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Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Ron Mabry at Kukuiolono Park on Kauaʻi. "Kukuiolono Park always has amazing sunrises and each time of year has its own unique quality. This picture was exceptional and one that I have not experienced in my 10 years living on Kauaʻi."

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

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<title>Hawaiʻi Skies: Unique quality</title>

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Ron Mabry at Kukuiolono Park on Kauaʻi.

Hawaiʻi Skies: Unique quality

Today&#039;s Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Ron Mabry at Kukuiolono Park on Kauaʻi. &quot;Kukuiolono Park always has amazing sunrises and each time of year has its own unique quality. This picture was exceptional and one that I have not experienced in my 10 years living on Kauaʻi.&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.

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

A federal investigation may be coming for a person filmed throwing a rock at a monk seal on Maui.

 of a man on a Lahaina beach throwing a rock at a monk seal circulated on social media Wednesday and attracted the attention of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement.

DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla told Aloha State Daily and other media Wednesday that DOCARE officers have confronted a person matching the description of the person in the video and begun an investigation.

Redulla said the condition or identity of the seal has not been confirmed. The video seems to show the rock narrowly missing the animal’s snout, splashing down directly in front of the seal’s face, prompting the seal to swim away.

While Redulla said DOCARE cannot release the man’s name yet, he said DOCARE will turn over their investigation to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement for possible charges under the 

The animals are also protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Harassment of a monk seal is considered “taking” the animal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Meanwhile, Hawai‘i laws impose fines of up to $50,000 for the taking of a monk seal.

Redulla said previous incidents of monk seal harassment have resulted in fines in the thousands of dollars.

[{"type":"text","text":"The alleged perpetrator is not in custody as of yet, Redulla said."}]

Meanwhile, Redulla urged people to continue to keep their distance from a mother and pup monk seal duo on Kaimana Beach in Waikīkī. The 15-year-old seal Kaiwi 

 to a pup, her seventh, on May 3 and they remain resting on the beach.

Redulla said mother seals have been known to attack people they perceive as threats to their young. At the same time, he said, the pup — whose sex has not yet been determined, and who therefore remains unnamed — will soon begin a critical part of its development into an animal that can survive in the wild independently, and should not be disturbed.

People are reminded to stay at least 150 feet away from the seals and to not approach within a fenced area around the animals.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

2026 May 04 Hawaiian Monk Seal Kaiwi RK96 Pup IMG 8361 802 KB 16x9

<title>Video of man throwing rock at monk seal under investigation</title>

Man in social media video has been identified by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, but his identity has been withheld pending a review by a federal agency.

Video of man throwing rock at monk seal under investigation

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Aloha Spirit

Arts & Entertainment

As the sun sets, the floating lanterns at Ala Moana Beach start to glow from the light of the candles they carry as part of Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i, a Memorial Day ceremony. Jacob Kam had watched the event on television for years but attended in person for the first time more than a decade ago, while he was still a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Kam, who is a cancer survivor, sat next to the stage so he could see the thousands of glowing lanterns as they were released into the ocean.

He didn’t set one afloat, but he experienced a moment of peace.

“It's a mood that's kind of indescribable,” he told Aloha State Daily. “It kind of puts you in just that serene calm. It's almost an otherworldly experience. It’s hard to explain, but it felt like this serene calm and peace that I don't think comes around too much nowadays — that's really more precious now that the world's kind of crazy.”

On Monday, May 25, thousands will gather again at Ala Moana Beach to remember fallen service members and loved ones and release floating lanterns as part of the 28th annual Memorial Day ceremony. The free public event is officiated by Shinnyo-en, an international Buddhist community with Japanese roots. It is presented by the group’s locally based community support arm Nā Lei Aloha Foundation.

Kam and his mother, Betty Lou Kam, are two of the event’s many volunteers.

“It's been a Memorial Day tradition for the last few years,” he said. “I don't really have a Memorial Day tradition per se for myself, but this is kind of my Memorial Day tradition ever since I've started volunteering.”

From 2020 to 2022, the ceremony was observed as a pre-recorded television and internet broadcast due to the 

. But when it was announced the event was headed back to the beach, he wanted to get involved as a volunteer.

“And then the next year, mom signed up, too,” his mother added with a laugh.

Over the years, their volunteer roles have changed. Initially, they assembled lanterns. This year, they will be at the shoreline to light the candles in each lantern before families release them into the ocean.

“The temple does a lot about many rivers, one ocean,” she said. “And that's incredible, because when you're standing there — Jacob and I, we actually stand at the coastline and light lanterns. When you're standing there, you feel like you're part of the ocean of people. It's an incredible feeling, because we're all sharing the same feeling.”

“You’d call that a chicken skin kind of moment,” he added.

His mother also likes to help families who are picking up individual lanterns. Each family is invited to decorate their lantern and remember loved ones.

“What happens is we’re all gathered in a tent, and when people pick up, they come to us, and we say, ʻDo you need help?’” she said. “Some people need help because they're still torn with grief and memories. They sit down, and we tell them what to do. Sometimes you step aside and let them cry or let them feel happy, and you share a moment with them.”

Later in the evening, as she lights candles, she sometimes sees families she helped earlier in the day.

“That is the chicken skin moment when somebody says, ‘You helped me,’” she said.

Volunteers are still needed to refurbish lanterns after the ceremony, starting May 30. Sign up to 

The refurbished lanterns will return to the water next year.

“They carry the messages from thousands of people, because the messages are put on the lanterns,” she said. “These lanterns get refreshed with a new mission of taking more messages to those who are gone, but well-loved and still with us in spirit.”

Want to participate? Individual lanterns are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn about how to get 

add a message to the collective remembrance lantern

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi

<title>Why these volunteers return to Memorial Day lantern floating ceremony</title>

Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi is a Memorial Day ceremony that brings thousands to the water’s edge at Ala Moana Beach. Jacob Kam and his mother, Betty Lou Kam, have been volunteers for several years and share what keeps them coming back.

Why these volunteers return to Memorial Day lantern floating ceremony

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

, owned by chef Adam Gilbert and business partner Chris Natale, has been a project that’s been years in the making — specifically since 2019, Gilbert says. The eatery is located at the ʻEwa Villages Golf Course, which is a municipal golf course, but the restaurant is open to the public.

“There’s a big push to put local businesses to occupy concessions for the City and County,” Gilbert says. “I’ve been working on this project since 2019, and then it got put on the backburner during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

In the meantime, Gilbert sold his Kapolei-based restaurant, Plantation Tavern, in 2020 — the eatery was open for about six years — and opened Monarch Poke shop in Pearl Kai Shopping Center in 2021.

“The poke shop was really just to go back in the community and see what’s going on,” he says. “It was almost an experimental thing. We really lived on catering there.”

Fairway Tavern’s current space was vacant since 2019, according to Gilbert.

“For the last six to seven years, it was called The Ville; everybody in ʻEwa knows The Ville,” he says. “The bid (for this space) went out about two years ago and we won it.”

Since December 2024, Gilbert and Natale worked on renovating the restaurant — “We did the floor, we repainted the whole place,” Gilbert says — and the eatery’s tables and chairs came from now-closed Sansei and D.K. Steakhouse.

The eatery is called Fairway Tavern to pay homage to both, its golf course location and Gilbert’s former Plantation Tavern.

“If you look at our logo compared to Plantation Tavern, it’s very similar,” he says. “The intent is to remember — subconsciously or not — that we’re the same ownership, same business and same food.

“The whole concept of the tavern almost fits in better here than it did in Kapolei,” he adds. “You’re on the plantation here. When you pull in off Renton Road, those are all original plantation buildings.”

Gilbert sold the Monarch Poke space in Pearl Kai a few weeks ago, and announced its closing on social media.

“I was going to run them both, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t figure out how to do both,” he says.

The eatery’s grab-and-go section — open from 7 a.m. — is designed with golfers in mind, as it features musubis, croissant breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos and breakfast bentos, according to Gilbert.

“We have five different breakfast bentos, which have white rice, scrambled eggs, and meats like Portuguese sausage, Spam, corned beef, and Little Smokies,” Gilbert says. “We run musubis and hot dogs all day for the golfers with a fast turnaround on the ninth hole.”

The lunch menu, which is served from 11 a.m., features a similar style to Plantation Tavern, Gilbert notes. Many dishes feature larger portions, designed to be shared family-style.

“We put pride and care into what we do; we make everything from scratch,” Gilbert says. “We do a lot of upscale local food — Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and Korean — and we use French techniques, but not to be pretentious. It’s just to add more flavor and depth in what we do.”

Several dishes feature the same recipes from the Plantation Tavern days — including the eatery’s signature poke nachos — but some dishes are new creations.

“I tried not to do too many similar dishes because I feel like I’ve grown a lot in seven years,” Gilbert says. “At the same time, there’s stuff the community won’t accept that we don’t have.”

The poke nachos have been a longtime customer favorite, both at Plantation Tavern and at Monarch Poke. They feature a bed of crispy wonton chips topped with your choice of spicy or shoyu poke, chopped tomato and avocado; they’re drizzled with homemade unagi sauce and Sriracha aioli.

“We do spicy and shoyu poke only,” Gilbert says. “It’s the same recipe as Plantation Tavern; the first one (poke nachos) we did was in 2012.”

The sizzling sisig ($16) features crispy pork belly that’s chopped and mixed with red onions, garlic, ginger and Thai chili.

“We put a calamansi dashi aioli on it, and a fried egg,” Gilbert says. “We’ve never done that dish before; it’s super good.”

He explains that certain dishes on the menu — including miso yakitori chicken ($12), crispy chicken wings ($14 for six, $21 for 12), garlic chicken ($14) and Kochujang beef skewers ($21) — are specifically included as affordable options for golfers.

“There are some very intentionally selected items for the golf community to find value,” Gilbert says. “The chicken yakitori is new; it’s five chicken sticks with 12 ounces of chicken. You can get that for $12, you can get a scoop of rice for $2; for $14, you have a whole plate.

“Everything’s homemade,” he adds. “We cut the chicken, marinade it for three days in a miso marinade, then skewer and grill it.”

The Korean-style beef skewers are made with rib-eye and come with cucumber kimchi. Meanwhile, the garlic chicken features the same recipe from Plantation Tavern.

If you want something lighter, options range from fresh sashimi-grade ahi (market price) — “We get fish from the auction,” Gilbert says — to watercress, tofu and tomato salad ($16). The latter features watercress from Sumida Farm; the salad is topped with baked tofu and served with a slightly spicy patis (fish sauce) dressing.

The menu also features several creative dishes, each with a story behind it. The smoked crab and kimchi dip ($14) with wonton chips used to be a special at Plantation Tavern. It was also on the menu in a takeout deli container at Monarch Poke, Gilbert says. The current rendition comes in a ramekin and it’s baked.

“It’s almost like a crab artichoke dip, but it’s a smoked crab and kimchi dip,” he says. “It’s got some spice; it’s a good appetizer or shared item.”

Gilbert also explains that the scallop noodles ($17) on the menu have been a long time coming. He made a crispy garlic chili oil poke at Monarch Poke; the Fairway Tavern dish features sauteed garlic bay scallops that are seasoned with salt and pepper, and added to a garlic compote butter mixture.

“Once that (the garlic compote butter) melts down, we throw in an egg noodle and then we add the crispy garlic chili oil sauce that we used to make poke with,” Gilbert says. “It’s super addictive; I’ve been working on it for a long time.

“When I wrote the menu to open dinner at Monarch Poke — which we never pulled off — it was on the menu there,” he adds. “I was experimenting with it there, and it just never got to the table. So it’s like a two-year-in-the-making situation that’s never happened, but it’s like a three-recipe variation to make one (of these).”

Other menu items include the Tavern burger ($11), lilikoʻi barbecue kalua pork sandwich ($15) and the mahi mahi sandwich (market price). Customers can make their sandwich a combo by adding shoestring French fries or a green salad (additional $3.50). Gilbert says they’re especially proud of the Italian meatball sub ($18) and the Philly special ($18). Both are inspired by his business partner, Chris Natale.

“I’m from Philly originally, but I’ve been here for more than 31 years,” Natale says. “I’ve had people ask me for years, ‘What makes a Philly cheesesteak so good?’ To tell you the truth, 

a lot of it is the roll; 70% is the roll. There’s something about East Coast bread — the water makes really good bread; that’s what makes a good sandwich."

When looking for a good Philly cheesesteak, Natale adds that the “diced onions gotta be in there already; you shouldn’t have to ask for it” and that the cheese should be “incorporated with the meats as it’s cooked, not just put on top.”

Speaking of cheese, the business special orders Cooper Sharp Cheese from Philadelphia, along with bread from New York, to make this sandwich.

“The Cooper Sharp cheese is a thing back in Philly,” Natale says. “It has a nice bite to it; it’s really good. It’s (the bread) a good Italian roll and it helps to make the sandwich that much better.”

The meatball sub features a combination of recipes, but also pays homage to Natale’s brief gig selling meatballs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Everything was shut down, and one of my friends started selling margaritas,” he remembers. “He said, ‘You should sell something.’ I am Italian; I started selling meatballs by the dozen with my homemade sauce. It became a little business for a minute there; I stopped and people still ask me, ‘Are you doing more meatballs?’ A meatball sub is hard to find on this island.”

Gilbert encourages customers to save room for desserts like the housemade ube cheesecake with coconut cream sauce ($9) — which was featured at Plantation Tavern and Monarch Poke — banana cream pie, served with sliced bananas and crème anglaise ($7) and chocolate dobash cake with a raspberry coulis ($12).

The banana cream pie pays homage to one of the beloved desserts at former ‘Ewa plantation restaurant Tenney Tavern, according to Gilbert.

“It burned down and never reopened,” he says. “But there a lot of people in this community that still remember it. It had very specific things — it had a juke box; it was known for its veal cutlet, Green River drink and their pies. They specifically had a banana cream pie; we threw a pie back (on the menu) for that.”

In the coming months, customers can look forward to weekend brunch — before football season starts, Gilbert says — and dinner service. The eatery also offers catering and features a space for weddings, according to Gilbert, who says the eatery has around 135 seats.

“We’re going to be open for dinner, but we’re going to let the staff settle, learn the lunch menu and get a groove,” he says. “We have a bunch of catering for events coming up for graduations.

“The kitchen’s huge here; we have way more ability to do more,” he adds.

Open daily, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (full service from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Fairway Tavern chef Adam 043026

<title>Fairway Tavern is now open at ‘Ewa Villages Golf Course</title>

The eatery is owned by chef Adam Gilbert, previously of Monarch Poke and Plantation Tavern, and business partner Chris Natale. The eatery strives to offer local-style dishes — including its signature poke nachos — at affordable prices, and also features a grab-and-go section for golfers.

Fairway Tavern is now open at ‘Ewa Villages Golf Course

HPU School of Nursing Dean Edna Magpantay Monroe

Edna Magpantay-Monroe

Viewpoints

If you want to understand the state of health care in Hawaiʻi, don’t start in Honolulu. Start in Hāna, Kaʻū, Lānaʻi City, or Hālawa Valley. Start where a single clinic may serve an entire district, where a medevac can take hours, and where the only consistent health care professional is often a nurse or nurse practitioner (NP). Rural nurses and NPs are the backbone of care in our Islands — and right now, that backbone is under strain.

Hawaiʻi’s rural communities face some of the most persistent health disparities in the state. The Department of Health’s Office of Primary Care & Rural Health reports that rural residents experience higher rates of chronic disease and significantly longer travel times for basic services. Many live miles from the nearest hospital. Some rely on clinics that operate with only one or two providers. And in too many cases, the person who keeps that clinic running, who knows every patient by name, who responds to emergencies without immediate backup, is a nurse or NP.

Rural nurses and NPs are not just caregivers. They are first responders, health educators, cultural translators and community anchors. They stabilize trauma patients when no physician is available. They manage chronic conditions for kūpuna who cannot travel. They coordinate telehealth visits, deliver babies, prescribe medications, and provide preventive care in places where the health care system is stretched thin. They do all of this while navigating the realities of isolation, limited resources, and the high cost of living.

Nursing is not simply a set of tasks — it is a profession grounded in rigorous education, clinical judgment, and ethical responsibility. NPs, in particular, complete advanced graduate training and are licensed to diagnose, treat and prescribe independently in Hawaiʻi. In many rural communities, NPs function as the primary care provider. Their work requires the same level of expertise and respect we afford to any other health care profession, yet too often their contributions are treated as interchangeable or secondary.

Yet despite their essential role as highly trained professionals, rural nurses and NPs remain undervalued and under-supported. The 

2024 Hawaiʻi Physician Workforce Assessment

 shows that the state is short more than 1,000 physicians — and the shortages are most severe on the Neighbor Islands. When a nurse or NP leaves a hospital in Honolulu, it’s a staffing challenge. When one leaves a clinic in Kaunakakai, it can shut down services for an entire community — a stark reminder that professional nursing expertise is not easily replaced.

The state has begun to take steps to strengthen rural health infrastructure. Telehealth expansion, mobile health units, behavioral health services, and digital connectivity are all part of the plan. These investments matter. But they will not succeed without a strong rural nursing and NP workforce to anchor them.

Technology cannot replace trust. Broadband cannot replace bedside care. A mobile clinic cannot run itself.

If Hawaiʻi is serious about improving rural health, we must put rural nurses and NPs — as professionals, not stopgaps — at the center of the conversation. Research from the 

 shows that students from rural backgrounds are two to three times more likely to return to rural practice, a clear argument for expanding local training pipelines.

It also means recognizing that rural health is not a niche issue. It is a statewide responsibility. When rural communities suffer, the entire state feels the impact — in preventable hospitalizations, in higher emergency costs and in the erosion of the local workforce that keeps our Islands functioning.

Rural nurses and NPs are doing everything we ask of them and more. They are caring for families who have nowhere else to go. They are showing up in the face of shortages, burnout and isolation because they believe their communities deserve better.

The question now is whether we believe it, too.

Hawaiʻi has a chance to build a rural health system worthy of the people who depend on it. But that future will only be possible if we invest in the people who make rural health care possible in the first place. It’s time to stop treating rural nurses and NPs as a backup plan — and start treating them as the foundation they already are.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program

 includes a community health course that immerses students in the realities of rural health nursing. Students rotate through communities such as Wai‘anae and Waimānalo, where they collaborate with local partners to identify needs and develop meaningful solutions. Many of our NP students and graduates also come from rural areas, and they are deeply committed to giving back by serving the very communities they call home.

HPU Fall 2025 BSN Graduates copy

<title>Community Voices: Hawaiʻi’s rural nurses hold the line. It’s time the state holds them up</title>

In honor of National Nurses Day on May 6, HPU School of Nursing Dean Edna Magpantay-Monroe shares how the state has begun to take steps to strengthen rural health infrastructure, though more work is needed.

Community Voices: Hawaiʻi’s rural nurses hold the line. It’s time the state holds them up

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

With witnesses commonly reporting incidents of moving objects, inexplicable cold spots, and numerous apparitions in locations as far-reaching as Europe, Asia, Australia, and the U.S., tales of haunted fire stations are a worldwide phenomenon.

The Pyrmont First Station in London is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a former Station Officer who reportedly sits on the end of the firefighters’ beds. Firefighters at the Sunshine Fire Station in Victoria, Australia, claimed to see doors opening and closing on their own, and the current owners of the building still report hearing unexplained footsteps and seeing human-shaped shadows with no one else around. The Bang Rak Fire Station in Bangkok is said to be so haunted that a shrine was placed in the tower to manage and appease the spirits. And in Denver, Colorado, two well-known spirits named Tom and Caleb are said to cause mischief whenever possible, like paper flying out of printers to fire bells ringing for no reason, and other odd paranormal activity.

These reputed hauntings are often attributed to historic properties, tragic events, and intense energy and emotions, which make fire stations and dormitories prime locations for sharing ghostly legends.

In Hawai‘i, we have our own haunted fire stations. On Kaua‘i, the old Waimea Fire Station used to be located on Ola Road, across from the community hall. Apparitions of a ghostly woman and a man with no head were seen on separate occasions. The firefighters at the station said they would hear knocking on the walls at all hours, but whenever they went outside to check, no one was there. Many believed that the firehouse had been built on a path that led from the old Waimea village near the rivermouth to burial grounds on the hillside, and that the spirits that walked the path were unhappy with the firehouse blocking their way. The firefighters invited naysayers to spend the night so they could experience the hauntings firsthand, but no one ever volunteered.

Other haunted locations include the Nu‘uanu Fire Station on Wyllie Street, which is said to have night marchers walk through the building, the Central Fire Station on Beretania, whose haunting was being investigated by the Hawaiian Society for Psychical Research in 1925, and the Kaimukī Fire Station that reportedly has night marchers, strange shadows, and other haunted activity.

And then, of course, we have the Kaka‘ako Fire Station in Downtown Honolulu. Newspaper articles state that men who slept in the dormitory at the old station house on South Street often reported hearing a voice calling to them to come outside. The firefighters also claimed that the rows of ti leaves planted along the walkway would rustle as if someone brushed against them on nights when there was no wind.

The original firehouse was built in 1929 near Honuakaha cemetery, where more than a thousand smallpox victims were buried. This was never a planned cemetery and grew out of desperation during a time when Honolulu found itself unprepared for the onslaught of the infectious disease.

As soon as smallpox appeared in May 1853, the government set up a hospital at Honuakaha on Queen Street, across from the KawaiaHa‘o Church graveyard. When the patients died, autopsies were performed, and many who didn’t understand the process believed the patients were being killed and their bodies desecrated. As the government tried to mitigate the spread, general panic and distrust led residents to hide their symptoms from doctors and officials.

By July, Reverend Samuel C. Damon wrote of passing a saloon on the street. In front stood a handcart loaded with two corpses while the operator of the cart was inside having a drink. Multiple deaths were a daily event by then, as were carts traveling up and down the streets carrying the bodies of those who had passed. Burying the victims was necessary, but it was nearly impossible to find people to carry out the chore, and prisoners held in the old fort were recruited in exchange for their freedom. One report states that from the hospital on Queen Street, doomed patients could view their last earthly home.

The cemetery at Honuakaha filled quickly, and by the middle of October, at least a thousand bodies, primarily Native Hawaiians, were packed into the two-acre lot. Buried close together, the graves were dug just wide enough to fit a body lying on its side. Most graves averaged only three feet deep, with barely six inches between them. A nauseating stench rose from the area, permeating everything in the surrounding area.

Nearly 75 years later, the stench long gone and the cemetery all but forgotten, construction crews broke ground on a new fire station on South Street next to Quinn Lane. For years after its opening, firefighters complained about strange occurrences in the building, like strange voices, odd shadows, and more.

As time went on and technology improved, a new fire station was built in the mid-1970s to accommodate larger fire trucks and a larger crew. The old station was placed on the State Register of Historic Places, and the firefighters moved into the new building just a stone’s throw away, fronting Queen Street.

Almost immediately, this new fire station was reported to be just as eerie as the first, with the fire captain experiencing his own haunting in the form of a ghost sitting on his chest, choking him. One firefighter refused to go upstairs to the dorm area unless someone went with him.

Perhaps it’s not the people who ended up in the cemetery that are haunting the fire station. Maybe it’s the anguish and suffering of the hospital patients stricken with smallpox, feverish, miserable, believing the only outcome was death. The massive mortality rate of the patients admitted to the Honuakaha smallpox hospital could be enough trauma to leave a lasting impression on a place.

A retired fireman explained that the hauntings at Kaka‘ako were generally accepted as a fact of life. There was nothing to be done about the ghosts and weird shadows, other than place ti leaves under your bed and try to ignore them. While he wasn’t a particularly superstitious man, he tried not to be upstairs alone if he could help it. At first, he didn’t have any problems, but after about a month of being assigned to the Kaka‘ako station, he woke up to someone bumping his bed while he was sleeping. At first, he thought it was just some fellow being inconsiderate, but when he opened his eyes, no one was there. It happened three more times on different occasions, and then the last time it happened, he awoke to a shadowy figure next to his bed. It was definitely a person, he said, but it was bent forward a little, like an old man, wearing dark colored pants and a loose, long-sleeved shirt, and the fireman could see right through him!

He told me he didn’t tell anyone at the time except his wife, but it scared him like nothing else before, and he quietly transferred to the Kailua station the following month. In all his years as a firefighter, he’s seen a lot of strange things, but the Kaka‘ako Fire Station was the only place that made him feel so uncomfortable.

“Fighting fires is one thing,” he said, “You mostly know what to expect. You have a job to do, and you do it. But ghosts? That’s not part of the job.”

Kakaako Old Fire Station

<title>The Continuous Haunting of the Kaka‘ako Fire Station</title>

Fire stations around the world, and across the Islands, are famous for hauntings. Here's a closer look at the strange experiences of fire fighters at the Kaka‘ako Fire Station, located in an area where once more than a small pox victims were buried.

The Continuous Haunting of the Kaka‘ako Fire Station

Ready to make plans for the weekend? Aloha State Daily can help. Here are some of the events happening on Oʻahu this Friday, Saturday and Sunday:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, May 8"}]

Learn the Nā Hōkū Hanohano finalists. 

This evening of Hawaiian music at Kani Ka Pila Grille

performances from Nathan Nahinu, Kawika Kahiapo, and Bobby Moderow, as well as special guest artists Kala'e and Kalenaku Parish

. At the event, the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts will share the list of finalists for the Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards. 

Participating restaurants at International Market Place’s

 Grand Lānai are offering prix fixe menus that start at $55 per person. The event runs through Sunday, May 10. Some of the restaurants with special menus include 

Eating House 1849, Herringbone Waikīkī, StripSteak Waikīkī, and more. 

The Garden Club of Honolulu will host its Major Flower Show at the Honolulu Museum of Art from Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10. The event occurs every three years during Mother’s Day weekend. This year, the theme is “Imagine That!” and the event will showcase horticulture, floral and botanical design, photography, and conservation, with Garden Club of America judges flying in from across the country to select winners of each category of competition. Included in general admission, which is $15 for kamaʻāina. 

Once a month the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

 opens its campus after sunset and invites kamaʻāina and visitors to visit its galleries. This Museum After Hours event spotlights the newest exhibition, 

 as well as her husband Sig Zane, and their son, Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane. Relax on the Great Lawn and enjoy the 

listen to live Hawaiian music and browse local food and craft vendors

. Admission is $10. Tickets to shows in the planetarium are an additional $3, per person. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, May 9"}]

This year, the Ko Olina Children’s Festival returns with a paniolo theme. Since 2014, the festival has 

 for Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children. The event features rising musician Kamahaʻo Haumea-Thronas, as well as the Nā Hōkū Hanohano-award-winning husband-and-wife duo Kalaʻe Parish and Kalenaku

. There will also be a sunset screening of “Toy Story.”

 Food will be available for purchase at the event. Check the festival website for a list of items that can be brought into the event. Tickets start at $27.50 for keiki and $40 for adults

. Special rates exist for active military. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sunday, May 10"}]

Looking to make plans to celebrate the mothers in your life? Check out our Food & Dining Reporter Kelli Shiroma Braiotta’s guides to 

Where to celebrate Mother’s Day – Part 1

Catch Kamaʻāina Sunday at ʻIolani Palace. 

Explore ‘Iolani Palace with free admission. There are self-led audio tours available for the first 500 attendees. This weekend, the featured activities include floral kūpeʻe with Maxeen Shea, kōnane with Kapena Baptista, and lauhala weaving with Keoua Nelsen

. There are also activities for keiki. The event includes a performance from 

Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Ka Mōʻī Jazz Ensemble

There will also be an ʻūkēkē workshop led by Mahi La Pierre

, which can accommodate up to 12 people. Sign-ups for the workshop begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Kīnaʻu Gate on Richards Street. 

For free admission, bring a valid Hawaiʻi state ID or driver’s license. 

ACE Sxp 10554

<title>Mother’s Day, flowers, Ko Olina Children’s Festival and more</title>

Celebrate Mother’s Day and explore a flower show that only occurs every three years at the Honolulu Museum of Art. This weekend, you can also learn the list of nominees for Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards.

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