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Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Jessica Doney at Mākaha Valley. "A low‑sitting rainbow stretching across the valley after the rain."

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

IMG 1797 Afterlight

<title>Hawaiʻi Skies: Sitting low</title>

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Jessica Doney at Mākaha Valley.

Hawaiʻi Skies: Sitting low

Today&#039;s Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Jessica Doney at Mākaha Valley. &quot;A low‑sitting rainbow stretching across the valley after the rain.&quot; To submit your Hawai&#039;i Skies photo, visit us online or email: general@alohastatedaily.com

Ray Tsuchiyama

Columnists

Every weekday afternoon at 4:30, I pick up my granddaughter.

Sometimes while waiting in the parking lot, I answer an email from a Tokyo client. My work doesn't stop just because the school day is ending; it simply gets folded into whatever gap exists before 4:30.

Then it is time to pick up my granddaughter.

The contrast is almost comical. One minute I am updating escrow about a multimillion-dollar transaction; the next, I am fastening a child into her car seat, listening to who was “mean” to her and asking whether I have been a good “Jiji” today.

Yet there is a fundamental connection between the two, and it is not a small one. My being there at 4:30 makes it possible for her parents to stay at work.

I am part of Hawaiʻi's childcare system. I just don't show up in the childcare statistics.

That is not to say grandparents can replace preschool. Quite the opposite. I have never been more convinced of the difference between the two than I am now, watching early childhood education happen five days a week.

I see daily what preschool provides my granddaughter that I cannot. She talks about learning "A" for alligator. She says, “Good morning, how are you today?” respectfully to her teacher. She has learned to share toys and navigate relationships with her classmates.

These may sound like small things. They aren't. They are the essential building blocks of early social development and preparation for elementary school. Jiji is not going to lead a structured lesson on phonics or spelling. That is not a criticism of grandparents; it is an accurate description of what a classroom is actually for.

We must be careful not to confuse childcare with early education. They are distinct entities doing different work. Hawaiʻi's policy conversations should be honest about that distinction, rather than treating "somebody is watching the kids" as interchangeable with "somebody is teaching them."

At the same time, the two are inextricably linked. A family that cannot solve the first problem — supervision — never gets to benefit from the second — education. A child who needs supervision at 4:30 p.m. and cannot get it from a licensed, affordable after-school program does not simply do without. A grandparent, an aunt, or a neighbor absorbs the gap instead. And whatever early-learning or structured enrichment value a formal setting would have provided goes missing along with it.

This is where Hawaiʻi needs to start asking a different, broader set of questions about childcare.

When we talk about Hawaiʻi's childcare crisis, policy makers tend to count only what is easily visible: licensed centers, available slots, registered childcare workers, preschool enrollment, subsidies, and out-of-pocket costs. The state's Ready Keiki initiative, for instance, tracks its progress toward universal access for three- and four-year-olds largely through formal metrics — seats built, classrooms opened, and shrinking waitlists.

All of those metrics matter. None of it is wrong to count.

But what about the grandmother who watches a grandchild until a parent gets off a late shift? The aunt who takes care of two nieces every Wednesday? The hānai cousin who steps in when a parent's work schedule changes with two days' notice because the alternative is losing the job? 

What about the parents themselves — the ones who adjust their working hours, decline a promotion, or leave the workforce altogether because they cannot find care they can afford or 

These individuals are essential components of Hawaiʻi's childcare system. Yet much of this labor remains invisible. A family absorbing the gap through a grandparent or a neighbor never shows up on an official state waitlist. Statistically, that family looks like a household with no need at all.

Before we can solve this problem, we should determine the true scope of the system we already have. Imagine a comprehensive map of Hawaiʻi's entire early-childhood ecosystem — not just licensed facilities.

 How many are there? How old are they? Where do they live?

 Who takes care of them during the day, before and after school, on weekends, and during school holidays? Some will be in childcare centers or preschools. Many will be with grandparents, extended family, friends, or neighbors (“FFN”). Some parents will be attempting to do the work themselves, juggling split shifts or working from home with a toddler running around the living room.

 How many parents are working? How many could work more hours or take a higher-paying job if reliable childcare were accessible? How many have already reduced their hours or left employment altogether — a trend that appears consistently in statewide surveys and ripples outward to every local employer struggling to fill shifts or retain trained staff?

 Are the shortages identical in Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului, and Līhuʻe? A Neighbor Island shortage looks vastly different from an urban Oʻahu shortage — fewer providers competing for thinner margins, paired with longer travel distances between existing care and family homes.

 Even for a dual-income family, a median $1,000 to $1,300 monthly fee for licensed preschool represents a substantial hit to the household budget. What does formal care actually cost families? What does the state spend?

What is the economic value of all the unpaid care that families currently provide on their own?

That last figure is astronomical. Suppose Jiji provides two hours of childcare a day, five days a week, for 50 weeks a year. That is 500 hours a year. At $20 an hour, that equates to $10,000 worth of care. At $25 an hour, it reaches $12,500. Multiply that across tens of thousands of families statewide — grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors all stepping up at 4:30 p.m. — and the value of Hawaiʻi's invisible childcare workforce runs into hundreds of millions of dollars. It is an economy quietly sustained by free kūpuna labor.

Beyond the direct hours, there is an additional layer of economic value: the parent who can hold down a job because Auntie Leilani is available. That is a paycheck earned, taxes paid, and a local business that does not lose a valued employee to a coverage gap.

Our informal care network is currently subsidizing Hawaiʻi's entire labor market — for free, indefinitely, and with no guarantee that it will still be there for the next generation.

Childcare is not simply a social service or a favor rendered by loving relatives. 

Before We Subsidize: Mapping Hawaiʻi’s Childcare Care Economy

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

ay Tsuchiyama’s series explores one central question: How does Hawai‘i use the wealth and land it already has to create its next economic future? He can be reached at 

Grandparent with child i Stock 2161371957

<title>Hawaiʻi’s Invisible Childcare Subsidy: Free Kūpuna Labor</title>

In the first of a two-part series, ASD columnist Ray Tsuchiyama explores the economics of the childcare crisis in Hawai‘i, including the dimensions we're not talking about, but should.

Hawaiʻi’s Invisible Childcare Subsidy: Free Kūpuna Labor

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Widely regarded as the best shooter in the history of the sport, Golden State Warriors star guard Steph Curry has drained an NBA record 4,248 career 3-pointers, making his shots behind the arc at an efficient 42.2% clip. His career free throw percentage of 91.2 is also the highest in league history. 

Curry, 38, took home NBA MVP honors in 2015 and 2016. He has spent his entire career with the Warriors, winning four rings with the franchise that took him seventh overall in the 2009 NBA Draft. A two-year, $116 million extension he agreed to on Sept. 25 will take him through the 2028-2029 season, which will be his 20th season. 

Ahead of Year 18, Curry and the Warriors are stationed at BYU-Hawai‘i's Cannon Activities Center for training camp ahead of the upcoming 2026-2027 season. After a full week of practice, the Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers will meet for an exhibition game at the Stan Sheriff Center on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m. 

During Golden State's first practice in the Islands on Tuesday, hundreds of fans lined up outside the team bus at BYU-Hawai‘i, many in Curry jerseys, hopeful to get a glimpse at the global hoops icon. 

Curry is certainly aware of the influence he has on fans worldwide, and he doesn't want to disappoint them. Two years ago, the Warriors held camp on the North Shore and also played an exhibition game at the Stan Sheriff Center. Curry mentioned wanting to hit a 3-pointer in front of Hawai‘i fans to show his appreciation. 

In the exhibition on Oct. 5, 2024, the most prolific shooter the game has ever seen went 0-for-4 in 14 minutes played. It's a fact he was reminded of after Tuesday's practice. Come Sunday, Curry hopes to make amends by doing what he does best. 

"I only played the first half, and I was out there chucking," Curry said. "I'll try to make up for it on Sunday. It's a cool vibe. We're here for a week, we get to play in front of a different fanbase, different arena and we appreciate the love we get out here for sure."

After Sunday's exhibition, the Warriors will return to the Bay Area and play an additional five preseason games. The 82-game regular season begins with a contest against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 21. 

The trip to the North Shore for a handful of days is a welcome reprieve for a team that won't have much downtime once the grind of the regular season gets underway in a few weeks. 

"We're locked in on basketball all day, and practice is pretty much over. I want all the guys to do whatever they want. Have fun, go to the beach, play some golf. I believe that finding that balance is just fine. This is not the 1950s," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says. "The North Shore is beautiful. It's kind of, for me, like old school Hawai‘i. I've got a bunch of incredible surfing photos in my hotel room, and I'm a bad surfer myself, but I do like to surf. It's wonderful. Hospitality everywhere we go. People are treating us so well. It's a wonderful place for us to visit."

Across town, the Clippers are holding training camp at UH-Mānoa's Gym II, the upstairs gym frequented by both University of Hawai‘i basketball teams in their own practices. In September, the Clippers were fined $30 million by the NBA and stripped of five first-round draft picks after an investigation found that the team circumvented salary cap rules by paying additional money to star forward Kawhi Leonard through falsified endorsement deals organized by the franchise. Team owner Steve Ballmer was also suspended for one year. 

Days after the NBA revealed their findings and handed down its ruling on the Clippers, Leonard was officially traded to the Toronto Raptors, marking a new era for the franchise as it headed to the Islands for camp. 

"I think our season is going to be surprising to a lot of people," Clippers guard Darius Garland said following the team's first practice in Mānoa. "I think we have a good chemistry so far. We haven't even hit the season yet, so I think that's going to take a little bit since everybody's been in the gym for at least two, three months now. We've been around each other, got the camaraderie going. ... We got a lot of competitors. We got a lot of dogs in this team that can really go."

The Clippers, who will be the de facto home team on Sunday, are also involved in a number of community activations in an effort to grow their Hawai‘i fanbase, including a team visit to a 

Kaiser Permanente clinic on the weekend. Throughout the week, members of the team also participated in a 

"Waking up, seeing the water in the morning, seeing the people here that are excited to have us, it's been a nice change of pace," Clippers guard Max Strus said. "It's beautiful out here, and I'm just excited to get it underway."

Steph Curry 100126

<title>Steph Curry vows to let it fly for Hawai‘i fans in Sunday exhibition</title>

Curry, the NBA's all-time 3-point leader, hopes to make his signature shot in front of the Islandsʻ supporters.

Steph Curry vows to let it fly for Hawai‘i fans in Sunday exhibition

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

The woman charged with murder after allegedly fatally shooting a man in Kailua last weekend was turned in by her father the day of the event, according to a Honolulu police report.

Hilinaikailimakualopali Keeno, 24, was charged on Sept. 30 with second-degree murder, carrying a firearm in the commission of a felony and improperly keeping a pistol or revolver. She is being held pending a $1 million bail.

An HPD document — which was submitted on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to the Honolulu Circuit Court to establish probable cause to detain Keeno without a warrant — states that Keeno’s father brought her to the Kailua Police Station less than an hour after 

was declared dead of a gunshot wound to the neck in the Kailua Target parking lot.

The report states that HPD special duty officers, who were working security at the Kailua Fall Festival that day, were called to assist with a group of festivalgoers involved in an argument at about 8:26 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Officers escorted the group out of the festival and watched them head toward the Target parking lot, only to hear another altercation begin among the group minutes later.

During this new altercation, a pop resembling a gunshot was heard, and officers saw two men — one of whom was Keeno’s brother — assaulting a third. Both assailants were placed under arrest for disorderly conduct, while officers discovered Malone on the ground, covered in blood.

[{"type":"text","text":"Malone was declared dead at the scene by 8:43 p.m."}]

At 9:39 p.m., Keeno was brought to the Kailua Police Station by her father, who told police she was involved in the incident and wanted to provide a statement in the presence of her attorney.

According to the HPD report, no interview was conducted with Keeno that night. Subsequently, HPD sought photographs and videos from the public to help piece together the event and identify the shooter.

On Sept. 28, another witness identified Keeno as the shooter, and HPD confirmed that Keeno has one firearm registered in her name, a Sig Sauer P365 handgun.

[{"type":"text","text":"Following this, Keeno was placed under arrest."}]

Keeno’s preliminary hearing, when she will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges, will take place Monday, Oct. 5. She remains in custody.

Hpd 16x9

<title>Woman charged in Kailua shooting turned in by father</title>

Hilinakailimakualopali Keeno faces a $1 million bail for a second-degree murder charge.

Woman charged in Kailua shooting turned in by father

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Government & Politics

Aloha State Daily received a press release today from a Mainland-based national interest group, U.S. Term Limits (USTL), letting us know that “2026 Hawai‘i state senate candidate, Wallyn Christian (District 13) has committed support for term limits on Congress by signing the term limits convention pledge.”

Why does this matter to that organization? “(USTL, the leader in the national, non-partisan movement to limit terms for elected officials, is gathering support from state lawmakers across the nation,” the statement says. “Its mission is to get 34 states to apply for an amendment proposal convention specific to term limits on Congress.”

Term-limiting Congress is a popular idea, and USTL cites a 

 that, “An overwhelming majority of adults (87%) favor limiting the number of terms that members of Congress are allowed to serve. This includes a majority 56% who strongly favor this proposal, just 12% are opposed.”

The idea emerges often for local politicians, as well. Civil Beat has found public support for term limits to be as high as 70% in a 2018 poll of likely voters, a stat Honolulu Civil Beat resurfaced 

 of the lawmakers themselves to see where they stand on the idea of limiting their own time in office. “Nearly half of House members and more than a third of senators say they support term limits. There are enough undecideds in both chambers to give it a good shot if they held their position for two years,” CB found.

Respectfully, all of these people are wrong. Well intentioned, but they're aiming term limits at the wrong people.

I mean, I totally understand where the frustration is coming from. We elect people, nationally and locally, then are disappointed in their results. We could end their terms ourselves by simply not reelecting these people and yet obviously a lot of the people who say they want term limits do something very odd: They seem to reelect the lousy politicians they say they want to term limit.

You want to limit someone’s term? You’re just a month away from your next opportunity to vote for someone else!

So we’ve always had the power to fire politicians with every election, but don’t, then remain convinced that what we need is more turnover in government to make it more efficient, effective and responsive. Somebodies’ terms need limiting, but who?

Easy: The workforce. The bureaucrats. See, I want term limits, too, but I want them on the people staffing all the departments and agencies that we’re perpetually frustrated with. 

Consider, to cite just one example, how many different mayors you’ve seen over the past 20 or 30 years promise to reform the departments of planning and permitting in each county. The mayors have term limits. They come and go. Have any of them succeeded at this reform?

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has done more than any predecessor but there’s a long way still to go.

How many Hawai‘i governors — term-limited governors — have promised Hawai‘i a public education second to none? Which of them succeeded? Who is still in place, immune to reform?

What happens in real life is, candidates make bold promises of reform, we elect them, then they announce bold plans for reform and those plans run headfirst into a culture of unfirable civil servants shielded by union protections. These folks don’t even have to noisily and aggressively oppose the reform, all they have to do is … not do it. And wait. Four years later, or eight years later, their antagonist is gone, the staff remains, with its culture of job security over excellence safely intact.

[{"type":"text","text":"We, the taxpayers and voters, then sit around wondering what happened."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Two Hawai‘i’s"}]

What’s happened is simple: Since statehood, Hawai‘i’s people have steadily split into two camps, those who work for government and everybody else. The appeal of Government Hawai‘i is the security and benefits — lifelong employment, if you want it, totally protected from market forces and competition, with solid benefits like healthcare and retirement, paid for by the rest of us in Real Hawai‘i.

If you think the security and the bennies of government jobs are a trade-off to compensate for low pay, guess again. Government Hawai‘i earns more than Real Hawai‘i.

The annual average wage of a non-government job in Hawai‘i is 

 from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The average annual wage in state government? 

What does Real Hawai‘i get in return? One of the highest tax burdens in America for one thing, and then very little to brag about in high-quality government service. (

I would say that that two Hawai‘i’s have hardened into opposing camps, except that’s not exactly true. Government Hawai‘i drives an Us vs Them dynamic, that was never clearer to me than it was during Covid, when Government Hawai‘i showed us that it will shut the rest of down for years at a time given the slightest opportunity. It will also protect itself first, at the expense of the public is supposedly serves, as we see in the lingering effects of the schools closing for so long. That policy made no one safer, but it did mess up the kids. (And have you noticed ever since then, Government Hawai‘i takes the day off for even bad weather like it never did before, while the rest of us soldier on with our work?)

Out here in Real Hawai‘i, we grumble but otherwise settle for apathy (i.e., low voter turnout) or outright flight to states where it feels like a good life is more possible. I don’t know who Government Hawai‘i is going to tax when the last of us moves to Vegas.

With all that in mind, term limits on government service seem like the one revolution we haven’t tried, haven’t even discussed, but should. Say 10, 15 years max, total lifetime employment in government at any level. We want people to stay long enough to learn the ropes and finish things they’ve started, not so long that they just settle in and kill time until retirement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The upsides:"}]

Breaks up all the pockets of resistance to change. Turnover would occur systemwide, one person at a time, as they age out. Reformers at the top have a chance building support in the workforce among newer staff.

[{"type":"text","text":"Brings in new people and new ideas in government at every level."}]

Opens up more opportunities for Government Hawai‘i and Real Hawai‘i to trade places and live in each other’s worlds. This may be the biggest upside — more of us would get a chance to feel like we had a chance to change the system from the inside and deliver the service we’ve always wanted, while more of them would be forced to realize that Real Hawai‘i is something more than subjects to be ruled and tax cows to be milked.

Forces a revolution in how government hires. Using Mayor Blangiardi again as an example, he’s talked about how it took people six months on average to get hired by the City & County of Honolulu when he assumed office. 

, he had cut that down to three months. Compared to the speed at which the private sector can hire, that’s still an eternity, and that would have to change immediately to deal with the kind of turnover we need.

(To be fair, government is not alone on this front. In my decade at Pacific Business News, I heard executives at Hawai‘i’s larger companies talk endlessly about a labor shortage. At the same time, I knew plenty of talented people who could not land great jobs. Something is seriously broken in the hiring process, and I suspect HR, especially using automated keyword-based filters on resumes, is to blame. Make Direct Hiring by Managers Great Again!)

Loss of expertise, I suppose, but we’ve seen what the accumulated expertise gets us: A chief elections officer who thought a lauhala basket suited the dignity of a Hawai‘i electoral tie-breaker and ended getting his office sued — successfully — and 

. Scott Nago has worked at the Office of Election for nearly 26 years, almost 17 of those years as its chief election officer. As Civil Beat 

, it’s just about the only place he has ever worked in his life. Well, in the private sector, you can lose your job for bungling things so badly you get sued. Under my plan, the private sector is where he would’ve been sent years ago. Had someone else, perhaps with a wider range of life experience, been at the helm, maybe that person would've made better decisions.

[{"type":"text","text":"So, OK, there are no downsides."}]

Term limits on government service. If you like this idea, spread the word. We’d be moving a mountain to make it happen. But that’s got to be better than carrying the mountain of Government Hawai‘i on our shoulders forever.

A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.

Term limits i Stock 517737402 16x9

People take time out of their lives to participate in the democratic process by testifying before committee hearings. Too often, the committee isn't there.

I Stock 1169235347

Pipikaula Corner: Invisible Legislators

It's not getting much media attention, but the private diaries of Dr. Anthony Fauci have been published online by Sen. Rand Paul in advance of his hearings this week into Fauci and Covid-19. What they reveal across thousands of pages is man in love with the adulation he received, who privately knew that many of things he said publicly about the pandemic were wild exaggerations.

Getty Images 2155919948

Pipikaula Corner: Fauci revealed as fear-mongering, fame-loving fraud

<title>Pipikaula Corner: Limiting the wrong terms</title>

It's an election year, and some people are running on the popular idea that legislators and Congress should have term limits to prevent lifers from working the system. ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier argues this is a great idea, with the wrong target. What if it's actually the government workforce itself that needs a term limit?

Pipikaula Corner: Limiting the wrong terms

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Business & Tourism

 is celebrating its 65th anniversary with discounted chili plates on Oct. 2 only. Customers can get the business’s signature chili plate (regular price $13.25 at Kapahulu location, $13.50 at Pearlridge Center location) for $6.50; the deal will be all day at the Kapahulu store and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pearlridge Center store.

The plate features ground beef, kidney beans and garlic simmered with the eatery’s special blend of spices and herbs, according to marketing director Crystine Ito. All plate lunches come with two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad.

“It’s (the chili) something Rainbow Drive-In served from the beginning,” she says. “It’s the same recipe, the same prep; they cook chili every day. It’s something they’re proud of; it’s very local comfort food.”

Customers who stop by Rainbow Drive-In’s locations will also have the chance to meet third generation-owner Chris Iwamura from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pearlridge location, and from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Kapahulu location. During this timeframe, customers can also enter to win prize giveaways like stickers, lanyards, keychains and gift cards, according to Ito.

“The big prize will be the $65 gift card, in honor of 65 years,” she says. “It’s kind of the grand prize; we will have a few of these (gift cards) to give away.”

On Oct. 2, the business will also be launching its new 65th anniversary shirts. The shirts will be available to purchase at Rainbow Drive-In Kapahulu and online (

“This is a special design that our friends at Project X made,” Ito says. “It’s made with the three generations in mind — there’s three cars, they’re showing three generations with three surfboards, and three bikes.

“Our other logo shirt has our 65th Infinity logo,” she adds. “Quintin (from Hype Graphics) did our 65th anniversary logo; he also did our 60th logo.”

Ito notes that it was important to Iwamura to celebrate the business’s milestone year.

“It’s not 75 (years), but he’s (Iwamura’s) proud he gets to continue the legacy,” Ito says. “He really wants the family business to continue.”

Rainbow Drive In Crystine Ito 092826

<title>Rainbow Drive-In is celebrating 65 years with $6.50 chili plates</title>

The eatery is offered discounted chili plates on Friday, Oct. 2, all day at its Kapahulu location and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Pearlridge Center location. Customers will also have the chance to win prize giveaways and meet Rainbow Drive-In third generation owner Chris Iwamura. The business’s 65th anniversary shirts will also be for sale starting that day at its Kapahulu location and online.

Rainbow Drive-In is celebrating 65 years with $6.50 chili plates

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Long before modern houses and paved roads, Nuʻuanu was home to dense forests, sweeping loʻi kalo, towering cliffs, meandering streams, and hidden waterfalls. In our oral traditions, supernatural beings are commonly thought to be guardians of specific places, and stories about encountering these spirits usually serve as warnings, as those who disrespect those places are often met with disaster.

There are numerous legends about dog-spirits in Nu‘uanu Valley, including Kaupe, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a dog. Dozens of petroglyphs in Nuʻuanu serve as a reminder of the important role that dogs played in ancient Hawaiʻi. While the exact meaning of these petroglyphs is unknown, they may often be interpreted as marking places associated with legendary dog figures and spirits.

In one legend, a couple settled above Kapena Falls, making a home there with their five dogs. The dogs never left the area where the couple lived and never allowed strangers to set foot within their grounds, until they were welcomed by the couple. As time went on, many people befriended the couple and their dogs, but the friends slowly came to realize these were not just pets. Some believed these dogs were kupua in dog form, supernatural beings that possessed talents and powers beyond those of ordinary dogs.

The path to the Pali passed the couple’s home, and the dogs never bothered anyone on the path, unless they tried to enter the homestead.

One day, two friends of the couple were on their way to the Pali. As they neared the home, the dogs rushed out, started howling, and then lay across the path. One friend was spooked and returned home, while the other thought it was nothing. He patted the dogs playfully, then continued along the path to the Pali. But he never made it. The man was soon set upon by robbers and was killed. The friend who returned home insisted the dogs were warning them, but the other man did not heed the warning.

There have also been tales of moʻo, shapeshifting beings said to resemble lizard-like creatures that lurk in ponds and waterfalls.

I was an awkward junior in high school, but I was always willing to hang out with friends. One Saturday, after a long, muddy hike, a friend suggested we go to Kapena Falls to wash off and swim in the pond. We squeezed into our friend’s Toyota Celica, but it was a really small car. The driver’s cousin, a senior at ‘Aiea High, wanted to come with us. There really wasn’t enough room, so Sunshine (yes, that was her real name) sat on my lap.

After the short ride, we parked at the cemetery and walked along the stream to Alapena Pond. I noticed a stray dog when it let out a single bark and lay down. In the most chivalrous fashion that would make my mother proud and my father roll his eyes, I placed myself between the dog and Sunshine. Something about the dog nagged at me, but I wasn’t afraid. It was just a strange feeling. However, in my youth, I quickly ignored it.

There were a lot of people that day, swimming in the pond and jumping from the top of the waterfall. I recall the driver and everyone else ran ahead, climbing up to the top of the falls. Sunshine lingered a bit near me before she pulled my shirt and pushed me into the pond. She laughed with glee and ran off with the others. The driver jumped in first, hit the water with a big splash, and surfaced soon after. It was the same with the other two that jumped. I didn’t like the pond because it was too dark. No one could see to the bottom, which made me nervous.

When Sunshine dove in, it was like she was a professional high diver. Graceful and powerful. She hit the water with hardly a splash. Everyone there, whether they knew Sunshine or not, waited at the edge of the pond to congratulate her. She didn’t come up right away. The pond grew still and quiet.

Even the waterfall didn’t seem to make any splash or ripple on the surface of the water. It was right when everyone began to voice their fears that Sunshine surfaced on the other side of the pond, letting out an audible gasp. She quickly climbed out and ran screaming down the trail toward the cemetery. We found Sunshine at her cousin’s car, sobbing hysterically, begging her cousin to take her home. Her hands and legs were covered with unusual red marks that were quickly turning to bruises. On the ride to her home above, she was curled up in my arms, her head resting on my chest, sobbing. Everyone kept asking Sunshine what happened.

When she was finally able to speak, she said, “She was trying to take me under! She wanted me to stay with her because she likes the way I swim!”

“Who?” we all asked. As far as we knew, Sunshine was the only person unaccounted for during those long minutes.

[{"type":"text","text":"“The lady who lives in the falls,” Sunshine cried."}]

She put her face in my chest and cried harder while squeezing my neck tighter. I, the awkward, lanky teenager, didn’t know what to do. Eventually, I just held her in my arms, but very lightly.

Years later, after I learned about some of the history of Nu‘uanu, I wondered if the dog was trying to warn us. I can’t really say. I’ve only gone back there a few times since then. But never to swim.

Kapena Falls Nuuanu

<title>Dog-Spirits and Moʻo at Kapena Falls</title>

Who — or what — lives in the pond beneath Kapena Falls in Nu‘uanu Valley? In ancient legends, the valley has been home to guardian dogs with supernatural abilities, and creatures who can take both human and lizard form. For some visitors to the valley, those legends haven't been so ancient after all.

Hawaiʻi Skies: Sitting low

ASD Staff

Reporter

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