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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Let's throw a Corgi into the mix and compare and contrast..."}]

Smile 26 5 23

<title>Daily Smile: Saturday, May 23, 2026</title>

Let's throw a Corgi into the mix and compare and contrast...

Daily Smile: Saturday, May 23, 2026

 Let&#039;s throw a Corgi into the mix and compare and contrast...

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

 continues ahead of its 2029 target, the current University of Hawai‘i football team is set to play its home games at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the UH-Mānoa campus through 2028. 

Though upperclassmen on the team may not get the opportunity to play in the new stadium as Rainbow Warriors, current freshmen on the team who stay through their senior seasons will be rewarded as the first crop to take the field in Hālawa. 

Starting this summer, Aloha Stadium Executive Director Michael Yadao says UH coaches are welcome to show the stadium in its current form to recruits the school is courting. 

"Our offer to the UH team, and we mean it, is as they're recruiting players, and if they want to see how the demo is progressing, or if they want to see the plans for the future build up, we want to be a part of that process," Yadao told Aloha State Daily. "We want them to be able to say to the high school senior, 'Hey, if you stick with UH you're playing at TC Ching, but you could potentially be in the inaugural season of the stadium in front of your friends and family, and playing for the University of Hawai‘i' and what that could mean."

The Rainbow Warriors have played on campus at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex since 2021, a process that began with the old Aloha Stadium being deemed unsafe to hold crowds of any capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Memories of the first era of Aloha Stadium, from its 1975 opening, remain prominent at various levels of football across the state. Multiple members of the current Hawai‘i coaching staff were former UH players themselves, including head coach 

"Timmy Chang stayed in Hawai‘i, Chris Brown stayed in Hawai‘i. They both coulda had opportunities elsewhere," Yadao said. "We want to use the stadium to be a draw for UH players to stay, hopefully."

Chang and Brown were both present in person at a live demolition of Aloha Stadium's northwest bowl on April 23. Attendees that observed from the stadium's parking lot in Hālawa were required to wear personal protective equipment, including safety vests. Yadao says that will also be the case during tours of the stadium while it is under construction. 

"Chris would call, or Timmy would call and say, 'Hey, Mike, can we?' We haven't done it yet, but we're open to it and and they know that, and we want to," Yadao said. "I would be like, 'Bring them down, tell me when,' and we'll show them what's happened. I'd call (stadium developer) 

 and we'd go up to the site and show them, or I'd bring them here and show them the schematics or the boardroom, and we do our best to help Chris and Timmy keep good talent here."

Yadao and Brown in particular go back a long way. The two became friends as classmates at Damien Memorial School, graduating in 1998. Both went on to attend UH-Mānoa. 

"What kind of encapsulates who Chris is, I would see him in a weight room or on a football field, and he is a big, scary, intimidating guy. He was always carved out of granite, you know? But the second a kid or a woman would walk by, he's a gentleman, he tones it down," Yadao said. "Chris has always been a good human being."

Although active demolition is underway, the master development agreement (MDA) between the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) and the stadium's developer, Aloha Hālawa District Partners (AHDP), continues to be negotiated. 

The new Aloha Stadium, slated to open in time for the 2029 college football season, will have a seating capacity of 31,000 with room for expansion in addition to a natural grass playing surface. The first game on UH's 2029 schedule is an Aug. 25 contest against Arizona. 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Aloha Stadium 052126

<title>Aloha Stadium tours to be made available to University of Hawai‘i football recruits</title>

Executive Director Michael Yadao believes it's important for prospective players to be able to take a look at their future home.

Aloha Stadium tours to be made available to University of Hawai‘i football recruits

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Governor Josh Green has passed a law preserving many of the tax cuts he had previously announced would be suspended.

At the start of the 2026 legislative session, Green 

 that the next in a series of incremental tax cuts would be paused in order to make up for an alleged $3 billion shortfall in the state budget.

, touting them as “the largest income tax cut in the state’s history.” In most years between 2024 and 2031, the cuts would have amended income tax brackets and increased standard deduction amounts.

 to suspend those cuts after 2026, the version of that bill he signed Thursday maintains some of the cuts after all.

The bill — now enrolled into law as Act 24 — maintains the future cuts for single filers making less than $175,000 per year, heads of household making under $262,500 and joint filers making under $350,000. It also includes a new tax bracket for households making $1 million or more annually, and subjects them to a 13% marginal tax rate.

In a statement Thursday, Green said the law is “a balanced and responsible approach to safeguarding Hawai‘i's financial future.”

“It preserves meaningful tax relief for working families while ensuring we have the resources to protect essential services that our residents depend upon every day," read Green's statement.

SB 3125 also scales down a renewable energy tax credit over the next several years, establishing caps on the total number of credits issued each year for wind and solar power systems between 2027 and 2030 — each year is capped at $40 million. Then, in 2031 and beyond, that cap is zeroed out, with no further credits available.

Green’s announcement Thursday also stated that he is working with private entities to bring investments to support the renewable energy industry “in the very near future,” as well as developing larger-scale renewable energy tax credits.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Josh Green state of the state 012125

<title>Tax cuts saved: Green signs bill to preserve most upcoming tax cuts</title>

Despite previous announcements that future tax cuts would need to be paused, Gov. Josh Green signed on Thursday a measure that preserves most of them.

Tax cuts saved: Green signs bill to preserve most upcoming tax cuts

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

Ready to make plans for the long weekend? Some of the events coming to Oʻahu soon include 

 ceremonies, a benefit gala for Hawaiʻi Foodbank, and a car show in Hawaiʻi Kai.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, May 22"}]

Want to help create the 38,000 lei placed on the graves of the service members laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific? Join one of these 

bring lei you made at home to one of the donation sites

. Hawaiʻi Foodbank is hosting its inaugural Nourish Gala where guests can enjoy a cocktail reception, multi-course dinner with curated tasting stations and live music from 

, and the Hoʻoheno Duo at ʻAlohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach. The event supports the Hawaiʻi Foodbank. Individual tickets are available for $375. Tickets must be purchased by Thursday, May 21. 

Catch this special exhibit about Robert Cazimero. 

A special exhibit honoring the legendary musician, composer and Kumu Hula Robert Uluwehionāpuaikawēkiuokalani Cazimero has been extended through Saturday, May 30, at Gallery ‘Iolani, which is located on Windward Community College’s campus in Kāneʻohe. Learn more about the 

kumu hula of Hālau Na Kamalei o Lililehua

, which was the kāne overall winner for the Merrie Monarch Festival of 1976, the first year that men were allowed to compete, as previously reported by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He was also part of The Brothers Cazimero, a 

more than two dozen Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards

, which performed decades of May Day is Lei Day concerts at Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. The gallery is open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily, except Sunday and Memorial Day. Free. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, May 23"}]

Head to the Waikīkī Community Center and join in this hands-on event where attendees can make and toss 

. Made of clay, rice bran, molasses and microorganisms, Genki Balls are said to digest sludge and leave water cleaner, although there is 

. Up to 28 participants can attend this event which runs from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Tickets cost $10 plus fees. 

Head to the Waikīkī Aquarium and support University of Hawaiʻi alumni owned businesses in a special market, starting at 9 a.m. Admission is $5 and includes access to the Waikīkī Aquarium. Want to start the day earlier? Arrive at 8 a.m. for a pilates sculpt workout led by Annie Chang, a current UH student, for $30, which include access to the aquarium, the class and a towel. 

Wear white and head to this yacht party, hosted by Atlantis Cruise. Drinks are available for purchase. Boarding starts at 9 p.m. The yacht returns at 1 a.m. Individual tickets start at $125. A pair of tickets can be purchased for $170, plus fees. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sunday, May 24"}]

Ready to add some dinosaurs to your life? “T. rex” chronicles the story of three boys discovering a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil in North Dakota in 2022. It will be playing at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Bishop Museum’s J. Watumull Planetarium. Admission is $5 per person and includes access to the planetarium’s lobby exhibit, “Wayfinders: He Waʻa He Moku, He Moku He Waʻa,” plus a seat in the theater. Tickets to the rest of the museum are an additional cost. 

The Honolulu Museum of Art will offer a guided tour of its Renaissance Collection. These tours start at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Gather in the front of the Central Courtyard for tours which are between 45 and 60 minutes. These tours are included in museum admission, which is $15 for kamaʻāina and free for youth who are 18 years old or younger. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Monday, May 25"}]

The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and there will be an oli, a speech from Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, a presentation of wreaths, a firearm salute, a military aircraft flyover, and performances from the Royal Hawaiian Band and Sounds of Aloha Chorus, as well as 

. The ceremony also features taps. Parking is limited. Additional parking is available at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School starting at 7 a.m., and a courtesy shuttle will take attendees to the cemetery. Free. 

Join Gov. Josh Green, Maj. General Stephen Logan, and Lt. Col. John Alamodin for the Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Hawaiʻi State Veteran’s Cemetery in Kāneʻohe. There will be a musical prelude by the 

Spend Memorial Day at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, where you can visit the 

 (reservations recommended, although some standby admission is available) or the 

 submarine. Visitors can also book a tour to Ford Island, where they can visit the 

, where authentic WWII hangers hold a variety of aircraft and visitors can step into flight simulators. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial’s visitor center is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Cruise over to the Hawaiʻi Kai Towne Center and check out this showcase of classic cars in the parking lot in front of Costco. The event starts at 2 p.m. Free. 

. This Memorial Day ceremony brings thousands to the water’s edge to release floating lanterns and remember loved ones and fallen service members at Ala Moana Beach. The ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. 

 are available on a first-come, first-served basis with pick up between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., or as long as supplies last. Messages can also be added to 

Learn why these volunteers keep coming back, 

Planning to be outside this weekend? Send us your pictures of rainbows, sunsets and more for a chance to be featured in our Hawaiʻi Skies series. Include your name and where the picture was taken plus why the moment was special. 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i

<title>What to do on Oʻahu for Memorial Day weekend</title>

From sewing lei for service members to the Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi, there are lots of events happening on Oʻahu this weekend. Aloha State Daily rounded up some of the ceremonies and activities, so you can make plans.

What to do on Oʻahu for Memorial Day weekend

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Columnists

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Ben Sasse is bleeding from the face."}]

He’s seated across from New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, 

, and he pauses to note it. He’s dying of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. One side effect of the treatment is that his body can’t grow skin.

“Yeah, you look terrible,” says Douthat.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“Thank you,” says Sasse with a smile."}]

Since his diagnosis, Sasse has appeared on 

 stage, and a parade of podcasts. He uses the time to say what most politicians never dare to.

He talks about faith. He quotes R.C. Sproul. He discusses Tocqueville with the ease of someone who has actually read him.

Sasse is a two-term Republican Senator from Nebraska, a Harvard graduate, a Yale PhD in History. He voted to impeach Donald Trump and took the consequences. Though popular with voters in his home state, he left the Senate to serve as President of the University of Florida.

Now he spends his last days making one argument: American political life has gone badly wrong. Not because the wrong party is winning. Because the whole enterprise has lost its bearings.

Sasse starts with something most politicians would rather ignore: the pace of technological change. Previous economic transformations — industrialization, electrification — unfolded across generations. This one won’t. Robotics and automation will wipe out whole careers within a single working life.

Sasse sees a second shift: disembodied consciousness, the way screens let people leave their world. Families are breaking apart. Communities are dissolving. The local ties — churches, civic groups, the small-scale institutions Edmund Burke called “little platoons” — that help people absorb hard times are being stripped away. The formation of souls and citizens is at risk, and government is mostly ignoring it in favor of clickbait and rage.

He thinks our loves should be ordered, first to God, then to those nearest us, rippling outward from family to neighborhood to state to nation. Caring about a national political party more than your own community isn’t just confused. It’s a disorder of affection.

What’s true of the nation is true in Hawai'i. The legislature introduces three thousand bills a year. How many of those take the large challenges seriously? The demographic shifts, the cost pressures squeezing local families, the slow hemorrhage of young people off the Islands? The floor speeches and press releases gesture toward these problems, but the lawmaking doesn’t match the problem.

Sasse’s example suggests why. He can sit for an hour-long interview on dense political and theological matters because he has a clear philosophy — a disciplined way of working through problems. It also gives him the power to persuade, which is the precondition for coordinated action.

The founders studied rhetoric and philosophy with the same care they gave the law, because republican government runs on argument and clear speech. Most of Hawai‘i’s lawmakers couldn’t sustain an interview like Sasse’s, and the laws show it. There’s no clear direction. No will to rally the public. Few signs that anyone has thought hard about what government is for. What fills the vacuum is performance: press releases, floor speeches written for social media, outrage timed to the news cycle.

Sasse has a simple framework for what a coherent politics looks like. He describes four ways of valuing government, measured in cheers. No-cheer people — hardcore libertarians — don’t understand that government exists to secure liberty. Three-cheer people believe in a state that controls everything. Republicans, he says, are the one-cheer party. Democrats are the two-cheer party. Each has an extreme wing. Hawai‘i’s loudest voices are at the extremes.

What we lack are the one-cheer leaders: those who see government as necessary but flawed, able to secure order but not to deliver salvation.

Government should do a small number of important things well. It should get out of the way of the little platoons. It should never present itself as the path to utopia. Hawai‘i’s government casting itself as humanity’s last best hope has always been faintly comic.

Sasse’s sharpest line comes when he describes what voters already sense about the way their leaders talk.

They know it’s bullshit, he says — and they don’t want to be lied to. Why can’t politics do a small number of important, long-term things?

There is something clarifying about a man making that argument while bleeding from the face. He has no election to win, no caucus to protect, and by his own reckoning, weeks or months to live. What he’s chosen to do with his time is sit down and think hard about what government is and isn’t for, and what we’ve lost by confusing the two.

In watching Ben Sasse die, Hawai‘i might learn something about how to live.

Ben Sasse Getty Images 1231346544

<title>Ben Sasse is dying in public</title>

The former U.S. senator from Nebraska is talking about big ideas everywhere he can as pancreatic cancer takes his life. Hawai‘i's politicians could learn from what he has to say about government doing fewer things well, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa.

Ben Sasse is dying in public

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 is officially opening in Kapolei on Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m. This is Sonic’s second location in Hawaiʻi (the first store opened on Maui in 2023).

“We’ve felt so much excitement from the Hawaiʻi community since opening on Maui, and we’re honored to continue growing on Oʻahu with the new Kapolei location,” states Takeo Prather, head of growth and development for Sonic Hawaiʻi.

This is the brand’s first drive-in restaurant on island. Sonic is known for its classic curbside experience, and this location features five drive-in stalls. Roller-skating carhops will deliver orders directly to customers’ vehicles.

Sonic Kapolei will also feature patio seating and a double drive-thru lane.

“This wide double drive-thru is so important for us to have, to provide good service to all the customers,” Prather says. “The drive-in stalls are on the back side (of the store). That’s where you’ll pull up, you’ll order and someone will bring your order out to you.”

Signature Sonic menu items include its double Sonic smasher, premium beef hot dog, soft pretzel twist and groovy fries.

In addition, this location will offer a Hawaiʻi-exclusive item — the teriyaki smasher, which launches on opening day. It comprises two Angus beef patties with cheese, teriyaki mayo, Aloha Shoyu Da Yaki sauce, tomato, lettuce and onion.

“For Oʻahu’s first Sonic, we wanted to do something really special,” Prather says. “We worked in close collaboration with Aloha Shoyu to develop the teriyaki smashburger. This is a play on the classic Sonic smasher. It’s amazing; you can only get it at Sonics in Hawaiʻi.”

The teriyaki smasher will be available at both, Oʻahu and Maui Sonic locations.

Customers can choose from signature limeades — Cherry limeade is especially popular — slushes and all-natural lemonade. Prather recommends the off-menu strawberry cream slush.

“It’s half-slush, half-ice cream blended together,” he says. “It’s kind of a secret menu item because it’s not actually listed.”

Sonic Blasts, or frozen desserts that feature soft serve with candy mix-ins, come with options like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Oreo cookie pieces and more.

“The most popular flavor for the Blast is Reese’s,” Prather says. “The thing with Blasts is you can do so many mix-ins. I’m excited to see what people come up with”

Sonic’s opening day will feature live music, entertainment, giveaways, prizes and plenty of outdoor seating for customers, according to Prather. Both the first 10 and first 50 customers in the Sonic drive-thru and patio/walk-up lines on opening day will receive exclusive Sonic Hawai’i swag. For the opening weekend, service will be limited to drive-thru and patio/walk-up only. 

“The opening of this location has been a long time coming, and we’re looking forward to welcoming families, friends and neighbors to come together, enjoy fun local flavors alongside Sonic classics, and create new memories with us,” Prather states.

 parking is not available within the Sonic parking lot and subdivision. On May 16 and 17, limited customer parking will be available at Ho‘okele Elementary School, where access has been coordinated with the school.

Tentative hours (after opening date) are 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Sonic owners 051326

<title>First look at Sonic’s new Oʻahu location</title>

Sonic Kapolei, located at 5001 Kapolei Parkway, is opening May 16. This is the brand’s first drive-in restaurant on the island and Hawaiʻi’s second Sonic location. Customers can look forward to Sonic’s signature burgers, drinks and a Hawaiʻi-exclusive menu item.

Daily Smile: Saturday, May 23, 2026

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Authors

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