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Michael Brestovansky

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A. Kam Napier

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ASD Staff

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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

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Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

It’s the end of an era in Ward Village, Howard Hughes’ 60-acre master-planned community located between Downtown and Waikīkī, as developers move forward with plans to bring more residences to the community.

Ward Centre, which opened in 1982 and served the community for more than four decades, officially closed its doors to the public on June 30. Although a timeline has not yet been finalized, sources say that demolition and redevelopment work at the site is expected to begin in the third quarter of the year.

The demolition will clear the way for two luxury towers planned at the site: 

“We have a fond aloha for Ward Centre and its important role in the history of our neighborhood,” Doug Johnstone, president of Hawai‘i Region and national condominium development at Howard Hughes Communities, said in a statement provided to Aloha State Daily. “As plans move forward for redevelopment on the site, we look forward to announcing details about the next phase, which will deliver additional retail, open space and a new public park, as well as hundreds of new homes, further enhancing the connected, walkable neighborhood experience at Ward Village while reflecting its long-term vision as a master-planned community.”

Three of the center’s tenants are relocating within Ward Village: Johnny’s Island Dog Spa and Sweat + Soul are moving to 320 Ward Ave., while Kamitoku Ramen is moving to the former Scratch Kitchen space in South Shore Market. You can read more about Kamitoku Ramen 

which closed its Ward Centre and downtown Honolulu locations — 

As previously reported, Ward Village sold out its first eight mixed-use residential towers: Waiea, Anaha, Ae‘o, Ke Kilohana, ‘A‘ali‘i, Kō‘ula, Victoria Place and Ulana Ward Village.

In addition to ‘Ilima and Melia, new residential buildings in development or under construction include Kalae and The Launiu Ward Village.

, bringing another another 546 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and more than 30,000 square feet of retail and dining space to Kaka‘ako. It was 97% pre-sold when it was completed, the developer said at that time. 

Ward Village marked a record year in 2025, with momentum driven by the launch of Melia Ward Village and ‘Ilima Ward Village earlier in the year.

In Hawai‘i last year, Howard Hughes contracted to sell 287 condos, which accounted for roughly $1.6 billion in future revenue, according to 

Of those, 220 units at Melia and ‘Ilima, and 63 units at The Launiu were contracted, the report, published earlier this year, noted. At year-end, the predevelopment condos of Melia and ‘Ilima were 60% pre-sold and The Launiu was 71% pre-sold. Meanwhile, Kalae was 93% sold.

By the end of 2025, Melia and ‘Ilima were about 60% pre-sold.

The 33-story ‘Ilima will have 148 homes while Melia, its 35-story companion, will offer 221 residences. Together, the projects will add about 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial and retail space, along with a public park.

Ward Village also hit a number of other milestones in 2025.

 of last year and the makai phase of Victoria Ward Park 

The Launiu, Ward Village’s 11th residential tower, broke ground 

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<title>Ward Centre closed; looming demolition will make way for new Ward Village towers</title>

Although a timeline has not yet been finalized, sources say that demolition and redevelopment work at the site is expected to begin later this year.

Ward Centre closed; looming demolition will make way for new Ward Village towers

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Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

the culminating performance of its summer intensive — 

to Leeward Community College Theatre for a single matinee performance this Saturday, Aug. 1. 

The performance shows some of the natural powers that shape the environment, including the creative energy of a volcano and seasons. It features guest artists from across the nation, including 

Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet and Sacramento Ballet

 that started July 5 and culminates with the performance this weekend. Classes for intermediate and advanced dancers run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by rehearsals until 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Placement in the intermediate and advanced level summer intensive program is by audition only.

Ahead of the performance, Aloha State Daily spoke with soloists Emma Belatti and Gabe Salonga, who will perform in “Forces of Nature.”

The duo, who grew up taking classes at Ballet Hawaiʻi and each started dancing when they were about 3 years old, will be soloists for the autumn section of “The Four Seasons.” In each season, there are three movements, with everyone appearing at the start; the soloists performing a pas de deux, or duet; and then a finale, she explained.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It's really fun,” Belatti said."}]

The summer intensive performance consists of three parts: "Volcanic Études," a neoclassical work by former Ballet West dancer David Weaver, set to the vibrant music of Béla Bartók; "Mother Tongue," a contemporary pas de deux by choreographer Ihsan Rustem, performed by artists of Sacramento Ballet; and "The Four Seasons," choreographed by Ballet Hawaiʻi Associate Artistic Director Christine Kaminski and set to Antonio Vivaldi’s score.

“David's music ['Volcanic Études'] is very violin and string instrument heavy,” Belatti said. “‘The Four Seasons’ is harpsichord heavy and it sounds regal. Then 'Mother Tongue' is atmospheric, like a hymn.”

The duo has previously danced together as part of a Ballet Hawaiʻi performance ensemble which makes appearances at Ala Moana Center, Shriners Children’s Hawaiʻi, and more.

In addition to "The Four Seasons," the dancers will also be part of “Volcanic Études,” a piece that illustrates a volcanic eruption.

“The whole plot of it is basically Gabe is the eruption from the volcano,” Belatti said. “And then, there's a pas de deux — a duet after that — and that's supposed to be the ash falling. And then, after that is a quartet with me and a couple of the other soloists here, and we're supposed to be the aftershocks. ... The last part is a finale with everyone, and it's rebirth.”

 Use the code FORCES20 to get a 20% discount.

Ballet Hawaiʻi

<title>Inside Ballet Hawaiʻi’s ʻForces of Natureʻ</title>

From a volcanic eruption to the four seasons, Ballet Hawaiʻi will put music to movement as part of the capstone performance of its summer intensive, which features students as well as soloists from across the country.

Inside Ballet Hawaiʻi’s ʻForces of Natureʻ

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Rick Hamada

Government & Politics

Columnists

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On the arrests"}]

The second in command of the 50th state in our nation has been indicted by a grand jury for bribery, fraud, messy campaign spending stuff along with four others of questionable character. 

This headline made national news for one day and now it's gone. But here at home? This is only the beginning. I know that underhanded double dealing takes place throughout our government. Always has, always will. Why? Because humans are fallible. Imperfect. 

There are two elements that either promote or prevent corruption. The first is basic economics — ROI (Return on Investment). If I am going to offer a bribe, I have to ask myself, "What's the return on my investment?" 

In other words, if I bribe this or these officials, what's the multiplier effect back into my pocket? Let's look at what's before us. Covid-19 had so many layers of suspect policies, actions and spending. The spending! There were millions upon millions of federal dollars dropped into the lap of our state and counties. Combine cash windfall with fallible humans and it the perfect recipe for those bereft of any moral fiber to manipulate the situation for their personal gain, and I mean money. Lots and lots of money. Millions. 

But reports indicate that the bribers only gave the bribees collectively thousands of dollars. Now, that's max ROI. 

The other element is Risk and Reward. Is it worth the risk of getting caught when the profits justify the consequence? Corruption is so pervasive that until now there has not been such high-level prosecution nor legal actions, meaning it's sure worth the risk because you're never gonna get caught. Whoops. 

Conversely, the bribees allegedly accepted the bribers' money and did their thing. But their ROI was paltry and the risk was greater because the reward was a joke. You mean you can get bought off for a miniscule amount of cash? We're talking reportedly $5,000 maybe $10,000 in "campaign donations." And you cheapened and sold your political and administrative souls for chump change? More than that. You sold your constituents and citizens of this state down the gutter for nothing. You all knew it was wrong and importantly illegal. But still. Now, I know I did not use the word "allegedly" enough. Yes, there were indictments and that's pretty bad. But each of these five must be presumed innocent until proven so or guilty at trial. 

As my momma would say, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, well..."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Flow of Waters stopped"}]

City Council Chair Tommy Waters got dealt with a blow in his pursuit of a third term as a city council member when a state judge ruled that he was ineligible to seek re-election. His political opponent and council candidate Trevor Ozawa filed the lawsuit that led to this ruling. Even lay folk can read the City Charter and glean that the limit for a councilman serving is two terms. There is voter precedent in affirming only two terms and when asked if there should be an extension to three terms, voters decidedly say no. 

Trevor, who is an attorney and represented himself, laid out a case that was focused on the specifics of the charter language. Tommy's team did not make a compelling case and as of this writing have not filed the fully anticipated appeal to this ruling. But there are remaining questions regarding process, procedure, administration, perceived or actual outside influences and more. Soon, my friends, soon.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hāna beefs"}]

between locals and tourists. OK, I get it. For those who live Hãna side it's a tough road. Period. We've all hopefully have taken the drive and to do so daily is a grind. And that grind can be exacerbated by those driving who are sightseeing, inattentive to those behind and ignorant to what has become a certain etiquette developed over the years. This last case had some or all of those elements. However, the local boy scared the coconut milk out of the tourists he confronted. See the video from the newscast at the link.

Bruddah jumped out of his ride and was scary monstah charging the tourist's car, yelling profanities and taking out his frustrations on this unsuspecting guy. In any other scenario, this was road rage. 

But wait a second. A spokesperson for the group Hāna Highway Regulation responded, and I'm paraphrasing, the Hāna resident communicated the problem and how the visitor needed to correct himself. Ummm. She then stated that yes, he used strong words and verbal profanity. Really? No kidding! There are calls for traffic management. 

Here's how you manage it. Just like with Hanauma Bay, you put a limit on the number of tourists who can take the Hāna Highway. Oh, but what about businesses? Then allow things to remain the same and just deal with the congestion and the tourists. It's one way or the other but if this kind of action against tourists is condoned and, heaven forbid physical violence is committed then you may not have to worry about overcrowding on the Hāna Highway. Or anywhere in Hawai‘i. Viral video will take care of that.

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<title>Hamada: Hot takes on bribery, Tommy Waters, Hāna Highway confrontation</title>

With so much in the news, ASD opinion columnist weighs in on the state's bribery scandal, Tommy Waters' attempt at a third term and a recent ugly confrontation between locals and tourists in the Hāna Highway.

Hamada: Hot takes on bribery, Tommy Waters, Hāna Highway confrontation

Crime & Courts

The state Department of Transportation’s Airports Administrator is on paid leave after being named in a bribery indictment last week.

Ford Fuchigami was one of five people to be 

 by an O‘ahu grand jury on bribery charges, alongside Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, former Rep. Ryan Yamane, former Public Utilities Commission chair Leo Asuncion Jr., and lobbyist Tobi Solidum.

Fuchigami’s charges — use of false statements, conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruction of justice — stem from a $7,000 check he reportedly received from Solidum in Jan. 2022, when Fuchigami was an employee of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. That payment was allegedly connected to Solidum’s efforts to get the Legislature to pass a Covid funding bill; the Senate Ways and Means Committee did so unanimously two months later.

Following that indictment, DOT “will follow its internal administrative policies” regarding Fuchigami, DOT public information officer Russell Pang told Aloha State Daily. While that means DOT will cooperate with any requests from various authorities, it also means the Airports Administrator was been placed on paid department-directed leave for 30 days as of Monday.

“Administrator Fuchigami will be afforded due process before any disciplinary action is taken, if warranted,” Pang told ASD via email.

Fuchigami and his fellow indictees are set to appear in court for an arraignment Thursday. Four of the five — Fuchigami, Luke, Yamane and Asuncion — have posted their respective bails, while Solidum has reportedly fled to the Philippines.

A bench warrant for Solidum is pending, and he is to be held without bail should he be apprehended.

Ford Fuchigami 16x9

<title>State airports administrator on paid leave following bribery indictment</title>

Ford Fuchigami will appear in court Thursday along with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.

State airports administrator on paid leave following bribery indictment

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

On Monday morning, while ballots printed with Tommy Waters’ name lay on kitchen tables across East Honolulu, Judge James Ashford ruled that Waters may not run for the seat on offer.

It is the third time in 12 years that a judge has been asked to weigh in on the council election in District 4.

Trevor Ozawa beat Waters by 41 votes in 2014. Waters challenged the result without success. When Ozawa won reelection by 22 votes in 2018, Waters sued again. That time, courts ordered a do-over election, which Waters won in 2019 by a thousand votes.

This time, Ozawa has sued before votes are counted. Courts ruled Waters ineligible to run because he has already served two consecutive terms in office. Waters has said he plans to appeal.

Each man has thrown challenge flags, and the referee wears a robe and holds a gavel.

Anyone tempted to despair over this should read a short book. The 

 is a campaign manual attributed to Quintus Cicero, written for his brother Marcus.

Marcus, better known as Cicero, was then running for consul, the highest elected office. He was a lawyer from a family of no great name, with a thin military record. In Rome, that was rather like running for lifeguard without knowing how to swim.

But Marcus was a gifted speaker and lawyer, and he had a sound strategy.

Roman consuls were most often generals, and Roman campaigns could become wars. Office was won by canvassing, favors, and patronage, and sometimes by violence. The most famous campaign rally of the age was Caesar walking an army across the Rubicon.

Quintus’s advice, in Philip Freeman’s 

, has a familiar ring: promise everything to everybody, don’t leave town, learn your opponents’ weaknesses, flatter the voters shamelessly, give people hope.

Cicero had to climb a series of offices to the highest post. The ladder of offices survives here in a gentler form. A Kawakami may climb from council chamber to State House to mayor’s office on his way, perhaps, to Washington Place — without anyone bleeding.

In Honolulu the ambitious fight with briefs and motions, and the only suffering is that we have to read about it. We have become lawful to the point of banality, and the banality is the blessing.

The law that keeps the knives sheathed exacts a fee, and the fee is paid in technicalities. A society that settles its quarrels in courtrooms must sit through the arguments, the opinions, and the appeals.

In 1992, Honolulu voters amended their charter so that no council member could serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. The intent isn’t hard to read. Voters did not want anyone holding a seat for more than eight years in a row. They certainly did not want someone serving 12 years in a row.

Waters’ attorneys reply that he has not yet served two four-year terms. “It is undisputed factually that Mr. Waters has not yet been elected to serve two ‘four-year terms,’” they wrote last month, “as he has served one four-year term and one partial term that lasted three years, seven months, and twenty-five days.” The term was short, of course, because of the lawsuit Waters filed over the 2018 count.

The arithmetic is sound, and it proves nothing. A man who eats 11 and a half of a dozen donuts has not, strictly speaking, eaten a dozen.

Everyone in Honolulu knows what the voters meant, and Waters knows it best of all, because these voters are the people he has spent nearly eight years serving.

In the court of common sense, Waters would be laughed out. But in the court of law, he is owed an appeal. This is the tedium we accept in exchange for peace — better than Rome, certainly, but a citizen may be forgiven for checking his watch.

Of course, we do the same. When the technicality favors us, we praise the letter of the law and call it our right. When it favors the other fellow, we discover the spirit of the law and call him a scoundrel.

Both Ozawa and Waters are lawyers, and they know the difference between the letter and the spirit. Lofty notions tend to sink when a job is on the line.

An elected official ought to fight for the people to the full extent of the law; that is the job. There is a difference, though, between fighting for the people within the law and fighting the people with it.

Waters has spent nearly eight years styling himself a servant of the public — the empty homes tax, relief on vehicle weight taxes — and there is no reason to doubt he means it. The temptation to squeeze the last drop from a legal text is not a mark of unusual wickedness. It is what nearly anyone would feel when a career seems to hinge on a legal opinion.

Waters claims that the voters of District 4 should have a chance to decide. He’s right, and they will. But the voters in his district are not the only ones who matter. As chair of the Honolulu City Council, Waters has a duty to uphold the city charter.

We call our elected officials public servants for a reason. Councilmembers serve the people, and Honolulu’s voters gave their instruction in 1992. They said that our servants on the council should not serve for more than eight years in a row, and a servant of the people honors the people’s word by putting his own interest beneath it — which means stepping aside.

Quintus’s ultimate piece of advice to his brother was to give people hope.

Waters can spend the coming months giving Honolulu litigation instead, or he can give the people something rarer than a successful appeal: a politician who honors their will.

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<title>Tommy Waters term limits ruling: Why the Council Chair should step aside</title>

A judge ruled Monday that Tommy Waters has already served his two terms — while voters were filling out ballots bearing his name. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on the difference between fighting for the people within the law and fighting the people with it.

Tommy Waters term limits ruling: Why the Council Chair should step aside

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has been indicted for bribery by a O‘ahu grand jury.

Luke’s bail was set at $80,000 Friday after being charged with bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and falsifying her campaign spending report.

Four others were also indicted Friday in connection with the State Attorney General’s investigation into a purported paper bag full of $35,000 paid to an unknown, but “influential,” lawmaker referenced during a 2022 federal bribery investigation.

Those others included former State Rep. Ryan Yamane, lobbyist Tobi Solidum, former chair of the state Public Utilities Commission Leodoloff Asuncion Jr., and Ford Fuchigami, airports administrator for the state Department of Transportation.

According to the indictment, during Luke’s 2022 campaign for lieutenant governor, Solidum was seeking additional state money for Covid community testing centers. The indictment cites a conversation between Solidum and Ty Cullen — the former Hawai‘i Rep. who, at the time, had turned informant for the FBI — where Solidum was worried that the state DOH would cut funding for Covid testing centers soon.

During the conversation, Solidum reportedly told Cullen Luke was running for the lieutenant governor position, adding: “All I gotta do is give her more money.”

Solidum, Cullen and Luke all reportedly met on Jan. 20, 2022 at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Ala Moana, where Solidum’s stepdaughter Kristen Pae placed an envelope on the table containing two $5,000 checks, one from Solidum and one from Pae. Luke reportedly took the envelope.

Solidum then told Luke, “By next week we’ll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70.”

Later during that meeting, Solidum asked Luke about the possibility of drawing upon federal funds to continue Covid testing, to which Luke agreed to follow up.

The two $5,000 checks were subsequently deposited into the Friends of Sylvia Luke bank account, the same day Luke arranged for a meeting to discuss emergency appropriations for additional Covid community testing. In February, Luke’s Finance Committee, which she chaired, passed 

, a bill approving more than $170 million in state funds for Covid mitigation measures for the next two fiscal years.

The indictment does not specifically mention an exact $35,000 transaction, let alone a paper bag, although the the transaction in Morton’s strongly resembles an event Luke described in February: she admitted accepting two $5,000 checks in a dinner involving Cullen, although she also claimed she never cashed the checks.

Asuncion’s presence in the indictment entirely stems from his role as Luke’s campaign treasurer, wherein he allegedly knowingly failed to disclose the donations by Solidum and Pae, and also his subsequent claims in March that the checks had been returned to those donors unspent. Asuncion reportedly claimed that those checks had never been deposited into the Friends of Sylvia Luke bank account, and therefore believed he didn’t need to report them.

Despite this, Deputy Attorney General David Van Acker said Friday that he believes Yamane to be the “most culpable” of the five named in the indictment.

According to the indictment, Solidum had sent money to Yamane in 2020 and 2021, and later asked about the status of health care measure 

, which failed to move forward through conference committees that year. Yamane texted Solidum “Sorry couldn’t deliver it.”

Solidum and Yamane continued to meet throughout 2021 and 2022, with Solidum repeatedly giving Yamane money. Solidum reportedly “texted Yamane in an effort to get a rival Covid testing company fined,” which Yamane assisted by forwarding Solidum’s claims about said company to the state Department of Health.

In early 2022, Yamane, Solidum and Fuchigami met frequently to discuss HB 2392. At one point, the text conversation between Yamane and Solidum turned to the federal charges against Cullen, leading Yamane to text Solidum “Might not be good to been [sic] seen with me.”

At the end of the 2022 legislative session, Yamane spoke effusively in support of HB 2392, and specifically named Luke in his thanks for getting the measure passed.

Fuchigami, for his part, received a $7,000 check from Solidum in Jan. 2022. Fuchigami, who worked for the Senate Ways and Means Committee at the time, was party to subsequent conversations with Solidum and Yamane regarding HB 2392.

Yamane was indicted for bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery; Solidum for three counts of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery; Fuchigami with use of false statements, conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruction of justice; and Asuncion with falsifying candidate committee reports, use of false statements and obstruction of justice.

“For years, people in Hawai‘i have wondered: ‘why can’t we investigate and prosecute our own public officials for corruption?’” Attorney General Anne Lopez said at a briefing Friday. “This is the reason why the Legislature created the Special Investigation and Prosecution Division [within the AG’s office] … We have a commitment to following the facts to where they lead, no matter how long it takes to get there.”

Nonetheless, Van Acker emphasized that Luke and the others in the indictment are still presumed innocent, and that the statements in the indictment remain only allegations. Van Acker and Lopez did not take questions Friday.

Luke took an indefinite leave of absence from the lieutenant governor position in April, which has continued to this day.

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