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Business & Tourism

Aloha Spirit

For the first time since it opened in 1964, Sea Life Park Hawai‘i near Waimānalo is under Native Hawaiian stewardship.

Hawaiian Council on Wednesday announced it acquired the oceanfront attraction from Herschend Family Entertainment. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Georgia-based Herschend 

"The transaction ensures that the park remains in local hands while creating an unprecedented opportunity to shape its next chapter as a place where marine life, Native Hawaiian culture, education and community come together," an announcement from 

, formerly known as the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, noted.

Sea Life Park will continue to operate without interruption; Hawaiian Council says that existing reservations, memberships and annual passes will be honored, and no layoffs associated with the purchase are planned. 

“For generations, Sea Life Park has helped people discover the beauty of Hawaiʻi’s marine life. Our opportunity now is to help people understand something deeper — that these animals have always been part of Hawaiʻi’s story,” Hawaiian Council CEO Kūhiō Lewis said in the announcement. “They appear throughout our moʻolelo, genealogy, navigation traditions and cultural practices. Under Native Hawaiian stewardship, Sea Life Park can become a place where kamaʻāina reconnect with those relationships and visitors experience Hawaiʻi through the voices and values of the people who have cared for these Islands for generations.”

Former Sea Life Park General Manager Valerie King will support the transition with other operational support in place to help "ensure continuity," the announcement says.

"Sometimes you go looking for opportunities, and sometimes the kuleana finds you. This was one of those opportunities," Lewis told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions. "Valerie King first approached me about Sea Life Park and the possibility of bringing it back under local ownership, and I give Herschend a lot of credit for wanting to find a buyer that understood Hawaiʻi and cared about the park’s future. The more we looked at it, the more we saw an opportunity to create local economic value, support jobs and bring an important Hawaiʻi institution under Native Hawaiian stewardship. For us, local ownership also means that the value generated here can stay here and be reinvested back into our communities."

According to the announcement, Sea Life Park operates on state-owned land and Hawai‘i Pacific University holds the master lease; Hawaiian Council will continue operating under the existing lease structure, and continue working with HPU, the state and other partners to grow opportunities in marine education, research and community learning.

The park will be operated by Attractions Hawai‘i, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hawai‘i Holdings & Investments, or HHI, Hawaiian Council's for-profit holding company.

"Sea Life Park is an important Hawaiʻi institution with a long history and deep connection to the community,” Eric Rose, senior vice president of zoological advancement at Herschend said in the announcement. “As we considered its future, it was important to identify an owner who understood that responsibility. We believe Hawaiian Council is well positioned to guide Sea Life Park’s next chapter with care, continuity and respect for Hawaiʻi.”

Lewis told ASD that because the terms of the acquisition are confidential, Hawaiian Council is not able to disclose the purchase price, but noted that the acquisition was made through HHI and no nonprofit resources were used.

[{"type":"text","text":"Long-term vision"}]

Hawaiian Council says the acquisition builds upon its broader work in Native Hawaiian culture, economic development, destination stewardship and community impact, which includes initiatives like its tourism division, 

 and the upcoming Broadway-style musical, "

Hawaiian Goddess: The Epic Tale of Hi‘iaka

The nonprofit's long-term vision for Sea Life Park is "still being shaped," the announcement notes, "but the organization sees the park’s future as a Native Hawaiian-led cultural and educational destination inspired by the ocean, navigation, healing and the deep sea — a place where marine life, cultural interpretation and education can help residents and visitors understand that Hawaiʻi’s honu, nai‘a, monk seals, sharks and other marine species are more than remarkable animals. They are part of Hawaiian genealogy, moʻolelo, navigation, spirituality and the enduring relationship between people, the ocean and ʻāina."

Initial investments at the park will focus on "preserving what guests already value while introducing experiences that deepen their understanding of Hawai‘i," the announcement states.

Planned improvements include enhancing landscaping with Native Hawaiian plants, expanding cultural storytelling, educational programming and hands-on demonstrations. The organization also will evaluate opportunities to expand  cultural partnerships, school programs, community access and learning opportunities, and look for ways to "strengthen the integration" of marine science, Native Hawaiian knowledge and storytelling.

[{"type":"text","text":"Lewis says that guests shouldn't expect any immediate major changes."}]

"Sea Life Park remains open, reservations and programs continue, and our focus right now is on supporting the team and making sure operations remain strong," he told ASD. "We know the park needs investment, and we absolutely intend to reinvest in the property, its facilities and the overall guest experience. We are still assessing those needs, so it would be premature to put a dollar figure on that today, but we did not acquire Sea Life Park simply to maintain the status quo. We see a lot of potential here."

More details about future investments, educational experiences, cultural programming and community partnerships will be announced in the coming months. 

Lewis says that Native Hawaiian stewardship is really about responsibility.

"Sea Life Park is in a special place, with a deep connection to the ocean, the surrounding community and the culture of Hawaiʻi," he says. "We now have the opportunity to think intentionally about how the park reflects those connections through education, culture and storytelling. Just as important, it is locally owned. That means decisions about its future are being made here in Hawaiʻi, with the goal of creating opportunities for local people and ensuring the park’s success also benefits the broader community."

Sea life park

<title>Hawaiian Council acquires Sea Life Park near Waimānalo</title>

"Sometimes you go looking for opportunities, and sometimes the kuleana finds you," Hawaiian Council CEO Kūhiō Lewis told Aloha State Daily of the acquisition. "This was one of those opportunities."

Hawaiian Council acquires Sea Life Park near Waimānalo

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Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

The criminal complaint says the lieutenant was careful. When money changed hands, he allegedly insisted on Instagram messages and FaceTime calls on burner phones, apps he believed the police could not easily reach.

Michael Vaituʻulala served nearly 18 years with the Maui Police Department. According to the complaint 

, he took cash to keep officers away from illegal cockfights. One organizer paid him a cut of the proceeds, and the low end was about $3,000 an event. On one trip to Las Vegas with an organizer, he allegedly gambled more than $30,000 at blackjack. Vaituʻulala is also accused of tipping off drug dealers about pending investigations, alerting them to wiretaps and warrants.

He is charged, not convicted, and the courts will sort out the truth. But one detail deserves a long look. Vaituʻulala led the Maui Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit. The man assigned to watch organized crime on Maui is accused of working for it.

If the watchers are bought off, who watches them? If the allegations hold, this went on for years under the department’s own roof. The case that finally landed is federal — the FBI and federal prosecutors are bringing it, not the Maui Prosecutor, and not the state Attorney General.

There is a reason, and it is not an insult to Maui. Wire fraud is a federal crime, and electronic messages cross state borders. Drug trafficking is a federal crime, and the cooperating witnesses in this case were likely bargaining down their own federal sentences. But this is not the full story.

Corruption is rarely rooted out at its own level. The local police live next door to the people they would have to investigate. They are related to them, or they owe them, or they are afraid of them. So counties answer to the state, and the state answers to the federal government. Each rung of the ladder is watched by the rung above. When the feds bring a case, they bring wiretap recordings, witnesses who flipped, and private messages the defendant believed were beyond reach. They tend to win.

Paul wrote that the ruler “does not bear the sword in vain.” The sword in this case looks like subpoenas and postal inspectors, which is less dramatic than it sounds and more effective than it looks.

A man who can be paid to sell his badge is not restrained by conscience. He is restrained by the knowledge that somewhere above him sits an authority he cannot buy, with resources he cannot match. Criminals should feel fear.

We have been reminded before what happens when criminals are fearless. In 1970, state Senator Larry Kuriyama was 

 in his ʻAiea carport after coming home from an event.

Ronnie Ching, the mob hitman who admitted being a lookout for the killing, later claimed involvement in some 20 killings. One of these was the son of Charles Marsland — the man Honolulu then elected prosecutor in 1980. Marsland went to war against the syndicates.

Which brings me to Hawaiian sovereignty. The activists hold a premise I take seriously: Distant power is dangerous, and sometimes abused. History gives them plenty of material. But I have never heard one of them answer a simple question. In an independent Hawaiʻi, who stands on the rung above?

When local law enforcement is in bed with organized crime, who will investigate and prosecute? When state judges are taking bribes, who will take them to court?

Hawaiʻi is host not only to tourists, but also to human traffickers, drug traffickers, and extortion rings. Syndicates run game rooms and hold cockfights. Criminals in these organizations will bribe or murder the ones who stand in their way.

A nation of 1.4 million people would face foreign syndicates with more money and more manpower than the government itself. Our prosecutors are a thin bench. County law enforcement is already stretched. Small island nations across the Caribbean and the Pacific have run this experiment. The syndicates usually win.

Federal agencies harbor corruption of their own. The same logic that sends the FBI to Maui demands that Congress, the courts, and the inspectors general watch those watchers too. No agency is above the law.

Human justice will never be perfect. It must be pursued anyway.

The state cannot save a soul, and it has not been asked to. Its assignment is narrower: to be a terror to bad conduct. 

In Hawaiʻi, the feds have lately been doing that work. They 

 of trafficking three adults and one minor. They 

 who bought over 100 pounds of methamphetamine. They 

 who looted a Hawaiʻi County affordable housing program through bribery. Now they are taking on alleged corruption in local law enforcement.

The criminal complaint describes a man who believed some conversations were beyond reach. Many criminals make the same mistake, thinking that they will never be caught. On Earth, this may be so. But there is a judge who sees all, and His verdicts are perfect.

Vaituulala2

<title>Maui Police corruption case shows why Hawaiʻi needs federal law enforcement</title>

A Maui police lieutenant allegedly arranged his bribes over burner phones and Instagram, certain no one could read them. The FBI read every word. ASD columnist Sterling Higa on why corruption is only ever answered from the rung above.

Maui Police corruption case shows why Hawaiʻi needs federal law enforcement

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

[{"type":"text","text":"There’s a new salt bread bakery in Honolulu."}]

 officially opened in the former space of Hawaiʻi Banchan Co. on Kapiʻolani Boulevard. The bakery is currently open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until sold out.

The business specializes in salt breads. Right now, flavors like original, truffle and spicy arabiki are available; salt breads are limited to four per customer.

Salt breads are baked fresh throughout the day, according to baker Edrian Bautista, who says it takes about two hours for a batch to be ready.

’s mostly inspired by a Filipino bread called pan de sal, Japanese milk bread, and Korea’s salt bread,” he explains.

When asked about a good salt bread’s qualities, Bautista refers the bread’s crispy bottom and soft, fluffy interior.

“It’s like a milk bread inside,” he says. “It’s not dense at all; it’s still fluffy. Personally, I like to eat it when it’s cooled down.”

Eventually, the business will have a total of eight salt bread flavors, according to Bautista. The menu lists flavors like mentaiko, kimcheese and avocado.

While only the original, truffle and spicy arabiki salt bread flavors were available during our visit, Kilo Deli will also offer other desserts like ube butter mochi ($4), brown butter mochi ($4) and Kouign-Amann ($8).

Customers can look forward to a variety of beverages, ranging from strawberry milk ($6) and strawberry matcha ($9.50) to honey oat lattes

The salt breads are conducive to takeout, but there's limited customer seating inside the cafe. 

 for updates. There’s limited customer parking in front of the store.

Open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until sold out

Kilo Deli salt breads 080526

<title>New salt bread bakery in Honolulu</title>

Kilo Deli just opened on Kapiʻolani Boulevard, in the former space of Hawaiʻi Banchan Co. The bakery specializes in salt bread, which is available in flavors like original, truffle and spicy arabiki. Salt breads are limited to four per customer. Kilo Deli is currently open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until sold out.

New salt bread bakery in Honolulu

 — which opened in August — was born out of a desire to "create a space centered on gathering over something as simple as a good cup of matcha," according to owner David Song. He wanted the business's name to reflect the value of meaningful connections.

“After years of working in the food and beverage industry, we realized that matcha was the product we consistently loved creating and sharing,” he says. “For us, matcha represents ritual, calm and connection, which ties closely to our core value of family. Across cultures, food is a powerful connector, and we wanted to build a brand that embraces that spirit.”

Upon opening, Ohana Hui did various pop-up events like Taste of Aloha in Kaka

Now, customers can find Ohana Hui at its new permanent location in Kaka

ako — specifically, in the HI Cravings’ trailer on Queen Street. (The matcha business's sign isn't up yet, though, so it still looks like the HI Cravings' trailer.) 

ako when, one day, HI Cravings reached out and asked if we could talk,” Song recalls. “The owner had taken an interest in what we were doing after her friend mentioned our concept to her. She asked if I would be interested in taking over the space … and that’s how we ended up here.”

Ohana Hui features Uji matcha (which comes from the Uji region in Kyoto, Japan) in its drinks; there's 5 grams of organic ceremonial matcha in each beverage. Right now, the café’s trailer menu features four matcha lattes — matcha ube ($8), matcha strawberry ($8), matcha banana ($9) and matcha 

($9). Song says there are eight other drinks on the business’s menu, but these four are customer favorites. 

($9) is the café’s most popular drink, according to Song. It features vanilla sweet cream and thick 

sweet cream. He explains that the original 

Einspänner is from Vienna, Austria and dates back to the 19

“Its name literally translates to ‘one-horse carriage,’” Song says. “Back then, carriage drivers struggled to keep their coffee hot and inside the cup while steering their horses. To solve this, they added a thick layer of cream, which helped insulate the drink and prevent spills. Over time, the 

Einspänner evolved into a classic Viennese specialty topped with rich cream.”

Ohana Hui’s version puts a modern twist on the drink by replacing the coffee (or espresso) with premium matcha.

“It’s our take on a historic drink, reimagined for matcha lovers,” Song says.

The matcha banana latte ($9) includes banana sweet foam and a macadamia nut cookie crumble. Meanwhile, the matcha strawberry latte ($8) is especially photogenic with its strawberry sweet foam, strawberry shortcake bits and dried strawberries on top.

The vibrant matcha ube latte features ube sweet foam and the customer’s choice of coconut shavings or Oreo crumbles. 

Song says that customers can look forward to updates from the café — “We have a lot of new drinks coming out (next year)” — and stay tuned by following the biz on Instagram (

“Everything I do, whether in life or through Ohana Hui Café, is guided by the family,” Song says. “Food has taught me how to connect, express love, and bring people together, and that’s what I hope anyone who comes here experiences — a sense of belonging, warmth and togetherness.”

Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays

Ohana Hui founder 121525

<title>A new matcha café is open in Kakaʻako</title>

Recently opened Ohana Hui took over HI Cravings’ Kakaʻako trailer on Queen Street. This will be the new permanent location for the matcha biz, which is guided by the value of family and providing a space centered on connections over matcha.

A new matcha café is open in Kakaʻako

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Andrew Pereira is director of public affairs for Pacific Resource Partnership.

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Andrew Pereira

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