Opinion
Talking story about values.
The staff reporters at Aloha State Daily have a clear mission on the news side of the house: to tell you what happened, not what to think or how to feel about what happened. Here in the opinion section, we want to talk story about values — what we think Hawai‘i should do, or should not do, and why. This is where we welcome informed debate and where people can argue for their perspective.
Pipikaula Corner: Government got lucky last week
The tsunami traffic jam can't be a surprise when local government has made driving more and more difficult since the last time a tsunami warning put Honolulu in gridlock.
A. Kam NapierAugust 05, 2025
Hawai‘i’s lurking nuclear dilemma
Hawai‘i pushes to decarbonize, but also pushes away nuclear energy. But maybe that's starting to change as state officials move to open a nuclear energy conversation.
Perry ArrasmithAugust 04, 2025
Echoes of the Past at Poli‘ahu
The remains of this keiau on Kaua‘i carry a heavy burden of the past.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 30, 2025
Vanishing lights in the Tunnel of Trees
This week's ghost tale comes from Kaua‘i, where the Tunnel of Trees near Kōloa, while beautiful by day, is home to eerie experiences by night.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 23, 2025
These gates can’t keep the ghosts out
The gates of ʻIolani Palace, each with its own name and purpose, are decorated with gold painted finials and adorned with the Hawaiian Kingdom Coat of Arms. While accounts of mysterious disturbances related to the gates have been shared, it is evident they still hold mana.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 16, 2025
The most important speech in Hawaiʻi’s history
It was the "subtle inferiority of spirit" speech by then-Gov. John A. Burns that came to define the mission of the Democratic Party — and modern Hawai‘i.
Perry ArrasmithJuly 15, 2025
An East-West Center tailored for Hawaiʻi's needs
How this institution came to be and what it will need to become to survive.
Perry ArrasmithJuly 10, 2025
From haunted hotel to haunted museum
Spooky stories shared by staff at the No. 1 Capitol District Building, which was originally the Hawaiian Hotel that opened in February 1872.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 09, 2025
Uncles and Aunties: Malia Davis, inspired to be an animal caretaker by her grandparents
National Zookeeper Week is July 20-26. We spotlight an aunty who has spent half her life taking care of the elephants at Honolulu Zoo.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJuly 05, 2025
The women who march at night in Kaimukī
A little place history, as well as stories of "a female procession of spirits" at Puʻu o Kaimukī.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 02, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: How 13 teenagers and some California lawyers rule Hawai’i
State officials are set to unveil new rules to decarbonize the transportation sector. No one voted for this. It wasn't discussed. They committed us to this plan by settling a lawsuit last year that compels state government to protect us from the entire planet.
A. Kam NapierJune 27, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Sen. Mazie Hirono teaches us a lesson
Only it's not the lesson she might have had in mind. The senator recently went off on a Republican plan to introduce nationwide vouchers. Here's why she — and Republicans — are wrong about how to fix education.
A. Kam NapierJune 26, 2025
The Statue That Watches
At Diamond Head Memorial Park, a statue of Jesus takes on a completely different feel after dark. What many people don't remember now is that the park was born out of crisis in Honolulu cemeteries at the turn of the last century — too few of them for the growing city, and often in poor condition.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 25, 2025
Haunted History of Hilton Hawaiian Village
Over the years, staff and guests alike have reported seeing, even speaking with, mysterious lone figures who then vanish without a trace.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 18, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Schatz goes for the Oscar
Another fine performance given by Hawai‘i's senator.
A. Kam NapierJune 14, 2025
Uncles and Aunties: Dr. Martina Kamaka brings Hawaiian practices to medicine
Dr. Martina Kamaka comes from the Kamaka family noted for music but medicine has been her muse since childhood. Now she is a professor in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawaiʻi’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. Part of her kuleana is the māla lāʻau lapaʻau (medicinal garden) of native and Polynesian-introduced plants used for healing that grow in a 3,300-square-foot oasis — which you can visit yourself on an upcoming public work day in the garden.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJune 13, 2025
More than mail at this post office
Does the spirit of a postmaster still haunt these halls?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 11, 2025
Hawai‘i's forgotten governor
He served two terms at a pivotal moment in Hawai‘i history, now his official portrait is in storage. Who was he and what happened to his legacy?
Perry ArrasmithJune 09, 2025
Beware Nu‘uanu Pali Drive
Lush and beautiful as it may be, Nu‘uanu Valley also has a dark side as the site of the battle that defined King Kamehameha's Hawai‘i and as the home to infamously haunted Morgan's Corner.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 04, 2025
Smoke and Whispers at the State Capitol
Something more than the memory of thousands of failed bills haunts the State Capitol, possibly including a gubernatorial ghost.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 28, 2025
Strange occurrences at Diamond Head
The legend of Hawaii’s night marchers has endured over time, and the ghostly procession is still seen today all around the islands, even at Lē‘ahi, the Hawaiian name for Diamond Head.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 21, 2025
The Haunting Legacy of Ali‘iōlani Hale
The Massie Case may still haunt this building — literally!
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 14, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Sen. Schatz drops f-bomb, contradictions
The senator is mad, folks, really mad!
A. Kam NapierMay 12, 2025
Uncles and Aunties: Barbara Tinius, Ikenobo sensei
Kailuaʻs Barbara Tinius first explored the Japanese art of flower arrangement when woking in Tokyo in the ’80s. She has since achieved 16 levels of certification in the art and teaches classes that you can take yourself.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiMay 10, 2025