Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

WEB square crop Hayley Lehman Headshot RGZ1636

Haley Lehman

Square Kady Pascual Headshot RGZ5762

Kady Pascual

ASD Staff Representative Only

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

The woman charged with murder after allegedly fatally shooting a man in Kailua last weekend was turned in by her father the day of the event, according to a Honolulu police report.

Hilinaikailimakualopali Keeno, 24, was charged on Sept. 30 with second-degree murder, carrying a firearm in the commission of a felony and improperly keeping a pistol or revolver. She is being held pending a $1 million bail.

An HPD document — which was submitted on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to the Honolulu Circuit Court to establish probable cause to detain Keeno without a warrant — states that Keeno’s father brought her to the Kailua Police Station less than an hour after 

was declared dead of a gunshot wound to the neck in the Kailua Target parking lot.

The report states that HPD special duty officers, who were working security at the Kailua Fall Festival that day, were called to assist with a group of festivalgoers involved in an argument at about 8:26 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Officers escorted the group out of the festival and watched them head toward the Target parking lot, only to hear another altercation begin among the group minutes later.

During this new altercation, a pop resembling a gunshot was heard, and officers saw two men — one of whom was Keeno’s brother — assaulting a third. Both assailants were placed under arrest for disorderly conduct, while officers discovered Malone on the ground, covered in blood.

[{"type":"text","text":"Malone was declared dead at the scene by 8:43 p.m."}]

At 9:39 p.m., Keeno was brought to the Kailua Police Station by her father, who told police she was involved in the incident and wanted to provide a statement in the presence of her attorney.

According to the HPD report, no interview was conducted with Keeno that night. Subsequently, HPD sought photographs and videos from the public to help piece together the event and identify the shooter.

On Sept. 28, another witness identified Keeno as the shooter, and HPD confirmed that Keeno has one firearm registered in her name, a Sig Sauer P365 handgun.

[{"type":"text","text":"Following this, Keeno was placed under arrest."}]

Keeno’s preliminary hearing, when she will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges, will take place Monday, Oct. 5. She remains in custody.

Hpd 16x9

<title>Woman charged in Kailua shooting turned in by father</title>

Hilinakailimakualopali Keeno faces a $1 million bail for a second-degree murder charge.

Woman charged in Kailua shooting turned in by father

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

’s newest location near the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa opened today. This store marks the 

; it’s on the corner of University Avenue and Dole Street.

The University store — which is about 2,300 square feet — is CU Hawai

i’s second-largest location (behind its 

). The University store will be open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Similar to the Downtown Honolulu store, the University store will feature CU Hawai

i’s ramyun library wall with in-store cookers, exclusive Korean and local snacks, customizable drinks, popular onigiri, and more.

i’s signature DIY smoothie machine and slushy machine. Smoothies come in flavors like strawberry banana, mixed berry, acai and mango banana kale. 

The University store will also feature new, exclusive products that aren’t offered in other CU Hawaiʻi stores, including CU Hawai

i socks and other merch, BTS figurines and Kendama.

To celebrate the University store’s opening, customers can enjoy free onigiri, sandwiches and product giveaways from Oct. 1 to 7. Prizes include CU goodie bags with treats, limited-edition collectible CU characters and more. For examples, customers with student ID can get free onigiri tomorrow, Oct. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or until sold out). On Saturday, Oct. 3, customers will receive a free CU goody bag with any purchase. From Oct. 1 to 7, customers can take advantage of a BOGO musubi offer (buy one, get one free).

[{"type":"text","text":"All giveaways are while supplies last (limit one free item per purchase)."}]

Customers can also take advantage of month-long specials at this location, including $1.99 triangle gimbap and $4.99 katsu sando with fountain drink (or ice cup) combo.

[{"type":"text","text":"Limited customer parking is available at this location."}]

CU Hawaii University blessing 100126

<title>CU Hawaiʻi opens new store by UH Mānoa</title>

The new store — on the corner of University Avenue and Dole Street — is the brand’s fifth location in Hawaiʻi. The University store is CU Hawaiʻi’s second-largest location; to celebrate its opening, customers can look forward to free onigiri, sandwiches and product giveaways from Oct. 1 to 7.

CU Hawaiʻi opens new store by UH Mānoa

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

 plans to move away from the state of Hawai‘i, the LPGA is still sending its best to the Islands. 

The 2026 Lotte Championship, which runs from Oct. 1-4 at Hoakalei Country Club, will feature a bevy of players featured in the 

Jeeno Thitikul, No. 4 Hyo Joo Kim and No. 5 Miyu Yamashita. Thitkul and Kim are in the same group and tee off at 7:22 a.m., while Yamashita tees off at 12:03 p.m.

Though world No. 1 Nelly Korda will not play this week, the Lotte field includes a return for 2021 champion Lydia Ko, one of the biggest names in the sport. Ko, who was born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, ascended into worldwide superstardom when she reached the top spot in the women's rankings at just 17 years old, becoming the youngest player among both men and women to be ranked No. 1. Now 29, Ko enters the tournament with a world ranking of 13.

Among her 23 victories on the LPGA Tour was the 2021 Lotte, which was moved to Kapolei Golf Club. Her 28-under 260 was a tournament record by eight strokes. After finishing in a tie for 18th in the 2022 Lotte, Ko will compete in the Islands for the first time since then. Five years after her first Lotte victory, she believes there's a lot that can be replicated despite playing on a different course. 

"I just remember I played with a lot of freedom and confidence, and I think I could draw on a lot of that, like the mindset of how I was playing then," Ko said during her pre-tournament press conference. "But it is two very different style of golf courses, so it's hard to kind of compare those. But more like kind of the mindset I played with, I think that is something that I could draw not only for this event but the events coming up (for the rest of the season)."

While Ko made history with her unprecedented world ranking at 17 years old, she enters this year's Lotte with an opportunity to earn another milestone in the sport. 

Despite not reaching 30 yet, Ko has accumulated $21.8 million in career earnings. She is $223,228 away from surpassing Annika Sorenstam's mark as the LPGA's all-time money winner, a record that has stood since 2001. 

The 2026 Lotte carries a purse of $3 million, with the winner getting a $450,000 cut. Meanwhile, second place earns $282,976 and third place comes with a payout of $205,279, meaning Ko will need to finish in the top two to surpass Sorenstam this weekend. 

"To be honest, it's really not on my mind," Ko said of the money record. "I mean, Annika had (72) wins, and we are just playing in a very different generation where we're playing for so much more money.

"As golfers, we're very lucky because it's one of those rare things where if we perform, we get rewarded, and not all work, not all careers have that. I'm just very grateful to be in this position and be able to excel at my job and have great payout days. But my career versus Annika, it's so different, and I don't think I'm gonna reach 70 something wins in the time that I'll be playing. Obviously, I want to win as many as I can, and I'm still eager for the trophy more so than the prize money."

As for local golfers in the tournament field, Punahou alumna golfer Allisen Corpuz is the highest ranked player with Hawai‘i ties at 32. Meanwhile, Moanalua alumna and Kapolei Golf Club assistant Lani Luafalealo returns after debuting in the 2025 Lotte. 

Luafalealo shot a 1-under 71 in the first round but ultimately missed the cut. 

"The pressure, the intimidation of the course, the atmosphere, the environment was just totally different from what I was used to," she said on Wednesday. "I just took the competition and the competitiveness from last year, and that's what I learned."

As Ko tees off at the first hole at 11:52 a.m. on Thursday, her presence will be a welcome sight for local golf fans eager to get a glimpse of one of the top names in the sport. In return, she'll compete in a locale she's genuinely fond of. 

"I love coming to Hawai‘i," Ko said. "Not even for a golf tournament. I like coming here for vacation. We were here on a vacation last week. It's been a while since I actually have been to O‘ahu. I went to the Big Island last year for some work and vacay, but I think the people are great. It feels a little bit like New Zealand in parts, and the food is good. I've loved it more as I've gotten older, and I actually met my husband here in Hawai‘i. So, it's kind of become a very special place for us."

Lydia Ko 093026

<title>Global golf star Lydia Ko looks to reach new milestone in Hawai‘i</title>

Ko, the 2021 Lotte champion, looks to replicate her success from five years ago at Hoakalei Country Club and has a chance to make some history in the process.

Global golf star Lydia Ko looks to reach new milestone in Hawai‘i

Government & Politics

Aloha Spirit

State and U.S. flags will be flown at half-staff this weekend in commemoration of former U.S. Rep. Patricia “Pat” Saiki, who died Wednesday at the age of 96.

Saiki was the second woman in Hawai‘i elected to represent the state in Congress — the first being Patsy Mink — as well as the first Republican Hawai‘i Congress member. She reportedly died peacefully in her home in Kāhala, according to the 

, a successor organization to the state’s first teachers’ union, which she founded.

Before her career in politics, the Hilo-born Saiki was a public school teacher at Kaimukī Intermediate School. When her daughter fell ill at school and was taken to the hospital, she was told she could not use school phones for personal business such as checking on her daughter, which led her to form the Teacher’s Chapter of the Hawai‘i Government Employees Association.

Saiki ran for the state House of Representatives in 1968 and won — becoming the first woman to hold the seat — and served through 1974. Following that, she ran for the state Senate, where she served until 1982, when she unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor.

In 1986, she was elected to her U.S. House seat, where she served until 1990 before an unsuccessful U.S. Senate run. That year, then-President George H. W. Bush appointed her to be the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Association, where she served until 1993.

Among her legislative achievements were the establishment of the Kapi‘olani Medical Center’s Sex Abuse Treatment Center, passing reparations for Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans detained in internment camps during World War II, and successfully urging President Bush to halt the use of Kaho‘olawe as a bombing range in 1990.

Later in life, Saiki was chair of the Hawai‘i Republican Party from 2014 to 2015 — during which time the party saw membership rolls triple, according to Gov. Josh Green’s office.

“Pat Saiki’s six decades of public service and her pioneering example for young women and Asian Americans in Hawai

i and across the U.S., combine to form both a lasting, inspiring legacy and a high bar for all of us who serve the public,” Green said Wednesday.

From Friday through Monday morning, U.S. and state flags will be flown at half-staff at all state offices and agencies, as well as Hawai‘i National Guard facilities.

Saiki is survived by four children, Stuart Saiki, Sandra Saiki, Margaret Saiki and Laurie Saiki, as well as numerous grandchildren. Services are pending.

Screenshot 2026 09 30 at 3 43 39 PM 16x9

<title>Former Congresswoman Pat Saiki dead at 96</title>

Flags to fly at half-staff this weekend to honor the state's first Republican delegate

Former Congresswoman Pat Saiki dead at 96

ASD icon blue inverse lighter

ASD Staff

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I have plans tonight, sorry...\""}]

Smile 26 9 30

<title>Daily Smile: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026</title>

"I have plans tonight, sorry..."

Daily Smile: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

The old Restaurant Row was built in 1988, and popular eateries like Studebaker’s and Black Orchid brought crowds to the plaza. As soon as you parked your car and got out, the mouth-watering smell of burgers and steaks overwhelmed your senses. Many of us remember shooting toothpicks through straws into the ceiling at Rose City Diner. We appreciated the assortment of restaurants open late after a night out. If you worked nearby, dinner at the Row was an easy choice.

But the success of Restaurant Row was short-lived as those restaurants, once popular, began closing their doors due to decreased traffic. Some attribute the slowdown to Aloha Tower Marketplace and Chinatown’s First Fridays. But no matter what the reason, we still have our memories.

[{"type":"text","text":"And our ghost stories."}]

Stories of Waterfront Plaza, as it’s now known, begin with the history of the land and what was there long ago. Before the highrises of modern Kaka‘ako were built, this area was part of a coastal landscape of wetlands, fishponds, and salt pans. As Honolulu grew and changed, the place names remind us of what was once there.

Ka‘ākaukukui is an ‘ili, or traditional land division, that was located makai (inland) of Kewalo and west of Kukuluāe‘o. Trails that crossed the region connected Kou (now Honolulu) and Waikīkī. By the time the 20th century rolled about, that landscape had virtually disappeared.

In 1900, the Honolulu Iron Works moved to a block of land at Ka‘ākaukukui. The company had become an important part of Hawaiʻi's sugar industry, manufacturing machinery for sugar mills in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere. At its height, the Iron Works employed approximately 1,500 workers, many of whom lived in Kakaʻako.

As the sugar industry eventually declined, so did the need for the mill parts that the Honolulu Iron Works manufactured. After closing its doors in 1973, its buildings were gradually converted to other uses before being demolished. The final warehouse was torn down in 1982.

In 1985, construction at the former Honolulu Iron Works site uncovered human skeletal remains. The burial pits were found less than three feet below the existing ground surface, within an older sand deposit. Archaeologists associated the burials with Kaʻākaukukui Cemetery, which was said to have been used from the 1700s into the early 1800s.

Today, after more than a century of urban development, there is no visible cemetery marking the site, but that doesn’t mean there are no lingering remnants. Iwi kūpuna, ancestral Native Hawaiian remains, associated with Kaʻākaukukui continue to be found during modern construction and utility work in Kakaʻako.

Perhaps it is no surprise that places with such histories can also become the setting for stories of the unexplained. Over the years, people who have worked in and around this area have reported encounters they could not easily explain.

, in 2005. Soon after, I did book signings where I also shared ghost stories. At one such occasion, a very tall Hawaiian woman in a business suit approached me and said she was a manager at Restaurant Row. She went on to say she was having trouble keeping security guards employed because they would quit after seeing ghosts and spirits in and around Restaurant Row, which happened at all hours, even in broad daylight.

“These are big, tough Sāmoan and Hawaiian security guards,” she emphasized.

According to this woman, the guards said they saw half-torso apparitions floating through the parking lot, or heard voices calling their names. Worse, they would see spirits of children, covered in bleeding sores.

I was shocked to hear this, as I remembered that my late boss, Glen Grant, talked about the same thing on his ghost tours and in his books.

The manager said there was also a woman they would find crying in the theater bathroom. She went on to say that customers and employees would hear the woman crying miserably in the stall. Security comes and knocks on the door, the door swings open, and a woman is squatting on the floor, covering her face with her two hands, just sobbing. The security guard asks what’s wrong, and the woman removes her hands, and she has no face.

“If this is happening during the day,” I asked. “Then what’s going on at night?”

“If a guard isn’t getting physically assaulted, then something follows them in their car,” she said.

The woman seemed more frustrated than scared because she needed guards day and night to patrol and protect the row. She left before I could get her contact information to follow up. The restaurants all changed, closed, or made way for other businesses, but I often wondered how they finally dealt with the hauntings.

A few years ago, I was doing a personal ghost tour for some staff and students from Hawaii Pacific University. They had just recently moved to their new location at the Waterfront Plaza. I met them near The Row bar, and when I heard about their move, I asked how they liked it so far.

[{"type":"text","text":"“We need it blessed,” they said. “It’s haunted.”"}]

Apparently, chairs move, computers turn on and off by themselves. The security company calls late at night because they can hear people in the offices talking, but no one is ever found. Someone even said that no one would be sitting at a computer station, but you can see the keys on the keyboard typing away.

I think they were surprised that I wasn’t phased at all by their descriptions. I just nodded and said that the place has been haunted since the beginning.

Waterfront Plaza

<title>What Haunts Waterfront Plaza</title>

Back in the day, when this complex was known as Restaurant Row, many of us enjoyed being pleasantly haunted by ’50s tunes at Rose City Diner or catching sight of celebrities at Black Orchid. But even then, some people were haunted by far more disturbing sights, perhaps owing to a cemetery that had been at the same location long ago.

What Haunts Waterfront Plaza

Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Don and Deb Chinery in Kona.

Don 16x9

Hawaiʻi Skies: Legendary sunsets

Smile 26 5 28

Daily Smile: Thursday, May 28, 2026

This is Watson. His family threw him a surprise 9th birthday party. Invited all his stuffed friends and everything......

Smile 26 5 27

Daily Smile: Wednesday, May 27, 2026

"He found a tree branch. He thinks it belongs in the living room..."

Smile 26 5 26

Daily Smile: Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Kallin Spiller at Waimea Bay.

IMG 5300 Medium

Hawaiʻi Skies: In the moment

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Bruce Hidaka-Gordon while sailing in front of Waikīkī.

8a75a6e1 2398 44ed a4f7 17af6e2330b0

Hawaiʻi Skies: A bright and complete rainbow

There are two types of people in the morning...

Smile 26 5 25

Daily Smile: Monday, May 25, 2026

Smile 26 5 24

Daily Smile: Sunday, May 24, 2026

Let's throw a Corgi into the mix and compare and contrast...

Smile 26 5 23

Daily Smile: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Smile 26 5 22

Daily Smile: Friday, May 22, 2026

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Glenn Nishida at Kahaluʻu.

94a70d3f8eabb677 photo

Hawaiʻi Skies: The right place

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Linda Peters in Waikīkī.

B51fc52e a12a 4c2a 91a6 9c3cef402018

Hawaiʻi Skies: A simple picnic

Legend says they’re still looking for the ball...

Smile 26 5 21

Daily Smile: Thursday, May 21, 2026

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Julie Hammond in Maui.

Julie Hammonds Hana HI

Hawaiʻi Skies: "A thrill a minute"

Little dog having fun at doggy daycare until his dad shows up at the window...

Smile 26 5 20

Daily Smile: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Today's Hawai‘i Skies was captured by Jessica Doney at Mākaha Valley.

IMG 1797 Afterlight

Hawaiʻi Skies: Sitting low

This is Spear. He is being forced to leave his grandma's house against his will. You know who would never do this to him? Grandma...

ASD Staff

Latest from ASD Staff

Hawaiʻi Skies: Legendary sunsets

Daily Smile: Thursday, May 28, 2026

Daily Smile: Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Daily Smile: Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Hawaiʻi Skies: In the moment

Hawaiʻi Skies: A bright and complete rainbow

Daily Smile: Monday, May 25, 2026

Daily Smile: Sunday, May 24, 2026

Daily Smile: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Daily Smile: Friday, May 22, 2026

Hawaiʻi Skies: The right place

Hawaiʻi Skies: A simple picnic

Other Authors

Daily Smile: Thursday, May 21, 2026

Hawaiʻi Skies: "A thrill a minute"

Daily Smile: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Hawaiʻi Skies: Sitting low

Daily Smile: Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Daily Smile: Monday, May 18, 2026

Hawaiʻi Skies: An absolute

Smile: Sunday, May 17, 2026

Daily Smile: Saturday, May 16, 2026