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[{"type":"text","text":"Now, let's all enjoy watching the viewing of Lady & The Tramp..."}]

Smile 26 6 5

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, June 5, 2026</title>

Now, let's all enjoy watching the viewing of Lady & The Tramp...

Daily Smile: Friday, June 5, 2026

 Now, let&#039;s all enjoy watching the viewing of Lady &amp; The Tramp...

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

 celebrated the best of Hawaiian and Island music in a glittering event filled with performances and applause on Saturday, July 11, at the Sheraton Waikīkī Beach Resort.

The star-studded evening included performances from Hālau O Kekuhi, Ei Nei, 

, Poʻokela, Anthony Pfluke & Friends, Ahe Mālie and 

, Natalie Ai Kamauu, Melveen Leed, Kainani Kahaunaele & Kainaulono Hāpai, Kalapana.

Ei Nei took home six Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards, including: Group of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year (Producer’s & Artist’s Award), Song of the Year (Composer’s Award), Island Music Album of the Year, and Favorite Entertainer of the Year.

Extended Play of the Year and Hawaiian Single of the Year for her album “Kuʻu Hawaiʻi.”

“I wanted to take a moment to just thank all of you guys for voting and also to acknowledge all of the talent and the beauty in this room because I see each and every one of you from Kauaʻi to Hawaiʻi Island,” said Miner in her acceptance speech for female vocalist of the year. “I honor every single person here tonight and how connected we all are. We're each on our own journeys, walking on our own paths, and the uniqueness is our leo, our voice, and so I honor each and every voice here tonight, and I honor the 10,000 kūpuna who stand beside each and every one of us creators tonight and then the future — the future generation of all of us.”

Earlier in the night, Miner won EP of the Year. She accepted that award while holding her daughter.

Alternative Album of the Year for "KŌWĀ.” In his acceptance speech, he told the audience he had been eating chocolate cake when his name was announced. The artist also shared how his grandmother used to tape the awards and make him watch as a kid.

“I just want you guys to know that this means so, so, so, so much to me,” he said. “I really did not think I was gonna win this.”

Here is the full list of winners, listed in the order that awards were announced:

Instrumental Composition of the Year (Composer's Award)

"Lauleʻa" by Jeﬀ Peterson (Jeﬀ Peterson Productions)

"ʻUkulele Story" by Herb Ohta, Jr. (Lele Music Productions) 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Baba Tavares (Joshua Tavares)"}]

"Drifting On Island Time" by Kalaʻe Camarillo (Kalaʻe Camarillo)

"Ei Nei, Look At Us" by Ei Nei (Ei Nei LLC)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Reggae Album of the Year"}]

"Strictly Originals" by Ekolu (Waiehu Records)

"Mānaiakalani" by Kamalei Kawaʻa (Kamalei Kawaʻa Music LLC)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Extended Play of the Year"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Single of the Year"}]

"Hawai‘i Forever" by Ei Nei (Ei Nei LLC)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Music Video of the Year"}]

"Uihā Whoa" by Natalie Ai Kamauu (Keko Records LLC)

"E Ola Kākou Ē" by Kamaka Camarillo & Anthony Pfluke (Kamaka Camarillo & Anthony Pfluke)

Hawaiian Language Performance of the Year

”‘Ōlauniu” by ʻŌlauniu (ʻŌlauniu)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Haku Mele of the Year"}]

Kyle Kamalani Moriguchi for “Nā Puʻu ʻEkolu” from

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Ei Nei (Ei Nei LLC)"}]

Ei Nei for “Ei Nei, Look at Us” (Ei Nei LLC)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Male Vocalist of the Year"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Izik (Izik)"}]

"Hawaiʻi Forever" by Ei Nei (Ei Nei, LLC)

Album of the Year (Producer’s & Artist’s Award)

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

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

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Glen Smith of Hoʻokena"}]

“Ka Hōkū ʻŌlino” by Kaulana (Kaulana)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Liner Notes of the Year"}]

Luana Kawa’a & Cierra Kawa’a / “Mānaiakalani” by Kamalei Kawaʻa

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Graphics Award"}]

Kanaiʻa Nakamura / “Hoene” by Sonny Lim

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"General Engineering Award"}]

Johnny Helm / “Summertime” by Henry Kapono

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hawaiian Engineering Award"}]

Michael Grande / ”‘Ōlauniu” by ʻŌlauniu

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Jazz Album of the Year"}]

"Yesterday's Lives" by Maggie Herron (Herron Song Records)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"\"KŌWĀ\" by Izik (Izik)"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hip Hop Album of the Year"}]

"Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻIke" by Super Groupers & Punahele (Zenbu Records)

"Ku‘u Lei Lokelani" by Anthony Pfluke (Anthony Pfluke)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rock Album of the Year"}]

"A Tribute To Van Halen" by Tin Idols (Tin Idol Productions)

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Metal Album of the Year"}]

"Madame Pele" by Storm (Tin Idol Productions) 

"Hoene" by Sonny Lim (Lele Music Productions)

"Kalapana 50th Anniversary - Timeless Voyage" by Kalapana (Pony Canyon Inc.)

Compilation Album of the Year (Producer's Award)

"Mele Pūnana Leo" by Various Artists (Kāhuli Leo Leʻa) 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Ei Nei

<title>And the Nā Hōkū Hanohano winners are ...</title>

The winners of Female Vocalist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year, as well as many other Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards have been announced. These artists took home the top awards on Saturday, July 11.

And the Nā Hōkū Hanohano winners are ...

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

 the City and County of Honolulu after she was fined nearly $600,000 over an improper apartment listing.

In 2019, Sandra May needed a tenant. She had owned a home on Wilhelmina Rise since the 1970s, with a lower unit in the home available for rent by long-term tenants. But after her husband died in 2019, May, living on a fixed Social Security income, needed to make ends meet, but couldn’t find another tenant.

To broaden her search, May listed the unit on several online rental platforms. But May — who her attorney Loren Seehase said “struggles to utilize any kind of technology” — had inadvertently listed the unit as available for less than 30 days.

That same year, the City and County adopted an 

 hiking up fines against property owners illegally hosting short-term rentals. Violators could be fined up to $10,000 for each day a violation persists.

In November 2019, May received a notice of a violation from the city regarding an online property listing. She promptly corrected the listing to show that the unit was only available for periods of 30 days or more, and believed the matter to be done.

Two years later, after the lifting of the Covid-era moratorium on evicting tenants for non-payment of rent, May again was in need of new tenants. Once again she listed the unit online, once again (in 2023) she received a notice of violation from the city, once again she corrected the listing, once again she thought the matter over.

In April 2024, it happened again. Only this time, because this was a recurring violation, the city informed May that she would incur daily $10,000 fines until the listings were corrected.

Unfortunately, May spent much of late March and April in and out of the hospital following a car crash and other medical procedures. By the time she learned of the violation and was able to correct it, 59 days had elapsed — and now she owed the city $590,000.

On the same day, the city also placed a $10,000 lien on May’s property stemming from the second violation.

“She’s like, ‘you know you’re going to put an old lady out on the street,’” Seehase told Aloha State Daily. “‘I can’t pay this, you’d have to take my home.’ And the city responded by saying ‘Well, I guess you’d better get an attorney.’ So, it was a very callous response. Poor Sandra was in tears about it, and there was no conversation, there was no negotiating, there was no listening to reason.”

May sought out attorneys, who referred her to the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm that focuses on property rights cases. Even better for May, the PLF works pro bono, Seehase said.

Seehase said the letter informing May of how much she owed the city did not mention any way to challenge the fines. Without a mechanism within ordinances to challenge the situation, Seehase said the only option is to challenge it on constitutional grounds, in federal court.

In particular, Seehase said the case could be argued to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That amendment most famously concerns “cruel and unusual punishment,” but also protects against excessive fines.

Seehase said other Eighth Amendment cases have attempted to determine whether particular fines are so ruinous they will destroy a person’s livelihood, weighed in proportion to the actual crime itself.

In this particular case, Seehase said, May’s mistake brought no harm to anybody other than herself.

“This is not the type of situation where we’ve got like a building code violation and lives are imminently in danger,” Seehase said. “This is an advertisement, so there was no harm done to anyone.”

On the other side of the coin, Seehase said the $10,000-per-day fines are the absolute maximum allowed by city ordinance, and that the city could have chosen to reduce those fines at their discretion. Because the city hit May with the $590,000 fines and the $10,000 lien on the same day, Seehase said that “it really kind of appeared that the city went on a vendetta … against poor Sandra.”

Seehase emphasized that, regardless of how the listings may have appeared online, May did not ever offer the property for periods of less than 30 days. If a person attempted to book the property for less than 30 days, May would cancel the booking.

May is seeking relief through the federal court, not monetary damages, Seehase said. Should they win, the court will determine an appropriate remedy, potentially including a partial or total reduction of the fines.

Seehase said the City and County has 21 days to respond once they have been served.

A spokesman for the Department of Planning and Permitting told ASD the department cannot comment on pending litigation.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Sandra May rentalsign 610x407 16x9

<title>Octogenarian sues Honolulu over $600,000 fines</title>

Sandra May was told she owed the city hundreds of thousands of dollars over an improper online rental listing.

Octogenarian sues Honolulu over $600,000 fines

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. 

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

“Paper Bag Plan,” an independent film

, who grew up on O’ahu, just started streaming internationally 

on iTunes, Prime Video, YouTube and Google Play.

 shares the story of Oscar, a father diagnosed with cancer, who seeks independence for his wheelchair-bound son, Billy.

The film’s executive producer grew up in Kaʻaʻawa and graduated from Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa before moving to the Mainland and working her way up to 

co-executive producer of “America’s Got Talent.”

“We are streaming around the world,” she told Aloha State Daily. “We're everywhere where iTunes is [and] Amazon, YouTube and Google Play, for now.”

The film will also be appearing on Xumo in the near future, after a deal was finalized today, she told ASD.  

“Paper Bag Plan” was written and directed by her husband, Anthony Lucero, who was inspired to share this story after watching his mother and sister raise disabled children. 

Viewers are already writing in to share their reaction to the film.

“People just message us on our site, and we've got some really great emails coming in from parents and families — and people around the world,” she said. “They’re saying thank you for making this movie. We just had someone write last night saying ‘You made a movie about my family'.“

The film has already gotten some attention on social media. That includes a repost on Instagram from Jennifer Aniston, who has 44.5 million followers.

“It just feels good that finally, this little movie that we made — a few years ago — now everyone can see it,” Lucero said.

It has won awards at 17 film festivals, Lucero added. Having it screen in front of live audiences in different cities helped Lucero and her husband get a better idea of how people would respond to scenes. In fact, the duo made some edits based on audience reactions before creating the final version, which is now streaming on international platforms.

Analytics for how many people have watched so far weren’t immediately available, she said.

“We kept our pricing for the rental low,” she said. “And we did that because we wanted the families that we care about that — that we made this movie for — we wanted them to be able to watch it and not be like, ‘Oh my gosh, it's so expensive.’ So that's why we did that.”

For platforms like Amazon, the split is 50-50 between the streaming platform and the filmmakers, she said. The filmmakers then pay fees to the distributors and actors, she said.

 (starts at $2.99 for standard definition) and 

Paper Bag Plan

<title>'Paper Bag Plan' streams internationally</title>

This independent film from Keʻalohi Lee Lucero, an executive producer who grew up in Kaʻaʻawa, written and directed by her husband, Anthony Lucero, is now streaming on four major platforms. Find out where you can watch the film and what viewers are saying.

'Paper Bag Plan' streams internationally

Government & Politics

Hawai‘i’s energy future is natural gas, claims a $2 billion development proposal by a Japanese energy company.

In October 2025, Gov. Josh Green traveled to Tokyo to sign 

 for the state to partner with JERA Co. Inc. — the largest power generation company in Japan, supplying about one-third of the nation's electricity, according to the Hawai‘i State Energy Office — to help the state meet its clean energy goals.

On Tuesday, Green’s office announced that JERA has submitted 

for how it would modernize O‘ahu’s energy grid, including the construction of a natural gas-fired power plant in Kapolei that would generate about 500 megawatts of power per year.

According to Hawaiian Electric, O‘ahu’s various power plants generate a combined 1,516 megawatts.

JERA has proposed investing — along with “local partners” — $2 billion into a Kapolei plant fed by imported liquefied natural gas, delivered via an undersea pipeline connecting to tankers moored offshore. The facility would connect to the existing O‘ahu power grid, distributing power through most of urban Honolulu.

Such a facility would be necessary for the state to meet its legally mandated energy goals, claims JERA’s proposal. In 2022, the state passed a law requiring that 100% of the state’s net electricity generation come from renewable sources by 2045, and 40% by 2030.

To meet those goals, O‘ahu’s oil power plants must be replaced, but JERA’s proposal states that the growth of renewable energy generation on the island isn’t fast enough to fill the gap left behind by oil plants. But a liquified natural gas plant could fill that gap.

While liquified natural gas is not a renewable fuel, it is less expensive and generates less emissions than petroleum, JERA claims.

If implemented, JERA’s proposal claims that the state could save about $170 million per year compared to the state’s annual oil expenses, while households could save an average of $500 per year.

Furthermore, investments in the plant would not be wasted after 2045, as JERA claims that about 90% of the facility could be repurposed to deliver clean energy: the pipeline could be used to deliver an unspecified “clean fuel,” a floating fuel storage and regasification unit could be used as a “floating gas station” to refuel ships, and the plant itself could be adapted to work with hydrogen, ammonia or other fuel sources with “limited upgrades.”

JERA’s proposal suggests that the plant and most of the necessary infrastructure could be constructed by the end of 2030. During construction, JERA proposes the project could increase the state’s GDP by $150 million per year and create some 1,100 jobs.

Once completed, those benefits shrink, with JERA projecting only an additional $52 million annually to the state GDP and 167 permanent jobs. JERA also estimates that the annual cost of operating the facility would be about $670 million per year.

Green’s announcement comes just three days after the Asia-Pacific Energy Security Forum, where Japan 

 up to $56 billion in energy projects in America, primarily focusing on oil imports and natural gas, liquified and otherwise. JERA was reportedly tied to some of these deals, including a $1.5 billion investment into natural gas production in the southern U.S.

JERA’s Hawai‘i proposal and Green’s announcement Tuesday name Hawai‘i Gas and Pasha Hawai‘i as specific local partners for the project. Hawai‘i Gas CEO Alicia Moy said in a statement that her company supports the expansion of liquified natural gas availability and would develop the pipeline infrastructure necessary to deliver it and other renewable fuels throughout the state.

Green’s own statement on Tuesday touted JERA’s proposal a “transformative overhaul of our electrical grid and a tangible step to move Hawai‘i off its historic dependence on oil.”

Nonetheless, the proposal isn’t a done deal. The state Public Utilities Commission must approve the project, along with several other state and federal agencies, many of which will require public outreach. JERA predicts the permitting phase alone won’t be completed until mid-2028.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Daily Smile: Friday, June 5, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Friday, June 5, 2026

Authors

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