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Daily Smile

This is Foster. A massive rainstorm hits, but he's out there gleefully swimming laps in the pool like it's the best day ever...

Smile 26 2 8

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, February 8, 2026</title>

Daily Smile: Sunday, February 8, 2026

 This is Foster. A massive rainstorm hits, but he&#039;s out there gleefully swimming laps in the pool like it&#039;s the best day ever...

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

 A storm system bringing severe weather to the Islands has prompted a number of closures across the state.

In advance of the severe weather conditions, Green issued an emergency proclamation effective through Feb. 11 unless extended “to mobilize state resources and support response efforts.”

“The safety of our residents and visitors is our top priority,” Green said in an announcement Sunday. “We know this storm system could bring conditions that make travel unsafe and threaten property. Please take this time to secure your home, check on loved ones and heed guidance from emergency officials. Hawaiʻi is strongest when we look out for one another – and that starts with being prepared.”

You can find preparation guidelines, as well as links to sign up for alerts from your own county’s emergency management agencies, on the 

Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency website

·      All state offices and the state Department of Education schools across all islands will be closed Monday, Feb. 9, the Governor’s Office notes. Affected state employees will receive administrative leave for the day, but essential personnel and emergency response workers should follow guidance from their supervisors.

·      All University of Hawaiʻi campuses will be closed Monday and all in-person and online classes are canceled. Employees critical to health, safety and recovery operations should check with their supervisors regarding reporting requirements, the university says.

·      The Hawaiʻi State Legislature will be closed Monday.

·      The Judiciary also will close all courthouses and operations on Monday. Filing deadlines have been extended to Tuesday and all hearings will be rescheduled, the governor’s office notes.

·      All Division I boys basketball regional first-round games originally scheduled for Monday have been postponed and will be held instead on Tuesday, Feb. 10, according to 

Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association

 for more information and for specific site-by-site tip-off times and location updates. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On Oʻahu:"}]

·      The City and County of Honolulu will close all non-essential offices and services through at least Monday. Non-essential personnel should not report to work, the city said in an announcement Sunday.

·      The Honolulu Zoo closed Sunday in an effort to protect visitors, staff and the animals. In an announcement, the city says it will monitor weather conditions and work with city emergency management officials to determine a reopening date. Updates will be posted to the zoo’s social media.

·      All Honolulu municipal golf courses are temporarily closed.

·      The city’s park facilities are closed for public use through Feb. 9, including athletic fields, pools, outdoor courts and other outdoor park facilities. According to the Department of Parks and Recreation, all  permitted activities and park classes are canceled. All Honolulu Botanical Gardens will also remain closed through Monday. The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is regularly closed on Monday and Tuesday, DPR noted.

·      Overnight camping at all city campgrounds was suspended Saturday night, with the closure lasting through Wednesday, Feb. 11, the city says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On Neighbor Islands:"}]

  noted that its solid waste facilities and most county park facilities, including all beach parks, were closed. All non-essential county services will be closed Monday.

As of 3 p.m. Sunday, shelters have opened at Waimea Community Center, 65-1260 Kawaihae Road, Waimea; Ikuo Hisaoka Gymnasium, 54-382 Kamehameha Park Road, Kapaʻau; Honokaʻa Sports Complex Gym, 45-541 Lehua St. Honokaʻa; and Papāʻaloa Park Community Center, 35-1994 Government Main Road, Papāʻaloa.

Waipio Valley Road will be closed through 8 a.m. Tuesday, with access only for valley residents and farmers.

, Kauaʻi County Emergency Management Agency noted that emergency refuge areas were on standby and locations will be announced if needed and as they become available. Meanwhile, refuse transfer stations and the Kekaha Landfill may close with little or no advance notice because of weather conditions.

Kūhiō Highway near the Hanalei Bridge may also close with little or no advance notice, particularly if a flash flood warning is issued, the county notes.

·      On Maui, Hāna Highway via Haʻikū and Kaupō has been restricted to local access only due to safety concerns from fallen trees and landslides, the county said in an 

Those who are unsheltered and seeking dry shelter during the story can go to Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center in Wailuku and must sign in at the operations desk for assistance.

Kepaniwai Heritage Park in ʻĪao Valley also was closed Sunday due to rising waters and rain safety concerns, the announcement noted.

, northeast winds from 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected Sunday night, along with showers and isolated thunderstorms.

Monday is expected to be very windy with showers and isolated thunderstorms “windward and mountains.” Locally heavy rainfall is possible. East winds are expected to reach 25 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph.

As of Sunday afternoon, a high wind warning is in effect for all islands until 6 p.m. Monday and a high surf warning is in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the east-facing shores of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokai, Maui, Kahoʻolawe and Hawaiʻi Island.

 that a gale warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Monday for all Hawaiian coastal waters, and a flood watch in in effect for all islands through 6 p.m. Monday.

And on the Big Island, a winter storm warning is in effect for  summits above 11,000 feet in elevation through 6 p.m. Monday, with snow accumulations of 10 to 16 inches expected on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

Storm damage Feb 2026

<title>Storm closures across the Islands</title>

High winds Sunday have led to a range of closures Monday, from schools to the Legislature.

Storm closures across the Islands

Business & Tourism

Food & Dining

What’s the best sandwich shop in Hawai‘i?

That, of course, depends on who you ask, but the newest 50 Best list from Only in Your State — devoted to the 

According to Only in Your State, Sprout “focuses on fresh, vibrant sandwiches that feel lighter but never boring. Known for creative veggie-forward options alongside meatier builds, the shop emphasizes texture, crunch and bold sauces.”

A number of factors were evaluated when selecting the list, including accessibility, inclusivity, affordability, hours, overall value and more.

The locally owned shop at 1154 Koko Head Ave. has been serving up “fresh, handcrafted sandwiches” using locally sourced ingredients since 2014, 

“With more than 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, co-owners and longtime friends Stephanie Leonard and Steven Ashcraft created Sprout with a clear mission: to build a neighborhood sandwich shop that supports a variety of dietary needs while serving delicious food the whole family can enjoy,” its website notes.

 is a “local travel and discovery resource” that highlights “off-the-beaten-path attractions and unique natural wonders” of each state. 

 is a monthly series that spotlights the best dishes, restaurants and food traditions across the U.S.

I Stock kaimuki 020626

<title>Kaimukī sandwich shop named best in Hawai‘i on new 50 Best list</title>

The newest 50 Best list from Only in Your State — devoted to the 50 Best Sandwich Shops Across the U.S. — has declared its winner.

Kaimukī sandwich shop named best in Hawai‘i on new 50 Best list

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Government & Politics

Columnists

 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.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

20260127 101533 16x9

<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.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"\"This is the largest stick Daisy has ever selected to bring home...\""}]

Smile 26 1 28

<title>Daily Smile: Wednesday, January 28, 2026</title>

"This is the largest stick Daisy has ever selected to bring home..."

Daily Smile: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Families traveling with keiki age 12 and under now have the option to use a dedicated airport security screening lane at Daniel K. Inoue International Airport (HNL).

HNL is among several airports nationwide participating in “Families on the Fly,” 

by The Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The new initiative aims to “minimize their stress while maintaining the highest level of security” during the busy summer travel season and beyond.

According to the announcement, “Families on the Fly” benefits include dedicated family lanes, discounted TSA PreCheck fees for families and dedicated TSA PreCheck lanes for service members and their families. 

TSA and Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation conducted a press conference Wednesday about the campaign. The new lane for ‘ohana is located at HNL Terminal 2, TSA Checkpoint 4, between Lobbies 6 and 7.

TSA’s Federal Security Director for Pacific Airports Nanea Vasta said that they soft launched the lane last month, with plans to expand the offering to Terminal 1 soon.

“Things have been going smoothly, and we’ve gotten positive feedback,” she told Aloha State Daily. “We’re also looking at other airports that may benefit from this based on passenger traffic.”

Since its HNL launch, approximately 3,000 people use the lane per day, HDOT officials said.

According to Vasta, there were no increases to TSA staffing to man the ʻohana lane. Existing staff were "moved around,” she said.

“The goal is to enhance passenger traveling experience with a dedicated lane for families and to lessen the wait time in other lanes. Though this initiative focuses on hospitality, being thorough and effective to ensure safety is always a priority.”

The Real I.D. rollout in May also has helped improve safety, in addition to ongoing upgrades to airport security’s state-of-the-art equipment and trainings offered to TSA officers, 

“We appreciate that TSA has chosen the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to be one the nation’s first airports to have a dedicated family lane as part of the ʻFamilies on the Flyʻ initiative," said HDOT Director Ed Sniffen in a statement. “Having the new lane at HNL is especially significant, given the importance of ʻohana (family) in the Island and Hawaiʻi's popularity as a family friendly destination.”

Curt Otaguruo, deputy director of transportation for airports, noted that the HNL Airport app has interactive terminal maps and navigation tools to help ʻohana find this dedicated lane and more. “We call it wayfinding. It even has flight updates, so itʻs all in one place,” he said.

 so far include Orlando International (MCO), Charlotte-Douglas International (CLT), John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA), Jacksonville International (JAX), Will Rogers International Airport (OKC), Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), with plans to add more across its 435 airports throughout the country.

HNL is not currently participating in TSAʻs "Serve with Honor, Travel with Ease," campaign, which was also launched this summer. HDOT said that initiative has gone live at 10 U.S. airports.  

Family flies

<title>Families fast-tracked at Honolulu airport</title>

TSA launches new initiative at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport that enhances hospitality for families traveling with keiki 12 and under. The “Families on the Fly” campaign rolled out this summer across several airports throughout the country.

Daily Smile: Sunday, February 8, 2026

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