them. And the rising political class on the left and right spends its days performing for cameras rather than governing.

A people that can be moved by a 10-second clip is not a people prepared for self-rule. And a people that rewards its leaders for making such clips deserves the leaders it elects.

The freedom we already have tells the same story. We are free to gamble on our phones, free to consume pornography without limit, free to leave a marriage for no reason at all, free to hand our children a screen so we can look at our own. These are freedoms that can be enjoyed in a prison cell. The chains are still on. They have simply been made comfortable.

Act 11 may well do what it promises. But no act of the legislature can form a soul, and the legislature should not be blamed for failing at work that was never assigned to it.

The work of reform belongs to the Lord, and it happens in families, churches, and schools. It happens as parents bring real books to the table and read them aloud. It happens in congregations that still teach the faith rather than assume it. It happens in a handful of schools, here and elsewhere, trying to recover the education that Yale and Lahainaluna were built for. The state guards the boundary of the field. But it cannot make anything grow there.

Next July, Hawaiʻi will remove corporate money from its elections. But it will leave the voters exactly as it found them. The good government advocates who backed this reform will find that removing corporate money from politics won’t cure what ails us. The rot is much deeper than a few campaign ads.

The American founders knew where the reformation of a people comes from, and it was never the legislature. Freedom worthy of the name begins when the prisoner meets the one who made the sun.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

I Stock 1222208781

<title>Hawaiʻi Act 11: Why the corporate campaign spending ban can’t fix our politics</title>

Hawaiʻi’s new ban on corporate election money assumes the voters are ready to govern themselves. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why self-government can’t be legislated.

Hawaiʻi Act 11: Why the corporate campaign spending ban can’t fix our politics

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Business & Tourism

[{"type":"text","text":"If you’re driving too fast on South King Street, you’ll miss it."}]

 can be found at his red trailer — located on South King Street, between the 76 gas station and McDonald’s — on specific days of the week. He’s been in business for about 10 years serving up Tennessee-style barbecue.

“I learned how to cook from my grandfather in Tennessee,” says business owner Sean Paul Jones. He says he was one of 12 grandkids.

“My grandfather taught me how to cook barbecue,” he says. “Since I was a kid, he taught me how to barbecue and cook. For Tennessee-style (barbecue), we use a little dry rub mixed with the barbecue sauce; that’s what makes it really good.”

Jones, who previously worked as a contractor for the military, knew he wanted to start his own barbecue-centric business. He decided to name his business after his grandpa, Bozie Jones, in honor of the man who taught him how to cook.

Jones moved his red trailer around various locations on Oʻahu before settling on his current spot on South King Street.

“A lot of customers wanted me back (here); they kept asking me to come back,” he says.

Jones’ menu is simple, and comprises rib tips ($18), ribs ($24), brisket ($28), chicken ($17) and combo plates ($30). He says the ribs and brisket are the bestsellers.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Within two to three hours, the brisket sells out,” he says."}]

Jones prepares the meats with kiawe wood. He says it takes about three to four hours for the ribs and rib tips to cook.

All plates come with a side of baked beans and Jones’ housemade barbecue sauce.

“The sauce is my granddaddy’s special that he made in Tennessee,” Jones explains. “It’s a vinegar and mustard-based sauce.”

“It’s been a lot of work, and a lot of relationships have been built,” Jones says. “A lot of people keep coming back for the same barbecue.

“I wanted to bring part of the soul and love from Tennessee to Hawaiʻi, and infuse southern barbecue with Hawaiʻi by using kiawe wood,” he adds. “I didn’t just want to bring Tennessee here, but bring Hawaiʻi and Tennessee together.”

Jones’ trailer is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays and Sundays. Earlier this year, he also opened a second location with Maunakea Marketplace in Chinatown; his food stall is open every day except Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Chinatown location’s menu is mostly the same as the one at the trailer, but it features more daily specials, according to Jones.

Bozie Jones BBQ owner 041626

<title>Where to find Tennessee-style barbecue in Honolulu</title>

Bozie Jones Barbecue — with its signature red trailer on South King Street — has been serving Tennessee-style barbecue for about nearly 10 years. Owner Sean Paul Jones learned how to cook barbecue from his grandfather in Tennessee, and now serves up brisket, barbecue ribs and rib tips.

Where to find Tennessee-style barbecue in Honolulu

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

University of Hawai‘i head football coach 

 has agreed to a long-term contract extension to remain the head coach of the Rainbow Warriors. 

In a Q&A with Aloha State Daily, UH athletics director Matt Elliott confirmed that the two sides have a deal in place that includes an increased salary pool for the football team's assistant coaches, as well as two-year deals for multiple assistant coaches. Many coaches on the UH football staff operate on one-year contracts. (Click 

The deal is pending university approval and will be announced by the school upon completion, Elliott says. 

"We have a deal," Elliott said. "It's just a matter of going through those signature processes. We'll announce it very soon. But yes, we have a long-term extension.

"He and I reached a deal in the in the winter. His focus was, 'I want to get deals done for all my staff,' so that's where we spent some time. In a lot of cases, we're doing two-year deals for a lot of the assistant coaches, so kind of getting all those in place first, and now we've been just going through it, and it takes regent approval. It takes different levels of our university to approve the contract. So, it's done. It's just a matter of getting it all signed."

Chang, who was hired in January 2022, has gone 22-29 in his four seasons at the helm. The Rainbow Warriors went 9-4 in a breakthrough 2025 campaign, ending their season with a dramatic comeback victory over California in the 

Prior to the extension, Chang's contract was set to expire following the 2026 season. His initial four-year deal with the school was extended by one year in December 2024. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Hawai‘i opens its 2026 season at Stanford on Aug 29. "}]

Timmy Chang 061526

<title>Timmy Chang, UH agree to long-term contract extension, UH AD Matt Elliott says</title>

Chang's current contract was set to expire following the 2026 season.

Timmy Chang, UH agree to long-term contract extension, UH AD Matt Elliott says

There’s a new burger spot in West Oʻahu.

 just opened its second location in Kapolei (its first location is in Wahiawā). The new store is located at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Oʻahu Kapolei and is open to the public.

This location features indoor and outdoor seating; the eatery will soon have its sign up.

The menu is mostly the same as the one at the original Wahiawā location, according to chef/owner Arjay Mijares. The Kapolei location has a few new dishes.

“The seared ‘ahi tuna and steamed edamame are new appetizers,” he says. “I also added the Godzilla burger on there, along with spinach salad.”

While Mijares says he was interested in finding a second location, this particular one “fell into his lap” about a month ago.

“We got the permitting, Department of Health inspection and everything situated,” he confirms. “We had to rearrange the kitchen a little bit, but we had our soft opening on Wednesday.”

The seared ‘ahi tuna ($19) — served with sesame seeds, wasabi and ginger slaw — is a refreshing starter. Meanwhile, the spinach salad ($23), topped with fresh berries, toasted almonds, goat cheese and poppyseed dressing, is ideal if you want something light but filling.

Of course, the eatery still features its line-up of loaded burgers; all burgers come with a side of waffle fries. Customer favorites from the Wahiawā location include the fajita sizzling burger ($22), short rib burger ($30) and barbecue burger ($21). The latter features an 8-ounce wagyu patty with barbecue pork, peppered bacon, cheddar cheese, an onion ring, barbecue sauce and pepper jack cheese.

Sandwiches and the eatery’s jumbo fried smoked chicken wings are also available.

Da Burger Wing Hub Kapolei will soon launch its weekend brunch, available Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Our Wahiawa location is still open and operational, but come join us,” Mijares says. “We want to make sure we bring a good vibe to Kapolei.”

Validated customer parking for four hours is available at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Oʻahu Kapolei.

Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays

Da Burger Wing Hub Kapolei owner 041726

<title>Da Burger Wing Hub opens second location in Kapolei</title>

The eatery, whose original location is in Wahiawā, just opened at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Oʻahu Kapolei. Its menu is mostly the same, with the addition of a few new appetizers. The eatery will be launching its weekend brunch menu soon.

Da Burger Wing Hub opens second location in Kapolei

MĀNOA — They took their lumps early but believed in each other and stayed together until the end. Facing a situation that once seemed insurmountable, they continued to plug away for the person next to them. By the end of it, tears were shed and there we too many hugs among them to count. 

's four years as the University of Hawai‘i football program's head coach symbolized his tenure more than the team's dramatic, improbable and historic 35-31 victory over California in the Hawai‘i Bowl on Wednesday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. 

The Rainbow Warriors, down 21-0 in the second quarter, staged the biggest comeback in the existence of the Hawai‘i Bowl, a game that debuted in 2002, back when Chang was UH's quarterback. Chang won two Hawai‘i Bowl MVPs as a player and was coaching in it for the first time on Wednesday. How did he compare the two experiences? 

"I think it's better now (as a coach), because I think I'm helping raise leaders in the community and building young men to just be great fathers and husbands, and we can come out here and win games as well as do those things. I think that's the joy that I have now being older," said Chang with tears in his eyes after the game. "It's one thing to go out there and go play and have the competition, but I totally love being a coach, and I love coaching the University of Hawai‘i."

After going 3-10 in his 2022 following the fallout of the Todd Graham era, Chang and the Rainbow Warriors finished the 2025 season 9-4, their highest win total of the decade. Wednesday's contest against the Golden Bears (7-6) was the program's 

"They're gritty," Chang said of his team. "They've learned how to fight through adversity. I would say the first three years taught us the ways not to fight through adversity, and this year has taught us the ways that we can handle adversity and continue to propel ourselves. I think the game of college football, or the game of football, is not too complicated, right? You make mistakes. You know you're going to lose games. You make mistakes and you keep battling back. You keep fighting through. It's never perfect, so is life."

, it was Cal who came out blazing in the Mānoa sun on Wednesday. 

After Hawai‘i punted on the game's opening possession, Cal struck early with a 41-yard touchdown pass from freshman sensation Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, a Campbell alumnus, to Jacob De Jesus with 7:01 left in the first quarter. Sagapolutele was an efficient 5-for-5 with 64 yards on the first Cal possession. 

The Rainbow Warriors went scoreless in the first quarter as 

 missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, just his second miss of the year. 

Cal took a 14-0 lead when running back Kendrick Raphael went 19 yards to the end zone untouched in the first play of the second quarter. The onslaught appeared to be on when Anthony League put Cal ahead 21-0 with 9:38 left in the second quarter. 

Cal's early lead did not deter the sellout turnstile crowd of 14,301, the vast majority of whom stayed in their seats from the sunny 3 p.m. kickoff to the game's dramatic finish. 

Hawai‘i got on the board with a 13-yard touchdown from Micah Alejado to Pofele Ashlock with 3:57 left in the second quarter, then trimmed the lead to 21-10 after a 29-yard Kansei Matsuzawa field goal with 27 seconds left in the first half. 

A 39-yard Matsuzawa field goal cut Cal's lead to 21-13 with 5:58 left in the third quarter. The Rainbow Warriors then tied the game on Alejado's 3-yard touchdown pass to Ashlock and ensuing underhand pass to Cam Barfield on the two-point conversion, tying things at 21 with 13:50 left in the fourth quarter. 

After Chase Meyer's 22-yard chip shot put California broke the tie, Hawai‘i took its first lead of the game on a 17-yard touchdown from Alejado to Brandon White. 

Cal answered with a quarterback sneak from Sagapolutele to go back up 31-28 with 1:57 remaining. Down to one timeout, Chang says the Rainbow Warriors were more than content with getting in field goal range to give 

, an opportunity to send the game to overtime. 

Alejado, whose helmet fell off multiple times throughout the course of the contest, also took a number of big hits that caused him to stay down on the turf. The final instance saw the redshirt freshman rolling around in pain, forcing the 'Bows to use their final timeout. 

 entered the game in Alejado's place and wasn't thinking tie, floating a 22-yard touchdown to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left. 

"It was God working through me, working through our team. Just all season, that was just God's work," Weaver said. "I said a quick little prayer before I went out there, and I feel like he took care of the rest. It's pretty surreal."

In the final play of the game, Cal desperately tried to prolong the game with laterals, only for Hawai‘i to get the final stop on its own 42 yard line. After the victory was sealed, the teams engaged in a brief skirmish. 

"I think these guys are definitely a rival now," UH senior running back 

 said. "They really thought they were Hawai‘i's team and that's the title that we hold and we're proud of."

Sims was supposed to play in his first Hawai‘i Bowl in 2021, but the game was canceled due to a Covid-19 outbreak within the team. Less than a month later, Chang was introduced as the team's new head coach following dozens of player departures and a Hawai‘i Senate hearing against Graham. 

"A lot of guys down 21 points, that's a tough spot to be in. This is just one of those memorable games that will go down in Hawai‘i history that you can never forget," Sims said. "We've always been the underdogs. I don't think you could have really written a better script than tonight. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Just so proud of these guys. It's just a hell of finish.\""}]

The quarterback duel between Alejado and Sagapolutele lived up to the hype, as Alejado completed 32 of his 46 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Sagapolutele went 28-for-39 with 343 yards and a touchdown. Neither team turned the ball over, a Hawai‘i Bowl first. 

Ashlock was named the Hawai‘i Bowl MVP after catching 14 passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns, shouldering the load at receiver following the 

"I think lately, I haven't been confident in the most ways. So, going out there was just amazing, just going out there and just playing my game, and having Micah just be right there with me and the team right there with me, and to come out here and do it in the biggest stage, in front of a whole bunch of fans, man, it was amazing," Ashlock said. 

Peter Manuma and Wynden Ho‘ohuli each had eight tackles to lead UH, while Cal safety Aiden Manutai, a Kahuku product, had three tackles. 

, who was thrust into the role after the firing of Justin Wilcox, dropped to 34-34 in his career. Rolovich was a UH quarterback from 2000 to 2001, a student assistant from 2003 to 2004, an assistant coach from 2008 to 2011 and the head coach from 2016 to 2019 before taking the Washington State job. Following the game, Rolovich is set to begin his post as Cal's quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach under new head coach Tosh Lupoi. 

"Incredible emotional ride for me this week," Rolovich said. "Not only coming back to UH. The Sheraton bowl, I don't know if there's a better bowl in the country, the experience they gave these guys. When you wear that (Hawai‘i) jersey, you know what it's gonna be like and you're gonna fight until the end and they did and they deserve credit for that."

With the 2025 season complete, the next event on the docket for the Rainbow Warriors is the upcoming NCAA Transfer Portal period, which runs from Jan. 2-16. Spring practices have yet to be announced for the 'Bows. Hawai‘i will begin its 2026 regular season at Stanford. 

, believes the win will serve as a launch pad for what figures to be a promising 2026 for the 'Bows. 

"It's a great launch pad for us. This definitely was a turnaround year for us, and just showing the state our potential, getting the state back," Alejado said. "Going into next year full steam ahead with all the momentum, we're excited to start doing it again."

Chang, meanwhile, after coaching in his first bowl game, can say with full certainty that participating in a bowl game beats watching one. 

"Ironically, a year ago, we were in one of these suites right behind us, raising NIL money to keep our program together and keep our core guys here, and that's so important for us as we develop guys like 

. I can go on and on about the guys that we have here, that we want in our program," Chang said. 

"If you guys like the product, the state of Hawai‘i likes the product that's on the field, continue to support our football team in those ways and the monetary ways that's needed in college football now."

Daily Smile: Tuesday, February 3, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Authors

ASD Staff

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