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.
Haunted halls of Honolulu Hale
Honolulu's city hall, Honolulu Hale, is nearly a century old — old enough to acquire a reputation for sightings of a supernatural nature. Here's the history of how the building came to be, and what people have experienced in its hallways.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 12, 2025
Hamada: Weighing emotions versus pragmatism on illegal immigration
Feelings to the contrary aside, nothing about the enforcement of immigration law contradicts America's ideals as a place the welcomes newcomers or that helps people escape oppression.
Rick HamadaNovember 12, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: I am an AI hallucination!
"Don't let Hawaiian Kam Napier fool you," the closed captioning said. That's not what the speaker said, however. Welcome to the hallucinatory reality of current AI.
A. Kam NapierNovember 11, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: How the City keeps Honolulu afraid
On the issue of homelessness, it's as if the people and their government live on different planets. As an exchange at a recent Neighborhood Board meeting shows, everyday people are expressing real fear that goes unacknowledged by officials spouting jargon.
A. Kam NapierNovember 06, 2025
The bones beneath the Contessa
The Contessa condominium in Mo‘ili‘ili stands where Kamo‘ili‘ili Church and its mainly Hawaiian graveyard had served the community since 1850. The remains of nearly 500 people were moved for the condo, but workers and residents over the years have reported chilling tales of the spirits that remain.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 05, 2025
What endures in Palaka?
Palaka — the fabric — has passed through many hands and generations to become a distinctive fabric of the Islands, reflecting its multicultural history. So, too, has Palaka Power, the political philosophy that took its name from the working-class history associated with the humble cloth. Is there a place for that philosophy now?
Perry ArrasmithNovember 05, 2025
Hamada: Awareness and compassion needed for mental health issues
People don't hesitate to get help if they catch a flu or sprain an ankle. Looking after one's mental health should be just as natural and free of shame or stigma.
Rick HamadaNovember 04, 2025
Ages of unrest at Windward Mall
The former Sears store in particular had been a nexus for unexplained activities — staffers and shoppers pushed by unseen forces, clothes flung along their racks.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 29, 2025
Hawai‘i Then and Now: Kealakekua's Aloha Theater
Built in 1932 for movies by the Tanimoto family, this South Kona landmark started offering live theater performances as early as 1939. Now it's the full-time home of the Aloha Performing Arts Company, where, Artistic Director Sarah Athens says, "Anyone can be an actor. Anyone can be an artist. All you have to do is want it.”
Andrea CavaliereOctober 29, 2025
Hamada: What I love about "Community Matters"
Here are just a few of the many worthy nonprofits in Hawai‘i that I've gotten to know through my years in talk radio. All of them do important work and deserve our support.
Rick HamadaOctober 28, 2025
Unseen visitors at the Mission Houses
Between 1821 and 1832, missionaries built three houses on what was then a dry and dusty plain. A city has grown up around then since then, but eerie shadows of the past have been seen at these Honolulu landmarks.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 22, 2025
Hamada: "No Kings" anything but grassroots
A well-funded, Washington, D.C., organization supports these protests and while we can all applaud the right to free speech being celebrated in the streets, it's worth pointing out that the content of that "No Kings" speech borders on defamation and libel.
Rick HamadaOctober 21, 2025
Ghosts of the past at the Navy Exchange
The building rests on the slopes of Āliamanu and Āliapaʻakai, places bound to the legends of the goddess Pele and her sister Hiʻiaka. Shoppers and staff alike have shared eerie tales of what they've seen and felt here.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 15, 2025
Japanese Breakfast — Teshima’s and a Century of Change in South Kona
Teshima's Restaurant is a South Kona landmark dating back to 1929. Here is the family story behind the landmark, with then-and-now photos.
Andrea CavaliereOctober 15, 2025
Hamada: In the shutdown showdown, you are a pawn
It's divide-and-conquer gamesmanship, reaching all the way to the Islands.
Rick HamadaOctober 13, 2025
Hauntings at Honolulu’s “Ghostbusters” building
At the corner of Kapiʻolani and Ke‘eaumoku stands a modern building with some possibly ancient nighttime visitors, according to people who have worked there late at night.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 08, 2025
Hamada: Golf gets a black eye
Nearly 100,000 Hawai‘i golfers take to local courses every year, so a lot of kama‘āina likely saw what went down at the Ryder Cup. Not much aloha spirit on display in Farmingdale.
Rick HamadaOctober 07, 2025
Uncles and Aunties: Robert Castro keeps plantation history alive
Through his years of volunteer work at Hawai‘i’s Plantation Village in Waipahu, Castro pays his respects to Hawai‘i's history and to that of his own family.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiOctober 06, 2025
Hawai‘i's bizarre legacy of population control (and why it's still here)
In the 1970s, Hawai‘i gave in to fears of overpopulation, so much so that population control was put into the State Constitution.
Perry ArrasmithOctober 03, 2025
Disembodied eyes at Mānoa Falls Trail
If you look out into the dark of night at this storied trail, something just might look back at you.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 01, 2025
Hamada: Hawaiʻi’s General Excise Tax — helping or hurting the cost of living?
You may not enjoy an ever-increasing cost of living in Hawai‘i, but thanks to the pervasive GET, rising prices are very good for state government.
Rick HamadaSeptember 30, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Dr. Gov. Josh Green, patron saint of perpetual pandemic
A deep dive into Gov. Josh Green's recent emergency proclamation defying federal rules on Covid vaccines.
A. Kam NapierSeptember 25, 2025
Kaukonahua’s Haunted Drive
The tree-lined two-lane connecting Wahiawā to the North Shore just might be home to the ghostly presence of a doomed bride.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 24, 2025
Hamada: Should students be allowed to use their cell phones in school?
Sweden just banned cell phones in school, Hawai‘i is talking about doing so. Who should make the call?
Rick HamadaSeptember 23, 2025
The mana remains at Pu‘u o Mahuka
Above Waimea Bay on O‘ahu stands the island's largest heiau, Pu‘u o Mahuka. Dedicated to the war god, Kū, the place still holds special power. Is it any wonder people have had some intensely strange experiences there?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 17, 2025
Hamada: Fixing what's wrong in America
A lot of people feel like America is running off the rails, following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last Wednesday. The solution could be as simple as getting back to some basic rules we all agree on — don't kill anybody, don't lie about them, don't covet.
Rick HamadaSeptember 16, 2025
Uncles and Aunties: Joanne “Cookie” Fujio's fight against ALS
When Gary “Black” Miyashiro was diagnosed with ALS, he and his wife, Joanne “Cookie” Fujio immediately became champions of the ALS Network. It's work Joanne has continued to do, a decade after his death. The next Hawai‘i Walk & Roll to Cure ALS is coming up on Saturday, October 11, at Kapi‘olani Park
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiSeptember 15, 2025
Community Voices: Charitable giving under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Hawai‘i's nonprofits rely on charitable contributions from generous individuals. Here's what you need to know about the new tax rules for writing off these donations on your taxes.
Tom YamachikaSeptember 14, 2025
Hauntings at Hawai‘i’s Biggest Mall
With a long history of Hawaiians living in the area prior to Ala Mona Center's development, the shopping center has been home to many strange and eerie sightings.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 10, 2025
Hamada: Thinking twice before calling 911
Act 259, signed into law this month by Gov. Josh Green, is meant to curb the use of 911 calls to discriminate against people. Not only is there no evidence of this happening in Hawai‘i, there's plenty of reasons to think the law will intimidate people out of using 911 at all, now that doing so risks legal liability.
Rick HamadaSeptember 09, 2025
Whatever happened to the Lei of Parks?
For more than a century, planners have dreamed of tying together the parks of Urban Honolulu into a Lei of Parks, but all the seems to remain of that effort now are street signs.
Perry ArrasmithSeptember 04, 2025
The Haunting of Kinau Hale
Is it ironic, or fitting, that the government office that hands out death certificates may be haunted by multiple spirits? Strange things have been experienced at the corner of Punchbowl and Beretania.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 03, 2025
Watchful eyes at Makiki Temple
Only Hawai‘i can claim to have had two monarchs who sat as masters of a Masonic lodge during their reign: King Kamehameha IV and King David Kalākaua. Freemasonry offered brotherhood and a moral code — and a sense of mystery, with a strange tale emerging about the Makiki Temple.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 27, 2025
Ali‘i are ever-present at Mauna ‘Ala
In October 1865, a solemn procession of ali‘i moved 21 sets of royal remains from the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace to a then-new final resting place in Nu‘uanu Valley, Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 20, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Making elections elections again
President Donald Trump is talking about an Executive Order to end mail-in voting nationwide. Hawai‘i's Legislature voted to adopt mail-in voting in 2019, starting with the 2020 election. Arguably, we have not had a real election since then.
A. Kam NapierAugust 19, 2025
Beneath the moon at Alakoko
Historians say that on certain nights, the Kauaʻi fishpond is not so still, and the riverbank not so empty.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 13, 2025