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<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, May 14, 2026</title>

The force is strong in this one...

Daily Smile: Thursday, May 14, 2026

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Business & Tourism

 has a double meaning behind its name. The biz, which officially opened in July, was inspired by husband-and-wife team Clarence and Emi Coloma’s daughter.

“Cae’s was inspired by our daughter’s name, Caemila,” Emi Coloma explains. “It also stands for Clarence and Emi.

“It’s a true family effort,” she adds. “My husband is the culinary mind — he handles all the magic in the kitchen — and I work alongside him, running operations and handling everything behind the scenes. We started this together to share our love for great food with the community, and we’ve been growing as a team ever since.”

Coloma explains her husband's previous culinary roles included executive sous chef at Hilton Mission Valley in San Diego and deli manager at ABC Stores for Island Country Markets.

“He eventually became executive chef (in this role),” Coloma says. “His contributions included menu development, kitchen management, team training and crafting an array of local and international dishes.”

When deciding on a business concept, the Colomas wanted to take a classic American staple and elevate it with their own twist and local flavors.

“We wanted a menu item that’s fun, fast and pure comfort food — something everyone craves,” she says. “Smash burgers let us blend hands-on culinary passion with high energy, giving our community a bite that feels both familiar and special every time.” 

The business features a variety of smashburgers with different toppings. All burgers feature double beef patties with the business’s signature ube brioche buns. Da bacon and mushroom smash ($19) is the business’s top seller and most popular order, according to Coloma. It features a double beef patty with bacon, mushrooms, grilled white onions, a Swiss and American cheese blend with garlic parmesan and aioli. 

Da street banh mi smash is another fan favorite, according to Coloma. This burger includes grilled white onions, cilantro, pickled daikon radish and carrots, cilantro, cucumber, and a Swiss and American cheese blend with honey Sriracha aioli.

Other smash burger options include da jalapeno bacon smash ($19) — which includes grilled fresh jalapeno — and da island teri smash.

The biz has a regular pop-up at Makana Market at Ka Makana Aliʻi in Kapolei; Cae’s Smash and Grindz is there every Sunday (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Wednesday (4 to 8 p.m.).

The biz also pops up at New Wave Night Market at the Kroc Center every fourth Friday for the month and at Pearlridge Center’s Village Night Market twice a month. Cae’s Smash and Grindz also recently did its first pop-up at What the Truck?! in Waikele last month.

“Our goal for our first year of business is to build deep roots in our local community and become a go-to favorite for comfort food done right,” Coloma says. “Besides serving great food at pop-ups, we want every event and catering order to feel like a community celebration.

“By God’s grace, as we grow, our ultimate vision is to expand into a permanent food truck so we can serve even more of our community every day,” she adds.

Caes Smash and Grindz owner 091826

<title>Cae’s Smash and Grindz is a new smashburger biz</title>

The business, which pops up at events across Oʻahu, celebrated its grand opening in July. Cae’s Smash and Grindz is known for its smashburgers with ube buns; the business’s bacon and mushroom smash is its bestseller and most popular dish.

Cae’s Smash and Grindz is a new smashburger biz

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Between storm impacts and the Iran war, Hawai‘i's economy has taken a beating this year, the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization reports.

 for the third quarter of 2026 found that the storm-driven decline in visitors this year, compounded by war-driven fuel costs, increasing interest rates and stagnant job growth has left the state’s economic future uncertain.

While 2025 saw the state’s real GDP — gross domestic product as adjusted for inflation — increase by 3.3% over the previous year, this year it has only increased by 0.6%. UHERO Executive Director Carl Bonham said that this small increase technically means the state is not in a recession, but that’s cold comfort when viewed next to other statistics.

For example, Bonham noted that the last time Hawai‘i’s real GDP growth was so low was during the Covid pandemic, but at that time, the state’s job market was still growing, as people flocked to the state to take advantage of widespread work-from-home policies. This year, job growth has stalled, with non-farm jobs decreasing by 0.2% statewide; last year, jobs increased by 0.8%.

The report attributes this weakness in the job market to weak demand rather than worker supply: job posting statewide has declined by 7% since last year. While 2,200 more workers entered the labor force this year, 3,100 workers became unemployed during the same time. At the same time, Bonham said that Hawai‘i's aging population means more workers will be leaving the workforce.

Nonetheless, the state’s unemployment rate is 2.7%, which the report emphasized is still low, historically speaking.

Meanwhile, the impacts of this year’s storms has reduced visitor rates to the state, and may continue to do so for some time. Passing over the potential impacts of 

, Bonham said that the prospect of future storms will likely cause some visitors to reconsider traveling to the islands this year.

Visitor arrivals statewide have dropped by about 0.7% this year — roughly on par with a similar decline last year — and visitor spending has dropped by 1.6%, or $21 million. On Kaua‘i, which is still recovering from Hurricane Lowell, visitor arrivals have dropped by more than 6%.

The affordability of housing has also “deteriorated” in 2026, the report states. Even though home prices have stayed largely flat this year, interest rate hikes have increased mortgage rates, pushing home ownership further out of reach for many local families. Bonham noted that, since the report was completed, the Federal Reserve announced more rate hikes, putting the report in danger of being obsolete already.

The only unalloyed positive point in the report is the continuing strength of the state’s construction industry, which is expected to employ more than 40,000 workers for the next several years as major public and private construction projects continue. The report darkly notes that, just as the Lahaina fires necessitated a boom in residential construction, the storms and earthquake this year will likely do the same.

However, construction costs have risen by about 30% since 2020 due to inflation.

Further cost increases, which could eventually chill the industry, are contingent on unforeseeable future events such as whether hostilities in Iran end, the results of the mid-term elections, and whether the enormous investments in AI — which the report notes is virtually the only business investment going on — actually pays off.

Bonham 16x9 2

<title>Storms and war, make for gloomy economic forecast, UHERO reports</title>

State's economic future uncertain as interest rates and fuel costs soar.

Storms and war, make for gloomy economic forecast, UHERO reports

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

a free concert from Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra featuring guest performers, such as Keola Beamer, 

 held on Saturday, Sept. 19, welcomed about 3,000 attendees, according to representatives of the symphony and Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows, which is operated by Highgate Hawaiʻi.  

, this was the symphony’s first appearance on Maui in 10 years. The outdoor performance under the stars of Kā‘anapali celebrated the resilience and courage of Lahaina, Kihei and Kula.

ICYMI: A encore broadcast of the free concert will air at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday, Sept. 27, on Hawaiʻi News Now.

Before the concert, more than 20 Maui-based businesses participated in the Mākeke at 

, an open air space under a century-old Banyan tree that is part of Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows. Vendors did not pay to participate in the market, which means they were able to keep all proceeds from sales, organizers said.

Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows, operated by Highgate Hawaiʻi

Hawaiʻi Stage, which is owned and operated by a subsidiary of Hawaiian Council

, constructed a stage and provided lights and amplification; and Hawaiian Airlines donated the airfare to get the musicians — and their instruments — to The Valley Isle.

Mele for Maui

<title>Mele for Maui gets encore broadcast on Hawaiʻi News Now</title>

Did you miss the free concert featuring Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra’s first performance on Maui in a decade last weekend? This Sunday, you can catch the encore broadcast of the event, which features guest artists, such as Keola Beamer, Amy Hānaiali‘i and John Cruz, on Hawaiʻi News Now.

Mele for Maui gets encore broadcast on Hawaiʻi News Now

Aloha Spirit

Author Tori Eldridge, who grew up on Oʻahu but now lives in Oregon, penned a series of books about Ranger Makalani Pahukula and is in Honolulu this week to talk about novels and the art of writing.

The Kanaka Maoli novelist — who graduated as Tori Brenno from Punahou School 

in the same class as President Barack Obama 

— will discuss her novels “Kauaʻi Storm,” published in May of 2025, and “Hawaiʻi Rage,” released in May of 2026, on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Native Books in Chinatown.

The event, which is free, is sponsored by the 

, which focuses on supporting the work of artists living in Hawaiʻi, with an emphasis on uplifting the work of kānaka maoli and kamaʻāina. 

follow a protagonist who works at the Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

“I created this ranger who had been working in Oregon — which is where I now live — for 10 years,” Eldridge told Aloha State Daily. “There was that diaspora feeling of coming home, trying to fit in — in little Anahola, Kauaʻi, where she grew up on a Hawaiian Home Lands homestead — and dealing with that.”

“Hawaiʻi Rage” follows “Kauaʻi Storm” and has the same ranger investigating the suspicious death of her father at a Kohala ranch. 

At this weekend's event, she will also offer a 90-minute creative writing workshop following t

“I always open all of my novels with these action scenes that reveal character and culture and history, while really keeping everybody on the edge of their seat,” she said. “I said, ‘Well, how about I talk about how to do that?’ So that's what we're going to do. We're going to do an interactive workshop. Anybody can come. No experience necessary. You can choose to write. You can choose to share — or not. You can just listen and be in our space and soak it all in. We're welcoming everybody.”

What is one piece of advice she would give up-and-coming writers?

“Just write and get words on a page because that's really the most important thing is to build a habit of writing,” she said. “It's easy to edit when there are already words on a page.”

Before becoming an author, Eldridge performed on Broadway, and was part of the first national company of “Cats,” among other credits. As part of that, she was part of a group of dancers asked to take photos with the famous 

, who starred in a popular series of 9Lives pet food commercials.

“But here's the funny thing: that photo was taken an hour before we went on stage,” she said. “What I didn't realize was: I'm allergic to cats.”

The cat fur stuck to her makeup, and she had to wash her face, and reapply everything — right before going on stage for the show.

Recently, Eldridge was hired to narrate the audiobooks of her latest novels, which was complemented by her past experience acting and recording voiceovers.

“It was one of the greatest thrills of my professional career to be able to blend acting and writing, and be able to voice the multi-generational cast of characters,” she said. “And speak their dialog with phrases of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and Hawaiian pidgin the way I had intended them to sound.”

Eldridge also holds a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts.

“I changed everything to coincide with my 50th birthday,” she said. “I stopped everything to do with career martial arts and devoted my time, resources and energy to becoming a novelist. … And after a few published short stories, I came out with ʻThe Ninja Daughter’ and “The Ninja Blade’ and the rest of the ninja series. And here I am.”

Now, the novelist has published seven books. But it wasn’t until recently that she started writing about Hawaiʻi.

“When I became a tūtū, I realized that this was the time where I wanted to be writing about Hawaiʻi and family in a way that reflected the diaspora experience, but also addressed what kānaka maoli were challenged with in Hawaiʻi today,” she said, acknowledging that o

ther authors have written thrillers set in paradise.

"But as a Native Hawaiian, for me to write a book set here, I felt it had to ring true with our people — to resonate," Eldridge added. "For that, I needed writing maturity. That's why I waited until my sixth and seventh novels to write about Hawaiʻi."

She said she leaned on friends to help with some of the research. Rev. Mark Haworth of Hālau Wa’a Episcopal helped her write a mountain top memorial at the fictional Hiapo

ranch that mixed religion with Hawaiʻi culture and tradition.

Her friend Kim Greeley — and Greeley’s calabash uncle, 

, who is an inductee to the Paniolo Hall of Fame and was a founder of New Town and Country Stables — helped her capture ranch life. In fact, she sat for hours listening to them talk about riding horses and ranching.

“It was very important to me that everything that this paniolo did was feasible and logical and authentic,” she said. “And they helped me tremendously with that.”

Sign up for the upcoming event, which includes a 90-minute writing workshop, on Sunday, Sept. 27, 

Tori Eldridge

<title>Kanaka Maoli author talks story at Native Books</title>

Tori Eldridge is a Broadway dancer turned fifth-degree black belt who decided to become a novelist when she turned 50 years old. This week, she explores her latest books, which are set in Hawaiʻi, and hosts a 90-minute writing workshop as part of a stop at Native Books in Chinatown on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Kanaka Maoli author talks story at Native Books

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Rick Hamada

Columnists

There are times when a visit to the stream of consciousness does one well. 

I genuinely express a “no joy in Mudville” disclaimer when reporting on yet another severe storm and/or hurricane targeting our Island chain. And here we are again. This weekend has forecasts invoking words such as “life threatening” and “cataclysmic.” The potential for rainfall and flooding is almost biblical. The Big Island and Maui are expected to suffer the brunt of the impact and damage. I can’t imagine the effects on families who have endured so much in such a short amount of time. I cannot express enough empathy and prayers for those who find themselves in the path of such potential destructive impact. 

about four years ago. I was smitten with this Thai elementary school girl who was slaying classic and hard rock tunes busking on the streets of Phuket or playing in night markets. Even then she had a presence and an undeniable talent that was simply mesmerizing. Her performing maturity at such a young age grew to arguably the biggest stage for discovering new talent and that’s on NBC’s appropriately named, “America’s Got Talent.”  

I love these talent shows. “America’s Got Talent,” “Britain’s Got Talent,” and I’m sure I’d love “Poughkeepsie’s Got Talent” if they had a show. I am so moved by the combination of the backstory; the expression of dreams being realized and (most times) a revealing of remarkable talents by some of the most unassuming personalities. Yes, I get emotional but then again, I cry at a good Hallmark card commercial. 

Nene Royal’s multiple performances earning her an appearance in the finals of the competition is one of the greatest strings of overt talent I can remember. Her initial audition was the best. She was softly spoken, shared she was 15 years old, and the next day she turned 16 was about as endearing as it gets.  

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Go to YouTube and search for Nene Royal and be prepared to smile. 

I have lived in or near Downtown Honolulu for my approaching 40 years in Hawaii. I grew up in the rural Midwest, traveled and lived in Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and suburbs in between. There is a sense of energy and activity in urban America, which I prefer and enjoy. 

Honolulu has a different vibe of any other major American city. Reno, Nevada lays claim to the motto, “The Biggest Little City in the World.” I’d beg to differ. Downtown has a definite small-town pace despite having some of the most density of people both living, working and now visiting. If there’s one thing that’s irrefutable is downtown tends to close around 6 p.m. during the week and earlier on the weekends. 

I know this may be an unfair blanket statement, but it’s pretty true. 

There’s no “nightlife” on the scale of other cities. I will say though that there are great destinations in town.  

The historic Hawaiʻi Theater offers an eclectic calendar of entertainment and events nestled in one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever seen. Murphy’s is one of the richest and most storied locations along with the relatively new experience at the AC Hotel on Bishop Street. Inside you can enjoy a top shelf restaurant (The Dotted Line ((yummy)) and a selection of rooms that give a sense of comfort and escape. There are also excellent restaurants reaching into Chinatown that are growing in popularity and recognition. 

However, Honolulu is not a bustling center of entertainment and destination for a night out in the town. Nearby Waikīkī and Kakaʻako hold those distinctions. But I have a feeling that may not be for long. 

Downtown had a rep of being a dangerous place to visit. Perhaps the reason things closed down before dark. And, yes, having lived and worked for decades in town, it was a big part of it. 

But Donnie Hathaway elegantly sang “A Change Is Gonna Come.” And that change is underway with Downtown Honolulu. 

Of all the issues, it was always homelessness that proved to be the greatest barricade. We’ve gone from the A’ala Park “Hooverville” of the early 1990’s to until recently a dramatic decrease in homeless on Fort Street Mall to River Street to Hotel Street. There’s a great reduction in the number of individuals sleeping in the doorways of businesses. You see fewer troubled folks yelling at the sky. Despite the fact that homelessness is still an issue, these improvements connote a definitely improved and safer environment. The translation is more people are willing to give town a shot, and businesses are finding urban Honolulu a place to invest for a profitable future. 

Christine Camp of the Avalon Group is a champion of Downtown Honolulu describing it as "DOHO." Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s efforts to restore the troubled Chinese Cultural Plaza is a generational accomplishment with legacy implications and the multi-agency coordination between an invigorated HPD and Department of Emergency Management Service’s CORE and others are dedicated to the restoration of the urban center and other Oahu locales. 

I know perfection is unattainable, but the pursuit is a standard to which we can all aspire. 

Chinatown police 5 24 26

<title>Hamada: There are times when a visit to the stream of consciousness</title>

ASD columnist Rick Hamada shares woes about more impending storms along with Honolulu horror stories, hidden gems and small town issues. He even shares recommendations for new music by a young Phuket artist and TV shows highlighting talent.

Hamada: There are times when a visit to the stream of consciousness

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Republicans in the state House are one seat short of a rule that would let them force floor votes on bills. The majority would rather leave those bills in committee. Earlier this week, I 

A tactic needs a goal. But the party has never settled whether it is a party for Hawaiʻi first or a local franchise of the national brand.

That question should be settled before November. A caucus that can force votes will have to decide, bill by bill, what it wants on the record. Those choices will define the party more than any platform document. The answer should start with the people who actually live here.

The franchise model has real appeal. National alignment offers a ready message, a famous brand, and the hope of donors.

But Hawaiʻi is not a battleground state, and national money for state House races here is scarce. The branch pays its dues in loyalty and receives little in return. It is odd for the party of freedom to take its cues from a capital nearly 5,000 miles away while ignoring the voters next door.

Local Democrats are in a similar position. Their party, too, is more a platform people stand on than an institution that shapes them. The difference is that the Democratic platform is attached to a ladder. With an all-blue delegation in Washington, a young Democrat can climb from a neighborhood board to Congress. Republicans have no ladder, which is all the more reason to build the ground floor well.

That ground floor is the electorate Hawaiʻi actually has. More than one in five residents is 65 or older, a larger share than the nation’s, and older people vote. According to Pew’s latest 

, about six in 10 adults here are Protestant, Catholic, Latter-day Saint, or Orthodox. Many hold traditional views on marriage, life, and the rights of parents. Few lawmakers speak for them. And nearly half the state was born somewhere else, on the continent or abroad.

That last fact undercuts an old campaign assumption. In a college class on intercultural communication, I was taught that Hawaiʻi has a collectivist culture, where people set aside their own desires to keep the peace.

My family is of Japanese ancestry and has been here five generations. We take off our shoes at the door and eat rice with nearly everything. But we have far more in common with other Americans than with anyone in Tokyo. Much of the old wisdom about campaigning here took shape before statehood, when voters had less in common with the rest of America.

Voters who are older, churchgoing, and deeply American are good soil for the party’s message of faith, family, and freedom. The Democratic establishment supplies the contrast on its own. Hawaiʻi is among the costliest places in the country to raise children. Yet the state’s instinct is to regulate the family more, not to get out of its way.

Still, a party can misunderstand its own platform. A party does not form souls. Families and churches do that work, and they were doing it long before anyone founded a political party.

The party’s task is humbler: to speak for the people those homes and churches have formed and to protect the room they need to do their work. A Republican Party that understood this would stop importing fights from cable news. It would start with the questions Hawaiʻi families ask at the kitchen table.

Can my kids afford to stay? Who decides what my daughter learns at school? Will my church be left alone? Who will care for my mother?

Those questions are local, and so are the answers. God’s word to Judah’s exiles still holds for anyone who lives in one place and pines for another: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Floor votes are coming. The party can use them to echo Washington, or it can use them to put Hawaiʻi’s families on the record. The platform is sound. What it lacks is people willing to carry it door to door, and that is a harder problem than any floor vote.

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Parties

House Republicans are one seat from a rule that lets them force floor votes. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why a tactic without a goal is a chainsaw without a tree.

Hawaii Republican Party logo 16x9

Hawaiʻi Republicans could force House floor votes. What are they for?

<title>Hawaiʻi Republican Party should put Hawaiʻi first, not the national brand</title>

Can my kids afford to stay? Who will care for my mother? ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why Hawaiʻi Republicans should start with the questions local families ask.

Daily Smile: Thursday, May 14, 2026

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