Opinion
True tales of tall trees in the Islands
We love our trees in Hawai‘i. As ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown tells it, some trees have even been main characters in dramas playing out in the streets of the Islands.
DeSoto BrownSeptember 10, 2026
Hamada: Remembering 9/11
It was about a quarter to 3 in the morning in Honolulu when the first plane hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. For many of us in the Islands, the first we heard of the attack was a strangely early morning phone call from a loved one who had seen the news. "Turn on the TV. We're at war." ASD columnist Rick Hamada describes getting such a call, then spending 30 hours on the air at KHVH as kama‘āina called in with their fears, tears and rage.
Rick HamadaSeptember 10, 2026
Why Hawaiʻi families stop speaking over a house
The wealth that most people in Hawai‘i stand to inherit is typically real estate — quite often the very homes we grew up in, which are now million-dollar assets. ASD columnist Ray Tsuchiyama has advice for how kama‘āina can avoid the pain of fighting over the house when their parents are gone.
Ray TsuchiyamaSeptember 10, 2026
Through the Eyes of a Princess
Princess Kaʻiulani spent much of her tragically brief life at her beloved Waikīkī estate, ʻĀinahau. Over time, the property changed hands and developed into the hotel we know today. But there are stories the Princess is with us still in spirit at the site.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 09, 2026
Pamela Cisneros, Lindsay Clancy, and the voice that said ‘kill’
A woman pulled two kitchen knives from a shopping bag on Seventh Avenue and used them on two strangers. By nightfall everyone knew why, and no one argued. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on the explanation for mental illness that every culture but ours took for granted.
Sterling HigaSeptember 06, 2026
Changing Kakaako: Once a residential neighborhood
More than a century ago, the modern development of Kaka‘ako started as modest, wooden single-family homes. Over time, these were displaced businesses. ASD historian DeSoto Brown takes down these streets of Kaka‘ako as they looked then, and now.
DeSoto BrownSeptember 04, 2026
Hamada: A confession for Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month
When there's a month dedicated to a cause, we're suppose to talk about that cause, right? ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada has frank thoughts about this particular month.
Rick HamadaSeptember 03, 2026
Neighborhood capital: Unlocking Hawai'i's hidden housing resource
Redevelopment in Hawai‘i has typically forced landowners into one of just two decisions — sell, or don't sell. But there is a third choice, one where current landowners, by the dozens or the hundreds, could participate in coordinate redevelopments that could renew entire neighborhoods.
Ray TsuchiyamaSeptember 03, 2026
Sightings of Pele at Lē‘ahi
You might associated Pele most with the active volcanoes of Hawai‘i Island but ancient myths — and contemporary encounters — tell of her presence on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu as well.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 02, 2026
Hawaiʻi brain drain: How discrimination kept talent in the Islands, and why it doesn’t anymore
In February 1954, Nisei veterans who bled for their country couldn’t get a loan from Hawaiʻi’s banks, so they opened one of their own. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on how the discrimination that once concentrated talent in the Islands has faded — and why Hawaiʻi must now compete for people it used to keep by default.
Sterling HigaSeptember 02, 2026
Hawaiʻi meth deaths and the wrong account of human nature
A state planner earning $139,860 a year was found dead on his apartment floor, a glass pipe in his lap. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on how every remedy for meth rests on some account of the man being remedied.
Sterling HigaAugust 28, 2026
Close cover before striking: Advertising matchbooks in Hawai‘i
When cigarette smoking was ubiquitous so were matchbooks. These were handed out by the thousands by Hawai‘i businesses, each serving as a portable advertisement. Here's a tour of the businesses, and the printing art form, emblazoned on Hawai‘i matchbooks.
DeSoto BrownAugust 27, 2026
Hawaiʻi doesn't have a condo crisis, it has a missing law
Tens of thousands of people in Hawai‘i live in apartment towers that are now a half-century old, or older. Owners face sometimes ruinously expensive assessments to repair or replace aging building systems. Under Hawai‘i law they're stuck. There's no provision for owners to take the radical step of collectively selling their units and handing the building off to someone else to redevelop. Other places have such laws, here's how they work.
Ray TsuchiyamaAugust 27, 2026
Haunted Banyans at Ali‘iolani Hale
The two banyan trees next to Ali‘iolani Hale were planted in the 1880s. Such trees carry a wealth of symbolism throughout Asian cultures — enlightenment, divinity, magic, longevity, strength, and more. Legends also surround banyan trees as the abodes of ghosts and mysterious spirit beings. That was the experience of one Hawai‘i sheriff, who shared a frightening encounter with our authors.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 26, 2026
Where's our Legislative Analyst?
An Office of the Legislative Analyst was created by law during Gov. Waihe‘e's administration, and was meant to be a non-partisan, data-driven office that could inform legislators about the potential benefits and harms of the laws they pass. And yet, the office has never actually been staffed — it's a phantom, existing only on paper. Yet as lawmaking gets more complex, we need someone to do this work and some lawmakers having been trying to make the office finally happen.
Perry ArrasmithAugust 26, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: Kumu Hula Pattye Wright to participate in Aloha Festivals Floral Parade
Wright, 91, founder of Nā Puakea o Koʻolaupoko in Kailua, is keeping busy teaching seven weekly classes across the globe, while volunteering at church. Come September, this will be the hālau's fourth year entering a float in the parade, which allows them to share their culture with spectators and grow closer with one another, says Shiori Kaʻimilani Koehler, another kumu for the hālau.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiAugust 25, 2026
Ige wasn’t an insurgent. He was next in line.
A senator who chaired the most powerful committee in the Capitol waited quietly while a governor burned through every ally he had. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on what Hawaiʻi’s most famous “insurgency” proves about governing.
Sterling HigaAugust 25, 2026
Hawaiian martial arts master inaugurates “Warrior Women” exhibit at L.A. Museum
Michelle Manu presides over new exhibition paying tribute to female protectors, defenders and combatants at world’s only museum honoring international self-defense disciplines, including ancient Hawai‘i’s lua. She resides in California but returns to the Islands next month to lead a women's retreat on Hawai‘i Island.
Ed RampellAugust 25, 2026
Hamada: The hands that help when disaster strikes
In the wake of Hurricane Lala, we saw professionals who went above the call and neighbors who stepped up to help neighbors. Let's take a moment to appreciate the best of the aloha spirit.
Rick HamadaAugust 24, 2026
What Pennsylvania and Florida know about sports tourism that Hawai‘i doesn't
Hawai‘i has plenty of sporting events that are, individually, successful and well known: Paddling, surfing, golf, triathlons and more. Here's how to take that collection to the next level and really elevate the Islands' sports stature.
Ray TsuchiyamaAugust 21, 2026
The $88 billion bill we agreed to ignore
Seven years ago, a room full of Hawaiʻi’s most powerful executives agreed the state faced an $88 billion problem in investing for the future. Then everyone went back to work. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the maintenance never comes.
Sterling HigaAugust 21, 2026
Changing Kaka‘ako: The ocean connection
The hundred-year-old Kewalo Basin was originally made to move fishing sampans out of busy Honolulu Harbor. At one point, 1,000 people worked in the adjacent Hawaiian Tuna Packers facility, producing up to 65,000 cans of tuna per day under the Coral brand for sale locally and on the Mainland. In time, the famous Fisherman's Wharf restaurant appeared, thrived, then shut down as well. It remains a harbor for fishing boats, but of the recreational variety, as well as for boat tours and "booze cruises."
DeSoto BrownAugust 21, 2026
Hamada: Lack of investment in infrastructure taking a toll
This state has never had a money problem, it's had a problem setting priorities to deliver the basics and we pay the price every time a storm strains the system.
Rick HamadaAugust 19, 2026
Among the Graves at Kawaiaha‘o
Nearly 200 years ago, American missionaries at Kawaiaha‘o Church introduced the Western practice of graveyards with tombstones. While the living carry on with church services and wedding receptions and happy occasions, grief seems to bind some spirits to the graveyard — unhappy souls who make their presence known.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 19, 2026