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ASD Staff

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Just like a cartoon..."}]

Smile 26 2 5

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

Just like a cartoon...

Daily Smile: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

Two Garden Isle nonprofits are working together to bring affordable housing to Līhu‘e.

The development — a collaboration between Kaua‘i Housing Development Corp. (KHDC) and Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity (KHFH) — is possible through a land grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, which transferred about 5.14 acres on Ahukini Road to the two organizations.

According to a Feb. 2 announcement, KHDC will be the lead developer of the project, which will create 111 housing units, with KHFH serving as a development partner. They'll share pre-development responsibilities and selected development work, the announcement notes.

Xan Avendaño, program director, Hawai‘i grant making for The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, told Aloha State Daily Wednesday that the foundation has an “overall mission to fight poverty and support thriving communities.”

After the foundation’s own community listening sessions, and looking at other listening sessions that have gauged the needs and opportunities around housing on Kaua‘i, he says the foundation knows that thousands of units for households earning 120% of the area median income are needed on the island by 2027.

But one of the biggest gaps to addressing that need is access to land that’s zoned for housing, Avendaño says.

“The foundation, as both a philanthropic entity that’s committed to addressing poverty and also as an organization that has held real estate assets, we took this opportunity to merge those two areas of work and support the community in a way that lifts up both of those strengths and can address that challenge.”

Avendaño says the foundation has worked on the land grant opportunity over the last 18 to 24 months, “with a focus on how do we keep this land out of the speculative real estate market and preserve it for affordable housing for forever, for multiple generations.”

In doing that, he says that the “obvious partners” became nonprofit developer partners whose missions are to "preserve housing affordability for as long as possible, and it's also their mission to think through what [does] a healthy community look like and how do we support people of multiple incomes and backgrounds who all call Hawai‘i home to be able to stay home."

KHDC Executive Director Andy Friend told ASD in an emailed response to questions that

have been multiple market studies over the last few years “that identify the pent-up demand for housing.”

KHFH Executive Director Milani Pimental told ASD in the same emailed response that the need for affordable housing on Kaua‘i “continues to grow exponentially year-over-year.”

“For example, in December 2025, the median sales price for homes was $1.2 [million]. Minimum wage is $16 per hour, making homeownership out of reach for many households on the island.”

, the median sales price for a single-family home on Kaua‘i was $1.25 million in December 2025, while the median sale price for a condo was $720,000.

Statewide, Hawai‘i will need an estimated 64,490 additional housing units by 2027 to meet demand, according to the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp.'s 

That same study notes that Kaua‘i County needs a total of housing 4,914 units by 2027 — 2,156 for ownership and 2,758 rental units. Of those, 3,258 units are needed for those making 80% or below of the area median income.

As for the proposed project itself, plans call for a mix of both rental and ownership opportunities.

KHDC-led rental housing will include 48 rental units for kūpuna and 33 multi-family rentals for individuals and families, Monday’s announcement noted. The multi-family rental units will target households at 60% of the area median income or below, the nonprofits told ASD.

Meanwhile, KHFH will develop a designated portion of the site for homeownership.

According to the announcement, 15 two-story duplex buildings will create 30 for-sale homes which will largely be available for households earning up to 80% of the AMI, but KHFH will partner with Permanently Affordable Living Hawai‘i “to explore ways to make a portion of homes available to local working households” that earn 80% to 120% AMI.

Income limits are determined by household size. You can find Kaua‘i County’s 

The announcement says, too, that KHFH also is exploring the option of placing some or all of the homes into a community land trust “to ensure long-term, permanent affordability.”

Pimental told ASD that a community land trust, or CTL, is a private, nonprofit organization that acquires and holds land as a community asset.

CLTs are increasingly being considered by Habitat affiliates across the nation,” Pimental explains. “They are governed by a board of housing residents, community members and external stakeholders. Essentially, CLTs create entry-level homeownership opportunities that are truly affordable, on a long-term or permanent basis. Income-eligible homebuyers will lease the land from the CLT using a long-term ground lease with affordable monthly ground rents.”

The organizations told ASD that a timeline for construction to begin and end is not yet in place, and that it’s too early in the process to determine how much the project to develop and how that will be funded.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Lihue affordable housing

<title>Affordable housing project planned for Līhu‘e</title>

The development — a collaboration between Kaua‘i Housing Development Corp. and Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity — is possible through a land grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Affordable housing project planned for Līhu‘e

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

A proposal to increase liquor taxes in the state has brewers and barkeeps concerned.

 this legislative session that propose various increases to the state liquor tax. One of those bills, 

, appears to be moving forward, with the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection voting Tuesday to give the bill a favorable recommendation, despite concerns by liquor producers.

As written, the bill deletes the current state law definitions of “liquor,” “beer,” “distilled spirits,” “wine” and the like. Instead, alcohol would be taxed based on alcohol-by-volume quantities, setting higher tax rates for beverages with higher alcohol content.

At the same time, the tax rates for various alcohol categories would still increase. Currently, the state liquor tax for non-draft beer is 93 cents per gallon; for draft beer, it is 54 cents per gallon. Under HB 1991, the tax for beverages with 9.9% ABV or lower — which includes many, although not all, beers — would be $1 per gallon, a nearly 50% increase for draft beers.

Other tiers would follow suit. Drinks between 10% and 15% ABV would be taxed at $1.75 per gallon, drinks between 16% and 40% at $6 per gallon and any higher ABV beverages at $6.50 per gallon.

The bill notes that the last time the liquor tax was increased was in 1998, and, thanks to general inflation and cost increases in the intervening decades, the state has lost out on millions in potential tax revenues.

, people bought more than 25 million gallons of non-draft beer in the state between July 2020 and June 2021, collectively spending nearly $260 million. At the current tax rate, that would generate about $23 million in tax revenues; assuming all those gallons were less than 10% ABV, the seven-cent tax hike would generate an additional $2 million in revenue.

With the 46-cent tax increase for draft beers under 10% ABV, the increase is more dramatic. People in Hawai‘i bought nearly 1.6 gallons of non-draft beer between July 2020 and June 2021, spending just over $19 million. Again assuming all those gallons were below 10% ABV, the tax revenues from those sales would nearly double from a little over $860,000 to $1.6 million.

 by the University of Hawai‘i estimated that a hypothetical flat 10-cent liquor tax increase across all categories of alcoholic beverages could increase the state’s annual tax revenues by more than $57 million.

However, that paper also estimated that a 10-cent tax increase would also decrease alcohol consumption in the state by 6.9%. It states that Maryland, which increased its own alcohol sales tax from 6% to 9% in 2011 saw a nearly 4% decrease in alcohol sales within 18 months, as well as reductions in the rates of underage drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, and other behaviors.

On the other hand, several people warned the committee on Tuesday that the tax hike would be devastating to their businesses.

Steve Haumschild, co-founder of Kailua-based Lanikai Brewing, told the committee that the bill could be “an industry killer” for smaller brewers.

“We already pay some of the highest tax rates in the nation already,” Haumschild said. “And I understand that this is an old taxation, but this is stuff that could easily close down and prevent new businesses from opening here.”

Garrett Marrero, CEO of Maui Brewing, said the ABV-based tax hike would be a wild shift away from any other tax structure in the nation, and speculated that local brewers would have to have their products’ ABV tested by a third party, likely based on the Mainland, at additional cost.

Marrero also referenced another paper: a 2017 cost comparability study for the Brewers of Europe trade association, which found that the cost-per-liter to manufacture beer is greater than that for other liquors. With draft beer receiving a nearly doubled tax under the bill, profit margins for local brewers would shrink further, while larger-scale out-of-state producers would be able to more readily absorb the cost.

Marrero and Haumschild both recommended that any liquor tax law include an exemption for small producers. Haumschild suggested that a brewer that manufactures no more than 60,000 barrels a year not be included in the tax increase.

Marrero also recommended the passage of 

, a measure that would create a “small craft producer pub licensee” tax class that would enjoy lower tax rates than the current liquor taxes — a $1.98 tax per gallon on distilled spirits, far below the current $5.98 per gallon, for example.  That tax class would only apply for producers manufacturing liquor below specified quantities.

SB 2912 has been referred to Senate committees, but no hearing has been scheduled on the measure.

The committee on Tuesday, meanwhile, voted unanimously in favor of HB 1991, albeit with some minor amendments. While one of those amendments would include a 60,000-barrel small producer tax class, it would also hike taxes for high-ABV liquors even further — $13 per gallon for liquor above 40% ABV.

With one committee’s favorable recommendation, HB 1991 is still referred to the House Finance Committee, which has yet to schedule any hearings on the matter.

Aloha State Daily reached out to Rep. Scot Matayoshi, co-introducer of the bill and chair of the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, for further comment.

Aloha Beer Co Red Zeppelin glass 011326

<title>Liquor tax hike advances, despite brewers' concerns</title>

Proposal to tax booze by ABV raises rates, eyebrows.

Liquor tax hike advances, despite brewers' concerns

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawaii History

Columnists

Out for an evening drive, a young couple becomes stranded when their car breaks down on a long, isolated road. Enveloped by darkness, the car won’t start, and the man takes on the role of hero, saying he will walk back to the last house they passed to ask for help.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Stay in the car,” he tells his girlfriend, “No matter what.”"}]

The woman waits in the safety of the car, but after a while, she begins to hear a slow tapping on the roof. She waits and waits. Finally, she grows tired and falls asleep, but is startled by a policeman knocking on the window. It’s daybreak, and the officer instructs the woman to get out of the car.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Don’t look back,” he says as he guides her to his patrol car."}]

She looks back anyway and sees her boyfriend hanging upside down from the tree above their car. The tapping sound was his blood, slowly dripping onto the roof. 

This is the urban legend that most of us have heard growing up. No one really knows exactly where the story originated, but no matter where you’re from, you’ve probably heard some version of this story. On O‘ahu, we associate this story with the infamous Morgan’s Corner.

Another urban legend is about a young woman who, distraught over her boyfriend leaving her, chooses a tree at Morgan’s Corner from which to hang herself. She hung so long that her head separated from her body. People say that her headless body roams the area, and if you look up into the tree, she will be there waiting to grab you.

Sometimes legends start with a bit of fact, and over time, the stories morph into something scarier or spookier. While we can say for sure that neither of these actually happened at Morgan’s Corner, there are several events that may be the cause of alleged hauntings in that area.

While the urban legends are just that, there was an actual murder nearby. In 1938, two prisoners escaped from a work line on Smith Street, near Beretania, and caught a city bus to Nu‘uanu Valley. After hiding out overnight, they came upon the Wilder Estate. They broke in through a small dressing room window, gaining access to the Wilder home where 68-year-old widow Therese Wilder was just sitting down to dinner. Mrs. Wilder heard the noise and went to investigate.

When she discovered the men in her home, she tried to escape, calling out in an attempt to frighten the intruders. One man grabbed her, and the other struck her in the eye. Mrs. Wilder was quickly overpowered and was bound and blindfolded. When she began to regain consciousness, she struggled and was beaten until she passed out. She was gagged with the towel that was initially used as her blindfold. The escaped convicts took some food and left. Mrs. Wilder wasn’t found until five days later. Her official cause of death was suffocation. Her jaw was broken, and the gag further impeded her breathing.

But death and destruction in this valley go back even further. In 1795, Kamehameha’s quest to conquer O‘ahu brought the decisive battle between his army of 12,000 warriors against Kalanikupule’s 9,000 O‘ahu and Maui warriors to Nu‘uanu Valley. From Pūowaina to La‘imi, to Pū‘iwa, to the 500-foot cliffs of the Nu‘uanu Pali, the armies clashed, leaving death in their wake. The battle raged right through the area that is now Old Pali Road and Nu‘uanu Pali Drive as the warriors fought for control of the island. Some people think the spirits of warriors continue to linger due to the many deaths that occurred in and around this area.

[{"type":"text","text":"But where exactly is Morgan’s Corner, and how did it get its name?"}]

The actual “corner” on Nu‘uanu Pali Drive was located at the spillway under the bridge at Judd Trail. Before the roadway was adjusted, the turn was nearly 90 degrees.

As early as February 1938, Honolulu newspapers were drawing attention to the dangerous curves on the Nu‘uanu side of Pali Road. Letters to the editor described a narrow, slippery road with almost no straight stretches of visibility, which was considered unsuitable and unsafe.

That same year, the Department of Public Works began promoting plans for a future Nu‘uanu Pali tunnel route that would eliminate some of the most dangerous bends. But public opposition and lack of interest delayed major improvements for years. In the meantime, the winding section of Nu‘uanu Pali Drive, including its almost-ninety-degree turn, continued to earn a deadly reputation.

The press began calling the turn the Morgan S Curve, after Dr. James A. Morgan, whose estate bordered the hazardous roadway. Over the next decade, newspapers used several variations. In 1941, printed articles referred to the stretch of road as the Morgan Estate curve, the Morgan residence curve, and Morgan’s corner. Other journalists called it Nu‘uanu’s death curve, the death trap, and Morgan death curve.

[{"type":"text","text":"By 1953, the name “Morgan’s Corner” stuck."}]

Between 1949 and 1957, nearly 200 crashes occurred along this stretch, including multiple deaths at Morgan’s Corner itself. For decades, officials talked about correcting the dangerous roadway, but there was always another reason to postpone construction. Even after a major legal dispute was settled in 1956, collisions persisted. One official bitterly joked that the place should be called “Morgan’s Coroner.”

Ultimately, reconstruction helped, but the danger was not fully eliminated until the opening of the new Pali Highway in 1958, which finally bypassed Nu‘uanu Pali Drive and Morgan’s Corner altogether.

Many believe that places are haunted by the spirits of people who died there. If this is true, then there are several reasons for this stretch of road to be haunted.

A friend once called me about something strange that happened near the hairpin turn on Nu‘uanu Pali Drive. He parked on the grassy shoulder in front of the gated community because he spotted a thick patch of dark laua‘e ferns, which were perfect for a fragrant lei po‘o. He began properly by offering an ‘oli before he started gathering, as his elders taught him. When he finished, he gave thanks to the forest and started back across the road.

On his way back to his car, neither he nor the approaching vehicle saw each other until the last second. He froze just in time as an old car swept past him. It was an old 1930s Packard sedan, black, new-looking, like something from territorial-era Hawai‘i. The driver, a white man in a coat and tie with horn-rimmed glasses, glared at him with sharp irritation.

The Packard pulled over near the small waterfall. My friend hurried to his own car, dropped the bag of ferns onto the seat, then angrily walked toward the sedan. But with every step closer, the vehicle began to fade until it completely vanished.

Shaken, he returned to his car, and that’s when he noticed the strangest detail. The bag was no longer filled with the thick, fragrant laua‘e leaves that he thought he picked. It was packed with light, lacy pala‘ā ferns instead.

“That corner,” I told him quietly, “is Morgan’s Corner. A residual ghost, maybe?”

[{"type":"text","text":"His face filled with fear, “Should I take the pala‘ā back?”"}]

“Make a lei from it first,” I suggested, “Then go back and make an offering of apologies. I’ll go with you.”

A few days later, we returned to offer apologies. Rain hammered my windshield the entire drive, but the moment we reached the spot where my friend parked earlier, it stopped completely. It seemed everything grew quiet, the rain, the traffic. I’ve never heard my friend chant so beautifully as he did that day.

Note: Many people believe that Morgan’s Corner lay on the Kane‘ohe side of the Nu‘uanu Pali on a narrow lane called Kiona‘ole Road, although the area has nothing to do with Dr. Morgan or anyone else with the name. The misnomer is possibly due to the simple directions given to thrill-seekers and ghost hunters as being “a twisting road with hairpin turns just before the Pali lookout.” These days, it is often referred to as the “Second Morgan’s Corner.”

Morgans Corner Nuuanu

<title>Residual spirits at Morgan’s Corner</title>

Arguably the most famous haunted place on O‘ahu is Morgan's Corner in Nu‘uanu. Do you know the real story behind it? Turns out, there's more than one possible explanation for the things seen and presences felt where life and death intersect on Nu‘uanu Pali Drive.

Residual spirits at Morgan’s Corner

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

MĀNOA — In his fourth year as the head coach of the University of Hawai‘i football team, 

 enjoyed unprecedented success in 2025. The Rainbow Warriors went 9-4, 

Hawai‘i's 2025 breakthrough was preceded by consecutive five-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. In both years, the Rainbow Warriors were one of the first teams in the country to begin spring practices, completing their 15 practice sessions early in order to focus on the program's strength and conditioning program at the end of the semester. 

Despite having their season end on Christmas Eve, nearly a full month after each of Chang's three previous years, the Rainbow Warriors were back at practice on Tuesday morning at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

"I do like it because we can and it fits our schedule. It fits what we want to do," Chang said following Tuesday morning's practice. "We got a bunch of new guys in there, and so it allows us to just to continue to develop. There's no perfect plan. It's just a plan in which I believe, and we believe, that will help develop our guys and get our guys going."

The rationale behind the early start is based on getting the team's younger and more inexperienced players increased reps during practice, providing ample time for players and coaches to evaluate, tinker and self-scout well after the 15th practice has ended. 

After practices are over, the Rainbow Warriors will immerse themselves in a strength training regimen put together by head strength and conditioning coach 

Fall camp, which will begin approximately a month before its Aug. 29 season opener at Stanford, will feature full days containing practices, strength and conditioning sessions, and film study. 

As for UH's 2026 spring practices, no position group figures to benefit more from the early repetitions than its quarterbacks. The Rainbow Warriors have two active quarterbacks on their spring roster in true freshman 

, as well as Bjorn Jurgensen, a redshirt freshman who transferred from the University of Virginia. 

Chang also confirmed after Tuesday's practice that presumed 2026 starter 

 will be sidelined as he recovers from an ankle injury suffered in the 2025 season opener. 

"He's gonna be on the side as he continues [recovering]. The ankle injury was a little bit worse than expected," Chang said of Alejado. 

With 2025 backups Luke Weaver [San Jose State] and Dermaricus Davis [Sacramento State] both finding new homes in the transfer portal, Eugenio and Jurgensen will receive close tutoring from Hawai‘i quarterbacks coach Chad Kapanui in the weeks ahead. Both took equal turns throwing on Tuesday, catching Chang's attention. 

"It's the first time I got to see their arms live. I thought Bjorn threw the ball really well and Maika throws the ball really well," Chang said. "The things that you can clean up are the reads, the timing. But as far as being quarterbacks and being able to play the position, pretty excited about those guys."

, UH staffers had to scramble in order to get its new additions signed and enrolled in classes. Dozens of newcomers were seen on the field on Tuesday, including receiver Audric Harris, a slot receiver from the University of Washington. Harris is one of 13 graduates of national high school football powerhouse Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas] on the spring roster. 

"Those memories that that we made at Bishop Gorman, they kind of carry with us, and we're looking to make some more here," he said. 

Though Chang had the final say in starting the team's spring earlier than most, he's part of a growing coalition of college football coaches who lamented the calendar of the college football season. Programs across the country are feeling inconvenienced by dates put in place by the NCAA during and after the season. 

"I think we're such in a rush to move forward and get on to the next thing and finish what we all started to do, and that's to just coach and develop young men, to develop student-athletes, and continue to pour into these guys," Chang said. "You look at it in ways where in this business, there's guys who are not performing and didn't get the results that they wanted. And then there's other sides of it, there's guys are excelling and doing really good, guys 

 and they're leaving teams high and dry. In my opinion, this is not the way to go. It puts a lot of stress on a lot of the other half of academia, academics, admissions, those type of things as there's moving parts to getting student-athletes in."

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Hawaii football 020326

<title>Hawai‘i football begins spring practices, staying with strategy to take the field early</title>

The Rainbow Warriors were again one of the first teams in the country to begin spring practices despite playing in a bowl game in December.

Hawai‘i football begins spring practices, staying with strategy to take the field early

Business & Tourism

Hawai‘i’s economy is one of the weakest in the nation after decades of stagnation, claims a new report from the University of Hawai‘i.

UH’s Economic Research Organization published on Sunday a report — “

” — breaking down the economic pressures facing the state.

Steven Bond-Smith, UH professor and lead author of the report, told reporters Monday that the report was an investigation into what has motivated people to leave the Islands in droves over the last two decades. Bond-Smith said that, for 23 of the last 25 years, more residents have moved away than new arrivals have moved in, with the leavers commonly citing a high cost-of-living as their reason for moving elsewhere.

However, that high cost-of-living isn’t the whole picture, Bond-Smith said, explaining that the state’s economic growth hasn’t been able to keep up with the rest of the nation.

Beginning in the late 80s, Bond Smith said the state’s compound annual growth rate — which had previously been consistent with the national average — slowed, leading to a widening gap between Hawai‘i and the rest of the country. The result, he said, has been wage stagnation, and a reduction in labor opportunities.

Adjusting for inflation and the higher cost of goods in Hawai‘i, Bond-Smith said the state’s economic growth is more reminiscent of a decaying post-coal Rust Belt town.

“Hawai‘i is expensive, but once we adjust for that, it’s clear that Hawai‘i is also being left behind, comparable to some of the most economically distressed places in the country,” Bond-Smith said.

Bond-Smith said communities in Appalachia that were once economically reliant on the coal industry began stagnating as the demand for coal dropped because those communities didn’t have diverse enough economies to cover the shortfall.

In the same way, Hawai‘i's tourist-centric economy doesn’t have other sectors robust enough to make up for weaknesses in the tourism industry, he said: the state simply lacks a major export industry to attract dollars from out-of-state.

The report notes that other areas with high costs of living such as San Francisco or Los Angeles are still able to maintain populations through the prospect of high wages. Hawai‘i, however, has the worst of both worlds: high costs and low incomes, leading to more people leaving the state.

The report concludes with only a few solutions. On one hand, the report acknowledges that tourism will remain the backbone of the state’s economy for decades, and Bond-Smith said that the tourism industry will likely provide the greatest opportunities for economic growth.

Bond-Smith said boosting value within tourism, such as through sports or event tourism, could help stimulate growth in an industry that has otherwise plateaued.

Meanwhile, UHERO Executive Director Carl Bonham said that identifying and removing barriers preventing new industries from taking root in Hawai‘i will be essential to diversify the economy. However, the report states that such new industries will likely grow out of the existing activities and industries within the state — that is, from tourism.

"It means investing in infrastructure that supports economic activity, increasing skills that allow workers to move into higher-value jobs and creating the right conditions for new tradable industries," Bond-Smith said.

A view of Honolulu

<title>UHERO report: Hawai‘i's economy one of nation's weakest</title>

UHERO study of the state's economy highlights high cost of living, low income growth

UHERO report: Hawai‘i's economy one of nation's weakest

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

 Gov. Josh Green’s press conference on Tuesday, held at the Hawai‘i State Capitol, in which he and other lawmakers and community leaders called for anti-ICE legislation here in the Islands. The event was hosted by the ACLU of Hawai‘i, the Legal Clinic of Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights, attended by Green, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, House Speaker Nadine Nakamura and other lawmakers. It was held as a vigil for Alex Pretti, who had been shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis Saturday.

This is Official Hawai‘i — state government policy leaders — and it’s very upset about Minneapolis, where now two activists have been killed while interfering with federal law enforcement. In their telling, it’s ICE that is out of control, and Hawai‘i has to do something to keep things like that from happening here.

Except the laws they’re proposing would recreate the very conditions that fostered a battleground in Minneapolis. If passed, they would increase, not decrease, the likelihood of danger for everyone involved — arrestees, protestors, ICE agents, bystanders. Everyone.

Let’s back up a second. If you’re upset about Minneapolis, do you ever wonder why you aren’t upset about cities in Texas, Florida, or Tennessee, where ICE is also detaining, arresting and deporting illegal immigrants?

[{"type":"text","text":"What made Minneapolis different?"}]

Specific decisions by Minnesota politicians and lawmakers to withhold local law enforcement support. This forced ICE to conduct its arrests in public, while these same politicians gave fiery speeches denouncing ICE as unbridled fascists. Officials there even withheld the local police support that would’ve kept order as the fired-up activists took the most confrontational approach possible short of open insurrection.

[{"type":"text","text":"If you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe the cops there:"}]

Minnesota cops beg Walz, pols to let them work with ICE, say they could have prevented shootings

In cities where local authorities help, there is no mayhem in the streets.

So what is Hawai‘i doing? Holding press conferences decrying ICE while proposing the same kind of adversarial legislation.

 article, so to keep it brief, a package of House and Senate Bills would do such things as prohibit local law enforcement agencies from entering into an agreement with ICE to carry out immigration enforcement on ICE’s behalf; prohibit ICE from interviewing people while in local custody (even though this is the safest place to do it); prohibit local cops from inquiring about a person’s immigration status; limit information sharing between state and county agencies and ICE; and more.

Green has promised to fast-track this legislation. Maybe, instead, legislators should be thoughtful and deliberate. I’d prefer they legislate about reality not distortions.

What distortions? Take a look at our photo, above, of Gov. Green and his supporters from Tuesday’s press conference. What do you see? Earnest, sincere, worried faces, to be sure.

[{"type":"text","text":"One also sees claims and assertions on signs."}]

“PEOPLE MURDERED BY ICE … AND PEOPLE KILLED BY TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION PRISONS:”

There follows a list of at least 30 visible names, which I started looking up, at random. And first of all, I should say, this sign is not an expose of secret knowledge. You can find the notices of “

” at ICE’s own website, as required by Congress. Here’s what I found:

 Duarte illegally entered the U.S. the first time 1976 in Arizona. He was charged with such crimes as burglary, theft and drug possession between 1984 and 2000. He was convicted in 2005 of sex crimes against children and sentenced by the Superior Court of Arizona 20 years in prison. That’s where ICE found him in January 2025, in an Arizona prison, before moving him to an ICE detention center in preparation for deportation. There his poor health was observed, and he was sent, not to any prison, but to Phoenix Specialty Hospital — a real hospital — where he was treated for six months before dying of natural causes.

 Assuming he is the same man is Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, he never made it to an ICE facility nor was he murdered. When ICE raided an LA Home Depot, he 

, unpursued, straight into the 210 Freeway in Monrovia, where he was hit by a car.

 A citizen of Vietnam, he was originally granted lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. in 1999, lost that status following a drug crime conviction. Last June, he was detained at Immigration Processing Center in Texas. An LPN there noted his multiple medical conditions, told him to take his insulin every day for diabetes. Phan would not take his insulin. Health care workers there also noted his high cholesterol and prescribed a medication for that, too. He wouldn’t take it. He was found having a seizure and transferred to a hospital where his own next of kin signed a do-not-resuscitate order for him, opting for hospice care instead. Phan died in the hospital when staff withdrew life support for that transfer.

. Vietnamese citizen, originally granted Legal Permanent Resident status in the U.S. in 1983. Convicted of murder in Orange County, Calif., in 1991. By the time he was detained at the El Paso Processing Center last February, he had a host of health problems and he was quickly transferred to the University Medical Center for evaluation, then the Long-Term Acute Care Hospital — a physician-owned hospital — where he stayed for many months, being treated for dementia until he died in the hospital of this condition.

I’m four names in and I’m not finding “PEOPLE KILLED BY TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION PRISONS.” I’m finding people who ICE treated promptly and moved to real hospitals when their health conditions were serious. The records don’t say who paid for their care. I’m assuming that once the federal government assumed responsibility for them, taxpayers paid for everything.

The first three names on the sign have red asterisks, so I assume these are the ones that — iron-clad, all-caps, unequivocally — fall under the “PEOPLE MURDERED BY ICE” heading. Renee Good. Keith Porter. Geraldo Campos. The sign must’ve been made before Alex Pretti’s shooting. Renee Good’s case is familiar to all, and everyone has made up their mind as to murder vs. justifiable homicide vs manslaughter. The other two?

 Killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Carson, Calif., when the agent investigated sounds of gunfire near his apartment and found Porter holding a rifle and shot him. Doesn’t seem related to any question of Porter’s citizenship, or any ICE operation. And as for the circumstances, I’ll just share some California reporting from 

Advocates say Porter had been firing the gun into the air as a way of observing the holiday 

 a practice routinely condemned by law enforcement officials.

"Yes, it was illegal, but at the end of the day, it's an American tradition," said organizer Najee Ali, the director of Project Islamic Hope.

[{"type":"text","text":"I can’t even. Really?"}]

 Cuban, here illegally since 1996, with past convictions in the U.S. for weapons charges, sexual abuse of a child; petit larceny; DUI and drug crimes. Died Jan. 3 in the Camp East Montana ICE facility following some kind of altercation with guards. His death has been 

, it’s unclear where things stand with an investigation to determine if it was murder. Department of Homeland Security says Campos was belligerent and attempting suicide and needed to be restrained, his death accidental. Other detainees claim he was suffocated by guards in the encounter.

And if that’s true, and they were in the wrong, throw the book at them. Just like we would any guard at any Hawai‘i prison that did such a thing. But I wouldn’t take this sign’s word for it, it so far proving to be less than fair and honest.

Green and Hawai‘i lawmakers are not responsible for every word of every sign that might appear in their vicinity. But no sign at this particular event was there by accident. This was a stage-managed event, designed for publicity. In the largest sense, Green, the Hawai‘i lawmakers, and the nonprofits leading the Make Hawai‘i Minneapolis campaign are standing up for these claims as if they were incontrovertible facts. They are just so certain 

 and they’re intent on rushing legislation with fierce urgency. They're doing so with what looks a fairly obvious mix of good, if poorly thought-out, intentions and cynical, politicized grandstanding.

Under such circumstances, maybe stop and think before blindly passing any of these bills.

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.

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<title>Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i’s proposed anti-ICE laws mimic Minneapolis in the worst ways</title>

On Tuesday, Gov. Green and Hawai‘i lawmakers stood in front of some wild allegations about ICE, and they're about to rush legislation as if every horror story on display were true.

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