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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"When you're just too tired to walk..."}]

SMILE 26 6 21

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, June 21, 2026</title>

When you're just too tired to walk...

Daily Smile: Sunday, June 21, 2026

 When you&#039;re just too tired to walk...

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

 for 22 years, as its president and CEO, effective Aug. 1, 2025.

, who went on to become CEO of Parker Ranch Inc., which is based in Waimea on Hawai’

uhane was also promoted to chief operating officer and executive vice president last summer.

, who had served as senior director of HCF's Maui Recovery Effort, was promoted to her current role as vice president of community resilience and strategic implementation.

“We spotted leadership from the minute I met her, and on my first day, I turned to Michelle and said, ‘We gotta give Keanu some more stretch opportunities.’ [She’s] done a marvelous job in [her] new VP level, overseeing not just Maui or Maui recovery, not just our new Stronger Hawai

,” George told Aloha State Daily earlier this month. “But also, essentially, helping to pull us together to make sure that we're implementing on our strategic priorities the way we need to across the organization.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“We hired 13 new people in the year that I’ve been here,” he added."}]

Launched in March, HCF’s Stronger Hawai

i Fund supports “statewide disaster and emergency related preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation and resilience … across all islands, deploying resources to where the need is greatest at the moment it arises.”

In response to this past weekend’s Hurricane Lala — which so far has claimed a life, damaged more than 100 homes, and left thousands without power — the fund has deployed grants totaling $320,000 to nonprofits Vibrant Hawai’i, The Salvation Army Hilo Corps and Hope Services Hawai’i, to be used for financial assistance, food and supplies, water and communication, among other services, the organization announced Monday. Click 

, work toward recovery and rebuilding continue. 

 has raised more than $212 million in donations from around the globe and offers grants to local nonprofits addressing housing, health and workforce development, and more. According to Lau Hee, the remaining amount left to deploy is $30 million.

“We don't see it as just a $30 million investment next year but [aim to] understand what some of those longer-term systems are that we need to build to help recovery,” she said.

“Reflecting on three years of what Hawai

i Community Foundation has done and [what] the Maui Strong Fund has done, they've really moved with the speed of recovery and the community,” Lau Hee continued. “So, when resources were needed in the aftermath of the wildfire, the foundation deployed funds quickly to trusted organizations to get resources to the community when they needed it most. Whether that was supporting resilience hubs, which you saw stood up all over, or lodging, or rental assistance, or just even direct financial assistance, the organization moved quickly to do that. I think what enabled them to do so was because prior to the disaster, the foundation has been doing work in the Maui community for decades. That allowed the team and the staff to develop the partnerships on the ground, prior to the disaster, in which they could lean on.”

She acknowledged that while some families have rebuilt in Lahaina, others are “struggling” with their next step.

 positioned is to continue to listen to what the needs are, to understand what our partners (including government and other philanthropic organizations funding recovery) are doing, and to lean on community leaders to invest in better solutions,” she said.

Lau Hee and George shared more about their current and long-term priorities, both for the organization and Maui recovery efforts, in a recent conversation with ASD. 

How is HCF going about funding housing needs on Maui?

, because housing was the biggest challenge. And when the disaster hit, it exacerbated the housing crisis on Maui and continues to be the No. 1 challenge for recovery. The Hawai

 Community Foundation to date has invested just over $102 million into both housing programs, as well as [new] builds. … We helped the County of Maui pool together $50 million in road projects for Waiʻale Road Extension in Wailuku and the North-South Collector Road in Kīhei, which will open up more housing opportunities. But because of the mapping and infrastructure work done prior to the disaster, County of Maui used that to apply for the CDBG-DR (Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery) funds.

… Last year, we engaged stakeholders, leveraged the data we invested in with (The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study) 

/UHERO (University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization) studies to understand where the recovery needs are for community. We did a very large investment into 

Ulu O Lele, a marketplace by Hawaiian Council, to reenergize the historic and commercial district of Lahaina and to build a gathering place for community. [HCF also supported the 

 event from July 17 to 19.] … Attendees and organizers have described to us that Lahaina feels different now — it feels hopeful, that people are ready to come back to Front Street, their home.

This past year has been the time to really lean in on economic recovery, as we've also still focused on housing and mental health issues, supporting those committee organizations that stepped up to do what we call clinical case management, which means meeting people where they are and helping them get to where they need to be.

What are you most proud of delivering to Maui in the last year?

’m proud of the fact that against some people’s wishes, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation deliberately and intentionally held back a significant amount of the Maui Strong funds. There were some people who would have hoped that all those dollars would have been pushed out in the first weeks and months

… Disasters reveal inequities; they reveal vulnerabilities; they reveal an incredible amount of community resilience and grit. They also take a long time to recover from. We are not a disaster recovery organization that jumps in when a disaster happens and only works there for the first few months. We are a perpetual resource to make sure that all communities thrive. So, I'm actually proud that because of, first, the outpouring generosity that was unprecedented in our state, to create the Maui Strong Fund with the size that it had, we had the ability, under Keanu, and rest of our team's leadership and our board’s leadership, to hold back dollars for when we knew most of those disaster relief organizations would be gone.

Because we exercised some of that discipline, we are able to invest in solutions for permanent recovery, like a kauhale project that was a deeply affordable rental facility, as well as an emergency shelter. So, making those investments with the generosity that was entrusted to us allows us to build real lasting recovery for that community.

The objective there is that we need to build a more comprehensive approach to resilience. We’ve often been a funder in the response and recovery phase, but we’ve struggled to be a funder in the blue skies/preparedness phase. Stronger Hawai

i really lets us span the spectrum of disaster … and helps us deploy those dollars accordingly. That is in alignment with our four-phase strategy to disaster that we adopted in 2019. This fund allows us greater flexibility to meet the needs of where this disaster is occurring.

It was conceived last summer, blessed by the board in the fall, and then we decided to deploy the fund on March 19, right before the worst of the Kona Lows was going to hit. We set a goal of $10 million for that fund; we’re a third of the way there, and we’ve already deployed $1.5 million out the door. … We think it’s not if the next disaster hits, but when. We think we’re going to be able to make a bigger difference.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What are your strategies to sustain funding?"}]

We’re much more effective when we work together. For example, we just created a pool fund to support grassroots organizations supporting immigrant communities.

… We’ve proposed longer-term partnerships with several prominent, community-minded corporations within the state, and we’ve seen some creative partnerships begin to develop out of that. We’re working more thoughtfully along the lines of our 

 to bring those donors into direct conversation with some of our grantees. [With a focus on access to health care, HCF is anticipating conversations with The Queen’s Health System and Wai

anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.] Grantees also have opportunities to learn from each other and support one another.

 We restarted The Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund about nine months ago, and it is explicitly aimed at building nonprofit stability to weather all the uncertainties at the federal funding level. It’s also aimed at strengthening the nonprofit infrastructure through 

, or the Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations.

The Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative has shifted from being funded by HCF to FunderHui. It set up a common application for nonprofits, which made for easier access. For funders, it also allows them to see where funding is needed and who’s funding in which spaces.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How is HCF investing in local workforce?"}]

Oftentimes, teachers are the stable force and they

’re a constant in your child’s life, so HCF is investing in the educator pipeline through the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. Some of our other work at the college include building the pipeline of construction and health care workers. … 

 provides exposure to what public safety careers look like but also builds leadership skills.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What is next for HCF?"}]

Our vision is an equitable future for Hawa

 all communities thrive. … We are going to double down on the CHANGE framework that aligns our work to six key areas that are necessary for communities to thrive.

… I would say another theme is, really, the building of the Hawai

i Community Foundation. We truly believe that the genius does lie in communities, and when they are able to lead and able to partner effectively with government and with philanthropy, and where businesses within those communities are also able to thrive and grow jobs, we're gonna be OK. And building those partnerships and working through challenges is difficult because the civic muscle to stop something or blame somebody for something is in abundant supply around not just Hawai

, but the world. But the civic muscle, as all our grantees are showing, in Maui and elsewhere, to roll up your sleeves, innovate, build consensus, and make a deep and lasting difference for a community. That's what we most want to invest in. That takes partnerships, it takes trust, it takes focus on big goals and sticking with it. And it takes all of us to do that together.

’ve been good stewards of the endowed dollars we manage, with returns above our benchmark of about 17% over that one-year period. We overhauled our 

; paid out over $5.3 million in scholarships, and are working toward building [other] scholarship products. We made grants totaling $100.8 million over the last 12 months, and we’ve raised $96.2 million (that’s actually higher because we don’t have final numbers yet). We doubled our 

 cap to $20 million, which is a way we can use tools other than grants. These are 0 to super low interest loans, and occasionally equity investments for charitable purposes.  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What have you been learning lately as leaders?"}]

 Patience. Discipline. Investing intentionally to my time, energy, my capacity to support the relationships we

 over the years. … Listening more, continuing to grow from these lessons, and sharing [them].

 You thrive when you know what your purpose is. And we

’ve been having some deep, wonderful conversations about our purpose and the reason we exist. The second thing is that l

eadership is very much a team sport, so creating safe spaces for everyone to observe their leadership and step out of their comfort zones, that

’s when you can wait for the magic to happen.

More information about HCF can be found online at 

HCF leadership Aug 2026

<title>Hawai'i Community Foundation leaders talk Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund, Maui Strong Fund, and…</title>

Keanu Lau Hee, vice president of community resilience and strategic implementation, shares HCF’s approach to investing in communities across the state to meet the greatest needs. HCF CEO and President Terry George reflects on his first year at the helm of the organization and what he’s prioritizing now to make the most impact.

Hawai'i Community Foundation leaders talk Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund, Maui Strong Fund, and more

Hannah Coburn HPR

Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn

Viewpoints

The final resting place of Aunty Muriel “Puni” Ioane’s ancestors lies at the Mākua Protestant Cemetery, just makai of Mākua Valley on Oʻahu’s leeward coast.

A large yellow gate blocks the road to the cemetery, where a warning sign reads: “Danger. This area is a munitions response site. Munitions may be present.” Beyond the yellow gate is a bridge that collapsed during the Kona Low storms earlier this year, making the cemetery inaccessible by car.

Ioane is a direct lineal descendant of Mākua. She grew up on Mākua Ranch, in ʻŌhikilolo, the neighboring valley. Two generations of her family are buried at the cemetery, and for more than two decades, she has been unable to visit the grave sites.

Whether the barrier stems from military restrictions, decisions of the private caretaker of the cemetery, or a combination of both, has been unclear to Ioane.

The author reached out to the U.S. Army multiple times for comment, and no one responded.

While visiting cemeteries is a common tradition in many cultures to honor loved ones, Ioane cannot access the graves of her own ancestors whose ties to Mākua span generations.

In moʻolelo, Mākua (meaning parent) is where Papa (earth mother) and Wākea (sky father) meet, making Mākua a place of deep cultural and spiritual significance.

Before the military’s presence in Mākua was established, it was home to many Hawaiian and immigrant families.

Ioane was born in 1950. Her father, William (Willie) Pali Enos, was born and raised in Mākua, where he grew up with his father, mother and seven siblings. She remembers stories her dad used to share of him riding a donkey or taking an old truck to get to Waiʻanae Elementary School in the late 1920s.

“On days when the kids wanted to play hooky from school, they would do something to the truck, so no one would have to go,” Ioane laughed.

Ioane recalled her dad sharing memories of taking the train to Kawaihāpai to visit his grandma and packing food in burlap bags to share with everyone. Back then, there was no electricity, running water, or telephones.

Her father eventually met her mother, Miriam Akama Enos; she first noticed him while riding the train through Waiʻanae.

“She said that she never thought she’d meet him,” Ioane recalled. “But back then, all the cowboys used to have a night out and go into a rest camp for dancing. My mom said that’s where she saw him again.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The two married in 1949 and raised their family in Mākua."}]

Growing up on Mākua Ranch in the 1950s, Ioane learned to fish, hunt, ride horses and raise her own pigs. “My dad taught us how to go up in the forest,” Ioane said. “He was a hunter, and my mom’s thing was the ocean.”

Her mother made her own throw nets to catch fish, taught Ioane and her siblings how to catch and clean eel, and kept a vegetable garden that helped feed their family.

Ioane’s dad was the ranch foreman at McCandless Ranch in Mākua and a true paniolo. He slaughtered cattle and pigs, hunted goats, and even made his own saddles, ropes, and chaps.

The Enos family lived a subsistence lifestyle, growing and gathering what they needed to feed themselves, their family, and even sharing with other families in the village.

When some Hawaiʻi residents began living at Mākua Beach, Ioane said that her parents would always take care of them.

“We don’t call them homeless; they were just living on the beach,” she explained. “But they didn’t have food or any place to go, so my dad and mom used to bring them home to the ranch because we had small houses around they could live in.”

They would get their water from wells in Mākua but still did not have any electricity. Ioane said that they had lanterns and kerosene stoves.

During summers, Ioane and her two sisters would work for 32 cents a week helping with the charcoal holes their dad built and they looked forward to saving their money together so that they could visit a store in Māʻili to buy one can of sardines, one loaf of bread, and one big bottle of strawberry soda.

The military first began using parcels of land for training in the 1920s but seized control of Mākua Valley in 1941. A year later, the military evicted everyone living in the valley. The Army promised those families that their lands would be returned six months later, but that promise was never fulfilled.

In 1964, the Army signed a 65-year lease with the State of Hawaiʻi for Mākua Valley that is set to expire in 2029. It cost the Army $1.

Ioane said her father would speak about how Mākua was taken away and never returned. While some families left for different valleys, others had nowhere to go but into the bushes, she recalled him sharing.

Ioane grew up after the evictions, and she recalled the military’s presence in Mākua.

She explained that the military had no relationship with the local families. Even as military exercises, live-fire training, and bombing took place in the valley, there was no communication or concern for the damage being inflicted on the land.

Ioane and her family remained on Mākua Ranch. After her father died in 1966, they stayed four more years and later moved to their relatives’ property in Waiʻanae.

Friends have tried to help Ioane make arrangements to visit the cemetery, but confusion over who controls access has made the process difficult.

“According to state park staff, there is another entrance on the north side of Mākua, but access through this entrance has also been compromised by the storm (damaged culvert),” Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Communications Specialist Ryan Aguilar said in an email. “Currently, the only way to gain access is to walk along the beach.”

The Division of State Parks is handling repairs for the damaged bridges, though a start date has yet to be determined. Aguilar said designs and plans are required first.

For kūpuna like Ioane, who is 75, accessing the cemetery on foot via Mākua Beach is not ideal. The route would require going down a steep, rocky drop-off, walking up from the beach, and locating an unmarked path.

A chain-link fence surrounds the cemetery, with the entrance secured by a dial combination lock. At least 25 burial plots are enclosed. Although access is restricted, the cemetery appeared well maintained.

The caretaker likely keeps the cemetery locked to protect the graves from disturbances and vandalism. However, this also keeps lineal descendants of those buried there, including Ioane, from accessing it.

DLNR did not comment on restoration efforts, though they connected Ioane to the cemetery’s private caretaker. She is now one step closer to visiting the cemetery.

“The caretaker of the cemetery called me,” Ioane said. “He said anytime I want to visit the cemetery, to give him a call.”

The cemetery’s presence serves as a reminder of the families who once called the valley home. For descendants like Ioane, it is a connection to generations of her family, history, and place. Ultimately, returning to Mākua, and the cemetery, means returning to her parents.

[{"type":"text","text":"“When I see Mākua, I see my dad,” Ioane said."}]

This story is an adaptation of an article originally published on July 15, 2026, by “Hawaiʻi Public Radio” under the title “Returning to Mākua: A lineal descendant’s journey to revisit her family.”

This article is reprinted with permission from 

OHA's Ka Wai Ola newspaper: "Returning to Mākua" by Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn, in its August 2026 issue, Vol. 43 No. 8. Read more at 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Aunty Puni 16x9

<title>Community Voices: Returning to Mākua</title>

While visiting cemeteries is a common tradition in many cultures to honor loved ones, Aunty Muriel “Puni” Ioane cannot access the graves of her own ancestors whose ties to Mākua span generations.

Community Voices: Returning to Mākua

WEB square crop Hayley Lehman Headshot RGZ1636

Haley Lehman

Crime & Courts

Government & Politics

Seven environmental groups filed a lawsuit against Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 30, alleging that the new Critical Habitat Exclusion Rule prioritizes economic development over environmental protections.

The President Donald Trump administration redefined what constitutes “harm” to endangered species and habitats so now officials will analyze economic and national security impacts when deciding if a habitat is crucial to species’ survival. The 

 requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider excluding an area if a party provides “credible information” on the impact of a critical habitat designation, and the service is authorized to exclude areas from critical habitat if the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of designating it a critical habitat. The change would allow for development on critical wildlife habitat if the animals are not immediately killed or injured.

Attorneys Barclay Samford, Brian Segee, Elizabeth B. Forsyth, Honolulu-based Harley M. Broyles, Bristen L. Boyles and Maxx Elizabeth Phillips filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Council for Hawaiʻi, Defenders of Wildlife, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Wildearth Guardians and Save the Manatee Club.

The plaintiffs asked the court to vacate the new rule and restore critical habitat exclusions that were previously in place, writing that designating critical habitat is critical to the Endangered Species Act’s goal to recover endangered and threatened species and that the rule violates the National Environmental Protection Act.

The Department of the Interior has until Sept. 28 to respond to the lawsuit. The U.S. Department of the Interior told Aloha State Daily by email on Aug. 6, “The Department stands by the rule. The rule faithfully implements the Endangered Species Act as written by Congress.”

Harley Broyles with Earth Justice Mid-Pacific office said that the rule takes away the agency’s discretion when it comes to protecting endangered or threatened species.

“The rule has been changed to favor development interests over the protection of to be listed as endangered and threatened species, and we all know that a big part of what preserves species that habitat protection is vital. Species thrive when they have their natural habitat,” she said.

According to the lawsuit, the regulation change “unlawfully provides industry special interests with an effective veto over important agency decisions to protect essential habitat for imperiled species of wildlife.”

Broyles said that the organizations and nonprofits have an interest in protecting species that can’t advocate for themselves.

Hawaiʻi makes up .29% of the nation’s land mass and is home to 

“The future for our native species is under threat and in 

that’s going to have a lot of repercussions,” she said.

The plaintiffs want to protect imperiled species, biodiversity and species’ connection with people who are of the land, Broyles said. The lawsuit tied the interests to members across the country who are concerned about manatees in Florida, the ʻiʻiwi bird and honu in Hawaiʻi, the monarch butterfly and western bumble bee in Montana and the jumping mouse in New Mexico. 

The lawsuit points to a Hawaiian living on Kauaʻi, who was raised with the ʻiʻiwi as a symbol of the living native forest, her ancestral connection to the ʻāina and her respect for honu, which is regarded as an ʻaumakua, an ancestral guardian spirit.

ʻIʻiwi bird

<title>Environmental groups file lawsuit against Interior Secretary, U.S. Fish and Wildlife…</title>

Seven environmental groups filed a lawsuit against Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alleging that the new Critical Habitat Exclusion Rule prioritizes economic development over environmental protections. The Interior Department wrote that they stand by the regulation.

Environmental groups file lawsuit against Interior Secretary, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

The 19th annual Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search brings four finalists together to perform for a panel of 

Emcees for the event happening at the festival's Main Stage include Billy V and Bruddah Wade.

The talent search starts at 2 p.m. with a performance by the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winning trio, ʻŌlauniu, which won the talent search in 2025.

— Makana Arce, Moon Kahale, Keawe Kaluhiwa and ʻĀlewa — who will perform three songs, or for up to 20 minutes of non-stop music. At 5 p.m., the contest winner will be announced and perform once more on that stage.

The winner earns a one-month paid performance contract at Kani Ka Pila Grille, a poolside restaurant and bar that offers live Hawaiian music at the Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort. Spearheaded by Luana Maitland, Outrigger’s area director of cultural experience, the talent search has become a chance for artists to gain mentors, paid performance opportunities and marketing support.

“Each year, we are reminded of how much talent and heart exists within our Hawaiian music community,” Maitland said in a written statement. “The Talent Search gives musicians a stage, professional support and the encouragement to continue developing their craft. We are honored to welcome this year’s finalists and excited to see how each one shares their unique voice, manaʻo.”

Judges of the talent search contest this year include Kawika Kahiapo, an award-winning musician, singer-songwriter and slack key player; Milton Lau, CEO of the Ki-Hoʻalu Foundation and founder of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festivals; Bobby Moderow Jr., an award-winning musician, singer-songwriter and slack key player; and Eric Lagrimas, assistant professor of the Music and Entertainment Learning Experience (MELE) at Honolulu Community College.

On July 11, Ei Nei, a trio which won the talent search in 2017, captured 

: Group of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Island Music Album of the Year, and Favorite Entertainer of the Year.

The last four talent search winners — ʻŌlauniu, Rickey Kamai, Kahiau Lam Ho and Anthony Pfluke — earned nominations for Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards last month. Several took home top prizes. ʻŌlauniu won the Hawaiian Language Performance of the Year and the Haku Mele of the Year awards. Pfluke won Contemporary Acoustic Album of the Year. He also joined Kamaka Camarillo in winning Hawaiian Music Video of the Year.

Ei Nei

<title>Kani Ka Pila Grille announces finalists for talent search</title>

Looking to catch some Hawaiian music at the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival? Stop by the Main Stage on Saturday, Aug. 22, to see the finalists for the 19th annual Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search. The winner of the contest gets a paid performance contract at Kani Ka Pila Grille, which is part of Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort.

Kani Ka Pila Grille announces finalists for talent search

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

An oceanfront estate on Maui, comprised of two adjacent residences sitting on two parcels that total a little more than 1.2 acres, has hit the market with a $45 million asking price. 

Located at 4640 and 4650 Makena Road in Kīhei, the estate has eight bedrooms, 7.5 baths and spans just over 7,500 square feet, according to 

. Information provided to Aloha State Daily noted that the properties are offered fully furnished with central air conditioning, a security system and attached multi-car garages. There also are "expansive" ocean-facing lāna‘is, tropical landscaping, an in-ground heated pool and indoor-outdoor living spaces.

The property is located minutes from Wailea and sits about 40 feet above a white-sand beach, the listing notes, adding that a gated path leads to a secluded stretch of sand known as "Secret Beach."

"Opportunities of this magnitude — two contiguous oceanfront parcels with elevation, privacy and direct beach access — are extraordinarily limited," the listing states. "Offered together, this is a chance to secure a one-of-one compound in a supply-constrained market where replacement is simply not possible."

The property is listed by Hawai‘i Life's 

, who told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions that "very rarely" does a listing listing like this hit the market.

"In my 45 years of real estate along the South Maui coastline, I have not encountered another listing as unique as this one," he says. "The two contiguous oceanfront lots, which front perhaps the best white sand beach in all of Maui, offer stunning views. The fully usable lots ensure security among the lush tropical grounds, making this property exceptional. Replicating this setting today would be extraordinarily difficult given the scarcity of comparable land and increasingly complex state and county regulations surrounding new oceanfront construction."

But what makes the property unique is the history and evolution of the estate, Richardson told ASD.

"The original home was built in 1990 by San Francisco venture capitalist Pierre Lamond, who used exceptional materials for its time, including black glazed roof tiles, copper downspouts integrated into the walls, cedar eaves and stucco walls with extensive glass windows and doors to capture the ocean views," he says. "In 2000, Lamond purchased the neighboring property for $10 [million] and thoughtfully remodeled it to complement his original home, using the same materials and creating what is now a cohesive estate."

Lamond and his wife sold the property for $42 million in 2021, according to a 

Today, Richardson said the two properties encompass 1.26 acres and 200 linear feet of ocean frontage, with both lots elevated about 35 feet above the beach.

"The estate combines privacy, security, mature tropical landscaping, direct beach access and extraordinary views," he says. "It is the combination of these elements, particularly the two contiguous oceanfront lots and their elevation above the coastline, that makes the property impossible to replicate."

Richardson says it's hard to choose a single favorite feature of the property, but the lāna‘i on the second residence is a fave.

"It wraps around the whole front of the home and cantilevers over the lava rock cliff; the views are stunning, and you would not be able to replicate its location due to today’s setback laws," he told ASD. 

According to Richardson, views from the upper-level primary suite of the original home stretch from Makena to Lahaina, and the elevation gives you "a soaring perspective over the coastline."

"I also love the sense of arrival and discovery throughout the property," he says. "Behind the gated entry, you have beautifully maintained, tropical grounds, two residences that share a cohesive architectural language and a 640-square-foot pool. Every time I enter the property, there is still a sense of wonder because of how much it offers while remaining remarkably private."

4640 4650 Makena Road13

<title>Maui oceanfront estate is on the market for $45M</title>

The offering includes two adjacent oceanfront residences that span more than 7,500 square feet of living space on a little more than 1.2 acres.

Maui oceanfront estate is on the market for $45M

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 just opened today in Waimalu Shopping Center. This is the business’s third and newest location. It features a full-service, sit-down dine-in experience, along with a takeout window. 

The biz is celebrating its grand opening tomorrow, Aug. 15, with a lion dance at 11:30 a.m.

Customers can expect a variety of manapua, along with dim sum, peking duck and plate lunches; this location features an expanded menu.

The business’s Hong Kong-style dim sum selection was crafted in partnership with its sister restaurant, Mei Sum Dim Sum. The dim sum menu comprises spring rolls ($4.95), potstickers ($6.35), shrimp pork hash ($6.35), half moon dumplings ($6.35), shrimp dumplings ($6.35) and more.

[{"type":"text","text":"The business’s classic char siu manapua is a bestseller."}]

Besides manapua and dim sum, customers can choose from a variety of local-style plate lunches. Entrees include ginger fried chicken, kalbi ribs, garlic butter shrimp, hamburger steak and more. Seafood and steak combo plates are also available. 

This is the business’s third and newest location; it’s celebrating its grand opening Aug. 15. Customers can enjoy its signature manapua, along with dim sum and plate lunches. The business is featuring a 10% discount for the rest of the month.

Daily Smile: Sunday, June 21, 2026

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