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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"You can't go wrong with puppies and a baby..."}]

Smile 26 6 14

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, June 14, 2026</title>

You can't go wrong with puppies and a baby...

Daily Smile: Sunday, June 14, 2026

 You can&#039;t go wrong with puppies and a baby...

[{"type":"text","text":"Everyone knows whose boss......"}]

Smile 26 9 11

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, Sep. 11, 2026</title>

Everyone knows whose boss......

Daily Smile: Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

On Thursday morning, organizers of the Great Aloha Run held a press conference to announce the event's revival, as well as a few changes to the route of the race. 

The Great Aloha Run held its 41st edition in February 2025, with no race held in 2026. Led by the Affordable Hawai‘i Foundation, the event is being rebranded as the DoHo Great Aloha Run 5K, set to take place on President's Day 2027. 

revealed more about the Monday, Feb. 15 race. Prior editions of the event began at Aloha Tower and ended at Aloha Stadium, a stretch of 8.1 miles. 

Carole Kai Onoyue, who founded the Great Aloha Run in 1985, gave a glowing endorsement for the new direction of the event, which has raised over $20 million to 150 charities over the years. The emphasis towards charitable efforts ahead of the 2027 events will go towards homelessness and mental health.

Avalon Group CEO and Affordable Hawai‘i Foundation founder Christine Camp was on hand at Thursday's presser at 

Pickles at Forté —one of the Avalon Group's properties — to talk about the downtown focus of the route. "

We're featuring a lot of things related to the downtown business improvement district," said Camp. "In this run, we'll go through all of the beautiful businesses and the buildings in historic Chinatown, and it'll be a three-mile walk or run to enjoy the day, enjoying your downtown on the road, including Chinatown. … We hope that you will all come to join us."

The 2027 5K race is the equivalent of 3.1 miles and will go through portions of downtown Honolulu, beginning at Avalon Group's Topa Financial Center and ending on Fort Street. 

 set to open in the spring of 2029, Camp says she's discussed bringing the race's finish line back to Hālawa in 2030 with stadium developer 

For the time being, some believe the shortened trail will attract more runners. 

"I think the fact that this is a 5K race now will open it up to a whole new group of runners or walkers," said Andy Sugg, chief of staff for the City and County of Honolulu. (A distance of 8.1 miles) is a pretty good race, and the race was fabulous. But I think it may have scared some folks off from running — 5K is 3.1 miles, and that will be really a great opportunity for folks who might not be hardcore runners who just want to go out for a little leisurely stroll on President's Day to get involved for a great cause, of course."

Registration for the 2027 Great Aloha Run is limited to the first 5,000 participants to sign up on the event's 

Great Aloha Run 091026

<title>Great Aloha Run returns with new, temporary route</title>

The race, which originally spanned 8.1 miles from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium, is being rebranded as a 5K race until 2030.

Great Aloha Run returns with new, temporary route

WEB square crop Hayley Lehman Headshot RGZ1636

Haley Lehman

Government & Politics

The Honolulu City Council is considering a proposal mark curbs with “no parking” near driveways within a one-quarter mile radius of public trailheads if a resident requests it.

, sponsored by Chair Tommy Waters, proposes instructing the Department of Transportation Services to paint portions of curb within four feet on either side of a driveway with “no parking” at the request of the property owner or resident on portions of public streets within one-quarter mile of public trails. The bill passed second reading on Wednesday and hasn’t yet been scheduled for a second committee hearing.

It’s illegal in the City and County of Honolulu to park in front of a driveway or within four feet on either side of a public or private driveway, according to 

 to the bill to the Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology in August, saying that the bill would create a “significant maintenance burden.” According to Li, hundreds of driveways could be included in the proposed one-quarter mile radius of public trails.

Li said that the department supports the intent of improving access to trails and road safety, but he doesn’t believe that a special curb marking program is the answer.

“Our main concern is the proposed special curb painting program for driveways within one-quarter mile of public hiking trail. This is different from City’s general approach to curb markings,” Li said. “[The City] does not generally paint curbs to identify every location where parking is already prohibited by law. We use curb marking primarily for specific traffic and operation purposes like bus stops, commercial loading zones.”

Li expressed concern that if some curbs near driveways are marked and others are not, motorists might mistakenly think that it’s allowed to park next to an unmarked curb.

According to DTS spokesperson Travis Ota, the special curb marking would create an ongoing maintenance obligation for the Department of Facility Maintenance to periodically inspect, repaint and maintain the markings.

The cost of curb painting would depend on the number and location of trailheads, the length of curb and the condition of existing curb, Ota said.

Ota said, "From DTS’s perspective, we would prefer that the bill clearly identify the responsible agency, the locations and extent of the required markings, the applicable marking standard, and the funding source for installation and ongoing maintenance. Alternatively, the requirement could be limited to specific locations where a demonstrated parking or access problem exists, rather than requiring islandwide application at every trailhead."

Honolulu Police Department is responsible for enforcement of illegal parking and has the authority to cite and tow cars for violations.

Waters told the Waikīkī neighborhood board in July that the bill stemmed from complaints of blocked driveways in the Kuliʻouʻou-Kalani Iki neighborhood.

Kuliʻouʻou-Kalani Iki residents brouht concerns about hikers at the Kuliʻouʻou Trail to the neighborhood board in 2017. Residents said that hikers make excesive noise, leave trash, trespass on private property and loiter in the cul-de-sac at the end of Kalaʻau Place.

A resolution passed by the board in 2017 states that when hikers park too close to driveways, access is restricted to resident’s homes, driving becomes dangerous when it becomes difficult to see oncoming vehicle while pulling out from driveways and emergency vehicles have a hard time navigating the crowded street.

Lanikai has also faced congestion from what DTS Director Roger Morton called “hot tourism spots,” like Lanikai Beach and Kaʻiwa Ridge, where the Lanikai Pillboxes are located. Through the first phases of the Lanikai Transportation Management Plan, DTS will install “no parking any time” signage along Makulua Drive and Aalapapa Drive and create loading zones near beach access points. Morton said at a Kailua neighborhood board meeting in June that congestion in the neighborhood has caused unpredictability in travel times and concerns about emergency response times.

Christian de Quevedo, Waialae-Kahala neighborhood board chair, told Aloha State Daily that parking is always an issue in Kahala due to economic hubs like the Kahala Mall, a lack of employee parking, schools, public trailheads and beach access.

De Quevedo said residents become irritated when visitors congest streets, leave trash and play loud music on speakers.

“It can be quite a burden on a neighborhood,” he said. “People should realize when you block someone’s driveway or pull moped on lawn, you make life more difficult for people who live here.”

De Quevedo suggested use fees for hikes and paid neighborhood parking to pay for wear and tear on the roads and trails.

“I believe that neighborhood streets should belong to the neighborhood. If you pay taxes to live there, that infrastructure should be there to assist you, that’s the social contract that we make, and when that public infrastructure is being used as a mode of harassment and discomfort to the people that live in these high frequency areas, it can build up quite a bit of tension,” he said.

Shilo Garner, founder of the Honolulu Hiking Club, sees educating hikers on trail and parking etiquette as part of his kuleana. The club meets every Sunday morning at different trails across Oʻahu.

Garner encourages hikers to “hike pono” by not blocking resident’s driveways or mailboxes when parking, keep their voices down while in the neighborhood, only use official trails, clean their shoes before and after hiking and play music on headphones rather than speakers. He also encourages hikers to carpool when they can.

Garner said he understands resident’s need to access their homes safely and their frustration with congestion. He said that marking curbs where parking is prohibited would make it clearer where not to park, but it doesn’t solve the issue of where to park to access trails and could move the issue one-quarter mile down the road.

“This is their home, this is their neighborhood that we’re entering and we should respect that,” he said. “We should be pono and be mindful of how we park.”

Hawaiʻi is based on community, which comes with humility and empathy, Garner said.

“Responsible trail access requires respect for the community and clear guidance for hikers,” Garner said.

No parking

<title>Homeowners vs. hikers: Council weighs in with no-parking proposal</title>

A proposal to paint curbs with "no parking" near trailheads is before the Honolulu City Council. The bill has received opposition from the Department of Transportation Services, while residents have voiced frustration over congestion on streets near public trailheads.

Homeowners vs. hikers: Council weighs in with no-parking proposal

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

A former office building, located a short distance from Ala Moana Center, has been transformed — it now offers dozens of affordable rentals in Honolulu's urban core. 

JL Capital on Thursday celebrated the completion of Amana Lofts, an adaptive reuse project that turned what was once a five-story office building at 765 Amana St. into 64 affordable rentals. A dedication and blessing ceremony marked the end of the project.

The developer retained the building's existing concrete structure, but nearly everything else — including plumbing and electrical systems, windows, interior walls and finishes — were replaced or newly constructed, an announcement from JL Capital noted. 

BKF & Associates was the project architect and Island Structural Contracting was the general contractor.

Amana Lofts includes 32 studios, 20 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom residences, all of which are reserved for households earning up to 80% of the area median income. Income limits vary depending on household size; you can find the current income limits for the City and County of Honolulu 

Units span from 289 to 561 square feet, and include large windows, ceiling heights of more than 10 feet and appliances that include a refrigerator, range/oven, built-in microwave and garbage disposal, the announcement notes. Meanwhile, the building itself has a secured lobby, elevator, on-site laundry facilities, trash chutes on each floor, a bike rack and car share.

$1,875 to $2,014 for studios; $1,995 to $2,142 for one-bedroom residences; and $2,475 to $2,536 for two-bedroom residences, according to the announcement, which noted, too, that electricity, cable and internet are additional, and limited covered parking is available for rent.

“Amana Lofts demonstrates that there are creative ways to add housing in Honolulu without always starting from the ground up,” 

 said in the announcement. “We hope this project can serve as an example of how existing buildings can be reimagined to help address our community’s housing needs.”

According to the developer, affordable rental units will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Each application will be time-stamped when the developer or its agent receives the fully completed form. Applications will be reviewed for completeness and eligibility, and applications from qualified households will be submitted, in the order received, to the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting for review and approval.

Lee told Aloha State Daily following the blessing ceremony Thursday that the company acquired the property in 2019 for close to $9 million with a conversion in mind.

"When we bought this property, it was always intended to do a conversion," he says. "Just given the location, we love the location, and we just saw a lot of potential in this property. So from the time we bought it, we always intended to turn this into [an] affordable rental project."

[{"type":"text","text":"Location is important."}]

“Where we build housing matters,” Lee said in the announcement. “Ala Moana is vibrant, accessible and connected. Creating affordable homes here gives residents the opportunity to live closer to jobs, transportation and the things they need every day. We believe that is an important part of addressing Honolulu’s housing needs.”

Lee told ASD that the total cost of the project, including the purchase price, was roughly $25 million.

JL Capital, a real estate and private equity firm founded in 2017, has completed or initiated a number of major projects in Honolulu's Ala Moana neighborhood and along the Kapi‘olani corridor in recent years.

, a $507 million mixed-use twin tower condominium and hotel at 1388 Kapi‘olani Blvd. 

Renaissance Honolulu Hotel & Spa, a Marriott brand

 several other contiguous properties along Kapi‘olani Boulevard for a combined price of $36 million last fall.

Most recently, JL Capital announced that demolition preparation activities at the future site of its newest development, 

, located at 1538 Kapi‘olani Blvd., are expected to begin in October, following the relocation of Central Pacific Bank to the nearby Pan Am Building. 

The developers also have recently introduced new pricing on a number of residences. You can read 

The planned 39-story Muse Honolulu was designed by architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and local partner Benjamin Woo Architects. 

Muse Honolulu will include 315 residences — a mix of penthouses, tower residences, urban lofts and two-story townhomes — and amenities across three levels.

Amana lofts studio 091026

<title>JL Capital completes Ala Moana affordable housing project</title>

Amana Lofts, an adaptive reuse project in Honolulu's urban core, has transformed a former five-story office building into 64 rental units.

JL Capital completes Ala Moana affordable housing project

Tamara McKay

Ralph S. Cushnie

Viewpoints

Hawai‘i just came through the most extraordinary election in memory.

A state House race decided by one vote, then tied, then settled by drawing an egg from a lauhala basket at the State Capitol. A second tie in a Senate district the same day. A council chairman whose eligibility was not resolved until the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled — after voters had already marked ballots bearing his name. Honolulu has since acknowledged that two voters were handed the wrong district's ballot and voted in a race whose margin was zero.

Under oath last week, Hawai‘i's chief election officer testified there is no administrative rule, no written manual, and no standard procedure governing how a tied election here is decided. He chose the method himself, days before using it, and it was never tested for fairness. A justice asked whether he had consulted the Elections Commission first.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He said no."}]

He could not have. The Commission has not been able to meet since June 30.

On Sept. 4, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the tiebreaker was invalid because the Office of Elections never adopted a rule for it, and that the two misissued ballots were enough to determine the race. District 43 voters will vote again on Nov. 3.

The Elections Commission is the body the Legislature created in 2004 to oversee the Office of Elections. It appoints the chief election officer. It evaluates him. State law charges it with advising him on election matters and receiving complaints about how elections are run. It is the public's check on the office that administers Hawai‘i's elections.

It has no chair. The previous chair's term ended June 30. On June 10 Michael Curtis announced the Commission would meet June 24 to choose his successor. On June 15 he cancelled that meeting.

There is a straightforward remedy, and it is not our invention. On Feb. 4, all nine commissioners voted to adopt Robert's Rules of Order as the Commission's parliamentary authority. Robert's Rules addresses exactly this: when a body has no presiding officer, any member may call the meeting to order, and the members elect a chair pro tempore by majority vote.

At the Commission's June 10 meeting, the deputy attorney general assigned to advise us said on the record that electing a chair pro tempore was an available option, that it should come from a sitting member, and that it would take a simple majority. Twelve days later he issued a written opinion concluding the Chief Justice would select the chair if the Commission did not act within 15 days.

Since July, we have asked the Office of Elections repeatedly to do what it has always done for Commission meetings: post the public notice, provide the video conference link, and email the notice to people who signed up on the state's own website to receive it.

The answer has been refusal, then silence. No explanation. No legal basis. In August, multiple requests received no reply at all.

We are told a single commissioner cannot call a meeting. But the Sunshine Law bars three or more of us from coordinating outside a noticed meeting. If calling a meeting required a vote of the Commission, that vote could never happen. The law written to keep government open is being used to keep this body closed — and the Office of Elections is actively preventing anyone from stepping into the gap.

Follow that logic to its end: a commission with no chair may not convene, because it has no chair. That is not a rule. It is a trap, and it renders a body created by statute permanently inoperable.

Error is what oversight exists to catch. A commission that meets asks how two voters got the wrong ballot and whether the procedure has been fixed. It asks why the method for deciding a tied election was chosen in three days by one person with no rule behind it. It receives the complaints citizens have filed all summer — complaints that now reach no one, because no body is assembled to receive them.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"None of that happened. None of it could."}]

Article I, Section 1 of Hawai‘i's Constitution provides that all political power is inherent in the people. The Elections Commission is how the people exercise that power over their own elections.

Every request and every non-answer is documented in the public record of Cushnie and McKay v. Nago, filed in July and still pending before the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. An entire election cycle has passed. The primary was held, contested, and litigated before that same court — while the body created to oversee how it was administered has been unable to hold a single meeting.

We are asking for one meeting, with one item on the agenda: elect a chair, so the Commission can function again.

For two months, that has been too much to ask.

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

Ralph S. Cushnie and Tamara McKay are members of the Hawai‘i Elections Commission, representing Kaua‘i County and Maui County. They are petitioners, appearing pro se, in SCPW-26-0000498.

Tie breaker election drawing 16x9

<title>Community Voices: Hawai‘i's elections watchdog has been locked out of its own room</title>

Two members of the Hawai‘i Elections Commission want readers to know that their office has been prevented from meeting, even as voters have endured an election marred by irregularities.

Community Voices: Hawai‘i's elections watchdog has been locked out of its own room

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

Imagine waking in the middle of the night, unable to move. Aside from your own breathing, the world is silent. Your eyes are open, and you’re fully aware of your surroundings, but for some reason, you can’t turn over, sit up, or even lift your head. You feel intense pressure on your chest as if someone is sitting on you. Then you feel something start to choke you, and you see a dark shadow that seems to be sitting on your chest. You begin to panic, and you try to scream or call out, but the sound doesn’t escape your throat. Just when you think the end is near, whatever is holding you lets go. You jump up, turn on the light, and look around your room, but you don’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Found in different cultures around the world, beliefs about the “choking ghost” or “pressing ghost” share similar descriptions. Almost all of these beliefs explain the terrifying experience as a supernatural attack. Some cultures believe the cause is a witch or a demon sitting on one’s chest to steal one’s breath, while others say a dark entity or spirit means to immobilize or suffocate its victim.

Scientifically, reports of choking ghosts can often be explained by a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. According to well-documented studies, the brain releases two chemicals that suppress most muscle activity during normal sleep. This is meant to keep us from acting out our dreams. Generally, these chemicals wear off by the time we wake up. However, in some people, sleep paralysis typically occurs when the body remains temporarily paralyzed while the person partially wakes. When this happens, the person may find themselves unable to move, speak, or call for help.

Many people who have experienced the choking ghost have also reported difficulty breathing or feelings of pressure on the chest as if someone is sitting on them. As their brain is still transitioning between dreaming and waking, vivid hallucinations are common and include seeing shadowy figures, hearing voices, sensing a presence in the room, or feeling as though someone is choking them.

While the sensations can feel intensely real and frightening, sleep paralysis is generally harmless and usually lasts only a few seconds to a few minutes.

Whether the experience is attributed to sleep paralysis or something more mysterious, tales of a choking presence have persisted in Hawai‘i as well. Some of the most chilling reports emerge from the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center.

Completed in 1918, the Territorial Penitentiary was a 9-acre facility and consisted of an X-shaped building with a watchtower in the center, surrounded by 20-foot-high walls. The administration offices, laundry, and toilets were housed in separate buildings, along with the “incorrigible ward” that was added later. The buildings were completely demolished, and the prison site was expanded to 16 acres in the 1970s, replacing the large buildings with multiple smaller ones.

Today, the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center is famous for its notorious choking ghost. According to a 1984 newspaper column, guards at the prison recall the haunted guard’s squad room next to the execution chamber, where they were unable to sleep due to encounters (and fear of encounters) with the reported choking ghost. I’m sure it offered little relief to know that the choking ghost was not biased and reportedly affected the prisoners as well. 

When we posted a video about OCCC on our social media pages, a number of followers commented and messaged us about having experienced the choking sensation personally while either employed or incarcerated at the facility.

We know that science has studied this phenomenon and has explained sleep paralysis. Maybe the occurrence is common enough that it seems to happen more often in a place where so many people live and sleep in close proximity. But does it happen as often in school dormitories, or military barracks, or hospitals?

Aside from the choking ghost, OCCC seems to be home to other hauntings as well. One former Sargent there said that when he was working in the tower, he would hear someone coming up the steps, but when he looked, there was no one there. And a few times, when he leaned back and put his legs up to rest, something would unceremoniously knock them down. He quickly learned to remain vigilant.

My own brother-in-law, who was a guard there, repeated the story about the tower stairs and said some guards have actually seen an apparition in the stairwell. He also shared that guards and prisoners would hear the trap door of the hanging room snap open, although they knew the door had been welded shut since capital punishment in Hawai‘i was officially abolished in 1957. 

One man stated that when he was employed at OCCC years ago, he often heard the trap door slam open, even though he knew no one was there. Once, he was assigned to the isolation cells, which were said to be painted all black inside. One night, he was curious to know what it looked like, so he decided to peek into an empty cell.

He slowly opened the door and leaned in, and saw an empty room. But as he began to back away and close the door, something caught his eye. He looked again, and there, in the back of the room, were several faces looking back at him. He slammed the door shut and continued his shift, avoiding that room as much as possible.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I am no longer curious,” he said."}]

While modern science points to sleep paralysis as the likely cause of a choking ghost in a place where it often occurs, it still can’t explain other ghostly phenomena reported in the same facility.

Oahu Community Correctional Center

<title>The Choking Ghost at OCCC</title>

As if prison wasn't scary enough, prisoners and guards alike at O‘ahu Community Correctional Center have many tales of a choking ghost stalking the facility, as well as other apparitions.

Daily Smile: Sunday, June 14, 2026

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Reporter

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Daily Smile: Sunday, June 14, 2026

Authors

ASD Staff

Reporter

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