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This is Finn. His human stopped scratching his back, so he had to take matters into his own hands...

Smile 26 1 18

Daily Smile: Sunday, January 18, 2026

Smile 26 1 17

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Leaving my dogs alone with chicken nuggets...

Smile 26 1 16

Daily Smile: Friday, January 16, 2026

"Crimes my puppy has committed this week..."

Smile 26 1 15

Daily Smile: Thursday, January 15, 2026

When you're fixated on annoying your dog but he enjoys it more than you do...

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Daily Smile: Wednesday, January 14, 2026

"Golden Retrievers are so athletic, I bet he loves to play fetch..."

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Daily Smiles: Tuesday, January 13, 2026

I’m such a helper! I monitor the peaceful transfer of dog food from the big bag to the small bag...

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Daily Smile: Monday, January 12, 2026

Dog discusses what he does for a living...

Smile 26 1 11

Daily Smile: Sunday, January 11, 2026

"When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Smile 26 1 10

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Whether you prefer dining out or staying in — or just want specialty desserts — here are delicious ways to celebrate Feb. 14.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Aloha Brew Coffee Bar"}]

: This coffee business’s Valentine’s menu just launched. Drinks are available in heart-shaped cups with flavors like Sweet Thang (white chocolate, Thai walls and vanilla cold foam), I Love You Like a Mango (mango black tea with optional pineapple juice), Perfect Match-A (strawberry matcha), chocolate-dipped strawberry (strawberry with chocolate cold foam), Honey Bebeh (honey, brown sugar and coconut cold foam), Passion Love (black tea, liliko

i cold foam and optional pineapple juice), Going Bananas for You (banana, mocha walls and Cookie Butter cold foam) and banana split (banana, chocolate walls and strawberry cold foam). 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Chef Chai"}]

: This special Valentine’s dinner costs $125 per person. The menu includes:

: 5 or 7 p.m. Feb. 14; early bird special ($115) if seated between 4 and 5 p.m. 

olani Hotel Waikīkī Beach, 150 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu 

: The Valentine’s Day prix fixe ($100 per guest) features a four-course menu. It includes:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"La Palme D’Or"}]

: The dessert shop is offering a variety of themed treats for Valentine’s Day. Specialty desserts include strawberry shortcake ($65), strawberry basque ($40), strawberry roll cake ($30), raspberry opera cake ($45-$55, depending on size), chocolate-covered strawberries ($25-$45, depending on number of pieces; $5.50 each), cake pops ($5.50), four-piece financier sets ($16), espresso cup sets ($8.50) and more. Certain desserts like the raspberry mousse ($7.50), raspberry opera cake ($8.50) and choco tarte ($8.50) are also available in individual sizes. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"MW Restaurant"}]

: This Valentine’s Day special tasting menu ($110 per person) is available on Feb. 13 and 14, but on Feb. 13, diners have the option to order off the a la carte menu, as well.

[{"type":"text","text":"The tasting menu includes:"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Plumeria Beach House"}]

: This Valentine’s Day dinner buffet costs $125 per adult and $55 per child. The restaurant’s a la carte menu will not be available during this time. 

kahalaresort.com/dining/Plumeria-Beach-House/

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Star of Honolulu"}]

: The Pacific Star Sunset Buffet & Show Cruise ($128.88 per adult, $76.96 per child) includes a welcome Mai Tai, Pacific Rim dinner buffet, Moku Ola show and sunset views.

The buffet menu includes Alaea salt crusted USDA prime roast beef, fish of the day with coconut curry sauce, barbecue chicken, local macaroni salad, Big Island mixed greens with sweet bread croutons and citrus vinaigrette, homemade pineapple banana bread, coconut cake, guava chiffon cake and more. 

starofhonolulu.com/holiday-cruises-oahu-hawaii-valentines-day-cruise-pacific-star-dinner

: Stripsteak’s Valentine’s Day menu costs $139 per person. The three-course menu includes:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Buffet at Hyatt"}]

: Hyatt Regency Waikīkī Beach Resort & Spa, 

’s Valentine’s dinner buffet costs $125 per person (50% off for children ages 6 to 12 years old, children ages 5 and under have free admission). Buffet highlights include a carving station with garlic and herb crusted prime rib and grilled rack of lamb; seafood and sushi (Goosepoint oysters, Alaskan snow crab legs, ‘ahi poke, ‘ahi sashimi, made-to-order temaki handrolls and more); teppan station (kalbi short ribs, washugyu beef bulgogi and baked oysters); hot food station (Hyatt signature Korean fried chicken, roasted Hawaiian kampachi, lechon pork belly and more); and assorted desserts (soft serve ice cream with toppings, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate fountain with assorted fruits and brownies, mini red velvet cupcakes, tiramisu and more).

There is a 90-minute dining time limit, and this holiday menu is not combinable with the eatery’s kamaʻāina discount and other promotions. 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Valentines Day 2026 part 1 La Palme Dor 011526

<title>Where to eat on Valentine’s Day 2026: part 1</title>

From prix fixe menus to specialty desserts, check out these options for Feb. 14.

Where to eat on Valentine’s Day 2026: part 1

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Crimes my puppy has committed this week...\""}]

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, January 15, 2026</title>

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawaii History

Columnists

For nearly four decades, the Honolulu Club was more than a gym. It was a routine, a meeting place, and for many, a second home.

The Honolulu Club opened in 1980 across from the Neal Blaisdell Center, with a major focus on racquetball. After a 2012 bankruptcy and major reinvestments in 2014, the renovated club boasted a lounge, a 32-foot pool, steam rooms and saunas, hot tubs, cold plunges, personal training, and dozens of classes each week.

Members came for training sessions or group classes, but often lingered long after their workouts, talking story in the lounge and around the pool. The club quickly developed a reputation for networking and a camaraderie that extended far beyond its walls.

However, after temporary shutdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by renewed restrictions and declining membership, the club's owners made the difficult decision to permanently close. In its farewell message, the club emphasized that it had always been about more than fitness — it was about ‘ohana.

Another popular hangout in the building was T.G.I. Friday’s. People who worked in the building and in the surrounding area made the restaurant their regular lunch spot for years. Concertgoers and event attendees often stopped by for a meal before and after their events at the Blaisdell Center. Like the Honolulu Club, regulars enjoyed the camaraderie and the family-style atmosphere. With its sudden closure in 2007, patrons and staff were shocked to be left uninformed.

Other businesses housed within the structure included physicians’ offices, a hair salon, real estate firms, and investment and insurance advisors. Although all of these establishments are gone now, people who have worked in or visited the building often seem to describe the same uneasy moments.

Tales of furniture that refused to stay where it was left, doors that moved without wind, and persistent, uneasy feelings in certain areas of the building and the parking garage are examples of similar accounts that connected the various businesses. Some club members have described shadows glimpsed from the periphery or fully formed apparitions roaming the steam room and the weight room.

What makes these stories hard to dismiss is not just who experienced them, but where the building stands. A land survey conducted during recent construction stated that they found no visible archaeological remains during surface inspection. Yet even in its careful, technical language, the report leaves important questions open. Background research indicates that this stretch of King Street followed a major Hawaiian trail that was in use for centuries before Western contact, suggesting that traditional cultural deposits in the area cannot be ruled out. More pointedly, the survey acknowledges the possibility that burials associated with the Roman Catholic Cemetery next door may extend beyond its present boundaries and into the area of the concrete building. A walk through the cemetery shows marked graves just inches away from the building’s west-facing wall.

The building’s basement, which spans the entire footprint, is nearly nine feet below street level. The report ultimately concludes that this makes the survival of intact burials or subsurface cultural deposits unlikely. But unlikely is not the same as impossible. The report still doesn’t actually answer the question that keeps surfacing whenever unexplained activity is discussed: Is the building partially built over graves?

Today, after a complete renovation, the building has entered a new chapter as the Liliʻuokalani Center, a community hub supporting Native Hawaiian youth in culture, creativity, technology, and exploration.

On my visit there, I met someone who works at the new facility. She gave me a thorough tour of the state-of-the-art building, and then she said, “There is one place I want to take you. You tell me what you think.”

We took the elevator to the basement, and when the double doors opened, I felt it immediately. 

[{"type":"text","text":"“Burials?” I asked."}]

Nodding, my friend pointed to a corner and said, “During construction, they uncovered iwi. That’s where they put them.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“Were they able to identify the remains?” I asked."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"This person shrugged and left it at that."}]

But as I left the building, I saw a thick mist floating from the main doors through the intersection. It moved as if it had an intended destination. Vehicles swerved a bit or slowed down, so I know I wasn’t the only witness. Despite the minor chaos, the mist drifted over to Thomas Square, where it dissolved into nothing.

Is this part of the reason people think the building is haunted? Was it a previous resident from the building? Or perhaps a traveler from ancient days following the old trail?

Whatever it was, the imprint of the past remains on the newly renovated building, but we’ll find out soon enough whether its spirits remain as well.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Liliuokalani Center

<title>Hauntings at the old Honolulu Club</title>

The former home of the Honolulu Club and T.G.I. Friday's has a new life as the Liliʻuokalani Center. But according to reports, spirits older than any of these entities remain there.

Hauntings at the old Honolulu Club

 — a brand-new condo with 972 residential units and two, 44-story towers — is also home to a new food hall.

Located on the ground floor of the Liona Tower, 

 is celebrating its grand opening from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, Jan. 17. The food hall is soft opening with limited hours (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.) from Jan. 9 to 16.

[{"type":"text","text":"The food hall features both indoor and outdoor seating."}]

The space features 12 locally owned restaurants, and offers customers a variety of local and international flavors. Not all of the vendors are open yet; some have limited menus for the soft opening.

Vendors include FEAST by Jon Matsubara, King Thai Cuisine, Mangiamo Gelato, Middle Eats, Ninja Sushi, Sadie’s BBQ Honolulu, Serg’s Mexican Kitchen, Soul Chicken and more.

During today’s friends and family preview, participating vendors were serving samples and were open for business.

Serg’s Mexican Kitchen features the same menu as its Mānoa location. Meanwhile, the food hall is the first location for new vendors like Mangiamo Gelato.

On grand opening day, families are invited to enjoy keiki activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To access Midtown Eats, customers can enter the parking garage from the building’s Liona Street entrance and park on floors 1 to 2.5. Validated parking will be available.

Midtown Eats interior 010826

<title>New Honolulu food hall is now open</title>

Midtown Eats, the new food hall at The Park on Keʻeaumoku, is celebrating its grand opening from 10 a.m. to midnight on Jan. 17. The food hall is soft opening during limited hours from Jan. 9 to 16. Aloha State Daily got a tour of the new space.

New Honolulu food hall is now open

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

 and Dave Bautista will soon star in a new movie, “The Wrecking Crew,” which was filmed in 

. It will start streaming globally on Prime Video on Jan. 28.

Momoa, known for his roles as Aquaman in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” the warlord Khal Drogo in “Game of Thrones,” and — most recently  — Kaʻiana in “Chief of War,” plays one of the estranged half brothers. Bautista, known for his roles as Drax in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and Sapper Morton in “Blade Runner,” plays the other one. 

The action comedy features the estranged brothers, Jonny (Momoa) and James (Bautista) who must reunite when their father dies mysteriously. The brothers discover a conspiracy with the power to tear their family apart. The movie is set in Hawaiʻi. 

It was directed by Ángel Manuel Soto (“Blue Beetle” in 2023) and written by Jonathan Tropper.

It stars Claes Bang, Jacob Batalon, Miyavi, Stephen Root and Morena Baccarin and actors who appear in “Chief of War” including 

, who plays King Kahekili in the series, and 

Disney’s live action version of “Lilo & Stitch” (2025), including  

, who was appears in the movie with shave ice, and died a few weeks after its release in theaters. 

, who plays Sina, Moana’s mother, in Disney’s live action movie “Moana,” which is set to release later this year, is also in “The Wrecking Crew.”

"The Wrecking Crew"

<title>What to know about 'The Wrecking Crew' starring Jason Momoa</title>

The new movie launches this month, featuring Momoa and Dave Bautista, who play estranged brothers brought together by the death of their father. The story is set in the Islands.