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Rick Hamada

You may not like it, but there are crimes that deserve punishment that matches or exceeds the crimes committed, but you will not find that standard prevalent in the Hawai‘i justice system.

As this premise is widely accepted, many of us are left to our own devices to envision what appropriate justice would appear to be if our laws reflected these sentiments.

 on the North Shore where a 15-year-old boy was brutally and senselessly beaten by a group of boys and men within an inch of his life. A 23-year-old lifeguard came to his aid, and he was ganged up and beaten by these cretins. You can also view the story at Stolen Stuff Hawai‘i on Facebook and Instagram.

First of all, there is so much aloha for the families of these victims. For a brief moment try to put yourself in the slippahs of the mother, father, sister, brother, aunties, uncles, tutus and friends of these victims. The intensity and the unabashed pure violence are sickening and infuriating. It was devastating to the victims, and there is no way they deserved such animalistic violence.

[{"type":"text","text":"Calling the conduct by these perpetrators is an offense to animals."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Oh, it gets worse, though."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"There was a crowd."}]

Yep, a crowd of onlookers who witnessed this barbaric assault. They were witness to the second victim receiving a beating. And who came to the rescue? Who called authorities? Who cried out for the beatings to stop?

None of them, that we know of. But we do know this to be a fact: They were taking videos.

Yes, filming the brutal beatings, some laughing as it took place and more posting the images (as bloody and horrific as they truly were) on, yes, social media. Their priority was grabbing clicks, likes and shares to accumulate as many eyes as possible. In the meantime two young men were getting that absolute crap beaten out of them to the delight of so, so many. 

Which is more disgusting. The actual beatings or the actions and inactions of those reveling in the carnage?

[{"type":"text","text":"I'll go with both."}]

As of this writing the 23-year-old Good Samaritan suffered substantial injuries including concussion, damage to his eye socket and the need for immediate facial reconstructive surgery, along with broken bones. These injuries couldn't be much worse for a man whose career is dedicated to protecting and saving lives. What a screwed up irony this has proven to be.

As for the 15-year-old victim I do not know his current condition. I refer you to the news reports on Hawai‘i News Now and postings on Stolen Stuff Hawai‘i. However, the beating rendered his face "unrecognizable" according to a source interviewed on my radio program.

There is the obvious physical damage inflicted but there is the emotional and psychological trauma that fails to heal as fast as broken bones or cuts and bruises. The pain will dissipate and heal. The beatings and subsequent mental scarring will last indefinitely. Yes, therapy is helpful but it certainly is not a cure. This ordeal will last until the last day. In essence, these victims were issued a life sentence.

So, what of the perps? What of those who stood by and laughed, took videos and did absolutely 

 to come to the aid of the defenseless victims?

[{"type":"text","text":"The Golden Rule."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Eye for an Eye."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Tooth for a Tooth."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"What did the victims suffer? What would fair justice look like in return?"}]

I know some of you are already clutching your woke pillows and decrying my sentiments as vengeful and counter to justice. You will think that I'm not taking the perps' and enablers' side of the story and presenting it in a calm and professionally narrative way. You may also believe I'm ignorant by not considering extenuating circumstances due to drug abuse addiction, the undue influence of social media or the power of peer pressure and more.

[{"type":"text","text":"But I don't care."}]

As a matter of fact I would submit that you of the aforementioned opinions are a major part of the problem in finding ourselves where we are today.

And, aside from your misguided and nanny-to-all positions, answer this for me.

Who and where are the parents of these hooligans of similar age as the victims?

[{"type":"text","text":"Wait a moment."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Did I use the word \"parent?\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Oh, I am badly mistaken."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"You are not parents to these criminals. Anybody can mate and create."}]

Only those who are thoughtful, loving, caring, focused and sacrificial for their family are parents.

A parent is involved, knowledgeable, participatory, available, supportive, visible, and most importantly, you are 

 your child's friend. You are not their buddy, and your goal is not for them to like you. When you say no, you mean it. You exercise loving authority over your child because it's your responsibility to raise a good, decent, law-abiding and productive member of this community.

[{"type":"text","text":"And when you do, they will love you for it."}]

If you allow your children to roam and perpetrate senseless violent crimes, then it leads to one conclusion.

[{"type":"text","text":"You are not a true parent."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"You are a perpetrator and an enabler."}]

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[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":" "}]

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<title>Hamada: North Shore beating sickens</title>

A dozen boys and men ganged up on a 15-year-old boy this week, then turned on the young lifeguard who tried to save him. ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada asks — who the heck raised these people, and what are we going to do about this crime?

Hamada: North Shore beating sickens

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Crime & Courts

With a federal legal loophole for hemp products set to close this year, an O‘ahu dispensary is challenging state hemp regulations.

Lance Alyas, founder of O‘ahu Dispensary and Provisions, LLC, sued the state earlier this year over laws that regulate the sale of hemp products. Alyas told Aloha State Daily that Hawai‘i's hemp laws have made it illegal to sell about 80% of O‘ahu Dispensary’s products as of the start of this year.

A 2018 federal law — the Agriculture Improvement Act, or 

 —  removed hemp from the federal list of controlled substances, and instead defined hemp as the cannabis plant and any part thereof with a concentration of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (the substance that lends cannabis its psychoactive properties) of less than 0.3%.

This opened up a loophole in the law that allowed for a booming trade in technically legal hemp products that still get users high. Products with Delta-8 THC — which is still psychoactive — or hemp flowers with high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid — a non-psychoactive precursor that is converted to Delta-9 THC via heat — could still meet the federal legal threshold.

Two years later, Hawai‘i changed its own hemp laws in response to the Farm Bill. The new state law — 

 — largely defined hemp the same way as the federal law, but included a clause to close the loophole: it required testing to determine whether a hemp product meets the 0.3% THC threshold.

The state standard now hinges the legality of a hemp product on the outcome of a specific testing methodology. The Department of Health codified that methodology into the state’s Administrative Rules in 2021, which, according to Alyas’ lawsuit, now means that the state defines hemp based on “total THC concentration” and not by the exclusive Delta-9 THC standard as set by the Farm Bill.

This deviation from federal law has effectively criminalized hemp products that would be legal under federal standards, Alyas claimed.

Furthermore, a 2025 Hawai‘i bill has required all hemp distributors to register with the DOH’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation at the start of this year. Vendors are required to register with the office to sell any hemp products, and any registered vendor selling products that don’t meet the state’s testing standards can be fined up to $10,000 per offense, have their registration suspended and have their products destroyed by law enforcement.

Alyas’s lawsuit claims that O‘ahu Dispensary has complied with the terms of the 2018 Farm Bill, and that all products sold by the company contain no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. Nonetheless, Alyas told ASD his business has been targeted by “sting operations” by the Honolulu Police Department since it was founded in 2023.

According to state court records, Alyas has not been charged with any offenses beyond minor traffic violations.

Alyas told ASD his suit against the state, which he filed in January, can potentially overturn Act 14. The suit argues that the state law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by making illegal at state level something that is decriminalized at the federal level.

The suit also argues that the additional regulations imposed by the state place an undue burden on out-of-state commerce, and that the state’s efforts to seize or destroy property violates due process.

Meanwhile, the state — specifically, Attorney General Anne Lopez and DOH Director Kenneth Fink — has moved to dismiss the case, arguing that Alyas has no credible assertion of being harmed by the state laws.

Moreover, the state points out that Alyas’ argument relies on the definition set in the 2018 Farm Bill, which is on its way out. In November of 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law an agriculture bill that closes the Farm Bill loophole by defining legal hemp as having no more than 0.3% total THC concentration — the same definition as in state law.

[{"type":"text","text":"That new federal definition takes effect Nov. 12 of this year."}]

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<title>Federal lawsuit targets state hemp regulations</title>

An O‘ahu dispensary has claimed that Hawai‘i's laws regulating hemp are illegal.

Federal lawsuit targets state hemp regulations

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Sports

The competitive business environment for University of Hawai‘i athletics could get tougher, driven only in part by the commerce-mindedness of paying the athletes for their Name, Image, Likeness rights.

, a magazine for “the people making government work,” recently argued “

[{"type":"text","text":"Yep. Become full-on, real businesses. It’s already happening."}]

“The world of college sports entered uncharted and controversial territory last year when the University of Kentucky spun off its entire athletic department into a limited liability corporation,” wrote opinion writers Michael Granof and Martin J. Luby, at the University of Texas at Austin. “To many, this may represent another descent into the quicksand of professionalized college sports. But like it or not, it is a harbinger of the future and therefore of substantial concern, not only to the schools themselves but to the government officials who are ultimately responsible for funding and overseeing public higher education.”

“Rather than reject this inevitability, we believe that if properly expanded and implemented the Kentucky model can be a boon — both programmatically and financially — not only to universities’ athletic programs but more importantly to their main mission, academics.”

The authors describe how Champions Blue LLC is “100% owned by the university and will be governed by a board that is headed by the university president and includes other university officials as well as outside business and sports executives.”

They advise that other universities do likewise, spinning out their entire athletics departments, or at least the big sports like football and basketball, into free-standing corporations they own.

They even suggest that in this new reality, university sports could drop the “student” part of “student-athlete” entirely and simply pay talented people to play sports for them.

“Athletes who have no interest in academics would no longer have to pretend that they are pursuing an education, and universities would no longer need to pretend that they are providing one,” they write. “Faculty and academic administrators could focus on teaching students whose primary purpose is to acquire an education, while coaches and corporate personnel could concentrate on the athletes and their needs. Courses and majors designed specifically for athletes, expensive tutoring centers and counselors to monitor academic progress could be eliminated.”

If that’s the business future of college sports, I think things are going to get tougher for UH. It’s already struggling with the economic realities of NIL.

 before, the bill that asked Hawai‘i taxpayers to subsidize the Name, Image, Likeness program for athletes at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. At one point, the bill asked for $10 million for NIL, of which $2.5 million would come from taxpayers while the bill required UH to take $4 million out of its tuition and fees special fund (more of Other People’s Money) and raise another $5 million through gifts, grants and donations (at least this amount would be voluntary).

The bill died. As Andrew Gomes at the Star-Advertiser 

 Monday, the university and the lawmakers are now pointing fingers over who said what, when and why that led to the bill’s death. Worth a read, if you want the gory details, but what I want to talk about is the bigger picture. UH is paying $3 million in NIL this year, and has pledged $5 million next year and is 

, UH’s ask amounted to a dollar per year from every resident, whether they like sports or not. I wish people would keep that in mind when they run to the Legislature and ask for support.

The Legislature has no money. None. It can only give you what it first takes from you, from your family, from your friends and neighbors and all the taxpayers in the Islands you’ve never met. People pleading with the Legislature for money don’t see most of these people when they testify at a committee hearing, but they’re real. It's their money the supplicant is seeking.

And the reality is, if you’re begging the state for a subsidy to “remain competitive,” you’re confessing that you’re not actually competitive. What you’re asking for is welfare. (No one has any problem calling it that when corporations get a tax break, after all.)

[{"type":"text","text":"UH sports is heavily subsidized already. How much so?"}]

I went looking for total expenses and revenues for UH athletics. You might think a document called “

Annual Report University of Hawai‘i Athletics

It does not. The 2023-2024 edition has just one out 22 pages devoted to money, and it’s just highlights of various fundraising successes. Good for them on the wins, but  leaving out total revenues and expenses demonstrates a “no need worry about the money” mindset.

Athletics aren’t broken out very clearly in the 

The best source I could find online for expenses is the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. For 2024, the most recent year available, UH athletics cost nearly $60 million. Here's where the money goes:

So let’s say the new reality is, UH has to spin this whole thing out and turn a small profit, say 5%. It would need $63 million in revenue to hit that mark.

USA Today looks at NCAA finances, in a chart covering the 2022 school year. 

, UH had revenues of about $49 million versus expenses of $48 million. Profitable, right? No.

 to see this breakdown: Ticket sales were just under $2 million, donations were $4.4 million, rights and licensing revenue were just over $10 million. The rest came from Other People’s Money — $1.6 million from student fees, nearly $28 million in public funds of all kinds, and $3 million was categorized as “other” revenue.

If UH flipped the switch and converted athletics into a business off those numbers, well, those numbers look like life support. If we find ourselves competing on the field with programs that are profitable, because they can be profitable, I don’t see how UH won’t be back in front of the Legislature asking for more support to "remain competitive."

And tough questions about whether or not taxpayers need to own a sports business are going to get tougher.

A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.

Hawaii football 030625

<title>Pipikaula Corner: UH athletics and the race for dollars</title>

Name, Image, Likeness is already upsetting the finances of college sports. Now there's a new trend — universities are starting to spin off their entire athletics programs as freestanding corporations. Where will this leave the University of Hawai‘i?

Pipikaula Corner: UH athletics and the race for dollars

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Food & Dining

Ready to plan your weekend? From a performance by Kapena to a potential bloom from a giant stinky flower, there is lots happening on Oʻahu this weekend.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, June 5"}]

Foster Botanical Garden recently announced that a 

corpse flower, or Amorphophallus titanium

, which blooms for just two to three days and is known for its powerful death-like stink, is set to open soon. In April, the garden was home to another corpse flower bloom, which the people named 

 Now, a second bloom is expected to open soon in the same garden. Follow Foster Botanical Garden on 

 for details. Admission to the gardens is $3 for kamaʻāina. There is a discount for keiki. 

The Honolulu Museum of Art offers free admission to military families of all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, from May 27 through Sept. 6. HoMA is part of the Blue Star Museums initiative, which is a partnership between the National Endowment of the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense plus more than 2,000 participating museums across the nation. Not part of the military? Admission for kamaʻāina is $15. Youth, who are 18 years old or younger, can enter free. 

Catch Waitiki 7 with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. 

Bird calls and lush symphonic music will fill the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall as the exotica ensemble Waitiki 7 takes the stage with Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra in a 

 that is the HapaSymphony Season Finale on Friday, June 5. Tickets to the concert start at $43.50. 

. There will also be a free workshop for freelance musicians and Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony students and their families, plus a paid cocktail lounge performance at Halekulani Hotel on Saturday, June 6. 

Looking for live music? Head to this First Friday Reggae Night at The Gatsby Hawaiʻi, which features 

 and B.E.T. The event starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 2 a.m. Tickets are $45. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, June 6"}]

 This Decades Party: Pride Edition is a kickoff event for Pride Month and includes a journey through decades of LGBTQ+ music, culture and more plus opportunities to get out on the dance floor. The event starts at 9 p.m. and runs until 2 a.m. at Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand in Waikīkī. 

 consists of the ticketed Passaporto Italiano VIP food and wine experience on Friday, June 5, at Velocity Honolulu, and the free street festival on Saturday, June 6, at Mother Waldron Park in Kakaʻako.

assaporto Italiano VIP food and wine experience

 start at $175. Admission to the street festival is free, but a VIP street festival experience with set food items, exclusive seating and special bar offerings is available for $40. St

reet festival attendees can also enjoy performances by 

Grab drinks at Hawaiʻi Matcha & Coffee Fest. 

Love coffee? And matcha? Head to Hawaiʻi’s first Matcha & Coffee Fest, held at 

. There will be DJs, local brands, food vendors and more.

This event features outdoor activities, including biking, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, surfing, boating, and more at the Blaisdell Center. The event runs Saturday, June 6, through Sunday, June 7. There will also be a bull dog show. Admission is $10. First responders, military, and seniors can enter for $8 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sunday, June 7"}]

Multiple theater productions are on stage this weekend. Catch the musical “Funny Girl,” which runs through Sunday, June 14, at Diamond Head Theatre. Tickets start at $41, plus fees. 

, which runs through Sunday, June 28, at Kumu Kahua Theatre. Tickets start at $28, plus fees. 

Send us your pictures of sunrises, sunsets and rainbows! Submitted photos may be featured in our reader submission series called Hawaiʻi Skies. Include information like your name and where the picture was taken. Tell what you saw and why it was special. 

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Festa Italiana Botanico VIP 051426

<title>Corpse flower, Festa Italiana and more: Your guide to the weekend on Oʻahu</title>

Check the status of Foster Botanical Garden’s corpse flower, which is known for its powerful death-like smell that might bloom this week. Think that idea stinks? Then, eat food at a street festival or enjoy live Reggae music. There is also an outdoors expo happening this weekend.

Corpse flower, Festa Italiana and more: Your guide to the weekend on Oʻahu

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

It's no secret — or surprise — that Toyota Tacomas are popular in the Islands.

In fact, according to Servco Pacific, which has exclusive distributorships of Toyota, Lexus and Subaru in Hawai‘i, it's been the top-selling vehicle in the Islands for 25 years. 

To commemorate that milestone, Servco has unveiled a Hawai‘i-exclusive special edition of the best-selling truck and just 25 will be available statewide, Servco says.

"Hawaiʻi has embraced the Toyota Tacoma as part of its ‘ohana for a quarter of a century,” 

, president and CEO of Servco Pacific Inc

, said in an announcement Friday. "This special edition is our way of saying mahalo to the community that has made this truck the undisputed favorite across the Islands."

The truck comes in the color "mudbath" and comes with a "comprehensive suite of custom components designed to enhance both aesthetics and functionality," the announcement notes.

[{"type":"text","text":"The special build includes:"}]

Dames told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions that the goal was to create something that feels "authentically local" and pay tribute to the community that has made the Tacoma the best-selling vehicle for the past 25 years.

"We're excited to see how customers respond because this edition was inspired by the people who drive Tacomas every day in Hawaiʻi," he says. "We know there's a strong sense of pride around the Tacoma locally, and we think many customers will appreciate seeing that connection reflected in a vehicle designed with Hawaiʻi in mind.

"More than anything, we hope it resonates with the communities, families, small business owners, outdoor enthusiasts and longtime Tacoma owners who have helped make the truck such an iconic part of life in Hawaiʻi."

Dames says that the Tacoma's popularity in the Islands goes beyond transportation.

"The truck is incredibly versatile and well-suited to island life. Whether you're heading to work, spending time with family, going to the beach, exploring the outdoors or supporting a small business, the Tacoma fits naturally into many aspects of daily life.

"Just as important, Tacoma owners in Hawaiʻi have built a strong community around the vehicle over the years. For many families, it's a truck they've trusted for generations," he continued. "That combination of capability, reliability, and deep local connection has helped make the Tacoma one of the most recognizable and beloved vehicles in Hawaiʻi."

You'll be able to reserve the truck in person beginning June 6 at Servco Toyota and Maui Toyota dealerships across the Islands. The TSRP, or total suggested retail price, is $44,770 and $7,999 for the Hawai‘i edition accessories.

In 2025, Tacomas made up 7.1% of the market share in Hawai‘i, according to a 

 from the Hawai‘i Automobile Dealers Association.

MY26 Tacoma Hawaii Edition 22

<title>Servco Pacific unveils exclusive Hawai‘i edition Toyota Tacoma</title>

The Tacoma has been Hawai‘i's top-selling vehicle for 25 years.

Servco Pacific unveils exclusive Hawai‘i edition Toyota Tacoma

Veteran hospitality exec Kimberly Agas, the longtime general manger of Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, has a new role at the family-friendly Ko Olina resort.

Agas, who was in the GM position for more than a decade, has been named executive director, a newly created role Aulani says reflects the "continued growth of her leadership and the resort's impact in Hawai‘i."

Born and raised on O‘ahu, Agas, who attended Kamehameha Schools, says she's been working in Hawai‘i's hospitality and visitor industry for more than 35 years, having held leadership roles across resort operations and broader industry involvement.

She joined Aulani in 2011 and had the "opportunity to open the resort, continue to see it grow and really work with this team and the community over the last 15 years," Agas told Aloha State Daily.

has "focused on delivering exceptional guest experiences, supporting local employment by creating meaningful career opportunities for Hawai‘i residents and expanding programs that foster professional growth and mentorship," a recent announcement from the resort notes. "Agas has also championed initiatives that integrate cultural education and environmental responsibility into the guest experience, including conservation and preservation efforts that reflect Aulani’s deep connection to place."

She'll continue to lead resort operations and expand her oversight to include broader strategic initiatives that aim to "

strengthen Aulani Resort’s connections to the local community and hospitality industry," the announcement states.

Agas says she started as a resort manager, grew into the general manager position and now the executive director role. Along with working with organizations like the Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association and the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority — she's currently the co-chair of the HTA Advisory Board of Directors and chair of its Branding Committee — Agas told ASD, "it's just been a really great, great opportunity to be in this hospitality industry."

She previously worked with former vice president of operations Elliot Mills, but Agas, who became general manager in 2015, says since his retirement she has been trying to balance the work he did locally as well as her role, "then blending the two, which has been a lot and I've enjoyed it, but it is time now for us to hire a general manager."

Agas says the general manager will continue to focus on day-to-day operations at the resort — and there's plenty going on.

"Besides things [like] the front office and housekeeping, we have recreation, we have entertainment. On the entertainment side, ... we have animal programs, we have a childcare program. We have photography," she says. "There's a lot of different components here at the resort operations that the general manager will continue to take care of. I will continue to stay on with doing some of the community events, helping with some of the organizations that I currently serve on."

For her part, Agas says she'll also continue to manage others areas, like sales and marketing, public affairs and human resources, along with her other community and government affairs work.

And with the resort now 15 years old, Agas says Aulani also is in the planning phase of a large rehab project that will kick off in the future.

"That's also taking a lot of time, and I am helping to head that with my partners, which also includes Walt Disney Imagineering as we think about the rooms, so there's a lot of projects that still continue to go on, so ... we will continue to keep some of the work with the executive director and some of that work will be with the general manager."

As for the new general manager, the announcement says ideal candidates will have at least 10 years of progressive hospitality leadership experience, with a preference of five or more years in Hawai‘i. Learn 

Agas, though, says key qualities would be someone who's "passionate about what we do in hospitality, continuing to be a part of our Hawai‘i destination, where visitors are going to seek us out as some place that is not just to have some fun — more than just the sun-and-surf destination — but really some place that people will come because of our culture, wanting to understand the special place that Hawai‘i is, and we can share our culture, creating those unique experiences."

One of West O‘ahu's largest employers with more than 1,700 employees, or cast members, the 832-room Aulani opened in 2011 and sits on 21 oceanfront acres in Ko Olina. Its Ka Wa‘a 

Lū‘au celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

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