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De Soto 2025

DeSoto Brown

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

Do you remember Ward Warehouse? It was something of a landmark in Kaka‘ako once, but after being demolished nearly 10 years ago it’s now on its way to being forgotten.

The Ward family is foundational to the history of Kaka‘ako. Back in the 19th century, the clan came to own a large tract of land stretching from their private home that was just across King Street from Thomas Square, all the way down to what is now Kewalo Basin. This ownership, of course, is the origin of the name Ward Avenue for the street that formed most of the boundary of the property on its ‘Ewa side.

By the middle of the 20th century, the Ward land contained a mix of private homes and a variety of business tenants. The family-owned corporation that managed the property, Victoria Ward Ltd., started taking small steps towards more lucrative tenants in the 1950s but ramped up its redevelopment goals in the early 1960s by constructing a series of modern, low-rise structures.

A major new commitment came in early 1974 with the start of construction of Ward Warehouse on a 4.1 acre site between Ala Moana Boulevard, Ward Avenue and Auahi Street. The location had some special considerations in that it was covered by two very different types of zoning: one was for retail while the other was strictly for wholesale and industrial uses. The latter category was slightly problematic for what was intended as, essentially, a shopping center open to the public, and initially required a careful selection of tenants.

Designed by architect Steve Au, Ward Warehouse had a notably 1970s appearance. The hippie movement in the USA by this time had popularized more earthy, natural materials, so the complex’s exteriors were dark-stained wood, inspired in particular by a trend-setting development called Sea Ranch in California from the late 1960s. The only outside decorations were sections of bold painted “supergraphics” in geometric patterns. Industrial elements were not covered up but were openly displayed; on the outside, pipes and fittings were painted in bright colors to show them off, along with some oversized machine parts that were installed purely as decor. Inside the rental spaces, high ceilings showed undisguised conduits, light fixtures and air-conditioning ducts. Floors were concrete and walls were mostly unpainted wood. The effect was “honesty” in materials vs shiny synthetic surfaces.

Ward Warehouse opened with 87 tenant spaces; some interiors had the potential for the construction of mezzanines. Parking on the ground level accommodated 250 vehicles while the four-level concrete garage had 400 more spots. A soft opening for some businesses took place in time for Christmas 1974. By April 1975 the complex was placing large display ads in the Honolulu newspapers.

Those who are old enough to have patronized Ward Warehouse will undoubtedly remember particular stores or restaurants they regularly visited. For many people, the Old Spaghetti Factory at the far ‘Ewa end, with its two-story interior spaces, was surely a favorite (it has since moved to Aloha Tower). Embellished by numerous antique light fixtures and other old-time props which the company had been able to accumulate when such items were mostly inexpensive salvage goods from the demolition of 80- or 90-year-old structures in the USA, the low-cost restaurant had a unique feeling in its diverse seating areas.

Of course many other businesses came and went through Ward Warehouse over the years. There was the Liquor Collection which was filled with limited-edition figural ceramic specialty bottles, stores just for outdoor furniture, kitchenware, and flags, and the Nohea Gallery for local artwork of all kinds.

Ward Warehouse was never intended to last throughout the ages. A 1969 newspaper article quoted a statement from Victoria Ward Ltd that said offices and high-rise structures were eventually planned along Ala Moana Boulevard. Closure of the shopping center came on July 31, 2017 followed by demolition that began in November.

Howard Hughes Corporation, by then the owner of the site, first announced that two “ultraluxury” towers would soon rise here, the Ward Village Gateway. One of these was to be the 

 with units offered for prices ranging from $1.3 million to $23 million; these were first put on sale in 2015. But in 2018 the entire project was dropped, even after Howard Hughes had spent $29 million on it, and 28 of the 125 apartments in the Cylinder had been sold. In 2019 Victoria Place was approved for construction on the Waikīkī end of the property. Next to it was the start of the new Victoria Ward Park which would eventually occupy what had been the center part of Ward Warehouse.

However, it wouldn’t be until 2025 that one of the familiar construction cranes would finally be erected on the rest of the former Ward Warehouse, signaling yet another of the Kaka‘ako condominiums to come: Kalae.

1 Ward ad 1 16x9

<title>Changing Kaka‘ako: Remembering Ward Warehouse</title>

Ward Warehouse was never meant to last — even the previous owners who built it, Victoria Ward Ltd, always intended for offices and high-rises to take its place. But it had a four-decade run from its 1975 opening to its 2017 demolition, featuring such businesses as Old Spaghetti Factory, Orson's, The Liquor Collection, Nohea Gallery and more. Here's a look back at the shopping center, including a glimpse of the neighborhood before Ward Warehouse came along and fishing, rather than shopping, was the area's industry.

Changing Kaka‘ako: Remembering Ward Warehouse

Ray Tsuchiyama

Every weekday afternoon at 4:30, I pick up my granddaughter.

Sometimes while waiting in the parking lot, I answer an email from a Tokyo client. My work doesn't stop just because the school day is ending; it simply gets folded into whatever gap exists before 4:30.

Then it is time to pick up my granddaughter.

The contrast is almost comical. One minute I am updating escrow about a multimillion-dollar transaction; the next, I am fastening a child into her car seat, listening to who was “mean” to her and asking whether I have been a good “Jiji” today.

Yet there is a fundamental connection between the two, and it is not a small one. My being there at 4:30 makes it possible for her parents to stay at work.

I am part of Hawaiʻi's childcare system. I just don't show up in the childcare statistics.

That is not to say grandparents can replace preschool. Quite the opposite. I have never been more convinced of the difference between the two than I am now, watching early childhood education happen five days a week.

I see daily what preschool provides my granddaughter that I cannot. She talks about learning "A" for alligator. She says, “Good morning, how are you today?” respectfully to her teacher. She has learned to share toys and navigate relationships with her classmates.

These may sound like small things. They aren't. They are the essential building blocks of early social development and preparation for elementary school. Jiji is not going to lead a structured lesson on phonics or spelling. That is not a criticism of grandparents; it is an accurate description of what a classroom is actually for.

We must be careful not to confuse childcare with early education. They are distinct entities doing different work. Hawaiʻi's policy conversations should be honest about that distinction, rather than treating "somebody is watching the kids" as interchangeable with "somebody is teaching them."

At the same time, the two are inextricably linked. A family that cannot solve the first problem — supervision — never gets to benefit from the second — education. A child who needs supervision at 4:30 p.m. and cannot get it from a licensed, affordable after-school program does not simply do without. A grandparent, an aunt, or a neighbor absorbs the gap instead. And whatever early-learning or structured enrichment value a formal setting would have provided goes missing along with it.

This is where Hawaiʻi needs to start asking a different, broader set of questions about childcare.

When we talk about Hawaiʻi's childcare crisis, policy makers tend to count only what is easily visible: licensed centers, available slots, registered childcare workers, preschool enrollment, subsidies, and out-of-pocket costs. The state's Ready Keiki initiative, for instance, tracks its progress toward universal access for three- and four-year-olds largely through formal metrics — seats built, classrooms opened, and shrinking waitlists.

All of those metrics matter. None of it is wrong to count.

But what about the grandmother who watches a grandchild until a parent gets off a late shift? The aunt who takes care of two nieces every Wednesday? The hānai cousin who steps in when a parent's work schedule changes with two days' notice because the alternative is losing the job? 

What about the parents themselves — the ones who adjust their working hours, decline a promotion, or leave the workforce altogether because they cannot find care they can afford or 

These individuals are essential components of Hawaiʻi's childcare system. Yet much of this labor remains invisible. A family absorbing the gap through a grandparent or a neighbor never shows up on an official state waitlist. Statistically, that family looks like a household with no need at all.

Before we can solve this problem, we should determine the true scope of the system we already have. Imagine a comprehensive map of Hawaiʻi's entire early-childhood ecosystem — not just licensed facilities.

 How many are there? How old are they? Where do they live?

 Who takes care of them during the day, before and after school, on weekends, and during school holidays? Some will be in childcare centers or preschools. Many will be with grandparents, extended family, friends, or neighbors (“FFN”). Some parents will be attempting to do the work themselves, juggling split shifts or working from home with a toddler running around the living room.

 How many parents are working? How many could work more hours or take a higher-paying job if reliable childcare were accessible? How many have already reduced their hours or left employment altogether — a trend that appears consistently in statewide surveys and ripples outward to every local employer struggling to fill shifts or retain trained staff?

 Are the shortages identical in Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului, and Līhuʻe? A Neighbor Island shortage looks vastly different from an urban Oʻahu shortage — fewer providers competing for thinner margins, paired with longer travel distances between existing care and family homes.

 Even for a dual-income family, a median $1,000 to $1,300 monthly fee for licensed preschool represents a substantial hit to the household budget. What does formal care actually cost families? What does the state spend?

What is the economic value of all the unpaid care that families currently provide on their own?

That last figure is astronomical. Suppose Jiji provides two hours of childcare a day, five days a week, for 50 weeks a year. That is 500 hours a year. At $20 an hour, that equates to $10,000 worth of care. At $25 an hour, it reaches $12,500. Multiply that across tens of thousands of families statewide — grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors all stepping up at 4:30 p.m. — and the value of Hawaiʻi's invisible childcare workforce runs into hundreds of millions of dollars. It is an economy quietly sustained by free kūpuna labor.

Beyond the direct hours, there is an additional layer of economic value: the parent who can hold down a job because Auntie Leilani is available. That is a paycheck earned, taxes paid, and a local business that does not lose a valued employee to a coverage gap.

Our informal care network is currently subsidizing Hawaiʻi's entire labor market — for free, indefinitely, and with no guarantee that it will still be there for the next generation.

Childcare is not simply a social service or a favor rendered by loving relatives. 

Before We Subsidize: Mapping Hawaiʻi’s Childcare Care Economy

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ay Tsuchiyama’s series explores 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 

Grandparent with child i Stock 2161371957

<title>Hawaiʻi’s Invisible Childcare Subsidy: Free Kūpuna Labor</title>

In the first of a two-part series, ASD columnist Ray Tsuchiyama explores the economics of the childcare crisis in Hawai‘i, including the dimensions we're not talking about, but should.

Hawaiʻi’s Invisible Childcare Subsidy: Free Kūpuna Labor

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

WEB square crop Hayley Lehman Headshot RGZ1636

Haley Lehman

Government & Politics

Aloha Spirit

Public archives are known for documenting land and genealogy, but Hawaiʻi State Archivist Adam Jansen said Hawaiʻi State Archives does much more than that. 

Archives Month, a month-long virtual exhibition that begins on Thursday, Oct. 1, highlights the archives’ special collections that people might not know about. The month will explore how Waikīkī is represented in art and music, and has changed over time through a virtual exhibition. Some of the material has never been displayed online before.

The first week of Archives Month focuses on 19th century history of Waikīkī, including the first known map of the area documented by a Russian expedition. The second week looks at the representation of Waikīkī in art and music and the third week is all about Waikīkī hotels. The fourth week is about the development of Waikīkī, featuring photos from the Williams Family’s collection of construction projects between Chinatown and Waikīkī. The last week focuses on the conservation of Waikīkī with the display of the personal files of Nancy Bannick, who advocated to preserve Oʻahu’s historical places.

Archives Month material will be available on the 

is open to the public between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays,

 will also post daily on their social media pages.

Jansen said that not everyone has the availability and ability to visit the archive in person, so celebrating Archives Month virtually makes the archive more accessible and equitable. More Kānaka Maoli live on the 

 than on the Islands, and Jansen said that the archive hopes to help Native Hawaiians maintain connection to the ʻāina.

The archive “collects, preserves and makes available to the public

” government records and special collections. 

Making records available to the public is at the core of Jansen’s role as State Archivist.

“We can protect by putting things in a vault and locking the vault door. We’ve preserved it. But our founding legislation is to preserve arrange, describe and make accessible,” Jansen said. “It does not belong to us, it belongs to the people, so providing them access to their documentary heritage in a format than they can use, appreciate, enjoy is incredibly important to our overall goal and mission.”

He pointed to the Hawaiian proverb “I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope,” which means “the lessons of the past are the keys to the future.”

Jansen said, “He who controls the record controls history, controls knowledge, controls power, and as the public archives, we need to make sure everybody has that, that no one person controls it.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Meet the State Archivist"}]

Jansen doesn’t have a favorite item or collection at the archive but said that Queen Lili‘uokalani donating her 

which includes her diaries, draft constitution, letters and more 

inspires and drives him to do more to support the people of Hawaiʻi. The archive has digitized approximately 24,000 documents as part of the queen’s collection.

“She entrusted us with her most intimate words because she wanted us to share her voice with everybody for generations to come,” he said. “How can we pay back that faith and trust that she placed in us?”

The Hawaiʻi State Archives is also home to 

Jansen said that there’s still “societal angst regarding overthrow and annexation” and generational trauma.

“We have records dealing with that time period that need to be more globally understood, so when these discussions happen, everybody is starting from the same foundational knowledge of the words from the people who were there shaping that history,” he said.

Jansen said that he took an atypical path to his career as an archivist. He originally planned to major in chemical engineering but changed his mind halfway through college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I quickly learned that while I had a deep love of science and math, the concept of working in a small lab with two other people and no windows for the rest of my life really didn’t appeal to me,” he said.

He decided to get his bachelor’s in history instead. The university librarian asked him, “if you love history so much, why don’t you think about protecting it?”

Jansen went on to work in information management at Microsoft and UNOVA. He served as the Deputy State Archivist for the State of Washington, where he managed the Washington State Digital Archives while earning his Master of Science from Eastern Washington University in Business Administration and Computer Science, and later obtained his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia School of Library, Archival and Information Studies.

Jansen moved to Hawaiʻi in 2013 to consult the Hawaiʻi State Archives on digitization and fell in love with the state and spirit of aloha. He stepped into the role of State Archivist in April 2016 and now oversees a team of about 20 staff.

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he said.

The people have kept Jansen passionate about his work, and he sees archives changing lives daily.

Jansen remembers an aunty in tears looking at the microfilm readers who had told him that she found the land record that her grandmother had signed, making it the first time she’d ever met her tutu.

“The impact that I see that these primary sources can make in (people’s) lives is absolutely irreplaceable,” he said.

Hawaiʻi State Archives has been upgrading its hardware to photography equipment over the last five years to improve digitization efforts. According to Jansen, the archive has digitized approximately 1% of their collection. As they make progress digitizing records, people continue to donate materials.

Hawaiʻi State Archives is developing artificial intelligence to increase accessibility of public hearings and aims to roll it out by the end of the year, Jansen said. The system will transcribe thousands of hours of hearings into a system researchers can search.

“We understand some of the fears and limitations and dangers of AI, so we are very cognizant of the fact that our language model that we are using, all of the AI tools are only on the corpus that we give it,” Jansen said. "It knows nothing about the grand universe beyond. It’s not finding anything other than those hearings and the documents we give it.”

Waikiki songbooks

<title>'Archives change lives': Archives Month kicks off this week</title>

The Hawaiʻi State Archive kicks off American Archives Month on Thursday with a five-week long virtual program about Waikīkī. Aloha State Daily sat down with State Archivist Adam Jansen to learn more.

'Archives change lives': Archives Month kicks off this week

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

ʻohana through educational opportunities, advocacy and community organizing, as well as offered support on issues from housing and healthcare to family leave.

From 1997 to 2012, GBA Executive Director Elisabeth “Liz” Chun helped lay the foundation of the organization dedicated to young children. In 2015, Deborah Zysman was executive director when the keiki advocacy group rebranded to HCAN and sought funds that would support its coalition statewide.

"This evolution of mobilizing families, businesses, nonprofits and our leaders as a powerful voice for all our children has been phenomenal and I couldn't be more optimistic about HCAN's continuing that foundation," 

. "This is a most critical quality of life issue facing our state. Building a thriving economy with a qualified and capable workforce depends on helping our kids get what they need now."

At that point, one out of five keiki in Hawaiʻi were living in poverty. Today, that figure has risen by one-third.

“Between 2019–2021 and 2022–2024, the share of keiki living in poverty climbed from 9% to 12%, according to new data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. That’s nearly 37,000 children in our islands going without basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare,” according to a November 2025 

article from Aloha State Daily by Nicole Woo

, HCAN director of research and economic policy.

“These numbers are more than statistics — they represent real families struggling to survive in one of the most expensive states in the nation,” she continued. “They also underscore a hard truth: poverty is not inevitable. It is shaped by public policy, and right now, Hawaiʻi’s policies are not keeping pace with the cost of living or the needs of its children.”

After 13 years at the helm of HCAN, Zysman accepted a role as deputy director for the City and County of Honolulu Office of Economic Revitalization in August of 2025.

“More families are fed up with government officials. At the moment, it feels like we can’t count on the federal government to help working class families, so we’ll be asking what our state is doing to help working class families stay here, survive here, thrive here,” 

, the lobbying arm of Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network.

In the same interview, Zysman said, “We’re building more of a movement, a strong community voice, and bringing together more families and advocates.”

Lisa Maruyama, an independent consultant and former president and CEO of Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, or 

, stepped in to lead the organization for the interim before 

A Maya Indian from Guatemala and civil war survivor, Chaisson-Cárdenas immigrated to the U.S. when he was in intermediate school. He brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to the role, spanning sectors such as DEI and civil rights, research, family-centered practice and more.

Chaisson-Cárdenas notes as a young boy himself he saw firsthand a child in desperate need, on the edge of death, which set him on his career path in social work, youth development, education and policy.

“Our vision is to make Hawai’i the best place in the nation to raise a child,” Chaisson-Cárdenas said at the 30th anniversary awards and dinner held on Sept. 19 at the Pacific Club in Honolulu.

Addressing the crowd of more than a couple hundred people, he added: “So many of you said aloha to me and I can't think of a better place to be. This Maya Indian feels at home.”

HCAN aims to build “a unified voice educating and advocating for Hawaiʻi’s children,” its mission statement reads, ensuring that all keiki in the Islands “are safe, healthy and ready to learn.”

How do they plan to accomplish this in the long-term?

Chaisson-Cárdenas said that early learning is still integral part of its mission moving forward and laid out a four-step plan: Invest in parent leadership and voice; lean into prevention and upstream solutions; strengthen Hawaiʻi-centered research and evaluation; and build a movement through HCAN Speaks!, where you can become a founding member 

According to the nonprofit, the momentum to serve all children over the last year is continuing to build. For example, through various partnerships and community advocacy, the Preschool Open Doors program expanded 

— the largest preschool subsidy rollout in the state

’s history. Other wins include the creation of the first-ever Early Head Start program established on Kauaʻi, more pre-Kindergarten classrooms opened; the passing of legislation, the advancement of Prevent Child Abuse America Hawaiʻi toward accreditation, and more.

To offer support to the organization, the gala featured keiki vendors and dance entertainers, cultural activities, live music and auctions, among other activities.

HCAN also recognized five Champions for Children, who were nominated by community members and selected by a panel of judges. Sunny Kazama, co-founder of nonprofit Cue collaborative received the Unsung Hero award; Dr. Suma Metla of Three Little Ducks received the Innovator award; Dr. Rachael Aquino, co-founder and executive director of Hawai’i workforce pipeline was honored with the Family-Friendly Employer award; Ryan Arias, a senior at Kea’au High School, was named Youth Advocate of the Year; and Rep. Trish La Chica was recognized as Advocate of the year.

“Strong families are supported by strong workplaces … which benefits not only the workplace, but our entire community,” said Dean Wong, the nonprofit’s board president and CEO of Maui-based nonprofit Imua Family Services, who was emceeing the event.

Local artist Dominique Hill, known professionally as 

, closed out the celebration with music and dancing.

A spokesperson for HCAN told ASD last week that they were still calculating final numbers for the amount raised from the fundraising gala but were so far near $100,000, counting both monetary and in-kind donations.

For updates, check out the organizationʻs Instagram (

HCAN board and executive directors

<title>HCAN rings in 30 years with fundraiser, renewed future plans</title>

Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network turns 30 this year and recently celebrated champions for children in the community and its work to provide local keiki and families what they need to succeed in the Islands at a decades-themed fundraising gala. At the event, HCAN Executive Director John-Paul Chaisson-Cárdenas also shared the organization’s path forward into the next decade.

HCAN rings in 30 years with fundraiser, renewed future plans

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Festivals marks its 80th anniversary of celebrations with three events this year. For 

co-chair of the Aloha Festivals board of directors, the festival is a chance to celebrate culture.

“Come and enjoy it, because again, only Hawaiʻi has aloha,” she told Aloha State Daily. “And it's fun.”

Aloha Festivals kicked off on Saturday, Sept. 5, with the Royal Court investiture and opening ceremony, where the 2026 Royal Court received regalia reserved for aliʻi.

This weekend, Aloha Festivals will bring the 72nd Annual Hoʻolaulea to Kalākaua Avenue from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Waikīkī. Featured entertainment this year takin four stages includes the Mākaha Sons, Hoʻokena, Anthony Pfluke, Kamaka Camarillo, Baba Tavares, and more.

“It's a street party, and what makes it unique is that we have stages that are sponsored, and on our stages, we have Hawaiian entertainment,” she said. “There's music and wonderful entertainment throughout the evening. We also have individual vendors. They're selling lei. They're selling jewelry. They're selling T-shirts. They're selling food.”

The free, volunteer-run event is expected to bring 

more than 10,000 participants to Waikīkī,

The festival underway consists of three events this weekend, including Hoʻolaulea, with four stages and more than 100 vendors in Waikīkī­­­. Also coming up on Sept. 26 is the Aloha Festivals’ 78th Annual Floral Parade, where Sam Shenkus, co-chair of the Aloha Festivals board of directors, has watched some families grow up over time.