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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Now let's all enjoy a fat dog running in snow with helicopter tail....."}]

Smile 26 3 23

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, March 23, 2026</title>

Now let's all enjoy a fat dog running in snow with helicopter tail.....

Daily Smile: Monday, March 23, 2026

 Now let&#039;s all enjoy a fat dog running in snow with helicopter tail.....

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

It wasn't enough for the No. 3 University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team to do something for the first time in 11 years. The Rainbow Warriors wanted to dominate. Following a weekend sweep at 

, the 'Bows have emerged as the clear favorites in the Big West Conference. 

On Friday, the Rainbow Warriors outlasted The Beach in five sets 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-12, winning at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid for the first time since 2015. The 'Bows have played Long Beach State on the road every other year on the road as part of its conference rotation, breaking a 10-match road losing streak to The Beach. 

The following night, UH swept LBSU in short order for a dominant 25-18, 25-22, 25-20 victory on Saturday. The Rainbow Warriors exited the weekend 19-3 overall and will in all likelihood swap places with Long Beach State at No. 2 in the AVCA national rankings. 

Hawai‘i head coach Charlie Wade expressed satisfaction with his team following the series, noting that UH has now won four straight matches over its chief rival dating back to the 2025 season. The all-time series between the 'Bows and The Beach now stands at an even 28-28. 

"I got to give a ton of credit to the staff," Wade said of assistant coaches 

 and Kupono Fey. "They spent a lot of time putting a scouting report together, putting practice plans together throughout the week to prepare us to come out here. Everybody can watch film and kind of come up with what they're seeing, but articulating the game plan in a way to help the players execute is not as easy as it sounds sometimes. 

"And obviously the players deserve a ton of credit for executing the scouting report. I think Kupono and Donan deserve an equal amount of credit for all the hard work they put into preparing us for this weekend."

Friday's series opener was marred by cramping on both sides of the net. For UH, outside hitter Louis Sakanoko was limited to just two sets, while setter Tread Rosenthal was limping and visibly favoring his cramping right calf, but gutted out all five sets while dishing out 35 assists with seven kills.

With less than 24 hours before the next match, Wade said Sakanoko and Rosenthal each received IV treatments, allowing them to recover and recharge. Sakanoko, who had eight kills on 14 swings on Friday, was dominant with 15 kills on 21 swings on Saturday. Rosenthal paced the 'Bows with 33 assists, six digs and three kills on Saturday, In 2024, Sakanoko and Rosenthal were both true freshman when the 'Bows lost twice in Long Beach, coming off an emotional weekend in which star player 

"They've worked really hard, and they're dedicated to their craft and are elite level players," Wade said of Rosenthal and Sakanoko. "They can impact the game in lots of ways. ... A weekend like this give us lots of confidence going into the rest of the season that we know we can go on the road and play against the highest level of competition and play at a high level."

The Rainbow Warriors will return home for their penultimate home series of the season, a two-match set against UC Santa Barbara on Friday and Saturday. After having some wind taken out of their sails in a March 14 home sweep against No. 1 UCLA, Wade was pleased to see the 'Bows return to their old selves. 

"It shows what we've been saying and seeing throughout. Not only can we be one of the best, we can be the best team," Wade said. "Look, we just did not play well at home against UCLA, for any number of reasons. And UCLA is obviously very, very good. But I think it shows, obviously ourselves, we know it, but it kind of shows the rest of the volleyball community too, like, no, we're going to be in to the end. We got something to say about who's going to take home this championship."

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

UH men's volleyball 032226

<title>Hawai‘i men's volleyball emerges as Big West favorite after series sweep at Long Beach…</title>

The Rainbow Warriors, who hadn't beaten The Beach on the road since 2015, earned a pair of road victories on Friday and Saturday.

Hawai‘i men's volleyball emerges as Big West favorite after series sweep at Long Beach State

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

, which closed its Waikīkī location on Beach Walk in January 2024, just opened at Kōʻula in Ward Village.

The cafe is currently open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast and brunch. It’s only accepting reservations for dine-in (takeout beverages allowed) via OpenTable for the time being.

“The excitement has been very real, which is nice,” says Ryan Ko, vice president and COO for Westman Corp. “We’ll probably allow for limited walk-ins throughout the week, as the team gets accustomed to everything. We want to make sure we deliver something good.”

Customers who remember the cafe’s former Waikīkī store will notice similar décor in the Kakaʻako space.

“A lot of it (the aesthetic) comes from the old location, but we refreshed it to make it look modern,” Ko says. “A little bit of lighting makes it really pop.”

The food menu features some of the cafe’s dishes that were popular in Waikīkī — like its signature souffle pancakes — along with more savory options.

“There’s a lot of inspiration from it (our Waikīkī location),” Ko says. “We copied over a lot of things, we updated some and added stuff like shakshuka — things that are more modern in the U.S. and Japan.”

The eatery’s souffle pancakes ($22) feature two fluffy pancakes served with banana, cheese cream, maple syrup and a choice of sauce (lemon, mixed berry or tropical). The tropical sauce features pineapple puree with mango chunks; mixed berry is a combo of blueberries and raspberries.

“The lemon (sauce) for sure has been a home run for everybody,” Ko says.

Customers can also choose from a variety of toasts — avocado ($17), salmon gravlax ($18), beets ($16), falafel ($17) and breakfast ($16) — along with “wellness” options like acai bowls ($18) and yogurt bowls ($15).

Acai bowls feature a refreshing acai blend topped with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, granola, honey and cacao nibs.

The avocado toast ($17) features sourdough bread topped with avocado, a poached egg, feta, dukkah, herb oil and micro herbs.

[{"type":"text","text":"WESTMAN CAFE features local artisan breads from Bread Shop in Kaimukī."}]

Customers that dine between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. can enjoy Island-inspired fare like the washugyu loco moco ($22) — comprising a washugyu beef patty, white rice, hayashi gravy, Brussels sprouts, egg, carrot marinade and red cabbage slaw — and mahi mahi loco moco ($22). The latter features mahi mahi with white rice, avocado, edamame, radish, carrot marinade, red cabbage slaw, an egg and garlic cream sauce.

Brunch beverages range from house coffee ($5) and lattes ($6) to a variety of teas ($5-$7.50), cocktails ($12-$17) and smoothies ($8.50). Zero-proof options ($5-$8) are also available.

“Our house coffee is really good, too; we’re blending that ourselves,” Ko says.

While the cafe is currently open for breakfast and brunch/lunch, it will eventually be open for dinner.

“Once we can get the team built and put everything together, we’ll have dinner service,” Ko says. “Then, we’ll be off and running.”

Westman Cafe sign 032026

<title>WESTMAN CAFE is open for brunch in Kakaʻako</title>

The eatery, which closed its Waikīkī location in 2024, just soft opened in Ward Village. The cafe is currently open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast and brunch. Feast on dishes like avocado toast, mahi mahi loco moco, and the restaurant’s signature souffle pancakes.

WESTMAN CAFE is open for brunch in Kakaʻako

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Hawai’i Farm Bureau, Agriculture Stewardship Hawai’i, Hawai’i Farmers Union, Hawai’i Cattlemen’s Council Inc, and other partners have launched an online tool for Hawai‘i agriculture companies to reports their damage assessments and needs. 

2026 March Kona Low Storm Impact Survey allows producers to:

“This tool came out of conversations with HFU in the wake of the Maui wildfires and with the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity” said Amanda Shaw, Statewide Food Systems Coordinator at Agriculture Stewardship Hawaiʻi, in a statement. "By creating a shared tool, we can speed up support, strengthen coordination, and ensure resources reach those who need them most.”

"The tool was supported through the philanthropically-funded Hawaiʻi Statewide Food Systems Coordination (HSFSC) initiative at Agriculture Stewardship Hawaiʻi and designed by Hunter Heaivilin and Haley Fitzpatrick at Supersistence," the statement adds. "Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers across Hawaiʻi are encouraged to complete the assessment and to receive coordinated recovery support from their farm membership organization, USDA Farm Service Agency offices, the Ag Stewardship Farmer HelpDesk and from fellow farmers."

For more information on how to report damages, click 

For ASD's previous reporting on Kona Low impacts on farms, click 

Farms and Kona Low Get Redy Farm

<title>Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, partners, launch farm damage survey</title>

"If your ag operation was affected by the Kona Low Storm, we want to hear from you," the Bureau said. "Your responses will help identify needs to secure funding for recovery programs."

Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, partners, launch farm damage survey

The new Aloha Stadium and its developer, Aloha Hālawa District Partners, have yet to sign a master development agreement, though both sides continue to push towards a 2029 completion date. 

Both parties revealed new details about the stadium in recent weeks. In a legislative hearing on March 11, Aloha Hālawa District Partners managing member Stanford Carr said the stadium will feature individual seating with cupholders. While initial projections last summer tabbed the new stadium to have a seating capacity of 22,500, that number increased to 31,000. During the hearing, Carr said the seating has potential to eventually expand to as many as 40,000 seats. 

During Thursday's morning's monthly Aloha Stadium Authority meeting, stadium interim manager Mike Yadao says the facility has continued with its active dismantling, though the Kona low storm earlier in the month provided some delays. 

"This happens in all construction, it's not unusual," Yadao told Aloha State Daily following Thursday's meeting. "You just can't have a big excavator up when it's ready to that level, to that extent. But it doesn't delay any timelines. We'll be OK."

In a separate interview with Aloha State Daily earlier in the month, Carr said despite the challenges that come with building the stadium, he and his team of architects and engineers remain inspired to give Hawai‘i a stadium and entertainment district it can be proud of. 

When it was time for the New Aloha Stadium and Entertainment District (NASED) to pick a developer for the $650-million project in late 2024, AHDP was the only team at the end that made itself available. 

"One, we need it," Carr told Aloha State Daily when asked why he felt compelled to step up. "Two, it's complicated and very challenging. I'm just a little crazy, and I love challenges, and it takes the crazy ones to take something like this on."

Carr, a 1980 Maui High School graduate, first moved to O‘ahu to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He eventually started his own company at Stanford Carr Development, which has completed a total of 25 projects and counting on O‘ahu, Maui and the Big Island, ranging from commercial developments to affordable housing units. Aloha Stadium has always been an attractive endeavor to him. 

"I feel for me, it's a culmination of my entire career and everything I've worked on and learned over my adult life," Carr said. 

Since taking on the project, Carr and his team have traveled to various sporting venues on the Mainland at both the college and professional levels. Building the new stadium while taking down the old one has come with its challenges, particularly preexisting underground utilities, but Carr says being on the same Hālawa grounds has also allowed some room for creativity. For example, by preserving the cast-in-place property structures in the north and south end zones, Carr estimates AHDP is saving $90 million in demolition costs. 

Carr's Aloha Stadium legacy will expand to his family. Multiple sons are on his team, including Dustin, 24, Stanford Carr Development's project manager.

"I think people just want to see progress," Dustin Carr says. "I think the more progress they see, the better of a light people will see the project. I think people will get more excited as we have more progress and more updates."

Plans for the stadium include for it to have a total of 28 suites, some of which will be near field level. It will also be the home of the Hawai‘i Sports Hall of Fame. The surrounding mixed-use district will have a range of dining options, cultural activities and 4,500 housing units. 

The field itself will host amateur and professional sports teams across multiple sports, with the University of Hawai‘i football team its flagship tenant. But with considerations for other sports such as soccer and rugby in particular, Stanford Carr tells ASD that the plan is for the new Aloha Stadium to have natural grass as its playing surface. The old Aloha Stadium, from its opening in 1975, featured various iterations of artificial turf, starting with AstroTurf before transitioning to synthetic grass-like turf in 2003. 

"We're going to go with natural grass because it's safer for the athletes, less injuries, and rugby will not play on artificial turf," Carr said. "And it will draw more professional sports."

Added Stanford Carr Development vice president of development Kaloa Robinson: "The key thing was that it was safer to play on. That's what I think really pushed it over the edge. ... We just have to get really comfortable with replacing (the surface) multiple times a year."

Count Yadao as one of the key proponents for natural grass at the new stadium. 

"It super cool, because it keeps our athletes safer from injury," Yadao said. "Stanford has indicated a strong desire to make it all natural grass, and I think we can. There's no reason why you can't."

Yadao is also agreeable to AHDP's planned seating expansion, calling it "exciting as all get-out." Though it's quite the jump from the initial 22,500, he still believes the 2029 deadline can be met. As NASED and AHDP continue to work together and negotiate, they both vehemently agree that Hawai‘i is due for a new stadium. 

"I think it's a symbiotic relationship, right? As the Stadium Authority communicates strength and stability, it then allows AHDP to have access to greater resources. And the more resources they get, the better stadium they can build," said Yadao of the $650 million stadium. "The issues that make construction difficult are not the increased capacity, but rather permitting and infrastructure build up. And I'm confident that with the mayor's cooperation, the county's cooperation, it can get done."

Said Robinson: "I think what I probably want the community to know is that there's a lot of analogs to the first moon landing insofar as there's just obstacle after obstacle to deliver the stadium in 2029. It's an extremely steep challenge to overcome, and the only way we're going to get there is if everybody helps out. There's basically every state agency and every city agency, the entire community, the ledge and the Honolulu City Council, all of them are going to have a role to play to make this thing work. Otherwise it's not going to happen."

[{"type":"text","text":"Added Stanford Carr: \"It's going to take a village to build a village.\""}]

Stanford Carr 021726

<title>Aloha Stadium marches towards 2029 completion</title>

The Aloha Stadium authority and its developer have shared a bevy of key updates in recent weeks.

Aloha Stadium marches towards 2029 completion

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

The latest round of storms bringing heavy rain to the Islands has so far had little impact on local airline operations.

"Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are closely monitoring and assessing weather conditions," a spokesperson for the airlines told Aloha State Daily in an email. "As of 2 p.m., we have canceled six roundtrip Neighbor Island flights and remain focused on supporting our employees who live in the affected areas.

"We are continuing to evaluate our schedule and will notify guests of any changes to their flight," the spokesperson continued. "We encourage guests to regularly check their flight status and to check in online before arriving at the airport to save time. Guests should also monitor app push notifications for real-time updates."

In an announcement Friday, the Hawai`i Visitors & Convention Bureau offered this guidance to travelers currently in the state:

And for those with upcoming trips, HVCB says there's no reason to cancel or postpone travel.

"The state remains safe and welcoming, and conditions are expected to improve early next week," the announcement notes.

Travelers, though, should ensure their airline has a current mobile number on file and enable app and SMS notifications, as well as confirm flight statuses directly with the airline before departing for the airport.

Unrelated to the stormy weather, the state Department of Transportation on Friday confirmed that all airports in Hawai‘i are being staffed and will remain open and operational, despite some national reports that small airports nationwide may close or pause operations due to the partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and funding of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA.

“All of our airports, including our smaller airports on the Neighbor Islands, are vital transportation links for our residents and visitors and they will remain open to serve the traveling public,” said DOT Director Ed Sniffen in a statement. “HDOT is in close communication with our federal partners impacted by the partial shutdown and we want to thank them for keeping our airports staffed and ensuring they remain operational, while minimizing disruptions to travelers. We appreciate the commitment of our dedicated federal workers and their families, who are again facing uncertainty due to the partial shutdown. We will continue to support these individuals who we work closely with on a daily basis, so they can continue to provide critical service to air travelers.”

Daniel k inouye international airport hnl 100925

<title>How the storm is affecting airlines and travel</title>

Hawaiian Airlines has canceled just a few flights due to the current storms as of this afternoon, and the Hawai`i Visitors & Convention Bureau has offered guidance to travelers.

How the storm is affecting airlines and travel

Government & Politics

After a weekend of severe and stormy weather, more rain could be on the way, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.

Patrick Blood, a meteorologist with NWS in Honolulu, however, says, “We are likely not going to experience what we just went through.”

Thursday and Friday will be days “where we could pick up more rain,” he told Aloha State Daily Monday, but “we’re not looking at any wind right now.”

A Kona Low — a powerful seasonal cyclone — moved through the Islands last week, bringing with it heavy rains, high winds, flooding, 

According to Blood, Maui and Hawai‘i Island bore the brunt of that storm

The state received “anywhere from 10 to 20-plus inches statewide,” he told ASD.

“Higher amounts fell over the south-, southwest-facing portions of the Islands,” he says. “Areas that don’t typically get that much rain received copious amounts of rain, which led to flooding. The hardest-hit areas were the island of Maui and Big Island, as far as the impacts.”

Flooding, he says, was the worst around Kīhei and the leeward side of Maui, on the west-facing slopes of Haleakalā, and south of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, heading toward Captain Cook.

Blood says the weather event spanned Tuesday to Sunday, but 80% of the rainfall occurred from Friday into Saturday morning.

Most saw rainfall of 6 or 7 inches to around 12 inches over that period, he told ASD.

The island of Maui, though, picked up anywhere from 15 to 20-plus inches of rain, with some areas in up country receiving more than 30 inches, he noted. And one gage even reported more than 46 inches, he told ASD.

On the Big Island, Blood says the “dry side of that island got the most rain,” but some areas in the southeast side of the island also picked up 25 to 27 inches.

“probably escaped the worst of it,” Blood says, but the island still received 6 to 9 inches on its south side, he noted.

[{"type":"text","text":"High winds also caused damage at during last week’s storm."}]

The highest wind gust of 135 mph was measured at 4:20 a.m. on Saturday at Kaiāulu Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a on Hawai‘i Island, at an elevation of around 4,000 feet, Blood says.

[{"type":"text","text":"On O‘ahu, a wind gust of 81 mph was measured at Makapu‘u Beach."}]

Kula, on Maui, also saw a wind gust of 108 mph at an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet.

Blood says 1980 was “the last time we had this kind of rain statewide.”

“But Kona Lows come nearly every year, pretty much. It’s just they all come in different flavors, different sizes, different strengths. Some are slower moving than others. A storm of this magnitude is definitely a generational storm. You only see this storm once every 20, 30 years.”

Storm

<title>A 'generational storm'</title>

Aloha State Daily spoke with National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Blood about last week's severe storms and what's next for Hawai‘i's weather.

Daily Smile: Monday, March 23, 2026

ASD Staff

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