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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"A quality use of pool noodles..."}]

Smile 26 7 13

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, July 13, 2026</title>

A quality use of pool noodles...

Daily Smile: Monday, July 13, 2026

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

National Ice Cream Day is this Sunday, July 19 — and 

From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday only, customers can enjoy $2 single scoops (limit two) and $1 ice cream flight cones (flight of six cones for $6) at the Hawai

One flight cone usually costs $3, so customers are getting one third of the normal cost, according to business owner Trang Hammond.

Current featured flavors include cookies and cream, Biscoff, strawberry cream, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, caramel mac nut, tiramisu, lilikoʻi cream and more.

The biz will also make exclusive flavors just for that day. Specialty flavors include li hing mango, strawberry shortcake crumbles, lemon bar, red velvet cake, and Road to Hana, which is made with macadamia nuts instead of almonds.

Several of the specialty flavors are inspired by summer, according to Hammond.

“Strawberry shortcake crumbles is like a strawberry shortcake popsicle, but deconstructed into ice cream,” she says. “It tastes like a strawberry popsicle that you get at the ice cream truck. For our Road to Hana (flavor), there’s macadamia nuts, chocolate swirls and chocolate chips. We bring our lemon bar and red velvet cake — which are really popular — out on special occasions.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Our Road to Hana is more decadent,” she adds."}]

There will also be “surprise” specialty flavors made by business owner Ryan Hammond. Vegan-friendly flavors like oatmilk Biscoff and oatmilk pandan will also be available.

“Ryan still has a day to make ice cream before that day (National Ice Cream Day); he always surprises us,” Hammond says.

Customers will get the chance to participate in a raffle. One winner will get ice cream for a year; another winner will get to work with Hammond to create an ice cream flavor named after them.

“It’s just fun to get everybody here and enjoy a day out,” Hammond says.

7192 Kalanianaʻole Hwy. Ste. D103, Honolulu

National Ice Cream Day deals will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 19 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Hammonds Gourmet Ice Cream owner 071326

<title>ice cream flight cones at Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream</title>

The Hawaiʻi Kai biz is offering limited-time specials for National Ice Cream Day this Sunday, July 19. Customers can enjoy $2 ice cream scoops, $1 flight cones and specialty flavors.

$1 ice cream flight cones at Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

LAS VEGAS — For 13 years, Wai‘anae's Max "Blessed" Holloway wanted another crack at Conor McGregor. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Turns out, he may have gotten the last crack at him altogether. "}]

In the welterweight main event of UFC 329, Holloway defeated McGregor via TKO at just one minute and nine seconds into the fight. McGregor, the worldwide megastar that hadn't fought in the octagon in five years following a fractured left leg against Dustin Poirier, suffered another devastating leg injury, this time a torn right ACL that put an early stop to the bout. 

McGregor appeared to injure his knee mere seconds into the fight, throwing a jumping kick that didn't land. After thudding off the canvas, he favored his right leg until the fight was stopped, but not before Holloway landed a dozen significant ground strikes.  

Prior to Saturday, Holloway and McGregor last fought each other in August 2013, with McGregor cruising to a unanimous decision in a featherweight bout. Thirteen years and 

, it was Holloway who evened the score in the series. Will the two get a trilogy? With one fight left on his UFC contract and a net worth in the 

, will McGregor ever fell compelled to return to the octagon? 

"I don't even know. I'm gonna take some time," UFC CEO and president Dana White said in the post-fight press conference. "I don't like making fights at the end of the night. Not in this scenario.

"We'll see how this whole thing plays out. There's a lot of unanswered questions right now that will play out over the next several days, and that's why I don't come into these things and start talking about the future. ... We'll get back in the office on Tuesday, and it's not even worth talking about right now."

A total of 20,076 fans packed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for McGregor's short-lived return. Per TickPick, the average price of a ticket on Saturday was $1,537, setting a new UFC record. Following the card, White announced the fight gate was $26.4 million, another UFC record. 

With the victory, Holloway improved to 28-9 overall, while McGregor dropped to 22-7. 

McGregor entered the arena sporting a fresh mohawk. He walked out to 

Sinéad O'Connor's "The Foggy Dew," followed by The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize," giving the sold-out crowd another shot of adrenaline. 

From start to finish on Saturday night, Holloway stayed true to his Hawaiian roots. Holloway, his wife Alessa and son Rush all entered the arena donning red and yellow outfits representing 

‘ahu ‘ula, a symbol of Hawaiian royalty. He walked out to a medley of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole's "

Hawai’i ‘78,” then finished with his customary “Hawaiian Kickboxer” by Moke Boy Kamealoha. "Hawai’i ‘78" was also the song former UFC champion and fellow Hawai‘i native 

Holloway typically walks out to a medley of two songs — one mystery song, followed by "Hawaiian Kickboxer." He knew on Saturday he'd have to pick a song that matched the magnitude of the moment. 

"I was thinking about it forever. I was thinking about a very special occasion and when the Conor McGregor (opportunity) came up, I was like, 'This is huge.' He always does a shoutout to his country, so I had to do one the right way," Holloway said. "It had to be "Hawai‘i '78." We had other ones, I really wanted to do "Take Me Home Country Road," because I am from Wai‘anae, Mākaha, but at the end of the day, we had to go with "Hawai‘i '78.""

Holloway gave credit to McGregor for wanting to continue to fight as long as he did despite the injury. 

After stating his strong interest in a McGregor trilogy earlier in the week, Holloway says his appetite for it has not changed despite Saturday's outcome. Like McGregor, Holloway plans to take some time away from competition. 

"(McGregor) was talking about this 170 (pound) domain. I put in this 170 work. We 

 here, especially after turning around so fast after that 

, and to come back, I wanna feel this domain that he's talking about," Holloway said. "That's what I want. I know we want to see what his injury is, but as for me, I'm bound to come back 2027. ... I owe my family some time, owe my wife and my son some time, some family time. You guys will see "Blessed" return in 2027."

Another possibility is a rematch against UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, whom Holloway knocked out in spectacular fashion at UFC 300 in April 2024. 

"I'm on the same boat as the 155 champ," Holloway said. "I heard he's not coming back 'til next year too, so we might be on the same cruise."

McGregor was not made available in the post-fight press conference and was seen leaving the arena by foot. Both he and White denied he was injured prior to Saturday's bout. On late Saturday night, McGregor took to X to express his disappointment. 

"My head gasket is gone. Destroyed," McGregor 

. "I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell."

 lost via TKO to England's Luke Riley in the first round. Riley dropped and wobbled Kamaka with a right hand with 2:13 left in the first round, then the referee pulled Riley away from Kamaka with 1:57 left in the first round to secure the victory. 

Kamaka dropped to 18-8-1 in his career, while Riley remained unbeaten at 14-0.

Max Holloway 071126

<title>Max Holloway defeats injured Conor McGregor via TKO at UFC 329</title>

An anticlimactic main event ended in a Holloway victory 13 years in the making in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Max Holloway defeats injured Conor McGregor via TKO at UFC 329

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Crime & Courts

Columnists

On a June afternoon in Liliha, police found a man walking the centerline of North Kuakini Street with blood soaking his white shirt. Police asked the man his name. “I’m Jesus Israel Black I!” he told the officers, according to court documents. “I’m a pedophile. It’s a conspiracy. I’m being framed.” He was not Jesus Israel Black the First. He was Joshua, the son.

An hour later, Joshua’s mother found Jesus, 70, lying bloodied on the floor of their Nalanui Street apartment. He was taken to a hospital and died there that night. The son had taken his father’s name and his father’s imagined guilt in the same breath.

It was the third case of its kind on Oʻahu in the past year. Last June, London Opendack was charged with attacking his mother and father with a hammer in their Waikīkī apartment. Court records show he had 

 to stand trial in earlier cases, and twice released. In December, Micah Auna was charged with murder. Police had found his mother’s body at the foot of the stairs in her Hawaiʻi Kai home.

Two of the three men reached for the same story. Auna 

 his mother had molested him and his cousin, so he “pushed” her. Black wore his father’s name and confessed his father’s imagined crime in one sentence. And on Hawaiʻi Island in May, Jacob Baker was charged with killing three elderly men — one of whom had let him harvest coconuts from his land. At one scene, police found “Pedofilio” written on a piece of scrap wood.

Opendack is the exception. His social media posts, still online, show a mind fixated not on predators but on mathematical patterns — number theory as private revelation. The fixation was not new. In a 2022 petition for a restraining order, an ex-girlfriend described finding a note in her driveway that looked like a math proof. On closer inspection it was math symbols arranged into nonsense. His erratic speech, she wrote, pointed to a severe psychological disorder.

 her son had schizophrenia. He had stopped taking his medication earlier in the year and used medical cannabis instead.

A disturbed mind grabs whatever story its culture keeps nearest at hand. A generation ago, the paranoid man heard the CIA in his fillings. Today’s troubled young man, more often than not, finds a predator in his own house.

The fear is not irrational in itself — child predation is real, and our alarm about it is warranted. That is exactly why it has become the costume worn by delusion. Court records note that Jesus Black had ten prior convictions, and none of them were for anything like what his son alleged.

Scripture treats honor of parents as more than good manners. It is the first commandment, Paul observes, that carries a promise: honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land. The promise is civic, not merely personal. A society in which honor flows toward age is a society where the old die in their beds. Leviticus extends the same fabric past the household: rise before the gray head, honor the face of an old man. Baker’s alleged victims were not his kin. They were men old enough to be his father, living quietly in Puna.

The Mosaic penalty for striking a parent was death. That severity measures the weight of the offense against the created order. It does not tell a judge what to do with these particular men. The same tradition that gave us Exodus spent centuries separating the gravity of an act from the capacity of the actor.

One of these men was twice found unfit for trial, and twice released. Years later, he allegedly took a hammer to his parents. That raises a policy question for the state.

But the deeper repair happens where the state cannot reach: fathers present in homes, and congregations that do not send their disturbed young men out to the sidewalk. It depends on families that treat the commandment as livable rather than quaint.

None of us will do what these men stand accused of. But the commandment was not written for monsters. It was written for ordinary homes. The commandment covers the way we approach the father who repeats himself, the teacher talked over in class, the kūpuna left to manage alone. Honor frays at the small points long before it tears at the large ones. The extreme cases shock us because some of the old fabric still holds.

We can pray that God’s will be done and that young men would come to know this commandment. We still must do the part of the work assigned to us.

The commandment comes with a promise. Long days in the land are offered to us, if we obey.

Opendack upscaled

<title>Hawaiʻi attacks on parents: What the Liliha, Hawaiʻi Kai and Waikīkī cases share</title>

A blood-soaked man stood in the middle of a Liliha street and answered police with his father’s name. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on three attacks on parents in a single year — and the commandment written for ordinary homes.

Hawaiʻi attacks on parents: What the Liliha, Hawaiʻi Kai and Waikīkī cases share

Monkeypod Kitchen’s Waikīkī restaurant

 — located at the Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort — recently launched a new late-night happy hour. This late-night menu is available nightly from 9 to 11 p.m. at this Monkeypod Kitchen location only.

The restaurant now has two happy hours: its regular one from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and the late-night one from 9 to 11 p.m. The same discounted menu is available during each. 

Customers can take advantage of 50% off select appetizers (seafood appetizers excluded), $17 pizzas (with the exception of the Bourgeois pizza) and a variety of discounted drinks.

Happy hour favorites include roasted chicken wings ($12 happy hour, $24 regular price); taro ravioli ($11 happy hour, $22 regular price); garlic truffle oil fries ($7 happy hour, $14 regular price); and coconut corn chowder ($8 happy hour; $16 regular price).

The wings feature roasted free-range chicken seasoned with garlic and local rosemary, and serve with a creamy yogurt-feta sauce for dipping.

The taro ravioli is made with Waiahole homestead taro and chevre, and it’s topped with watercress and drizzled with chili garlic oil.

The garlic truffle oil fries — seasoned with Parmesan cheese — are a crowd favorite. It comes with whole grain mustard aioli and Monkeypod ketchup.

Meanwhile, the coconut corn chowder features local coconut milk, Yukon gold potato, celery, local kale, Kamuela tomato and local lemongrass.

The eatery’s hand-tossed pizzas feature scratch-made crusts using organic 00 pizza flour. Choose from Hamakua mushroom and truffle oil, Moroccan spiced lamb sausage, margherita, and kalua pork and pineapple.

The Moroccan spiced lamb sausage pizza is a unique option that is topped with Big Island goat cheese, tomato, white sauce and a mint garnish. The Hamakua mushroom and truffle oil is a popular option, as it features Small Kine Farm mushrooms, truffle oil, mozzarella, provolone, white sauce, garlic and fresh thyme. It’s like an elevated white pizza, and the truffle flavor is subtle.

Drink discounts include $2 off draft beers, $3 off wines by the glass, and $4 off all handcrafted culinary cocktails ($16 happy hour, $20 regular price). The restaurant is most known for its Monkeypod Mai Tai with honey-lilikoʻi foam, but other popular options include the ube rey with dry coconut rum and the bourbon-based Ai Ono.

Validated parking ($15) is available at the Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort.

Late-night happy hour from 9 to 11 p.m. every night

Monkeypod Kitchen Waikiki happy hour spread 063026

<title>Monkeypod Kitchen Waikīkī has a new late-night happy hour</title>

The late-night happy hour menu is served daily from 9 to 11 p.m. It features the same deals as the eatery’s earlier happy hour; customers can enjoy 50% off select appetizers, $17 pizzas and discounted drinks.

Monkeypod Kitchen Waikīkī has a new late-night happy hour

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Business & Tourism

Arts & Entertainment

Disney’s live action adaptation of “Moana,” 

filmed for nine days on Oʻahu and sails into theaters on Friday, July 10. 

"Moana" generated around $39 million in estimated economic impact for Hawaiʻi, said Georja Skinner, the chief officer of the creative industries division of the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. That number includes money spent on labor, vendors, contractors, transportation, and more.

“First of all, having a major production in Hawaiʻi does so many things, not just with the spend and the jobs that it generates, but also the on-the-job learning experience from being on major productions like this,” Skinner told Aloha State Daily. “And that's what helps inform our own local creative economy and our local content development, which is a big focus of our department going forward.”

aia as Moana and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — who was the voice of Maui in the original animated films — as the demigod. The 115-minute movie is directed by Thomas Kail.

Auliʻi Cravalho, the voice of the animated heroine in “Moana” and “Moana 2” is one of the executive producers of this movie.

The movie had 560 local resident hires, and 185 non-resident hires, Skinner said. Those hires have 39 job categories and include accountants, actors, production office support, special effects, stunts, transportation and on-set teachers.

Pre-production for "Moana" was comprised of 280 days of work over three years: 2022, 2023 and 2024, Skinner said. Work was halted by strikes in 2023.

The release of the live action “Moana” comes during the same week as Gov. Josh Green signing 

, which amends the motion picture, digital media and film production tax credit to allow a 

5% increase to current tax credit rates for productions that film on Oʻahu and Neighbor Islands, if at least 80% of the hires are local

. The new legislation will bring the tax credit rates up to 27% on Oʻahu, and 32% on Neighbor Islands.

Filmmakers and movie industry professionals as well as politicians hope the new tax credits will make Hawaiʻi a more economically enticing place to make movies.

The legislation expands the tax credits to cover not just movies and television series but streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Apple TV. The total tax credits for all productions in a year will increase to $60 million, up from the current $50 million cap. If the 

total tax credits for a year exceed the cap, they may be claimed in the following year

, a clause that sunsets on Dec. 31, 2037. 

Independent producers and studios are already calling.

“We've had a ton of calls,” Skinner said. “From the moment that the bill signing happened — and before that — people were very interested in how it works, not just people that are coming in with a new project, but those that were on the ground this year that are still coming in, and those that are working with us now to make sure that they can qualify for the certain aspects and all of that good stuff.”

The legisislation stipulates that these new tax credits apply retroactively to costs incurred by productions filmed after Dec. 31, 2025, if these productions had at least 80% local hires. So far, in 2026, several large productions have filmed in the state including “Protecting Jared,” “Jumanji 3,” and Season 2 of the Netflix series “Untamed.” 

In the future, Disney has also announced 

 a second live action movie, which would follow 

an earlier production that filmed entirely on Oʻahu

Want a chance to win tickets to Disney’s live action adaptation of the animated film? 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Catherine Lagaʻaia

<title>What are the economic impacts of 'Moana' for Hawaiʻi?</title>

When a Disney movie has nine days of filming on Oʻahu and 280 more days of pre-production, there are economic impacts for the state. Georja Skinner, chief officer of the Creative Industries Division for the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, shared some numbers.

What are the economic impacts of 'Moana' for Hawaiʻi?

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

A sprinkling of rain Monday morning in Honolulu added to the blessing and official opening of the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center’s Hoʻōla Early Phase Clinical Research Center (EPCRC) 

 the state’s first dedicated center for early phase cancer clinical trials.

Plans for the Hoʻōla EPCRC, which means “to heal or give live” in ʻ

after it received millions in federal funding to help expand access to innovative cancer treatments for Hawaiʻi patients who would otherwise have to travel to the Mainland to receive specialized care. Also funded by the state, donors and philanthropic organizations such as 

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust

, the project cost for construction and equipment totaled approximately $19.5 million, according to UH Cancer Center Director Dr. Naoto Ueno.

“This is truly a historical day,” said Ueno, who is also a two-time cancer survivor, in his opening remarks during Monday’s ceremonial lei untying before an audience of state lawmakers and health care leaders, community partners and more.

More than 10 years ago, I myself participated in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The trial gave me hope and it’s the reason I’m standing. … Today, we make a major step for bringing the same hope to more patients here in Hawaiʻi. [It] marks a new chapter for cancer care in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific.”

 we have spent $230 million from 2021 through 2023 on outside-of-the-state cancer care. We know that many people cannot simply make that journey because of the time commitment and financial impact. … But that

’s about to change [so that] more patients can participate in clinical trials closer to home, closer to their communities and closer to the ʻāina that gives strength.”

Now that the infrastructure is built and some pilot testing has been completed, Ueno told Aloha State Daily that they can attract more pharmaceutical companies, while building credibility. (Note: A clinical trial is a research study patients volunteer to take part in. Most new ways of finding, preventing and treating cancer were discovered in clinical trials.) 

He expects the first patient will be seen within the next month or so. The vision five years from now, Ueno says, is that the Hoʻōla EPCRC will support at least 30 different clinical trials at one time.

“Our geographic location is both negative and positive for that,” he explained. “Yes, we are geographically isolated from the rest of the country but one positive is the unique demographics of our patient population.”

Providing patients across the Islands with access “to safe, compassionate, high-quality cancer care” is the overall goal, which will also help shape cancer care models for future generations, he notes.

Tyler Workman is the interim clinical director at Hoʻōla EPCRC responsible for the the day-to-day operations of the clinic, including managing a staff of about eight employees, and getting all the equipment and supplies ready.

“Iʻm currently working on researcher and nursing workflows, setting up the clinical lab and infusion stations,” he told ASD, adding that he anticipates the team will grow as they secure more trials and treat more patients. Employment opportunities can be found 

Remarks at the opening ceremony were also given by Sen. Mazie Hirono, a kidney cancer survivor; UH President Wendy Hensel; Dr. Jack Lewin, Administrator of

 the Hawaiʻi State Health Planning and Development Agency

; Jason Chang, president and CEO of the The Queenʻs Health Systems and member of the The Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium; and Dr. Leslie Chun, CEO of the Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Medical Group a

nd member of the The Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium.

"Today, we are not just opening doors to a new facility. Weʻre opening the doors to innovation, access and hope," Chun stated.

Peter Hirano closed with final remarks reflecting on the life and legacy of his late wife Susan Hirano, who was a patient advocate with Stage 4 breast cancer at the UH Cancer Center.

“I've been told by several team members at the cancer center that Sue consistently reminded the team here that their work isnʻt just about research. Itʻs about the patient. Itʻs about the person that the research can ultimately help and itʻs about creating hope for patients and their families.”

She also established the Susan C. Hirano Cancer CARE Community (Community, Awareness, Research and Emotional Well-Being), which offers free quarterly events for the public, particularly those touched by cancer. The next event, “Healing Through Art,” is set for Saturday, July 18, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the cancer center. 

Peter Hirano shared how he found a sticky note on her desk 

shortly after her death that read: “Legacy is not what you leave behind. It's what you awaken within others.”

“The center is going to leave a legacy. It will awaken a sense of hope for many in this community."

At a glance: Hoʻōla Early Phase Clinical Research Center

Layout: 7,500 square feet, on 1st and 2nd floors of the UH Cancer Center
 
Key features: Six infusion bays, five patient rooms, two nurses’ stations, pharmacy, two exam rooms, clinical research laboratory, patient lobby and reception area
 
Construction: Started in October 2022; completed in December 2025
 
Total design and construction funding (federal and state): ~$19.5 million
($6.5 million Federal NIH C06 – Research Facilities Construction Grant; $6.5 million State of Hawaiʻi via Act 20 in 2019; $6.5 million – Federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Community Project Funding / Congressionally Directed Spending [2022 Omnibus Appropriations Act])

Courtesy UH Cancer Center

For more information about the UH Cancer Center's Ho‘ola EPCRC, 

. Learn about the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center at

Hoola Clinic hero

<title>New cancer clinical research center unveiled in Honolulu</title>

The state’s first dedicated center for early phase cancer clinical trials — dubbed the Hoʻōla Early Phase Clinical Research Center — officially opened Monday at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center in Kakaʻako. The new facility, which cost a total of about $19.5 million for construction and equipment, will allow local patients to receive specialized treatments closer to home.

Daily Smile: Monday, July 13, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Monday, July 13, 2026

Authors

ASD Staff

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