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Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by ChrisAnn Hayes on the Pali. "

From the Scenic Point on the Pali town bound before the tunnel. Worth it to pull over for a minute and see this before heading to work!"

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

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<title>Hawaiʻi Skies: On the way to work</title>

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by ChrisAnn Hayes on the Pali.

Hawaiʻi Skies: On the way to work

Today&#039;s Hawai‘i Skies was captured by ChrisAnn Hayes on the Pali. &quot;From the Scenic Point on the Pali town bound before the tunnel. Worth it to pull over for a minute and see this before heading to work!&quot; To submit your Hawai&#039;i Skies photo, visit us online or email: general@alohastatedaily.com For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"The Three Stooges..."}]

Smile 26 3 5

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

The Three Stooges...

Daily Smile: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Food & Dining

Arts & Entertainment

More than 50 teams of fishers removed 2,916 invasive fish from the reef as part of the 

, a contest coordinated by Mālama Maunalua. The event was designed to bring fishers from across Oʻahu to Maunalua Bay to see which team could collect the most of three kinds of invasive fish — 

— between Friday, Feb. 27, and Sunday, March 1.

Fishers donated a portion of their catch after weigh-in to Local Iʻa, which coordinated a community fish fry, and Chef Hui, which created ceviche tasting plates led by Chef Eric Oto.  The community event held the last day of the tournament was free and open to the public.

“Eat the Invaders is about turning a real environmental challenge into an opportunity,” said 

, the Fisheries Management Area coordinator at Mālama Maunalua, in a written statement. “By removing invasive fish and helping people understand that species like taʻape and toʻau are delicious, safe, and sustainable seafood, we can protect our reefs while strengthening local food systems.”

first time the Eat the Invaders Fishing Tournament was held at Maunalua Bay

, Hong told Aloha State Daily last week. The inaugural 

Eat the Invaders Tournament was held at Heʻeia Pier in July of 2025.

The teams collected 2,609  taʻape (common bluestripe snapper), 244 toʻau (blacktail snapper), and  63 roi (peacock grouper). These invasive species were introduced to Hawaiʻi in the 1950s and proliferated at rates that now threaten native reef ecosystems, the nonprofit shared. The largest single fish captured was a 5.1-pound roi captured by team Green Machine and Schuyler Cole

Prizes for the fishers included spear guns, new rods and reels, coolers, custom dive knives and more, he said.

Last year, Maunalua Bay was designated as a new Fisheries Management Area by the Board of Land and Natural Resources. This tournament is helping publicize the new rules for fishing in Maunalua Bay, which include no nighttime spearfishing and no taking of five species: ʻalakuma (7-11 crab), horned helmet, Triton’s trumpet, ula (spiny lobster) and ula pāpapa (slipper lobster), Hong told ASD last week.

The community event included booths where attendees could learn about groups doing restoration work in the region and participate in Gyotaku fish prints, led by the artist Naoki and tournament staff.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

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

BY THE NUMBERS: HOW MANY FISH WERE REMOVED IN THREE DAYS?

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Taʻape (2,609 fish, 987.93 pounds)"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Toʻau (244 fish, 155.07 pounds)"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Roi (63 fish, 113.55 pounds)"}]

Eat the Invaders Fishing Tournament

<title>Fish, it's whatʻs for lunch</title>

Invasive fish species were on the menu at the close of the three-day Eat the Invaders Fishing Tournament organized by the nonprofit Mālama Maunalua and held at Maunalua Bay. Learn just how many fish were captured as part of the event.

Fish, it's whatʻs for lunch

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Before the University of Hawai‘i men's basketball team embarked on its 2025-2026 campaign, Isaac "Big Fish" Johnson sat in a hot tub with some of his teammates. Life after basketball came up, and it was there that Johnson shared this particular season would probably be it for him as far as organized hoops is concerned. 

Following a two-year church mission in Ohio, Johnson began his collegiate career at the University of Oregon in 2021. The 7-foot center from Utah arrived as the No. 61 ranked player nationally in his high school class, according to ESPN Recruiting. But college ball was a different story at first, and Johnson played in just 14 games as a true freshman. He then transferred to Utah State, where he started 31 games in the 2023-2024 season but saw his role diminish the following year. 

With one year of eligibility remaining, Johnson hit the NCAA transfer portal one last time, landing with UH. The plan was to play for the Rainbow Warriors for one year, then get a job while supporting his wife, Audrah, an outside hitter for Chaminade's women's volleyball team. 

Johnson has started all 28 games for the Rainbow Warriors thus far, quickly earning fan favorite status. Whether it's an electrifying dunk, swished 3-pointer or an emphatic block, fans can be seen motioning their arms and performing a chomping motion in support of Big Fish.

Each game with the 'Bows has reminded Johnson why he began playing in the first place. He loves the sport. And he has a lot more to give to it. 

"Being here has ignited that fire back in me, and it feels amazing to be in that position and to have that love rekindled," Johnson said. "It's been pretty awesome.

"It's been consistently throughout the season, there's been moments and being a part of this team, meeting with this coaching staff that treats us like adults and like real human beings instead of a number. The community loves us so deeply. There's just so many little things that have helped grow it."

While being a member of the team has reignited Johnson's love for the sport, his play on the court has revived a program that was coming off a disappointing 2024-2025 season. The Rainbow Warriors went 15-16 overall and 7-13 in Big West play, missing the conference tournament entirely. Heading into their final set of home games in 2025-2026, the Rainbow Warriors are 21-7 overall and 13-5 in conference games. 

If the Rainbow Warriors were to defeat UC Riverside on Thursday and Long Beach State on Saturday, coupled with a UC Irvine loss on Thursday or Saturday, the 'Bows would be crowned Big West regular season champions. Two wins, regardless of UC Irvine's results, would guarantee the 'Bows a top 2 seed and valuable double bye in the conference tournament, which runs from March 11-14 in Henderson, Nev. 

Hawai‘i head coach Eran Ganot believes Johnson has a true shot at winning conference Player of the Year. His impact on the court is felt well beyond his 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. 

"Big Fish is up there for Player of the Year, and he's a guy who's come from winning programs, but now he's had to have the task of being a more impactful player on a winning program," Ganot said. "He's done that, and it's been fun to watch. And I think he has a bright future."

Following Saturday's home finale against Long Beach State, Johnson will be one of six seniors honored following the game, along with Harry Rouhliadeff, Gytis Nemeikša, Hunter Erickson, Dre Bullock and Yacine Toumi. Point guard Tanner Cuff is also listed as a senior but is expected back for the 2026-2027 campaign after a knee injury sidelined him in November. 

"Just to see all those guys smile, this is what they wanted, and they wanted to play for a good program, to have success as a team," Ganot said of his senior class. "Then the added benefit of doing it in this state with this fanbase, I couldn't thank them more. I always say this, and I'll say it again over the course of the week, people ask me about the seniors. Hire them. They're guaranteed. And number two, just very grateful for them, thankful that they're in our lives."

The Rainbow Warriors will head to Nevada for the Big West tournament next week, where they'll aim to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years. Regardless of how the season ends, it won't be the end of Johnson's playing career. 

"Life is short. This is for Fish or anybody, whatever path they choose: Do what you love, where you love, with the people you love, and do it at a place where you can improve. Development's really important," Ganot said. "For me as a coach, you could see the joy, because he loves Hawai‘i, he loves his team and he loves the game, and so that's a big part of why he's improved, because he's happy, and that's a credit to the people of Hawai‘i, the University of Hawai‘i, his teammates, himself. Everybody deserves to be happy."

Isaac Johnson 030426

<title>Hawai‘i men's basketball standout Isaac "Big Fish" Johnson rediscovers his love for the…</title>

Johnson, a senior transfer and one of the team's star players, has been one of the biggest keys in the program's turnaround in the 2025-2026 season.

Hawai‘i men's basketball standout Isaac "Big Fish" Johnson rediscovers his love for the game in Islands

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

, vividly remembers serving tacos on a street corner in Waikīkī back in 2011.

“I started a little taco stand from 2011 to 2015,” he says. “I was in Waikīkī, making tacos from midnight to 4:30 in the morning. And sometimes I would stay there until 5 a.m.; I would take a lot of food with me.

“(Before that,) I was waiting tables and bartending in Vegas,” he adds. “When I moved to Hawai

i, I had to open my business to make the same amount of money. I opened in Kalihi Valley in 2015 on Cinco de Mayo.”

Since the business’s original Kalihi store opening, it has expanded. Alvarado had a Kapahulu location for a few years — “from 2020 to 2023,” he says — and opened in Pearl City. The biz recently opened its third Oʻahu location in the former spot of Pauoa Chop Suey.

“This one is in the neighborhood, so it’s really nice that people can walk here,” Alvarado says. “A lot of people have such long-lasting memories of Pauoa Chop Suey. They’re very acceptant of us; we appreciate how warm and welcoming everyone has been. I tell them, ‘I know we have some big shoes to fill, but I’m confident my feet are bigger!’”

As soon as you walk into the restaurant, the eatery’s new Los Angeles Dodgers-inspired mural is immediately eye catching.

“(For the mural) I already knew what I wanted,” Alvarado says. “I wanted to feel like I’m going right into Dodger Stadium, and all of my favorite players had just won back-to-back World Series.

“This is a big space,” he adds, regarding the restaurant’s size. “It’s kind of bigger than what we need, but it’s nice to space some things out. Now we have more dining (seating). We had that at Kapahulu, but we don’t really have that at Kalihi.”

The menu across all three stores is mostly the same, but the Pearl City and Pauoa locations also feature churros (two for $7) and nacho fries. Nacho fries ($15) are loaded with nacho cheese, shredded cheese, beans, onions, cilantro, sour cream, jalapenos, olives, pico de gallo and salsa verde, according to Alvarado. Customers can also add a protein of their choice for a supplemental charge.

“I love the nacho cheese; I have it on the menu because I like it,” Alvarado says.

Tacos are available as three-taco combo plates — which include three tacos, rice, beans and a fountain drink — or a la carte (prices vary, depending on the protein). Five-inch corn tortillas are filled with a protein of your choice, onions, cilantro and salsa verde. Choose from carnitas, beef, chicken, carne asada or a veggie (rice, beans, cheese, onions, cilantro, pico de gallo and salsa verde) option.

The three-taco combo plate — along with the eatery’s wet burrito combo plate — are the two most popular dishes, according to Alvarado.

“For the meat choice, carne asada — the steak — is the most popular,” he says. “My personal favorite is the carnitas — the crispy, shredded pork.

“The aim is to make it like a hash brown,” he says. “You crispy it up, so that when it gets to you, it has a little crispy texture and it’s still moist. There’s a little squeeze of lime on all the tacos. It gives it this nice freshness.”

The wet burrito combo plate ($17.50-$19, depending on protein) features a 10-inch burrito with cheese, onions, cilantro, olives and your protein of choice. It’s finished with red enchilada sauce, more shredded cheese and sour cream.

“I do the carne asada wet burrito with half carnitas, so it’s both steak and pork in the same (one); that’s my jam,” Alvarado says.

The menu also features regular burritos, quesadillas, macho burritos —with 12-inch flour tortillas — Mexibowls (bowls with rice, beans and a variety of toppings) and nachos.

As the new store gets more settled, Alvarado says customers can look forward to specials, and he is optimistic about the new year. 

“I’ve been doing it (the business) since 2011 and the restaurants have been since 2015, but my workers make it all happen," he says. "I have veterans that moved over (from the Kalihi store to the Pauoa store) and everyone’s willing to take on a little more responsibility. That’s the most precious part — the growth — and everybody being a part of it. One person doesn’t make this; it’s the whole team. We’re as good as our weakest link, and we don’t have any weak links!”

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays (closed Sundays). 

[{"type":"text","text":"Limited customer parking is available in the lot behind the restaurant."}]

Open 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays

Customer parking available in the lot behind the restaurant

Alejandros Pauoa owner 030326

<title>Alejandro’s Mexican Food opens in Pauoa</title>

This is the third location for the business, which opened its first store in Kalihi Valley in 2015. Customers can look forward to tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nacho fries and more.

Alejandro’s Mexican Food opens in Pauoa

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawaii History

Columnists

Just past the Wailua River on Kaua‘i is the area we now know as Waipouli. Today, visitors driving along Kūhiō Highway see familiar hotels, shops, and restaurants, but long before the first resort was built, this shoreline was very different. Early maps and historical reports refer to this area as Kololoku or Kaloloku Swamp.

When excavations were conducted in the Waipouli coastal zone, researchers uncovered layers of shells, midden (ancient refuse piles), charcoal, fire-cracked rocks, prehistoric artifacts, and even human burials beneath the sand and soil. The presence of these layers shows us that Waipouli was not an empty wilderness before modern development arrived. It was part of a lived and worked Hawaiian landscape, connected to the broader ahupua‘a system that stretched from the mountains to the sea. Families lived here, farmed here, and gathered resources from both land and ocean for generations.

By the early 20th century, drainage projects, road construction, and commercial agriculture gradually reshaped the marshy ground. As Hawai‘i became an international tourism destination, land use on outer islands like Kaua‘i began to shift. Hotels and restaurants began to pop up along the island coast, forever changing the landscape.

In 1972, the Plantation Hale condominium complex was constructed near the Waipouli shoreline. Designed as a low-rise resort property surrounded by tropical landscaping, Plantation Hale reflected the emerging visitor industry that would soon define much of the Kapa‘a coast.  

As modern buildings rose above the former wetlands, the deeper history of the land remained beneath the surface. Visitors strolling the grounds or walking the nearby shoreline may see only the quiet beauty of coconut trees and ocean breezes, but hidden beneath the soil is a far older story. Of course, with a place that holds so many layers of history, it should come as no surprise that Waipouli has gathered more than just stories of land and people.

Over the years, residents, workers, and visitors in the Waipouli area, including those who have stayed at Plantation Hale, have occasionally shared strange experiences that are difficult to explain. Perhaps it is only the imagination stirred by the rustling palms and the sound of the ocean after dark. Or perhaps, as some quietly suggest, the past has a way of lingering in places where life once thrived. And it is here that the story takes an unexpected turn.

In the late 1990s, I was part of a traveling theater show that performed at venues across O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, and Hawai‘i Island. For our first Kaua‘i show, our troupe flew into Līhu‘e and was able to check in to Plantation Hale earlier than scheduled. Everyone was hungry and decided to drop off their things before going to find a place to sit and eat. I, on the other hand, decided to stay behind and take a short nap.

I was sharing the one-bedroom suite with another cast member and decided to let them stay in the room. It felt like too much work to pull out the bed from the small sofa, so I just grabbed a pillow and stretched out on top of it. I had just begun to drift off when I suddenly felt as if someone else was in the room.

Opening my eyes, I saw a dark-skinned Hawaiian man standing over me. He wore only a malo, and in his hands he held a large, gnarled piece of wood that looked like some kind of weapon. Before I could even jump up or move away, he vanished right in front of me. Instinct took over. I bolted out of the room and into the hallway.

As I rushed out, I nearly collided with a middle-aged Filipino woman pushing a large cleaning cart. She looked startled by my sudden appearance, but I quickly told her what I had just seen. She glanced at me, then at the room number on the door behind me.

“Oh,” she said casually, waving her hand as if brushing away a fly. “Not supposed to use this one, I tell you. I will tell the front desk to switch you to another room.”

Later, we learned that the room we had briefly occupied had a reputation. Staff quietly said it was haunted by spirits from Hawai‘i’s ancient past, who were known to appear to new occupants at all hours of the day and night. For that reason, it was the one room on the property that was never supposed to be rented.

As many times as I’ve been back, I’ve never stayed in that room again, and I don’t want to upset the staff by asking about it. I’m still curious, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep in there.

Plantation Hale Suites Kapaa

<title>The spirit at Plantation Hale</title>

The Kaua‘i area now known as Waipouli was formerly known as Kololoku or Kaloloku Swamp, a former wetland where Native Hawaiians once thrived. For half a century it's been developed for modern tourism, but the spirits remain and make themselves known.

The spirit at Plantation Hale

Yamachika Tom IMG 1913 Large

Tom Yamachika

Viewpoints

Government & Politics

Litigation is still raging over the extension of our Transient Accommodations Tax to cruise ships in what has been called the “Green Fee” bill. And the Legislature is getting involved, as well.

In last year’s legislative session, as you may recall, the TAT was increased and broadened to include cruise ships. The cruise ship industry filed suit, leading to an end-of-year flurry of court activity.

The cruise ship industry has pointed to the Tonnage Clause in the U.S. Constitution and the Rivers and Harbors Act in its attempt to strike down the Green Fee as applied to cruise ships. These federal laws are trying to prevent states that happen to have ports in them from taxing maritime traffic.  This, in theory, burdens the other states that don’t happen to have ports in them if they need the goods that came in by ship. Which is not a good thing if all of the states in the USA are supposed to be parts of one big, happy family.

One of the state’s principal arguments is that the Green Fee isn’t a tax on maritime traffic, it’s a tax on transient accommodations. It just so happens that for the cruise ship industry, their transient accommodations happen to be aboard a ship. It is lawful to tax hotel rooms, the argument goes, so it should be lawful to tax cabin berths, as well.

Not so, says the cruise ship industry. The TAT is only imposed on the rental component of what is paid for a hotel room. If a hotel room is offered as a package that includes meals, for example, then the TAT is not imposed on that portion of the package price that is for the meals. But how about the Green Fee? There is nothing in the Green Fee law that allows cruise ships to do the same thing. The TAT is imposed on the passenger fares, with no comparable exclusion for the price of meals which the fares include. Therefore, says the industry, the Green Fee law is not simply a nondiscriminatory tax on transient lodging, it does indeed tax maritime traffic, and should be struck down as a result.

Interestingly, we have not seen any bills in the current legislative session that would address this issue.

Instead, there are bills that would undo the TAT extension to cruise lines and, instead, impose a per-passenger charge on cruise ship docking. These bills are moving in the Legislature with the administration’s and the cruise industry’s support.

Per-passenger charges have been around for decades. The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation imposes them now and they have never been challenged. This is because these charges are kept within the DOT, go into the Harbors Fund, and are, in theory, wholly used for repairs, maintenance, and improvements to the boat harbors. That would make the charges user fees, not taxes; as such, they would not be a tax on maritime traffic. 

But theory and practice aren’t always the same. There is a 5% “central services assessment” that the Department of Budget and Finance levies against the fund for expenses in administering the fund. According to 

 submitted to this year’s Legislature, the Harbor Fund paid $7.3 million — which seems to be a lot more than expenses of administration. That same report details reimbursements paid to other departments to administer their special funds, and the biggest one is $650,000 to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for administering the Ocean-Based Recreation Special Fund. (The Harbor Fund is 

And, in the future, there may be pressure on the Legislature or the Department of Transportation to use the Harbor Fund for environmentally friendly causes having nothing to do with harbors or cruise ships. If that happens, the state and the industry might once again fight over the legality of these charges.

Hawaiʻi Skies: On the way to work

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Hawaiʻi Skies: On the way to work

Authors

ASD Staff

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