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ASD Staff

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Uhhhhh, what do I do?"}]

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<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026</title>

Uhhhhh, what do I do?

Daily Smile: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026

Ray Tsuchiyama

Business & Tourism

Columnists

During my two decades in Japan, every summer I traveled to Honolulu for our family vacation. After the flight from Tokyo, I would drive on Nimitz Highway, looking at miles of rusting warehouses and used-car lots, along with hundreds of single-wall homes and walk-up apartment buildings. And on every trip, I would ponder: Why hasn't anything changed since I first moved to Kalihi a few years after Statehood?

When I moved to Tokyo in 1991, I saw acres of old buildings and tiny streets in the middle of a vast metropolis. One by one, I witnessed hundreds of family-owned parcels assembled and redeveloped into projects such as Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown and, more recently, Azabudai Hills.

The contrast was staggering: old Tokyo residential neighborhoods becoming new mixed-use districts with retail, restaurants, entertainment, hotels and, most importantly, new housing.

I was witnessing a different development process.

Why didn't Hawaiʻi develop an equivalent process?

During my Hawaiʻi visits, over lunch with friends at Bishop Street law and banking firms, the conversation would return again and again to what they regarded as the Holy Grail of Hawaiʻi's economic discussion:

In hindsight, perhaps these questions started from the wrong place.

Of course, tourism is the obvious economic engine. But Hawaiʻi also has generationally accumulated private wealth, much of it embedded in real estate — which is a role rarely discussed in Hawaiʻi’s economy.

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

Much of this wealth is invisible in conventional economic-development discussions.

Hawaiʻi has two economies: the visible economy of visitors and the invisible economy of accumulated local capital.

Yet being “invisible” does not mean that Hawaiʻi families are necessarily poor in wealth. Instead, they are often heavily concentrated in one form of wealth: land and real estate.

Compare that with wealthy families in larger Mainland economies or internationally connected regions. Many have diversified their fortunes into operating businesses that produce revenues well beyond their home markets — like consumer or food products.

A family business in California or New York can build factories, distribution networks or brands that sell around the world. A small country or region does not necessarily have to be a limitation.

Switzerland is an instructive example. With a population of only about nine million — roughly nine Hawaiʻis —globally recognized Swiss firms like UBS, Rolex and Novartis remind us that the size of a domestic market does not determine the potential scale of a business.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Hawaiʻi's challenge has been different."}]

Generations of Hawaiʻi families accumulated wealth primarily through land and real estate. That created long-term wealth, but it also created concentration.

A $50 million property portfolio is not the same thing as $50 million in cash, or a global operating company generating $50 million in annual revenue.

That distinction becomes especially important when a family owns a valuable property but needs capital to improve it.

Selling the property may conflict with family legacy, stewardship, future generations, emotional attachment, and long-term appreciation.

I recall sitting in the Castle & Cooke boardroom in the early 1980s and listening to the CEO discuss how the company owned thousands of acres of land but had difficulty finding the capital to develop it to its “highest and best use.”

If a major Hawaiʻi landowner with institutional relationships and access to Mainland credit lines could struggle to finance development, what happens to a family that owns a single Waikīkī retail property?

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The issues are not theoretical."}]

One family member wants to renovate the building. Another wants a distribution. Someone else wants to buy a house.

These are not abstract questions of operations or return on investment. They are real family decisions being made today in Nu‘uanu, Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Kai and communities throughout the Islands.

The challenge for the next generation of Hawaiʻi families may not be creating wealth.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"It may be learning how to steward it."}]

The founder's philosophy — “Never sell the land” — worked remarkably well for a generation. Land provided security, income, appreciation, and family continuity.

But what happens when the founder is gone and the property passes to five children, 12 grandchildren and eventually 30 beneficiaries?

The circumstances change: multiple heirs, fragmented ownership, increasingly complex properties, capital requirements, redevelopment opportunities, and housing and community pressures.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"So the question evolves."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Not: Should we sell?"}]

But: How can we make the asset more productive while preserving long-term family ownership?

How do we responsibly deploy what we have for the next generation?

Perhaps the next evolution is to think of family land not simply as an asset to hold, but as a form of Neighborhood Capital — capital capable of participating in the long-term development of the communities around it.

That brings me back to my two-decade frustration at the start of every Hawaiʻi vacation.

What happens when Hawaiʻi's greatest untapped economic asset is not the monthly visitor count but what already exists in family balance sheets across the Islands?

Most importantly, what could Neighborhood Capital mean for Kalihi-Pālama, a historically overlooked community strategically sited between the airport and Waikīkī, Hawaiʻi's economic engine?

If the capital and the land are already here, why aren't we seeing more large-scale, locally rooted development?

Perhaps Hawaiʻi does not have a shortage of capital, land, or expertise.

What it may lack is a process for bringing them together — patiently, professionally and at a neighborhood scale.

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

This is the inaugural column in Ray Tsuchiyama’s series exploring one central question: How does Hawai‘i use the wealth and land it already has to create its next economic future? He can be reached at 

Oahu neighborhoods homes i Stock

<title>Hawaiʻi’s next billion-dollar industry is not tourism — it is capital stewardship</title>

Everyday people in Hawai‘i are, collectively, sitting on a vast source of wealth, mainly real estate. As Guild Consulting's real estate and finance expert Ray Tsuchiyama explains, the Islands' next big challenge — and opportunity — could be putting this wealth to work at the neighborhood level for positive change.

Hawaiʻi’s next billion-dollar industry is not tourism — it is capital stewardship

De Soto 2025

DeSoto Brown

Hawai‘i History

There was a time when neon signs were all over the place in Honolulu, and indeed pretty much all over the world. Today they are rare to nearly nonexistent, and they mostly evoke memories of the middle decades of the 20th century. What is neon? What made it popular, and why did it go away?

First, scientifically, neon is a rare gas which is naturally present in a small amount in earth’s atmosphere; it was first identified as an element in 1898. A French inventor, Georges Claude, discovered that if pure neon gas enclosed in an airtight glass enclosure was electrified, it would give off a bright orange-red glow. In 1912 Claude’s company, using this technology, began manufacturing the first neon advertising signs. (Although known just as “neon signs” they did, in fact, use other gases as well to produce different colors.) After coming into use in France, the first such electric signs were displayed in the USA in the early 1920s (said to specifically have been by a Los Angeles car dealership in 1923), and Americans immediately took to these amazing and striking new lights that soon would dramatically alter downtown streets by night.

Initially, the Claude Neon company registered patents in the United States for specific processes that they used in their manufacturing process. From this fact they implied that they alone were the only authorized makers of neon signs and that all competitors were potentially in legal violation of their patents. In Honolulu, as neon was first promoted to customers in 1928-1929, two competing sign companies (with confusingly similar names) that represented two manufacturers mildly battled about this in their ads. The Electric Shop, licensed by Claude Neon through a California company, stated the former “controls the neon sign patents in America” and that customers must “Beware of Imitations.” Meanwhile the Electric Supply Company, agent for QRS Neon, said it would protect customers from claims of patent infringement if any such arose.

The Electric Shop was the first to offer neon signs in Hawaii, but under cumbersome restrictions. Such signs were not sold to customers but only could be leased for three years, requiring monthly payments, with the option to extend the lease at half price after that. Meanwhile the Electric Supply Co. boasted that it sold signs outright, which probably was more attractive to buyers. The Electric Shop started things off in a big way in February 1928 by installing 33 neon signs on both Standard Oil gas stations (13 of them) and Shell stations (20 out of the 88 then on O‘ahu). The latter were said to “sparkle with beautiful Neon signs by night” in a newspaper ad on May 1, 1928. By July of the following year, some of the Honolulu businesses with neon included the Benson Smith Drug Store, Manufacturer’s Shoes, Hub Clothing, Henry May & Co. groceries, and two of the Consolidated Amusements movie theaters. By the 1930s, the latter would be adding significant amounts of neon to their theaters’ marquees and facades.

Into the 1960s, neon would be a growth industry locally. For sign companies, neon could be financially lucrative since the fragile glass tubes that created the colorful glows required constant care and maintenance. Not only could these be broken, either by mistake or intentionally by vandals, they also tended to gradually flicker or go out completely through damaged electrical connections. Signs that blinked in successive patterns would eventually go out of whack as well. And since neon was almost always mounted high up on poles or the fronts of buildings, intentionally out of reach of the public, servicing it required climbing ladders or using other mechanical means of getting to it.

All this trouble meant that customers increasingly began to choose cheaper and less problematic signs made from plastic panels illuminated from behind by fluorescent light bulbs. And as these replaced neon, the exacting technique of bending the thin glass tubes into the required shapes of letters or other designs by holding them over a very hot flame like a bunsen burner was gradually lost by the experts who once had done this work.

During the 1930s neon was mostly perceived as being a colorful and lively part of urban areas, but by the late 1940s its reputation began to slip. In detective novels and Hollywood’s famous “film noir” crime dramas, neon instead began to symbolize the sleazy parts of cities where dangerous things happened and bad guys ran wild. In Hawaii specifically, neon began to be criticized in the 1950s. Don Beachcomber, restauranteur and eventual developer of the International Market Place, advocated that all neon be banished from Waikīkī since Kalākaua Avenue was “already taking on the aspects of any mainland street at night.” A visiting ad agency executive from Minnesota warned “... for heaven’s sake, don’t make [Hawai‘i] a neon paradise and over-commercialize it." A visitor from Connecticut wrote in a newspaper letter in 1956: “Everywhere neon signs! What has happened to the people of Hawai‘i that such desecration is permitted?” But at the same time a spokesman for a group of neon dealers countered that such signs “tend to aid crime prevention” (??) and that “many tourists have inquired why Honolulu doesn’t have huge sign displays like New York’s Times Square or Florida’s Miami Beach.” (Dubious).

In the end, it wasn’t a bad reputation that brought neon’s reign to an end; it was just cost, fragility and changing technology. A revival of interest and appreciation for neon began in the 1970s but this of itself was not enough to keep its use at the level of decades past. The incredibly specialized training necessary to bend the glass tubing into complex shapes stopped and those capable of doing it died off, and eventually LEDs replaced it with equally bright colors and even more changing patterns. While neon will, it’s hoped, always survive in some fashion, never again will Hawaiian skies be as widely lit by its glow as in the 20th century.

1 Neon montage ca 55 16x9

<title>Neon, its birth and death in Hawai‘i</title>

Bright, colorful neon signs debuted in the Islands nearly a century ago, with literal Hollywood glamor — the Waikīkī, Kūhiō and other movie palaces used them. Restaurants and small businesses of all kinds went for neon, too. Over time, they became associated with dive bars and the bad side of town. ASD history writer DeSoto Brown revisits and the highs and lows of this distinctly 20th-century form of advertising.

Neon, its birth and death in Hawai‘i

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Tom Yamachika

Viewpoints

Government & Politics

This week, I wanted to share some inspiration I found in 

Aloha State Daily columnist Sterling Higa

Hawai‘i Millionaire Tax: Why the New 13% Bracket Won’t Be the Last

Countless people and organizations have implored lawmakers to make “the wealthy” pay their “fair share.” Of course, neither “the wealthy” nor “fair share” are defined. Only the sentiment is tangible.

Higa points to the recent enactment of the millionaires’ 13% tax bracket as evidence of the sentiment. It also appears in “

Empty Homes Tax: Oʻahu Voters Blocked from Weighing In

,” where Civil Beat seems to be disappointed because the Honolulu Charter Commission failed to advance an empty homes tax proposal to the November ballot despite obvious difficulties in implementation, constitutional issues and resistance within the City Council. 

The Bible warns in the Tenth Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet.” Envy is identified as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. “Envy is the one vice that never announces itself,” Higa writes. “Pride struts and greed hoards, but envy always arrives dressed as justice. A tax on millionaires feels like fairness.” 

He has a bigger house than I, or a better car, or a boat where I don’t. I can’t do much about it by myself, but government can cut him down to size with the power of taxation. Taxation, however, is not supposed to be about retribution. “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Government provides services to society and the costs are spread among us. Government also can collect fines and penalties to punish misconduct, but earning money and being wealthy, in our system of capitalism, are perfectly legal.

The other scary thing about taxation derived from envy is that the target of the envy can and does shift over time. Higa writes, “Envy is fed like a furnace. Social media puts every lifestyle on earth in every pocket in Hawaiʻi, heaping the coal into the flames.  Envy becomes a mood — a low, constant awareness that somebody, somewhere, has the kitchen or the vacation or the body you were denied. A mood cannot be satisfied, but it can be channeled, and it is channeled toward whatever target happens to be within reach.”

It may be a millionaire’s tax today. Next year, or maybe the year afterward, it could change to a tax on half a million because those people are “wealthy.” (Or the million won’t be worth as much as it is this year, due to inflation.) The envious may also want to dial up the pain. Maybe a 13% tax is not sufficient to be a “fair share.” Would 14%, 15%, or 20% be fairer? We will certainly see legislative proposals to move either or both levers.

As Higa writes, “Hawaiʻi already carries one of the heaviest state-and-local tax burdens in the country. The needy are not much better off for it. The burden of our state shows up in the rent, in the grocery bill, in the exodus of local families headed to Las Vegas. A man who can imagine no way to feed a widow except by voting to tax his neighbor has not discovered compassion. He has misplaced his imagination, and it is worth asking where he lost it.”

“Envy had finished its work in Cain long before he lifted his hand. It hollowed him first.  It always hollows the envier first, depriving him of the blessings he has by making them invisible.”

“The exit is not a cleverer tax or a purer market.  It is contentment — the settled conviction of having received more than one was owed. It frees a man to look at his neighbor’s good fortune and simply be glad.”

[{"type":"text","text":"We hope that lawmakers and the rest of us alike can enjoy this freedom."}]

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<title>Community Voices: Taxation of Envy</title>

Local media points to the recent enactment of the millionaires’ 13% tax bracket as evidence of lawmakers making “the wealthy” pay their “fair share.” It may be a millionaire’s tax today, Tom Yamachika argues; however, next year and beyond, it could change to a tax on half a million because those people are “wealthy.”

Community Voices: Taxation of Envy

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Michael Brestovansky

WEB square crop Hayley Lehman Headshot RGZ1636

Haley Lehman

Aloha Spirit

 City and County of Honolulu officials urge residents to shelter in place as Hurricane Lala buffets the state.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the worst impacts of the storm on O’ahu are expected to begin around 8:30 p.m. tonight, and will last for the next 12-16 hours. On the other hand, he said, within 24 hours, the worst of the storm should have passed. 

In the meantime, residents are urged to stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel. 

Transit Director Jon Nouchi said TheBus will cease new operations beginning 8:30 p.m., as a precaution against unexpected road closures or bus rollovers caused by heavy winds. Buses en route at 8:30 p.m. will complete their routes and allow passengers to reach their destinations, but will not begin subsequent routes.

Nouchi said bus services will resume when the city evaluates the roads are safe.

If residents must leave their homes or are in a vulnerable location, they are advised to seek shelter at the homes of friends or family or at their workplaces. While eight shelters remain open throughout O’ahu, Randy Collins, director of the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management, said they are not rated for high winds and are not equipped with emergency supplies or sufficient staff.

"We encourage you to leave the space at the refuge areas for those that truly don’t have another place to go, and that way we can save those valuable resources for the people that need them the most,” Collins said. 

Shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday, Collins said there were 99 people in O’ahu shelters, including homeless residents of the city’s Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons facility. On Maui County, 40 people were reportedly in shelters as of about 4:30 p.m.

Honolulu Fire Chief Sheldon Hao said HFD has responded to 40 storm-related calls Saturday, primarily involving torn-off roofs or fallen trees. HFD, the Honolulu Police Department and other agencies including the National Guard have vehicles and resources positioned around the island to respond to emergencies as necessary.

Blangiardi emphasized that, unlike the Kona Low storms in March, “we know what to expect,” and “we’re not going to be surprised by Mother Nature.”

So far, only one person on O’ahu has reported a storm-related injury. Jim Ireland, director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, said an elderly woman reported being knocked off her feet by a strong gust of wind, but added that her injuries were not serious.

On the other hand, Hao said that a hiker was reportedly stranded on the Lulumahu Falls Trail. Shortly after 6 p.m., he said, rescue workers were ascertaining how to reach the hiker.

Hawaiian Electric announced that, as of 3 p.m. on Saturday, about 44,000 customers statewide were without power. The bulk of those outages — about 32,300 — were on Hawai’i Island, where wind gusts above 70 mph have been recorded. On O’ahu, about 8,400 customers were without power Saturday afternoon, while about 3,300 Maui customers were in an outage as well.

Hawaiian Electric also announced at the same time that it has restored power to more than 42,000 customers on Saturday, but as the storm progresses, customers may experience multiple outages and restorations over time.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the storm had dropped up to 20 inches of rain in certain parts of the Big Island. Flash flood warnings are in effect for East Hawai’i until at least 10 p.m. Flood watches are in effect on all islands through at least Sunday night.

 More than 4,000 homes on Hawai’i Island lost power Saturday morning as Hurricane Lala approaches the state.

Hawaiian Electric announced that about 4,050 customers on the island, largely in Puna, North and South Kohala, and South Hilo were without power as of 7 a.m. Meanwhile, about 160 customers in Upcountry Maui and about 100 in the Hawai’i Kai area of O’ahu were also without power at the same time.

Hawaiian Electric staff are addressing the outages, but customers are advised to plan for possible extended outages as the storm progresses. Crews are standing ready to begin damage assessments once it is safe to do so.

The City and County of Honolulu opened eight hurricane refuge centers today at school facilities around the island: Blanche Pope, Kahuku and Nānākuli elementary schools and Castle, Kapolei, Mililani, Moanalua and Roosevelt high schools will remain open as shelters “as conditions warrant.”

All refuge shelters are pet-friendly, but people should bring their own food, water, medications and other supplies whenever possible.

The city relocated 63 residents of the Homeless Outreach and Navigation for the Unsheltered program to the Kapolei High School shelter. Tents at the HONU site are being disassembled until storm conditions abate.

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply has advised residents to conserve water throughout the storm in case of power outages. According to a city announcement, the water system’s pumps rely on electricity to operate, so conservation can maintain reservoir levels and reduce system demand during an outage.

Residents are also urged to avoid hazardous ocean conditions, as lifeguards in Waikīkī and Ala Moana conducted 95 rescues on Friday alone. High surf warnings remain in effect for the windward shores of all islands at least until 6 a.m. Sunday.

All city parks and recreational facilities will close at 6 p.m. until further notice, including for permitted activities such as overnight camping. The city will assess on Sunday when it might be safe to reopen them. 

 "Damaging hurricane-force winds are expected on the Big Island of Hawai‘i later today, with the strongest wind gusts expected in areas of higher terrain," reports the 

 as it tracks Tropical Storm Lala. "Tropical-storm-force winds are already beginning on the Big Island, and preparations should now be complete. Tropical-storm-force wind gusts are also beginning across portions of the smaller islands and should continue through Sunday."

CPHC said that ﻿﻿﻿the Hawai‘i Island will see increasingly heavy rainfall this morning, which will then spread west across the Islands through the weekend.

"This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," said CPHC. "﻿﻿﻿Large and dangerous waves are expected across portions of the Hawaiian Islands this weekend. Surf is already building along east-facing shores and will increase along exposed southern shores as Lala passes through the region. This heavy surf may cause localized coastal flooding and significant beach erosion."

Read on for the latest updates, including reports on official preparations underway.

As of 5 p.m. on Friday, Tropical Storm Lala is approximately 235 miles east south-east of South Point, Hawaiʻi and 440 miles southeast of Honolulu with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour.

Gov. Josh Green called Lala an “enormous storm” during a press conference Friday. 

“Let’s just say this: it’s going to be a heck of a lot of wind and water."

“Just be very safe throughout this storm,” Green said. “We can repair roads, we can replace cars, we can fix schools but it’s hard for us if we lose one of the people we love.”

The storm is currently moving at 14 miles per hour and is anticipated to reach Hawaiʻi Island Saturday morning and Oʻahu Saturday evening.

The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for the counties of Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi on Friday. Hawaiʻi Island remains under a hurricane warning as the storm is expected to become a category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches the island, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds that may cause flooding and landslides.

NWS Meteorologist John Bravender said that Lala is on track to reach just south of Hawaiʻi Island but it’s uncertain how the storm will interact with its terrain.

Residents are encouraged to review their emergency plan, secure outdoor items, charge electronic devices and have enough food, water and supplies. 

Hawaiʻi Department of Defense Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan said Friday that the Hawaiʻi National Guard is prepared to support county and state emergency response efforts with the activation of 180 Hawaiʻi National Guard personnel across the state and military high-yield vehicles. The Coast Guard is prepared to conduct search and rescue efforts, if needed.

According to Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda, the last hurricane that hit Hawaiʻi Island was in 1871. Hurricane Iselle peaked in the Pacific before it was downgraded to a strong tropical storm in August 2014.

Alameda encouraged Hawaiʻi Island residents to hunker down and stay off the roads.

City and County of Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at a press conference Friday that the City is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

“The City is prepared. Now we need you to be prepared, too,” he said. “We can’t control the storm necessarily, but we can prepare for it.”

NWS estimates that the storm will bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to the Leeward side of Oʻahu, 4 to 6 inches of rain to the Windward side and 6 to 8 inches of rain in mountainous regions.

The City will open a non-emergency call center at 7 a.m. on Saturday, which can be reached at 808-723-8960. Residents are urged call 911 for all emergencies. 

At the Friday press conference, Blangiardi called the Kona Low storms in March a “reality check” and said that the City and County of Honolulu has been informed on how to prepare and respond to future storms.

According to Honolulu Police Department Major Cliff Ramson, commander of the major events division, the 

City and County departments hosted their own emergency centers during natural disasters like the Kona lows. The Joint Operations Center was established during the Kona Low storms to coordinate efforts and deploy first responders, and for this storm, the city activated the Joint Operations Center Friday morning.

“It’s an all hands on deck, just getting all the right people in the room together to identify and solve problems as they arise and direct resources as they’re most needed,” he said.

Police Chief David Lazar added that the police department is being proactive and is ready to deploy.

“We also want to tell the public that if anyone thinks they can go out and commit a crime during this time, they better think different,” he said.

Ocean Safety Chief Kurt Lager said that the surf will change quickly, with waves of up to 8 to 12 feet.

Department of Transportation Services Director Roger Morton said Friday that the department is not predicting any road closures, but the department will be monitoring conditions island-wide. He encouraged residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to never drive through standing water.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the City and County of Honolulu Department of Facilities Maintenance has been preparing for the storm by clearing streams and bridges and opening stream mouths. Dam owners were directed by the state to inspect their facilities and dams have been secured, according to Green.

The Community Outreach Response and Engagement team has been engaging with the houseless populations and offering shelter with a focus on areas near bridges and streams, according to Honolulu Emergency Services Department Director Jim Ireland.

Hawaiʻi airports remain open. As of Friday afternoon, Hawaiian Airlines canceled 23 flights. 

Zippyʻs Restaurants has temporarily closed its Hilo location starting at 6 p.m. Friday through Saturday. 

State offices on Hawaiʻi Island and Maui will be closed over the weekend.

On Oʻahu, Capitol Modern will be closed Saturday and the Honolulu Museum of Art will be closed Sunday.

In advance of the storm, Hawaiian Electric "has increased 24/7 staffing and additional personnel" on Hawaiʻi Island, per a news release from the company at 7:30 p.m. "

Crews are at-the-ready in Hilo, Kona and Waimea, and the company is prepared to deploy more crews from other islands, as needed," Hawaiian Electric stated.

The City and County of Honolulu will open eight shelters in partnership with the American Red Cross on Oʻahu at 8 a.m. Saturday, which will remain open as conditions warrant. The shelters include Blanche Pope Elementary School, Castle High School, Kahuku Elementary School, Kapolei High School, Mililani High School, Moanalua High School, Nānākuli Elementary School and Roosevelt High School. All locations are pet friendly. Residents are encouraged to bring their own food, water, medicine and necessary pet supply.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Education is closing all campuses and offices on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokai at 5:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. All Oʻahu and Kauaʻi campuses and offices will be closed Saturday and Sunday. The cancelations include extracurricular activities, athletics and community uses of school facilities. Public schools statewide are scheduled to resume normal operations on Monday, Aug. 17.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"UPDATE, AUG. 14, 11:30 A.M.: "}]

As of 8 a.m. Friday, Tropical Storm Lala is approximately 365 miles east south-east of Hilo and 580 miles east south-east of Honolulu. Tropical Storm Lala is expected to become a hurricane as it approaches Hawaiʻi Island. The storm may produce rainfall of 8 to 12 inches across Maui and Hawaiʻi Island and 4 to 6 inches across the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. 

The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning for Hawaiʻi Island from 6 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Sunday. The storm may develop into a category 1 or category 2 hurricane with the potential for winds of 74 to 110 miles per hour by the time it reaches Hawaiʻi Island.

Maui County is under a tropical storm warning from 6 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Sunday. Oʻahu is under a tropical storm watch from 6 p.m. Saturday through 6 p.m. Sunday. 

Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda signed an emergency proclamation Friday morning.

This is a quickly evolving situation and we urge our residents to act now to prepare for the storm by checking your emergency supplies, securing your property, and contacting neighbors who may need assistance,” Alameda said in a news release Friday. “Readiness requires all of us, and with a storm this close, a slight change in its track can greatly enhance rain and wind hazards across the island. We encourage everyone to stay safe, stay connected and be prepared to hunker down and stay home during severe weather.” 

Hawaiʻi County will open shelters at 6 p.m. Friday. Residents should bring their own food, water and medicine. The shelters include Ikuo Hisaoka Gymnasium, Waikoloa Elementary School cafeteria, Kahilu Town Hall, Honokaʻa Gym, Laupāhoehoe Public Charter School band room, Waiākea High School gym, Keaʻau Armory, Pāhoa Neighborhood Facility, Robert N. Herkes Gym, Nāʻālehu Elementary School gym, Kealakehe High School gym and Yano Hall.

Hawaiʻi County closed all solid waste facilities and camping permits and cancelled the Hawaiʻi Island Agrifood Summit in Honokaʻa and Waimea, the Hulu Street Evacuation Drill in Waikoloa and the Island Showdown at Hilo Drag Strip. All Hawaiʻi Island parks and solid waste facilities will be closed Saturday.

Hele-On Kakoʻo Paratransit Services will halt at 8 p.m. Friday and all fixed route Hele-On and Paratransit Services are cancelled for Saturday and Sunday.

Hawaiʻi County residents can request sandbags from the Department of Public Works at 

The University of Hawaʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College campus, office and off-campus locations will be closed Saturday and Sunday. All events are cancelled this weekend. Normal operations are scheduled to return Monday.

The City and County of Honolulu activated its Emergency Operations Center and the Honolulu Police Department’s Joint Operations Center Friday morning to bring together City departments, first responders and emergency management personnel. A 12-member team from South Carolina State Fire and the Palmetto Incident Support team will arrive on Oʻahu Friday to provide additional emergency management support.

The Department of Facility Maintenance will open stream mouths Friday evening at Pōkaʻi Bay and ʻUlehawa.

Residents of the City's Homeless Outreach and Navigation for the Unsheltered program will be relocated to Kapolei High School gymnasium Saturday morning.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a news release Friday morning, “We have spent the entire week preparing our City, our first responders and our critical infrastructure for this storm, and with Oʻahu now under a Tropical Storm Watch, we are moving into full operational readiness. I am asking everyone to finish your preparations today. Don’t wait for the weather to deteriorate. Stay informed, stay away from dangerous areas, and make sure your family knows what to do if conditions worsen. Check on your neighbors and especially our kūpuna. Our teams are ready, and we will be working around the clock throughout the weekend to keep our community safe."

 forecast Lala to "strengthen and become a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island of Hawai‘i on Saturday. A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the Big Island and a Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for Maui County. Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for O‘ahu and Kaua‘i Counties."

Heavy rains are forecast for Hawai‘i Island today, "spreading westward across the remainder of the island chain during the weekend. This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain."

"Large and dangerous waves, especially on the Big Island, are expected this weekend, with the greatest impacts along exposed windward and southern shores. This prolonged period of heavy surf may cause localized coastal flooding and significant beach erosion."

Tropical Storm Lala is located about 620 miles east south-east of Hilo, Hawaiʻi, and 830 miles east south-east of Honolulu moving west north-west at 10 miles per hour, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Lala is forecasted to be near or just south of Hawaiʻi Island on Saturday and pass south of the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands over the weekend. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 miles per hour.

Tropical Storm Lala is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rainfall across Maui and Hawaiʻi Island this weekend. Rainfall of two to four inches with maximum amounts of 8 inches are expected across the rest of the Hawaiian Islands.

The Emergency Operations Center and Honolulu Police Department's Joint Operations Center will activate at 7 a.m. Friday to bring City and County of Honolulu departments, first responder agencies and emergency management personnel to coordinate operations, monitor conditions and deploy resources as needed. The Community Outreach Response and Engagement will move to 24-hour operations Friday morning.

Rescue operators from the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department will conduct additional patrols along the South Shore starting 7 a.m. Friday through 7:30 p.m. 

City and County of Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi stated in a news release Thursday afternoon, “We have spent this week preparing our City for this storm, and I want everyone on Oʻahu to use the time we have left to make sure they are ready. We still don't know exactly what Lala will bring to our island, and that uncertainty is precisely why we need to remain prepared and vigilant. Finish securing your home, know what your family will do if conditions become dangerous, and stay connected to official information. We are going to continue watching this storm very closely and will be ready to respond.”

The City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation is preparing for severe weather closures as early as Saturday.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is planning parkwide closures ahead of Tropical Storm Lala. 

Mauna Loa summit, Red Hill and Mauna Load Road past Kīpukapuaulu closed by 2 p.m. Thursday. Kīpukapuaulu remains closed due to hazard trees. The Welcome Center, Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association store, Kahuku Unit, all trails and Nāhuku lava tube, tent camping at Nāmakanipaio campground, backcountry sites, Chain of Craters Road and the Crater Rim Drive East will close by noon Friday. Kīlauea Military Camp, Volcano House and the A-frame cabins at Nāmakanipaio will remain open for registered guests only.

Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site will close at 3 p.m. Friday and remain closed Saturday and Sunday. The 54th anniversary event scheduled for Saturday was canceled.

The Makalauna 2026 Gabby Pahinui Celebration at Waikīkī Beach Walk was postponed to Aug. 22. The event timeline and planned activities will remain the same and participating musicians may be updated.

Events at Kapolei Heritage Center were canceled for Saturday and Sunday.

Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency for Hawai’i Thursday as Tropical Storm Lala approaches.

, “Tropical Storm Lala poses a serious threat to our state, particularly Hawaiʻi Island — and we are taking action now to ensure resources are available where they are needed. Our state and county emergency teams are coordinating closely with federal partners. I urge everyone to secure their homes, gather essential supplies, review their family emergency plans and follow updates from trusted official sources. Please take this storm seriously and look out for one another.”

The proclamation activates the Major Disaster Fund, authorizes the Hawaiʻi National Guard if needed and directs state agencies to provide resources for emergency response efforts.

Tropical Storm Lala is forecasted to strengthen as it approaches Hawaiʻi Island.

The National Weather Service issued a hurricane watch for Hawaiʻi Island between 6 p.m. Friday through 6 p.m. Saturday and a tropical storm warning for Hawaiian offshore waters. A high surf advisory was issued early Thursday morning for south facing shores on all Hawaiian Islands through Thursday night. Breaking waves of 8 to 12 feet are expected to make swimming dangerous.

Tropical Storm Lala could bring heavy rainfall of approximately five to 10 inches and flash flooding from late Friday into the weekend.

According to a news release from the City and County of Honolulu, the Department of Facility Maintenance started opening stream mouths at Kapakahi Stream in Kāhala, Muliwai Ditch in Kāhala, Niu Valley Stream and Kuliʻouʻou Stream to improve water flow Thursday morning. Crews are expected to open the Kaʻelepulu stream mouth Thursday between 10 p.m. and midnight. Pōkaiʻi Bay and ʻUlehawa could be added to the stream-mouth opening schedule.

As of Thursday, TheBus, TheHandi-Van and Skyline continue to operate normally, and services could be changed or delayed as weather conditions deteriorate.

Department of Information Technology technicians are securing communications infrastructure, and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation crews are securing construction areas ahead of the storm.

As of Saturday evening, the storm had dropped up to 20 inches of rain in certain parts of the Big Island. Flash flood warnings are in effect for East Hawai’i until at least 10 p.m. Flood watches are in effect on all islands through at least Sunday night.

Daily Smile: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026

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