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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Stairs can be intimidating..."}]

Smile 26 5 24

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, May 24, 2026</title>

Stairs can be intimidating...

Daily Smile: Sunday, May 24, 2026

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Rick Hamada

Government & Politics

Columnists

Scandals within government feed the narrative that government overall is corrupt.

Such conclusions are subjective, however plenty of claims, statements and a record of past transgressions (including legal actions against those within government here) connect the dots between the perception of corruption and its reality.

Recently, Vice President JD Vance labeled Hawai‘i as a failure in Medicaid fraud prosecutions. Those accusations were rejected by the State Attorney General but, as with most allegations, it's the finger pointing that's remembered, and the responses are often lost in the cycle. The guilt by association leads to the perceived affirmation that Hawai‘i is corrupt.

Speaking of the State Attorney General, she and her office are on the other side of the coin. The declared investigation into bribery and fraud allegations that a high ranking, elected official in the Big Square Building allegedly took a paper bag filled with $35,000 in cash is still unresolved. Despite the cloudiness of the allegations the perception is, in fact, that not only did it occur, but all that remains is identifying which lawmaker took it.

Whether or not we accept these assessments by outsiders or listen to locals who lament the scarring of Hawai‘i's reputation, there is unfortunately a roster of documented cases that bolster the argument of corruption here at home.

27 individuals participated in an illegal scheme to boost Honolulu voter registrations for candidate Ross Segawa. Segawa was convicted on 10 counts of election fraud, criminal solicitation, and evidence of tampering. Segawa served a year in prison and was expelled from law school. State Sen. Clifford Uwaine was convicted of conspiring to illegally register voters and served three months in jail; and Debra Kawaoka, an aide to Uwaine who also played a part in the false registration, served numerous weekends in prison. Brian Minaai and the other students each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

 reported on Andy Mirikitani's sentencing, "

He will spend more than four years behind bars. He used a kickback scheme to steal thousands of dollars from the city. Now, Mirikitani will pay for his crimes. Mirikitani's sentence, four years three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay back the money he stole." 

2002, Hawai‘i News Now again, reported on the sentencing of former state Sen. Marshall Ige. "A state judge sentenced Marshall Ige to six months in jail after being convicted in two separate cases. The first involved a couple from Beverly Hills approaching Ige in 1998, asking he clear their daughter's criminal record of two drug convictions. Ige said he could do it for $30,000 dollars. When he never came through, they contacted the Attorney General's office. The second case involved this farmer who leased 5 acres of land from the former Senator. In 1999, Ige threatened to evict Hanh Lam if he did not pay $7,000 dollars, in advanced rent."

 in 2003, reporting on the sentencing of Gary Rodrigues. "[O]nce one of the most powerful union leaders in Hawai'i, [he] will be able to remain free for as long as an estimated two years as he appeals his federal prison sentence of five years and four months for felony convictions of mail fraud, embezzling union money and related charges. A federal jury convicted Rodrigues in November last year on 101 felony counts, accusing him of taking kickbacks and steering phony union consulting contracts to his daughter."

These cases proved to be the highlights of the lowlights when it came to scandals well over 20-plus years ago. But the revelations of power grabbing, manipulation, and so much more within a beloved Hawaiian institution defined the most public and devastating story of corruption in our history — the Bishop Estate scandal that played out from 1997 to 1999.

This one got national attention, as this lengthy 1999 

 attests. Trustees then — "Gerard Jervis, 50; Henry Peters, 58; Richard “Dickie” Wong, 65; Oswald Stender, 67; and Lokelani Lindsey, 60" — famously made $840,000 a year in commissions. That's $1.7 million in 2026 dollars. 

"The estate became the center of public melodrama in 1997, when the school community learned of a private confrontation between Lindsey, the lead trustee for education, and student body President Kamani Kuala’au, who was bound for Princeton University," wrote the LA Times. Lindsey reportedly threatened the student by calling Princeton to jeopardize his academic career. Once word got out protesters marched on the Bishop Estate offices demanding that Lindsey to "stop meddling". 

This led to the "Broken Trust" essay appearing in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin alleging mismanagement of trust assets, conflicts of interests by individual trustees and poor selection of trustees, who are named by members of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. Other developments ensued including internal lawsuits calling for the removal of Lindsey, the state attorney general accusing the trustees of using trust assets to create an economic empire, engaging in kickback schemes, awarding improper contracts, making sweetheart deals for relatives and friends and using improper business practices.

Perhaps the most sordid, yet tragic, story involved a Bishop Estate trustee and an Estate team member caught engaging in sexual infidelity in a hotel restroom. The public revelations led to the suicide of the woman involved and the attempted suicide of the trustee. I'm purposefully redacting names because I want to. Even after so many years later, enough is enough.

The dissolution of the Bishop Estate, the criminal to immoral conduct of the trustees (Oz Stender was never implicated) and the incredible shock and awe of the betrayal of the Princess's legacy remains the most troubling scandal to this day.

[{"type":"text","text":"Is corruption in Hawai‘i a reality or a perception?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Depends on where you look."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But let's turn the light on."}]

In recent years, State Sen. Kalani English, State Representative Ty Cullen, HPD Chief Louis and Prosecuting Attorney Katherine Kealoha were each public servants found guilty of crimes and served time proving that scandal and corruption exists today.

[{"type":"text","text":"And these are the only the cases we can confirm."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"I will say this."}]

Hawai‘i has its scandalous moments because humanity is imperfect. As long as you have humans operating with a public expectation of perfection, some (not all) will succumb to failures. However, it is unfair to cast aspersion upon every governmental agency, elected official or public servant because that's a patently false premise. Most serve honorably. It's how you identify, investigate and prioritize the consequential actions against violators that makes a lasting and influential impact.

And the State of Hawai‘i has this opportunity to define our reputation regarding corruption starting with the swift and transparent answering of this question.

[{"type":"text","text":"Who the hell took $35,000 in a paper bag?"}]

Solve this and perhaps our state will be on the road to reputational repair.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

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corruption I Stock 1093288618

<title>Hamada: How corrupt is Hawai‘i?</title>

Most public servants get through the day doing absolutely nothing wrong. But as ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada observes, there have been more than enough high-profile cases of corruption to justify the perception that Hawai‘i can be pretty rotten.

Hamada: How corrupt is Hawai‘i?

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

A popular Pā‘ia eatery is a legend — at least according to Only in Your State’s newest 50 Best list.

Mama’s Fish House on Maui was include on the list of 

50 Legendary Local Restaurants Across the U.S. You Need to Try

 does something no other restaurant does: it lists the name of the fisherman who caught each fish on the menu," Only in Your State writes. "Macadamia nut-crusted mahimahi, Polynesian-inspired preparations and a setting that makes every meal feel like a ceremony."

According to its website, the family-owned restaurant is "the product of a grand sailing adventure." Founders Floyd and Doris Christenson and their children settled in Maui after living in the and traveling around the Pacific by boat, a history on the website notes. You can read their full story 

799 Poho Place in Pā‘ia. More information about the restaurant and reservations can be found 

 is a “local travel and discovery resource” that highlights “off-the-beaten-path attractions and unique natural wonders” of each state. 

 is a monthly series that spotlights the best dishes, restaurants and food traditions across the U.S.

, Sprout Sandwich Shop in Kaimukī was named the 

 in Hawai‘i, and in February, the kam bowl oxtail soup from Asahi Grill was named the best soup in the state on the list of 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

I Stock Maui map 052126

<title>Maui eatery included on 'legendary' best-of list</title>

Only in Your State’s newest 50 Best list looks at 'Legendary Local Restaurants Across the U.S.' A popular Pā‘ia restaurant is included.

Maui eatery included on 'legendary' best-of list

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Sterling Higa

[{"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.

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