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[{"type":"text","text":"No way anyone will find this stick...."}]

Smile 26 8 4

<title>Daily Smile: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026</title>

No way anyone will find this stick...

Daily Smile: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Like the Hawai‘i prep football icons that came before him, Hunter Fujikawa is poised to become the next great quarterback to come out of Mililani High School. 

, Fujikawa, a junior with the Trojans, is hoping his name can be uttered in the same sentence by the time it's all said and done. 

 from schools such as Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon, Fujikawa, a 6-foot-2 four-star quarterback, is on pace to have been on the list of notable alumni regardless of the school that produced him. And prior to this summer, that school would have been Punahou. 

Fujikawa won the starting job on Punahou's varsity team as a freshman and in all likelihood would have held the role for all four years. 

"Just a great opportunity to play under coach 

 and (offensive coordinator) Samson Satele," Fujikawa told Aloha State Daily of his decision to transfer. "Being able to have that caliber of coaches to help me develop and get to the next level. God closes one door and opens another."

Fujikawa is far from the only former Punahou standout to join Mililani this offseason. Star 6-foot-4 receiver Zion White, who began his high school career with the Buffanblu, transferred to national powerhouse IMG Academy for his junior season. White returned to the Islands for his senior year and will suit up for the Trojans alongside Fujikawa. 

"It's been great so far," White said. "Over here, all the boys just have their heads down 24/7, just working super hard."

White and Fujikawa grew up playing against each other on the youth circuit — White for the ‘Ewa Beach Hammerheads and Fujikawa for Fiyah Squad. Fujikawa was a freshman when White was a sophomore racking up college offers before Fujikawa went on to do the same. 

"I knew he had potential," White said of Fujikawa. "We kind of just had to build that relationship. We spent multiple hours just throwing together and just spending time together. And the connection, honestly, hasn't gone anywhere. It feels like a brotherhood in a sense."

In addition to Fujikawa and White, the Trojans will also feature a trio of Satele brothers in linebacker Toa, and defensive linemen Trison and Tayden. Toa and Trison have already committed to Oregon, while Tayden is entering his freshman year. Their father and offensive coordinator, Samson Satele, is a former University of Hawai‘i standout offensive lineman and eight-year NFL veteran. 

"It's been great so far," Fujikawa said of the transition to Mililani. "I love the boys. This team, we should have a great year ahead of us."

White, who is entering his senior year, has already committed to California, choosing the Golden Bears over a 

. Fujikawa, meanwhile, says he's putting his recruitment "on pause" in order to focus on his junior season. 

"Recruiting is going to keep going, but I just want to continue to build relationships with coaches and focus on the season, and then see what happens after," Fujikawa said. 

Mililani's season officially begins on Aug. 14 with a home game against Liberty High School of Henderson, Nev. As a program, the Trojans have two state titles to their name: one in 2014 as the HHSAA Division I champions, their lone top-tiered state crown. Mililani won the 2016 Division I HHSAA state title, but it was the same year the state introduced a new top tier in the Open Division. 

"What everybody wants to do and everyone's vision is winning the state championship," Fujikawa said. 

Added White, when asked about his individual goals for the 2026 season: "I have personal goals, but honestly, I'm a team-first kind of guy and I just want to win states above all." 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Mililani football 080328

<title>Mililani's new dynamic duo looks to take Trojans back to HHSAA mountaintop</title>

Former Punahou teammates Zion White and Hunter Fujikawa are reunited at Mililani and have the Trojans thinking big ahead of the 2026 high school football season.

Mililani's new dynamic duo looks to take Trojans back to HHSAA mountaintop

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Food & Dining

Arts & Entertainment

The celebrity competitive eater Raina Huang will dine her way through Hawaiʻi this week with 

With 1.3 million followers on her Instagram, she has made stops in Hawaiʻi previously, including in May of 2025, when she participated in 

“I enjoy meeting my Hawaiʻi fans and getting together with my friends on the Island,” she told Aloha State Daily via email.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Her favorite kind of eating contest?"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Dumplings, she said. "}]

— four contests and three meet-and-greet events on Oʻahu — kick off this Friday, Aug. 7, at 1:30 p.m. at Waikīkī Beach Walk Plaza. As part of the event, she will take photos with fans while IL Gelato offers complimentary gelato samples, while supplies last. Later that afternoon at 3:30 p.m., she will head to 

 to eat a towering stack of handrolls in five minutes or less.

On Saturday, Aug. 8, Huang will participate in two signature competitions at the

. There, she will be part of the Kimchi Eating Contest and the Jajangmyeon Eating Contest, which start at 2 p.m. and are followed by a meet-and-greet events with fans.

Finally, Huang will participate in the third annual 

 at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9. Contestants will compete to see who can eat the most burgers on the clock. Eight contestants — including local food personalities, members of the public, and special guests visiting Hawaiʻi for Korean Festival weekend — will battle for a $1,500 grand prize and the championship title. The contest will be followed by a meet-and-greet event for fans.

Raina Huang

<title>Raina Huang returns for four Hawaiʻi eating contests</title>

This celebrity competitive eater will be in Honolulu this week, with stops at the Korean Festival Hawaiʻi, Nori Bar Waikīkī and Oh My Grill.

Raina Huang returns for four Hawaiʻi eating contests

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

Columnists

David Shapiro is a grandee of political commentary in Hawaiʻi, and he’s a sensible man. His Sunday column in the 

 asks the correct question: not whether Sylvia Luke broke the law, but whether what she is accused of doing was right.

On that question he and I agree. The alleged facts are ugly. Ordinary people do not get private steakhouse dinners with the lawmaker who writes the budget. If the indictment is true, something went wrong that no statute fully captures.

Shapiro asked the right question. It’s his answers that went in the water.

One caution first, because all of us forget it: An indictment is an accusation. Mrs. Luke has pleaded not guilty, and neither side has shown its evidence to a jury. Shapiro writes as if the verdict were in. I will try to hold that line even where he didn’t.

His column ends with three reforms, offered in a single closing sentence: ban campaign donations by government contractors, fund elections publicly, and impose term limits on legislators. Each sounds right, but none withstands a close look.

Start with the contractor ban. It sounds like it aims at the man with the paper bag. It lands instead on the construction company owned by its employees — hundreds of working men and women who would lose a right the rest of us keep, for the crime of building the state’s schools. In a state where government touches nearly every trade, the ban would silence a large share of the working public, while the truly determined would route around it in a week.

There is also something the ban would cost us. The people who know which legislators understand government are usually the people doing business with it. Their interest and their knowledge travel together. That is not a scandal. It is how knowledge works.

Public funding of elections has a different flaw. Money in politics behaves like water, and this reform is a dam with no spillway. Campaign donations have one virtue: they are reported. You can look them up. Push the money out of campaigns and it does not disappear; it flows into advocacy groups and foundations that report nothing at all.

We would be trading a visible sin for an invisible one, which is rarely a good trade. It is a curious feature of this debate that some of the loudest calls for transparency come from groups that would find it awkward to publish their own donor rolls.

Then term limits. Here, spare a thought for the freshman legislator. He is handed a budget the size of a phone book, written in a dialect no one speaks at home, and told to oversee it. Some members haven’t found their way through it after eight years. This says less about them than about the scale of the thing they were asked to manage.

Now add term limits, and you guarantee a legislature that is always lost. Across the table sits a lobbyist who has worked in policy for 20 years. Our legislator arrived Tuesday, must leave by Thursday, and wonders privately who will employ him Friday. It is not obvious that this arrangement favors the public. The revolving door does not slow down when you shorten the terms. It spins faster.

Conservatives have a slogan of their own. “Drain the swamp” fits on a bumper sticker, and the swamp is real enough. Vast stretches of government are wasteful, and the coziness of agencies and industry is no fantasy. But a slogan is not a plan, and the swamp is never only other people.

A contractor’s self-interest is rational, but that does not make it innocent. A man can want a contract and want it too much.

Shapiro’s three reforms and the conservative’s slogan share a single mistake: each locates corruption somewhere outside the human heart. But corruption is a market. It has buyers, sellers, and a prize. Reforms that rearrange the buyers and sellers leave the prize sitting on the table.

The self-government Americans still feel wistful about existed before there was a permanent government to speak of. At the founding there was no standing army worth the name and almost no one drawing a federal paycheck. Government was something citizens did, not an establishment they petitioned.

Hawaiʻi sits at the opposite pole. Our permanent government is the biggest industry in the Islands — bigger than tourism, bigger than real estate — so the prize for capturing it is enormous.

This prize takes the form of contracts, grants, and loans. It takes the form of state land leased for a dollar a year. It comes as bond-funded infrastructure projects that cost billions. It means exemption from regulation for my company, and red tape choking yours.

And all this is paid for by taxing the people.

Israel was warned about this. When the people demanded a king, Samuel told them what a king does: “He will take the best of your fields and vineyards... he will take a tenth of your grain... and you shall be his slaves.” They wanted the king anyway. We generally do.

The warning was not against having a government. Government has a real but limited role to play. The warning was against handing the king everything and then expecting him to take nothing.

So here is a reform Shapiro didn’t list. Shrink what the state controls, and watch the bribes shrink alongside. A legislator with little to sell attracts few buyers, no matter how his campaign is financed or how long he serves.

Shapiro will be back in form next week. The good ones always recover.

The harder question is for the rest of us. Do we still want this king?

term limits

<title>David Shapiro hits a triple bogey</title>

A freshman legislator is handed a budget the size of a phone book and told to master it. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the cure for corruption is shrinking the prize, not rewriting the rules.

David Shapiro hits a triple bogey

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

 presented its 25th annual Native Hawaiian Convention from July 20-22 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, where more than 2,500 registrants including 300 keiki enjoyed cultural workshops, panel discussions, breakout sessions and more.

The convention, which attracted hundreds of attendees from the Mainland to O

 aimed to focus on community advancement and cultural pride, according to Hawaiian Council’s CEO Kūhio Lewis.

It also marked 133 years since the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom under Queen Lili

uokalani. He noted that for the first time, 133 State of Hawai’i flags were posted around the perimeter of the Blaisdell in remembrance of that day in history.

“Symbolically, it represented our kūpuna that came before us,” he told Aloha State Daily.

Lewis added that three principles — past, present and future — guided its events: Ho

“What I wanted when we conceptualized the convention is [for] Hawaiians to feel a sense of pride,” Lewis said. “I wanted them to feel a sense of elevation. Oftentimes, people perceive us as having limited capacity or in grass shacks, but we’re so much more than that and bring so much more to the table.

“It was really to create a sense of place that everybody felt comfortable; it felt elevated. It felt very Hawaiian, very Hawai

convention. It was the future of where we’re going as a people.”

Walking through the front entrance, attendees were greeted with screens transporting them across the Islands (Note: 

One side of the room was conducting live breakout sessions complete with headsets, while the other led to a shopping experience by 

, which is owned by Hawaiian Council and currently operates the gift shop at 

 locally made products, vintage alohawear and mu

 furniture, or play games on lau hala mats surrounded by tropical plants, hanging ipu, a canoe display, and more.

Sponsor booths and resources were also available on the first and second floors including Lilly Clinical Trials, 

Alzheimer’s Association Hawaiʻi Chapter

, The Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (

“When you have a convention and the convening of out community, you want to make sure the resources that are in place are available and have a space (for attendees),” Lewis said.

According to him, there were approximately 200 staff and volunteers who helped make this yearʻs convention possible.

New this year was the use of headphones, which Hawaiian Council rented from a Mainland company, to conduct simultaneous talk stories in the open space at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

“The headsets were our way of trying to figure out how to utilize the space, so we looked up technology that existed and brought them in from the Mainland,” Lewis told ASD. “You could change the channel and listen to different breakouts or even a station dedicated to Hawaiian music. All the way around, we utilized technology.”

“Everything went really smoothly, even with the headsets, they all loved it. I think it was engaging,” he continued. “There were no major incidents at all.”

Upon reflection, Lewis shared a few of his highlights from the convention like the last-day panel of the four county mayors moderated by Gov. Josh Green; breakout sessions discussing Hawaiian trusts; 

ʻāina and Artificial Intelligence; energy and economic sovereignty; and Indigenous gaming models, among others.

But something Lewis is most proud of is providing space for keiki to learn and grow, while selling their locally made products and showcasing their talent through dance at the 

Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula Competition

, which Hawaiian Council hosted from July 23-25 at the Blaisdell.

“The last day of convention got converted into this massive marketplace where there were about 90 vendors, so all those chairs where the headsets were got put away and kids were selling out of their products,” Lewis said, adding that there were “a lot of innovation and cultural” items for sale such as jewelry, food and drink 

— and even a booth for pets and animals.

“The next generation is what our focus needs to be on. Living in the moment only gets you so far but by investing in the next generation — whether they

’re entrepreneurs, or practitioners, CEOs, leaders 

’re all aspiring to go somewhere. We have a responsibility to help support them. All of us were supported at some point along our journey, so it was important to me that we use the convention help that upcoming generation.”

The spirit of aloha, he says, was displayed with a special exhibit called 

the “Executive Closet,” where local CEOs donated their wardrobe for kids entering the workforce.

“We collected over 600 shirts and dresses from Sig Zane, Manaola, Reyn Spooner, etc., and we sold them for $20 to the next generation of kids. They walked away with designer clothes for $20, and so, it was cool because the next day, I would somebody running around with my (old) shirt. Everybody put in to help the next generation.”

He said that the keiki hula competition “is more than hula. It’s leadership development.”

“Those kids are going to be leaders; they’re learning confidence, skills, discipline. They’re learning how to become the next generation of Hawaiian leaders,” he noted, adding that he was inspired by their discipline and focus.

Looking ahead, Hawaiian Council plans to debrief from the eventful week and continue to solicit feedback via its attendee surveys. It will look to continue celebrating its 25th year with a “birthday party for the organization later this month,” per Lewis.

He teased that Maui may be the next host site for the Native Hawaiian Convention in 2027, though, planning for next year’s convention and hula festival likely won’t start until next month. The convention was last held in Maui in 2023, 

according to the organization’s 2023-2024 annual report

Hawaiian Council’s mission is “to enhance the cultural, economic, political and community development of Native Hawaiians.” The nonprofit organization also operates a loan fund, delivers capacity building services and fosters leadership development, among other programming. 

For more information about Hawaiian Council, 

. Interested in more local opportunities for keiki? Check out 

Native Hawaiian Conference 2026

<title>‘Past, present and future’: Hawaiian Council’s Native Hawaiian Convention and keiki hula…</title>

Aloha State Daily recently attended the Native Hawaiian Convention hosted by Hawaiian Council on Oʻahu. The organization’s CEO Kūhio Lewis shares highlights from the events, which this year included new technology and opportunities for keiki to gain confidence by showcasing dance and selling their locally made products.

‘Past, present and future’: Hawaiian Council’s Native Hawaiian Convention and keiki hula competition focused on next generation of ʻŌiwi leaders

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Business & Tourism

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, Mac and Angie Schwenke started brainstorming ideas to generate income for their family. Angie had been furloughed from her job, Mac recalls, and the husband-and-wife team resorted to creating something they had done for years.

“We made these meat pies years ago — before we started thinking about selling them,” he says. “When Covid hit, we were struggling; my wife was furloughed and I got really sick. We had no intentions of starting a business, but Covid affected work stability. We had to look for other means to generate income for our family, so we began to sell meat pies.”

Mac and Angie started out by selling meat pies from their home in 

. The savory meat pies — complete with buttery, flaky, golden-brown crusts — soon became popular and demand increased. The Schwenkes — who named their business 

 — opened their first location as a trailer in 

“The name Kiwi Korner came about because we (Angie and I) are both Kiwis from New Zealand,” Mac says. “The ‘Korner’ came from our 

officially opened in 2024. Although this location officially opened two years ago, the business has baked its meat pies out of this kitchen from the beginning.

Meat pies, which cost $12 each, come with fillings like bacon and egg, pepper steak, butter chicken, minced and cheese, chicken curry and veggie. 

“The minced and cheese features ground beef,” explains business owner Angie Schwenke. “Our lupulu flavor has corned beef, luau leaf, coconut milk and sweet potato.”

The minced meat and cheese and steak and cheese are the two most popular flavors, according to Mac.

“I’m a ground beef kind of person,” he says. “The lupulu flavor is unique; it’s almost like a Polynesian dish in a pie. Once that flavor came out, a lot of people seemed to like it.

“(When starting this business) we were looking for different flavors we thought people might like,” he adds.

The mince and cheese pie features ground beef, American cheddar and dark gravy in a flaky pastry. The chicken and veggie is like a chicken pot pie, as the filling includes chicken breast, onions, carrots and celery.

Meat pies are made fresh daily, according to Mac. It takes each batch about 20 minutes to bake in the oven. 

“People are coming here from all over the Island now; people are tasting it and realizing it’s something unique,” he says. “As far as we know, we’re the only ones that sell authentic New Zealand meat pies.

“Meat pies are very popular in New Zealand,” he adds. “It’s good as grab and go; people love a simple pie.”

trailer features a more limited menu, but still offers the most popular pies. Customers can find a more extensive selection of meat pies and other baked goods at The Kiwi Korner’s Hauʻula bakery.

If customers want to save their meat pies for later, Mac recommends keeping the pies in the refrigerator for five to six days, or storing them in the freezer.

“Warm them up in the oven; don’t put them in the microwave because the crust will get soggy,” he says. “We have people that come here and want to take the pies to the Mainland. If that’s the case, we can freeze it for them and pack it up; it’s frozen already and they can take it.”

The bakery also offers a variety of desserts, including cream puffs, cinnamon rolls, lilikoʻi bundt cakes and banana bread. The cream puffs — which are filled with whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate and topped with confectioner’s sugar — is the most popular treat, according to Mac.

If customers want to get a specific flavor, it’s recommended to visit the bakery early, as the business can sell out by 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. Saturdays are the busiest days, according to Mac, who says they make sure to have extra products.

“We’re nothing without our customers,” Mac says. “We appreciate those who have come out. People have been asking us to start selling in Kaneohe, town and the west side … we’re just a small family business, looking for more ways to serve customers. We want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who comes out; they drive a long way for meat pies.”

bakery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until sold out) on Mondays and Tuesdays and from Thursdays to Saturdays. Its 

trailer is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and Thursdays to Saturdays. Both locations are closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until sold out Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursdays to Saturdays

stores are closed on Wednesdays and Sundays

The Kiwi Korner owners 072326

<title>The Kiwi Korner offers authentic meat pies</title>

Mac and Angie Schwenke — who are from New Zealand — starting selling meat pies for extra income during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Now, five years later, their Kiwi Koner business has two locations and features meat pies in flavors like pepper steak, steak and cheese, chicken curry and more.

The Kiwi Korner offers authentic meat pies

[{"type":"text","text":"Kam Bowl is now open in Pearl City."}]

The restaurant opened in Times Square Shopping Center, in the former space of IHOP. The eatery 

 and re-opened in July under new ownership and under a new name, Aliʻi Diner.

At the new Pearl City restaurant, customers can expect the same signature dishes Kam Bowl was known for according to co-owner Ryder Yoshida, who says the menu is currently limited to the most popular dishes.

“It’s smaller and more simple,” Yoshida says. “We’re concentrating on getting the stuff people like before adding more things.”

Kam Bowl Pearl City did some renovations to the restaurant’s interior, such as adding new booths for seating.

“The kitchen was pretty much empty; we had to re-do the whole kitchen,” he says. “The hard part about it is the restaurant is big and the kitchen area to prepare food is small, compared to the Kalihi location.”

The menu features dishes like the eatery’s famous oxtail soup ($24.95), hamburger steak ($18.95), loco moco ($18.95) and Japanese breakfast ($18.95). The latter includes miso soup, toss salad, two eggs and a choice of mahi or salmon.

The restaurant now uses wagyu beef to make its hamburger patties, according to Yoshida.

“This is the first time we’re using wagyu beef,” he says. “We’re trying to keep prices reasonable.”

Dishes like hotcakes and sweet bread French toast are available from 7 to 11 a.m. Many plate lunch-style entrees come with white rice and a choice of toss or mac salad.

On the eatery’s opening day — Aug. 1 — regular customers from Kam Bowl’s Kalihi location were eagerly eating breakfast. Yoshida encourages diners to check out the new space.

“I was sitting in here before we opened, and people would ask, ‘Are you guys open yet?’” he says. “I kept on saying, ‘Pretty soon, pretty soon.’ Just come and try our food.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Kam Bowl Pearl City is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m."}]

98-1264 Kaahumanu St. Ste. B03, Pearl City

Kam Bowl Pearl City owner 080126

<title>Kam Bowl is open in Pearl City</title>

The eatery is now open in Times Square Shopping Center, in the former space of IHOP. Customers can look forward to signature dishes like oxtail soup, loco moco, hamburger steak and more.

Daily Smile: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026

ASD Staff

Reporter

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Daily Smile: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026

Authors

ASD Staff

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