Opinion
Ghostly history of Kamāmalu Playground
A home once stood on the property, then known as Emma Street, and its owner seemed unwilling to stay away even after death. But is she the only spirit that haunts the site?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 22, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: DMV déjà vu
Have you heard about the long waits to renew your Hawai‘i drivers license? Does this all feel strangely familiar? Yes, it's been eight years since the Great Renewal Logjam and all those licenses are expiring at the same time. Editor A. Kam Napier has thoughts on all that plus an update on the promised online renewals.
A. Kam NapierApril 21, 2026
Community Voices: When good bills go bad
Several of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi’s priority measures still in play aim to make a dent in Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis.
Keliʻi AkinaApril 21, 2026
Community Voices: Hawaiʻi Women Lawyers opens doors for generations
The organization was started in 1976 by attorney Rai Saint Chu.
Richard TurbinApril 21, 2026
Community Voices: Where’s your second tax return — part 2
Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi details its latest win at the Legislature — submitting a redraft for HB2429 in testimony that would have forced residents to file a second, publicly available, tax return. Conference Committee meetings now begin.
Tom YamachikaApril 20, 2026
Ask them, don't study them
Political commentator Neal Milner is alarmed that teenagers find new value in mothers staying home to take care of the family. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa has a rebuttal.
Sterling HigaApril 18, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Congratulations, Hawai‘i, we're No. 1! In local taxes!
A walletHub analysis of state and local taxes puts Hawai‘i at the top.
A. Kam NapierApril 16, 2026
The fight never has to end
There have always been beefs and scraps in Hawai‘i's schools. Now fights are social media events, incentivizing kids to put on bigger and more violent shows for the audience, writes ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa. This is going to get someone killed.
Sterling HigaApril 15, 2026
Hamada: Why tip your servers?
Inspired by a viral TikTok, ASD Columnist Rick Hamada talks tipping, customers' standards and protocols, concern over servers' paychecks, and more.
Rick HamadaApril 15, 2026
A mystery on the Koko Crater Trail
If you think climbing 1,000 steps is scary, just wait until you hear who — or what — you might meet at the summit!
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 15, 2026
Letter to the Editor: Keep the Green Fee project portfolio intact
A Chaminade student shares how habitat loss threatens Native Hawaiian land snails and how the Green Fee can help safeguard its resources.
Letters to the EditorApril 15, 2026
Rising pro surfer Kalā DeSoto finds purpose in the ocean
In January, 18-year-old surfer Kalānōweo DeSoto from Mākaha became the youngest invitational surfer to win Da Hui Backdoor Shootout held on Oʻahu's North Shore — and the only competitor in event history to win titles in both longboard and shortboard categories. Learn more about what got him in the water and his hopes for the next competition and beyond.
Donalyn Dela CruzApril 15, 2026
Community Voices: How building new homes benefits everyone
Several remaining reforms in the state Legislature propose more housing in Hawaiʻi at all levels, without spending a dime of taxpayer money. But how will legislators respond?
Keliʻi AkinaApril 14, 2026
Community Voices: Conveyance Tax Fright
The Legislature is advancing bills to increase the conveyance tax on properties sold in Hawai‘i, without revealing by how much. The are "Blankety Blank" bills, with the most important numbers left out. Early drafts, however, did propose rate increases as much as four times higher than current rates.
Tom YamachikaApril 14, 2026
What’s in a Lieutenant Governor?
Some of Hawai‘i's Lieutenant Governors have launched bigger political careers from the position, some faded in obscurity, and a number them clashed with their governors. One even quit halfway through his term to go back to private industry. Here are the names that made history in the statehood era.
Perry ArrasmithApril 13, 2026
Faster than prayer
Pastors are doing it, legislators are doing it — everyone is turning to AI to write out their thoughts for them. Is anyone thinking for themselves, asks ASD columnist Sterling Higa.
Sterling HigaApril 10, 2026
Community Voices: A story of enduring love
Beyond training people to preserve and perpetuate hula through hālau Nā Pualei o Likolehua, founder Leināʻala Kalama Heine wanted to instill in her students a love for all that is Hawaiian and determination to move the lāhui forward. Now under the leadership of her oldest daughter, Kumu Hula Niuliʻi Heine, the hālau is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year at the Merrie Monarch Festival.
Puanani Fernandez-AkamineApril 09, 2026
Hamada: "Lucky You Live Hawai‘i," we say — as celebration, or as cope?
ASD columnist Rick Hamada discusses three phrases we tell ourselves to get by in the Islands.
Rick HamadaApril 09, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: Kate Johnson, the cycling clarinetist of the Royal Hawaiian Band
Kate Johnson has been a clarinetist with the Royal Hawaiian Band for 25 years, and has competed in numerous triathlons. She still gets in 60 miles of cycling a week in between performances.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiApril 09, 2026
Ghosts of the King Street Cemetery
From 1845 until the 1920s, a parcel of land outside of Honolulu granted by Governor Boki served as an active cemetery for the Catholic Church in Hawai‘i. It's still there on King Street, though its quiet surroundings have given way to high-rises, utilities and a hospital. Also still there, some say, are the spirits of the deceased appearing amid the headstones.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 08, 2026
Community Voices: Help Hawai‘i farmers recover
An anonymous donor secured by Aloha State Daily will match dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000, donations made to the Hawai‘i Farmers Union Foundation's Hawai‘i Flood Response Fund.
Christian ZuckermanApril 08, 2026
The missing step
When the Hawai‘i state Legislature passed historic tax cuts in 2024, it was meant to be the first step in a two-step plan to restructure Hawai‘i's tax code by state Rep. Kyle Yamashita, then chair of the House Finance committee. Then he lost the chairmanship, the House voted to take back the cuts and Yamashita's plan has gone missing. ASD columnist Sterling Higa explores what might have been.
Sterling HigaApril 07, 2026
Community Voices: Additional car tax dead for now
This session, the Senate Transportation Committee saved all of us the trouble of worrying about HB2030's fate. It deferred the bill.
Tom YamachikaApril 06, 2026
What's in a chee hoo?
Generations removed from the plantation era that forged it, local culture is in danger of becoming a nostalgia-fueled performance of itself, writes ASD columnist Sterling Higa.
Sterling HigaApril 04, 2026