Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

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Kady Pascual

ASD Staff

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

[{"type":"text","text":"Has it really been 20 years? "}]

That was the most common sentiment shared on Thursday night among members of the 2005 West O‘ahu Little League team, the first from Hawai‘i to win a Little League World Series title. 

The All-Star team from ‘Ewa Beach was among the inductees in the Hawai‘i Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2025, along with world champion weightlifter Anthony Leiato, former University of Hawai‘i football star 

 and Olympic sailing medalists David McFaull and Michael Rothwell. 

Players from the 2005 West O‘ahu Little League team, now in their early 30s, created a legacy that continues to be perpetuated by Hawai‘i's best Little League teams. Back in 2005, they were making Hawai‘i's third appearance in the Little League World Series since 1988. 

Since West O‘ahu's victory in 2005, eight teams from the state have made it to Williamsport, Pa., with Waipio Little League winning the 2008 title and Honolulu Little League winning it all in 2018 and 2022. Honolulu Little League is back in the 2025 tournament, led by manager 

The recent and massive influx of Hawai‘i teams making the Little League World Series followed a trail blazed by West O‘ahu Little League. The entire state was captivated and galvanized by the team's unbeaten summer 2005 run, capped by 

 against defending LLWS champion Curacao in the title game. 

"Looking back at it, man, 20 years is something crazy," Memea told Aloha State Daily on Thursday. "It feels like yesterday that we were there."

Memea's baseball journey continued at Damien before transferring to Campbell. He then played one season at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon before ultimately calling it a career. 

Memea moved to North Las Vegas five years ago, where he works in the security department of a local high school. He briefly coached baseball, but now coaches wrestling. On the Mainland, he says "not too many" people recognize him from his championship moment on national television.

After flying back to the Islands for Thursday's induction banquet, Memea says he remains in touch with some of his former teammates via social media. 

"People remind me all the time about the World Series. I try not to talk about it too much," Memea said. "I try to keep humble, but it feels like yesterday that we were playing, especially when we watch other Hawai‘i teams playing."

With Honolulu Little League's run at the 2025 LLWS set to get underway on Friday against Connecticut's 

Fairfield National Little League, Memea says he'll be tuning in. 

"Not just for the Little League World Series, but any team from Hawai‘i, any sport I usually follow," Memea said. "I got my Spectrum (cable), I got ESPN. So, I watch Hawai‘i sports all the time. It's awesome, just cheering for them."

When 2005 West O‘ahu Little League All-Star manager Layton Aliviado gave a brief speech following the team's induction, he attributed the team's success to "practicing until dark." Every player on the roster is done playing baseball competitively, though some play recreationally. Some, such as Maryknoll head baseball coach Alaka‘i Aglipay, continue to give back to the game. 

Ever the competitor, when Memea was asked how the 2005 team stacks up against the other Hawai‘i teams that have won the Little League World Series, he still gives the boys from ‘Ewa Beach the edge. 

"Being kind of biased because it's our team, but I feel like we would (win) because of all that running, all that extra stuff we did just to even get there," he said. "Our coaches made sure we stayed in top shape. Just to the team that's in Williamsport right now: good luck with everything. Listen to your coaches. Just go out there and have fun."

West Oahu Little League 081425

<title>Little League World Series pioneers among those inducted into Hawai‘i Sports Hall of Fame</title>

The 2005 Little League Champions were among those honored in a ceremony on Thursday evening.

Little League World Series pioneers among those inducted into Hawai‘i Sports Hall of Fame

Crime & Courts

After spending nearly two decades sexually abusing girls in his care, former Punahou and youth basketball coach Dwayne Yuen will be behind bars until 2059.

Yuen pled guilty in 2024 to 12 counts of sex trafficking, producing and possessing child pornography and sexual coercion of minors. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Seabright sentenced him on six of those charges to 405 months in prison, a term about 33.75 years in length. 

“I realize this might be a life sentence,” Seabright said. “But it’s the right one.”

Seabright was uncompromising in his description of Yuen, calling him “a predator with a whistle” and casting doubt on any possibility of the man having the capacity to change his ways.

“I don’t think there’s been any defendant before me who I trust less [than you],” Seabright told Yuen, adding that he believes that if Yuen were set free today, he would attempt to prey on girls and young women again tomorrow.

Seabright’s contemptuous verdict came after several emotional firsthand accounts of Yuen’s abuse. Three of his victims — at least ten victims were anonymously identified in court documents — submitted letters to the court that were read aloud by prosecuting attorney Rebecca Perlmutter.

A fourth victim, former Punahou and University of Hawai‘i women's basketball standout Shawna-Lei Kuehu, spoke in person. Although she chose to stay anonymous in the courtroom, she spoke to a crowd of local media following the sentencing.  

“This man is a f***ing monster,” she told Seabright. “A monster who preys on the innocence of a child.”

Kuehu described how she initially met Yuen on a high school campus tour and how the coach inveigled his way into her family’s trust in order to target her. She said he gained her trust, gave her rides home and to school, plied her with gifts and became friendly with her family before subjecting her to abuse.

“He learned all the things that mattered to me, then held them hostage,” she said.

Kuehu went into graphic detail about Yuen’s sexual abuses and said that he ensured her silence through threats and blackmail.

Even when victims had escaped Yuen’s physical abuse, he continued to torment them with hundreds of texts and phone calls a day, many explicitly sexual in nature, constantly switching numbers and messaging services to circumvent blocks. Victims wrote about being monitored, with associates of Yuen keeping tabs on them, and Yuen himself spoofing numbers of victims’ close friends and family.

Other victims wrote about how Yuen’s abuse has continued to traumatize them for years afterward. One wrote that she couldn’t play basketball in college without needing to vomit beforehand, and another that she can no longer view any men who coach women’s basketball without suspicion.

“The charm, the gifts, the attention, the promises,” Perlmutter read from one letter. “It was not about affection, it was about power. The power to prey on the vulnerable.”

The testifiers all recommended strong sentences, and Perlmutter requested that Seabright go above and beyond the recommendations of a pre-sentencing report that advised between 27 and 33 years in prison. Perlmutter advocated for a 40-year sentence, saying that Yuen’s 20-year pattern of repeated abuse makes clear his high risk for recidivism if set free.

As evidence of his character, Perlmutter quoted Yuen’s own words to one of his victims in 2006: “You really think you can keep me from getting what I want?”

On the other hand, Yuen’s attorney Alen Kaneshiro requested a 15-year sentence, saying that a psychological evaluation of Yuen had indicated that he has an unknown neurological disorder that has left him with reduced emotional maturity.

Kaneshiro said Yuen on some level “conceived of himself and his players as peers,” and that he “texted [his victims] as a scorned teenage boy would.”

Kaneshiro also asked Seabright to consider Yuen’s non-abusive acts. For example, he said Yuen was an elementary school teacher, with apparently no reports of abuse.

But Kaneshiro also argued that another reason for leniency was Yuen’s willingness to “volunteer so much time coaching youth basketball,” an argument which drew hisses and murmurs from the gallery.

Yuen himself addressed the court and said he takes full responsibility for his actions.

“I was entrusted with a position of responsibility,” Yuen said. “I misused my position and people were hurt.”

Seabright later said he found Yuen’s statement “shallow” and “not truly remorseful.”

The judge also scoffed at Yuen’s defense that he has been in therapy between 2006 and 2021.

“It obviously didn’t work,” Seabright said. “I think it says a lot about your future dangerousness. I don’t think you can help yourself.”

Ultimately, Seabright said that while criminal sentences should take into account rehabilitation, another goal of sentencing is simple incapacitation: preventing a criminal from committing crimes again.

While Seabright saved his harshest words for Yuen, he noted that the system failed his victims, too. Punahou fired Yuen for sexual misconduct in 2004, and two Punahou girls’ basketball team members obtained restraining orders against him in 2006, but the state Department of Education still hired him in 2007.

Following the sentencing, the victims who chose to attend in person gathered together and debriefed, taking turns hugging each other. Some were in tears. 

"The years that we've been silenced and then with the years that he got with sentencing, yeah," said Kuehu when asked if she was satisfied with the length of Yuen's incarceration. 

Although she was initially apprehensive about speaking in person on Thursday, Kuehu ultimately felt empowerment while delivering her words. 

"I hesitated. I was very anxious about it, but when I got up there and finally found my voice and with the strong women and men that were behind this case, it was empowering," she said. "As I went through it, I definitely felt and found the strength to be able to continue.

"We're gonna go ahead and continue our lives and continue to empower youth and continue to protect those innocent, making sure we continue to be the change that we want to see."

The healing process has not been a linear one for victims like Keuhu, but she says Thursday's sentencing was "definitely a win in that healing process."

"But we just got to take it day by day," she said, "and this is a part of that healing process, and hopefully we can close the chapter and continue on and continue to be strong and go on with our lives from now, knowing that this chapter is closing, that it's behind us."

Shawna-Lei Kuehu 081425

<title>Victims find solace as former basketball coach Dwayne Yuen sentenced</title>

Yuen was sentenced to over 33 years in prison on Thursday on counts of sex trafficking, producing and possessing child pornography, and sexual coercion of minors.

Victims find solace as former basketball coach Dwayne Yuen sentenced

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Government & Politics

Construction of the third section of Honolulu's Skyline rail system has taken another step forward as transit officials ready for the second segment to open this fall.

A blessing and groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this week at the future site of the 

Ka‘ākaukukui, or Civic Center, station in Kaka‘ako for the next phase of the project, the city center guideway and stations.

The CCGS project includes the construction of nearly three miles of elevated guideway and six rail stations, starting near the 

Kahauiki, or Middle Street Transit Center, station and ending at the the Civic Center station, just east of the intersection of Halekauwila and South streets, an announcement from HART, or 

the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, noted. Construction is expected to be finished by 2030.

The first part of the work will begin in the Iwilei area and includes drilling shafts for the columns that will support the guideway, the announcement noted, adding that working hours will span from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays as needed. HART officials say the hours, though, depend on where they're working.

HART — the public transit authority responsible for planning and building the rail system for the City and County of Honolulu —  

 for the design and construction of the CCGS project to Tutor Perini Corp. in August 2024.

CEO and Executive Director Lori Kahikina told Aloha State Daily Monday afternoon that reaching this point is "very meaningful for this team."

It's the second or third time that HART has tried to procure the last segment, she said, "and to finally actually do it, what a milestone it was for all of us."

Utility work for this segment of the rail has been underway for the last two years, but Kahikina said the hope is that the utilities will be finished in the Downtown Honolulu area by the end of the year and the Dillingham corridor by next summer.

"But soon you'll start to see the shafts being drilled and the columns coming up also before the end of the year," she says. 

"Then, once you start seeing the columns come up, of course then the guideway goes on top of that, but simultaneously, they'll start the stations," Kahikina continued. "So maybe in about two years, you'll see stations start to come up."

"Everything's going to be foundation work, then you'll just slowly start to see structure come up out of the ground," Deputy Project Director Matt Scanlon told ASD.

Kahikina says it's premature to talk about possible detours and general road closures, but she noted that the state Department of Transportation director had some "questions and concerns, so we want to see how can we change some of the maintenance and traffic to make sure we minimize the impact."

"We're not going to be able to eliminate it — it is a reality of construction — but hopefully it's not going to be as intrusive as Dillingham  ... . But [it's] a little bit premature to share how many lanes we're going to be closing and in what direction."

Anyone who's driven Dillingham Boulevard in recent years has witnessed the ongoing work that has shifted traffic patterns and caused delays.

Scanlon says that once contractors begin building the guideway, "they'll put down more of a permanent barrier."

On Dillingham, they'll largely be "building in the middle, so you'll see more of a fixed maintenance of traffic setup and then they'll just have an assembly line," he explained. "They'll start with the foundations and then the columns and they'll build the guideway, so it'll start to look like an assembly line going down the road and a little less haphazard than the utilities were, with cones moving around a lot."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Segment Two"}]

 and spans just under 11 miles from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium. This section includes the rail's first nine stations: K

aualakaʻi (East Kapolei), Keoneʻae (University of Hawai‘i-West Oʻahu), Honouliuli (Hoʻopili), Hōʻaeʻae (West Loch), Pouhala (Waipahu Transit Center), Hālaulani (Leeward Community College), Waiawa (Pearl Highlands), Kalauao (Pearlridge), and Hālawa (Aloha Stadium).

The second section, running 5.2 miles from Aloha Stadium to the Middle Street Transit Center, is on track to open in October.

This portion will add four more stations to the route: Pearl Harbor, the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Lagoon Drive and Middle Street.

Trial operations just began late last month and the safety certification is being done in coordination with city state and federal agencies, 

(Eastbound passengers take note: you have to exit the train at the Aloha Stadium station before it enters segment two. Once the train returns westbound to the station, you can board the train to continue your trip).

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced during his State of the City address in March this segment of Skyline would 

According to Kahikina, segment two is in "system demonstrations," which measures the train's service availability and evaluates its performance and reliability.

Tsuda said they need to reach a 30-day rolling average of 98.5% availability.

"Once we finish that, then we have met all the requirements and we can turn it over to DTS for revenue service," he says. "Right now, based on where we are, we are still on track for the Oct. 15 grand opening and then the 16th ... for passengers to ride."

HART also has to "safety certify the system," which will run concurrently with this demonstration, he noted.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lessons learned"}]

What lessons have HART learned from earlier segments of the rail that they can use during the construction of the third?

[{"type":"text","text":"There's a whole list, Kahikina says."}]

"We've gone through a number of items as we finished off segment one and turned over to [Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services], and as DTS has been operating segment one, they've provided some lessons learned that we're implementing," Project Director Vance Tsuda told ASD.

Among the changes you might see include the canopies on the station platforms, he noted. For example, segment one and two have a tensile fabric canopy but segment three will have a more traditional metal roofing material.

Scanlon said, too, that the way the guideway is being built is also changing.

The first two segments have been constructed with "precast segmental construction," where individual segments, "almost like Lego pieces," were built off-site in West O‘ahu and trucked in, he explained. The segments were then assembled with an overhead gantry, or overhead suspended crane, and tensioned together.

"We're going to be building the city center with a more traditional pre-cast girder system," Scanlon continued.

Before, the stations were tired more to when the guideway came through, he says.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We're building for the first time six stations at once.\""}]

Scanlon says that building the guideway and stations independently will allow the contractor to start the stations much sooner than in the first two segments, and will save both time and money.

More information about the rail project can be found at 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

25 0227 CCGS Blessing Site 33

<title>HART breaks ground on next phase of Honolulu rail project</title>

A blessing and groundbreaking ceremony was held Aug. 11 at the future site of the Ka‘ākaukukui, or Civic Center, station in Kaka‘ako for the next phase of the project, the city center guideway and stations.

HART breaks ground on next phase of Honolulu rail project

Entertainment

Arts & Culture

What do a Niʻihau shell lei, a handmade quilt and a three-hour, off-road vehicle tour of Kualoa Ranch have in common? They are all part of 

, an online auction that benefits the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Bids for more than 90 items open at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14.

The 11-day silent auction supports the museum’s mission, staff and work, according to representatives of the museum. The auction closes at 9 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24.

“Our Bishop Museum ʻohana expresses our deep appreciation and mahalo for the community’s continued support,” said Janet Bullard, the museum's vice president of institutional advancement and marketing communications, in a written statement. “Donations raise vital funds to ensure Bishop Museum can continue to protect, preserve and perpetuate the rich cultural and natural heritage of our Islands and the Pacific for generations to come.”

The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife Bernice Pauahi, a royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. Today, the Bishop Museum has more than 25 million objects and specimens and serves more than 200,000 people each year.

Other items in the auction include a two-night stay at the Halekulani Hotel; a get-away to The Royal Hawaiian Resort, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikīkī; and time at the Sheraton Waikīkī Beach Resort, among other staycations. There is also original artwork and private behind-the-scenes tours of the Bishop Museum focused botany, native snails and reef fish.  

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

<title>Auction: bid to support the Bishop Museum</title>

E Ulu A Paʻa, an online auction to benefit the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, opens for bids at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. The 11-day event benefits the museum and its work.

Auction: bid to support the Bishop Museum

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Now in its 14th year, Goodwill Goes Glam! 2025 presented by Bank of Hawai’i Foundation will run Thursday, Aug. 14 to Saturday, Aug. 16, celebrating sustainable fashion and shopping – all for a good cause.

Activities, including a gala, fashion show and shopping experience will be held at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Free parking will be available at McKinley High School, as well as 

aims to raise awareness and support around $400,000 over the three-day event to advance its mission “to help people with employment barriers reach their full potential and become self-sufficient.”

Funds will be reinvested back into the community to continue supporting local job training and employment, organizers said. It will take about 200 to 300 volunteers to pull off.

“Every year, we tap into a local designer and this year’s theme is ‘Common Thread’ by 

, known for her modern, soft tailoring. She shares Goodwill’s common values of nonprofits, what community does, being eco-forward, etc.,” Kelley Cho, Goodwill Hawai

director of public relations and communications, told Aloha State Daily. “The fashion show will feature both men’s and women’s looks, primarily upcycled from the Kaimukī store down the street from 

spends roughly 9 months up to a year curating donations and goods – shoes, clothing, home goods and more – for the sale, which is free to attend for the public.

For a full schedule of events for this year’s Goodwill Goes Glam! and to purchase tickets, 

[{"type":"text","text":"Other happenings at Goodwill"}]

Last month, Goodwill Hawaiʻi and Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaiʻi opened a new Opportunity Center in Kakaʻako intended for at-risk youth and adults with intellectual disabilities programs and youth mentoring programs

“This new campus further strengthens our commitment to uplifting the community thru the power of work,” said Katy Chen, Goodwill Hawaiʻi President and CEO, in a statement. “When people think of Goodwill, we want them to know that not only are we a thrift store and donation center, but that we’re also helping some of our most vulnerable residents.”

The new center also houses executive and admin offices. 

Goodwill’s workforce development and employment programs serving low-income families, individuals and immigrants, will remain held at its Honolulu Career and Learning Center on Beretania Street. According to the organization, programs serve more than 7,000 individuals statewide annually and are supported by the revenue generated through its retail operations, among other financial endeavors.

Work to combine community programs and retail into one larger space in Hilo also continues – what Goodwill is calling its new Big Island Campus, Cho said. She noted that the nonprofit acquired the 67,000 square-foot campus at 17 Makaala St. in 2023, with plans to build out the store by the end of the year. The full renovation will be completed over the next few years, she said.

“We’re planning to move the Hilo store to a temporary location, while we build out the new one,” she told ASD. “Overall, the campus will create more efficiencies for us and the community.”

A 2024 grant application to the State of Hawai’i estimated the Hilo center will create 12 to 15 new jobs.

On Kauaʻi, Goodwill will host a reuse collection event held at the Kaua‘i Resource Center from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29. Donations of clothing, small furniture, children’s toys, books and shoes will be accepted.

The main purpose of the County of Kauʻi’s Reuse program is to “assist thrift stores by facilitating the off-loading of unsaleable, but still useable items as well as reducing the amount of reusable items going to the landfill,” 

. “The goal is to allow the movement of unsaleable items out of thrift stores so that more capacity can be built up for the public to donate new material that can be sold.”

 and Goodwill Hawai’i recently teamed up to reduce waste and ramp up recycling. The organizations, along with the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services, launched a reusable materials drop-off site at the Kapaʻa Transfer Station in Kailua.

Goodwill Goes Glam! file

<title>Goodwill Goes Glam! fashion show tickets still available</title>

Goodwill Hawaiʻi’s three-day annual fundraiser is back from Aug. 14 to 16, featuring upcycled designs from Rumi Murakami and a sale of curated goods from various Isle stores.

Goodwill Goes Glam! fashion show tickets still available

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

’s huge Kapolei store just got more enticing with its newest vendor — a tonkatsu business.

Located in Don Don Donki’s food court area, Katsudon Katsumitei is currently open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays to Sundays (until the business increases its staff). As its menu implies, the biz specializes in tonkatsu.

The menu is simple, but tasty. Choose from teishoku — set meals that include rice, shredded cabbage, pickles and miso soup — and katsu bowls. Customers have the choice between regular pork loin that’s thick, rich and flavorful, and pork tenderloin, which is tender and leaner.

If you’re extra hungry, go for the mega pork loin tonkatsu teishoku ($24.99), which features a thick cut of tonkatsu. We’re told the mega size is fried twice to ensure the exterior is ultra crispy, while the interior stays juicy and tender.

For katsu bowls ($19.99 regular, $22.99 mega katsu bowl), choose between Tokyo-style and traditional-style bowls. Tokyo-style bowls feature thick pork cutlet over a fluffy egg mixture, which preserves the katsu’s crispy exterior. 

Meanwhile, in the traditional-style bowls, the cutlet is simmered in a savory egg mixture, resulting in a rich, savory flavor. The tonkatsu itself isn’t as crunchy because it’s mixed into the egg, but the dish overall is still hearty and comforting. This reminds me of oyakodon, except it’s made with pork.

Whether you choose the teishoku or bowl, a sauce of your choice is included with your meal. Select from katsu, sweet soy or miso sauce; sauces are made in house.

Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays to Sundays

Katsudon Katsumitei teishoku 070225

<title>New tonkatsu spot now open in West Oʻahu</title>

Katsudon Katsumitei brings katsu bowls and teishoku to Don Don Donki in Kapolei.

New tonkatsu spot now open in West Oʻahu

<title>Letters to the Editor</title>

Letters to the Editor

Thanks for the reminder of "Hawai‘i's Forgotten Governor."

Quinn Eisenhower 16x9

Letter to Editor: Important to remember Gov. William Quinn

Maui County’s obsolete zoning code is making life difficult for our community.

Letters to the Editor

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