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Kalani Akana Cultural D opt

Kalani Akana

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Richard Turbin

Hina Kneubuhl

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Bill Brennan

HPU School of Nursing Dean Edna Magpantay Monroe

Edna Magpantay-Monroe

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Aloha Spirit

Ti leaves and plumeria flowers are needed to help create lei for service members this weekend for Memorial Day. Girl Scouts Hawaiʻi is hosting its annual Lei of Aloha event, where the materials will be used to make lei that honor the more than 10,000 service members at Hawaiʻi State Veteran’s Cemetery in Kāneʻohe.

On Saturday, May 23, members of the public are invited to join Girl Scouts in creating lei from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Windward Mall. Community members can also donate ti leaves and flowers to the cause. Girl Scouts will later bring the lei to the cemetery in 

Maggie Hirakawa, a retired sergeant of the Honolulu Police Department, started volunteering with Lei of Aloha at least 10 years ago when her granddaughter, Aiko Hernandez, became a Girl Scout. Hernandez will soon be a junior at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama in August. 

“One of the greatest things is that it not only brings the Girl Scouts together who come out and set up, and then start making lei — the community comes by,” Hirakawa said. “But then people that are just in the shopping center — visitors from other states, other countries — they stop by and they want to know what's going on. And they sit down, and they start making lei. They talk to the Girl Scouts that help them, and teen mentors. ... And they're so proud of themselves that they made a lei. They take pictures, and they send a picture back home to show them that they made a lei for a soldier or service member.”

For Hirakawa, the event is also a chance to honor and remember family.

“It's also special to me because my hānai parents are buried there, so we're able to actually go after everything's placed and place a lei on their grave,” she said. “My hānai father was in the Army. My father was in the Navy. … My mother was in the Navy. They met here at Pearl Harbor. And then our best man at our wedding — he passed away from Agent Orange out of Vietnam — but he's buried there, so we're able to put a lei on his grave, too.”

Lei of Aloha started more than a decade ago in 2013. At the time, Marissa Lum of Troop 1018, started the event as a Gold Award Project.

“It brings everybody together,” Hirakawa said. “It's just a wonderful experience.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"It is not too late to help."}]

“We always need more flowers and more tea leaves,” Hirakawa added. “Because some of the Girl Scouts know how to make ti leaf lei. And we need flowers always, because plumerias when they start being touched, they start to go brown right away, and so we need those.”

Volunteers don’t need to have prior lei-making experience.

“They don't have to come with anything,” she said. “They can just come on over and sit down.”

For more information about Lei of Aloha, go to 

. For more information about events happening this weekend, check out Aloha State Daily’s guide to 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Lei of Aloha

<title>Flowers, volunteers needed ahead of Memorial Day</title>

Girl Scouts Hawaiʻi is collecting flowers and ti leaves for lei to honor the more than 10,000 service members at the Hawaiʻi State Veteran’s Cemetery in Kāneʻohe. On Saturday, May 23, members of the public are invited to join them in creating lei.

Flowers, volunteers needed ahead of Memorial Day

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

opened last fall in Waikīkī Shopping Plaza

, recently launched a new dinner menu. The eatery specializes in Italian fare with a touch of Mediterranean- and Island-inspired flavors.

The new menu, called “terra e mare” — or “land and sea” — highlights premium ingredients from the earth and ocean. At a recent media preview, we got a taste of the new dishes.

New seafood-centric appetizers include scallop crudo ($11), octopus “escargot style” ($16), white wine steamed mussels ($20) and anchovy and mentaiko potato salad ($12).

The succulent scallops are coated with white balsamic and truffle sauce, resulting in a light but savory pūpū.

The octopus, meanwhile, is bathed in garlic herb butter and is topped with a puff pastry, which gives it a delicate crisp.

The anchovy and mentaiko potato salad ($12) was a favorite of the table. The mentaiko — or cod roe, known for its savory flavor and spicy kick — is subtle. The potato salad boasts a creamy texture and smoky flavor.

Pizzas currently come in four flavors — quattro formaggi and honey ($30), funghi and pancetta ($32), shrimp pesto ($32) and sardine, artichoke and olive ($33). The shrimp pesto ($32) and funghi and pancetta ($32) both come highly recommended. The latter is topped with mushroom, pancetta and mozzarella.

New pastas include the chicken truffle alfredo linguine ($38) and crab cream linguine ($33). The creamy alfredo linguine is topped with chunks of chicken thigh; the truffle flavor is subtle. The crab pasta features a lighter tomato sauce and a generous amount of shredded crab throughout the dish.

The crispy swordfish cutlet ($48) is one of the eatery’s newest entrees. Swordfish is known for being a firmer fish, but this version’s moist, tender interior contrasts nicely with the crispy, breaded exterior. It also features a melted mozzarella filling.

The eatery’s new pineapple gelato ($13) also features a creative presentation, as the gelato is served in a pineapple wedge. Creamy in consistency with a light pineapple flavor, this option comes recommended after a pasta-heavy meal.

Validated customer parking is available at Waikīkī Shopping Plaza.

Open daily, lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Botanico chicken truffle pasta 051126

<title>This Italian eatery has a new ‘land and sea’ themed menu</title>

Botanico Waikīkī, which opened last fall, recently launched a new dinner menu. It highlights premium ingredients from the earth and ocean. Customers can enjoy dishes ranging from an anchovy and mentaiko potato salad and crab cream linguine to a crispy swordfish cutlet.

This Italian eatery has a new ‘land and sea’ themed menu

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Governor Josh Green has passed a law preserving many of the tax cuts he had previously announced would be suspended.

At the start of the 2026 legislative session, Green 

 that the next in a series of incremental tax cuts would be paused in order to make up for an alleged $3 billion shortfall in the state budget.

, touting them as “the largest income tax cut in the state’s history.” In most years between 2024 and 2031, the cuts would have amended income tax brackets and increased standard deduction amounts.

 to suspend those cuts after 2026, the version of that bill he signed Thursday maintains some of the cuts after all.

The bill — now enrolled into law as Act 24 — maintains the future cuts for single filers making less than $175,000 per year, heads of household making under $262,500 and joint filers making under $350,000. It also includes a new tax bracket for households making $1 million or more annually, and subjects them to a 13% marginal tax rate.

In a statement Thursday, Green said the law is “a balanced and responsible approach to safeguarding Hawai‘i's financial future.”

“It preserves meaningful tax relief for working families while ensuring we have the resources to protect essential services that our residents depend upon every day," read Green's statement.

SB 3125 also scales down a renewable energy tax credit over the next several years, establishing caps on the total number of credits issued each year for wind and solar power systems between 2027 and 2030 — each year is capped at $40 million. Then, in 2031 and beyond, that cap is zeroed out, with no further credits available.

Green’s announcement Thursday also stated that he is working with private entities to bring investments to support the renewable energy industry “in the very near future,” as well as developing larger-scale renewable energy tax credits.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Josh Green state of the state 012125

<title>Tax cuts saved: Green signs bill to preserve most upcoming tax cuts</title>

Despite previous announcements that future tax cuts would need to be paused, Gov. Josh Green signed on Thursday a measure that preserves most of them.

Tax cuts saved: Green signs bill to preserve most upcoming tax cuts

Ready to make plans for the long weekend? Some of the events coming to Oʻahu soon include 

 ceremonies, a benefit gala for Hawaiʻi Foodbank, and a car show in Hawaiʻi Kai.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Friday, May 22"}]

Want to help create the 38,000 lei placed on the graves of the service members laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific? Join one of these 

bring lei you made at home to one of the donation sites

. Hawaiʻi Foodbank is hosting its inaugural Nourish Gala where guests can enjoy a cocktail reception, multi-course dinner with curated tasting stations and live music from 

, and the Hoʻoheno Duo at ʻAlohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach. The event supports the Hawaiʻi Foodbank. Individual tickets are available for $375. Tickets must be purchased by Thursday, May 21. 

Catch this special exhibit about Robert Cazimero. 

A special exhibit honoring the legendary musician, composer and Kumu Hula Robert Uluwehionāpuaikawēkiuokalani Cazimero has been extended through Saturday, May 30, at Gallery ‘Iolani, which is located on Windward Community College’s campus in Kāneʻohe. Learn more about the 

kumu hula of Hālau Na Kamalei o Lililehua

, which was the kāne overall winner for the Merrie Monarch Festival of 1976, the first year that men were allowed to compete, as previously reported by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He was also part of The Brothers Cazimero, a 

more than two dozen Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards

, which performed decades of May Day is Lei Day concerts at Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. The gallery is open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily, except Sunday and Memorial Day. Free. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saturday, May 23"}]

Head to the Waikīkī Community Center and join in this hands-on event where attendees can make and toss 

. Made of clay, rice bran, molasses and microorganisms, Genki Balls are said to digest sludge and leave water cleaner, although there is 

. Up to 28 participants can attend this event which runs from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Tickets cost $10 plus fees. 

Head to the Waikīkī Aquarium and support University of Hawaiʻi alumni owned businesses in a special market, starting at 9 a.m. Admission is $5 and includes access to the Waikīkī Aquarium. Want to start the day earlier? Arrive at 8 a.m. for a pilates sculpt workout led by Annie Chang, a current UH student, for $30, which include access to the aquarium, the class and a towel. 

Wear white and head to this yacht party, hosted by Atlantis Cruise. Drinks are available for purchase. Boarding starts at 9 p.m. The yacht returns at 1 a.m. Individual tickets start at $125. A pair of tickets can be purchased for $170, plus fees. 

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Ready to add some dinosaurs to your life? “T. rex” chronicles the story of three boys discovering a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil in North Dakota in 2022. It will be playing at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Bishop Museum’s J. Watumull Planetarium. Admission is $5 per person and includes access to the planetarium’s lobby exhibit, “Wayfinders: He Waʻa He Moku, He Moku He Waʻa,” plus a seat in the theater. Tickets to the rest of the museum are an additional cost. 

The Honolulu Museum of Art will offer a guided tour of its Renaissance Collection. These tours start at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Gather in the front of the Central Courtyard for tours which are between 45 and 60 minutes. These tours are included in museum admission, which is $15 for kamaʻāina and free for youth who are 18 years old or younger. 

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The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and there will be an oli, a speech from Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, a presentation of wreaths, a firearm salute, a military aircraft flyover, and performances from the Royal Hawaiian Band and Sounds of Aloha Chorus, as well as 

. The ceremony also features taps. Parking is limited. Additional parking is available at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School starting at 7 a.m., and a courtesy shuttle will take attendees to the cemetery. Free. 

Join Gov. Josh Green, Maj. General Stephen Logan, and Lt. Col. John Alamodin for the Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Hawaiʻi State Veteran’s Cemetery in Kāneʻohe. There will be a musical prelude by the 

Spend Memorial Day at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, where you can visit the 

 (reservations recommended, although some standby admission is available) or the 

 submarine. Visitors can also book a tour to Ford Island, where they can visit the 

, where authentic WWII hangers hold a variety of aircraft and visitors can step into flight simulators. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial’s visitor center is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Cruise over to the Hawaiʻi Kai Towne Center and check out this showcase of classic cars in the parking lot in front of Costco. The event starts at 2 p.m. Free. 

. This Memorial Day ceremony brings thousands to the water’s edge to release floating lanterns and remember loved ones and fallen service members at Ala Moana Beach. The ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. 

 are available on a first-come, first-served basis with pick up between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., or as long as supplies last. Messages can also be added to 

Learn why these volunteers keep coming back, 

Planning to be outside this weekend? Send us your pictures of rainbows, sunsets and more for a chance to be featured in our Hawaiʻi Skies series. Include your name and where the picture was taken plus why the moment was special. 

Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i

<title>What to do on Oʻahu for Memorial Day weekend</title>

From sewing lei for service members to the Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi, there are lots of events happening on Oʻahu this weekend. Aloha State Daily rounded up some of the ceremonies and activities, so you can make plans.

What to do on Oʻahu for Memorial Day weekend

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Ben Sasse is bleeding from the face."}]

He’s seated across from New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, 

, and he pauses to note it. He’s dying of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. One side effect of the treatment is that his body can’t grow skin.

“Yeah, you look terrible,” says Douthat.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“Thank you,” says Sasse with a smile."}]

Since his diagnosis, Sasse has appeared on 

 stage, and a parade of podcasts. He uses the time to say what most politicians never dare to.

He talks about faith. He quotes R.C. Sproul. He discusses Tocqueville with the ease of someone who has actually read him.

Sasse is a two-term Republican Senator from Nebraska, a Harvard graduate, a Yale PhD in History. He voted to impeach Donald Trump and took the consequences. Though popular with voters in his home state, he left the Senate to serve as President of the University of Florida.

Now he spends his last days making one argument: American political life has gone badly wrong. Not because the wrong party is winning. Because the whole enterprise has lost its bearings.

Sasse starts with something most politicians would rather ignore: the pace of technological change. Previous economic transformations — industrialization, electrification — unfolded across generations. This one won’t. Robotics and automation will wipe out whole careers within a single working life.

Sasse sees a second shift: disembodied consciousness, the way screens let people leave their world. Families are breaking apart. Communities are dissolving. The local ties — churches, civic groups, the small-scale institutions Edmund Burke called “little platoons” — that help people absorb hard times are being stripped away. The formation of souls and citizens is at risk, and government is mostly ignoring it in favor of clickbait and rage.

He thinks our loves should be ordered, first to God, then to those nearest us, rippling outward from family to neighborhood to state to nation. Caring about a national political party more than your own community isn’t just confused. It’s a disorder of affection.

What’s true of the nation is true in Hawai'i. The legislature introduces three thousand bills a year. How many of those take the large challenges seriously? The demographic shifts, the cost pressures squeezing local families, the slow hemorrhage of young people off the Islands? The floor speeches and press releases gesture toward these problems, but the lawmaking doesn’t match the problem.

Sasse’s example suggests why. He can sit for an hour-long interview on dense political and theological matters because he has a clear philosophy — a disciplined way of working through problems. It also gives him the power to persuade, which is the precondition for coordinated action.

The founders studied rhetoric and philosophy with the same care they gave the law, because republican government runs on argument and clear speech. Most of Hawai‘i’s lawmakers couldn’t sustain an interview like Sasse’s, and the laws show it. There’s no clear direction. No will to rally the public. Few signs that anyone has thought hard about what government is for. What fills the vacuum is performance: press releases, floor speeches written for social media, outrage timed to the news cycle.

Sasse has a simple framework for what a coherent politics looks like. He describes four ways of valuing government, measured in cheers. No-cheer people — hardcore libertarians — don’t understand that government exists to secure liberty. Three-cheer people believe in a state that controls everything. Republicans, he says, are the one-cheer party. Democrats are the two-cheer party. Each has an extreme wing. Hawai‘i’s loudest voices are at the extremes.

What we lack are the one-cheer leaders: those who see government as necessary but flawed, able to secure order but not to deliver salvation.

Government should do a small number of important things well. It should get out of the way of the little platoons. It should never present itself as the path to utopia. Hawai‘i’s government casting itself as humanity’s last best hope has always been faintly comic.

Sasse’s sharpest line comes when he describes what voters already sense about the way their leaders talk.

They know it’s bullshit, he says — and they don’t want to be lied to. Why can’t politics do a small number of important, long-term things?

There is something clarifying about a man making that argument while bleeding from the face. He has no election to win, no caucus to protect, and by his own reckoning, weeks or months to live. What he’s chosen to do with his time is sit down and think hard about what government is and isn’t for, and what we’ve lost by confusing the two.

In watching Ben Sasse die, Hawai‘i might learn something about how to live.

Ben Sasse Getty Images 1231346544

<title>Ben Sasse is dying in public</title>

The former U.S. senator from Nebraska is talking about big ideas everywhere he can as pancreatic cancer takes his life. Hawai‘i's politicians could learn from what he has to say about government doing fewer things well, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa.

Ben Sasse is dying in public

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Business & Tourism

Located on O‘ahu’s North Shore, the Polynesian Cultural Center has found its new leader in Jarod Hester, who previously served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Hester succeeded P. Alfred Grace, who retired on May 1, after more than a decade as

“I truly and deeply love the Polynesian Cultural Center,” said Grace, 65, a native of New Zealand. “I have no doubt Jarod will do a fine job.”

Hester, also from New Zealand, told Aloha State Daily that Grace has been a key mentor in his career, which, at PCC, started in 2013.

“My mentors have mainly been the people I work alongside,” he said. “Alfred Grace has been a great mentor for me in terms of his passion and the legacy of this place. I thoroughly enjoyed working closely with him and am excited for his next chapter.”

Another mentor is PCC board chairman Frasier Bullock. “He provides good guidance and allows executive management to manage. I love that philosophy. I hope with the team I’m now responsible for leading that I can give them room to breathe and do well in their respective roles. … I believe in the principle of servant leadership. And I consider it a privilege to be working here.”

The Polynesian Cultural Center is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is one of Hawaiʻi’s most visited attractions, with all its revenues benefiting student-employees and operations of Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi. Spanning 42 acres, the property showcases “the people, culture, arts and crafts of Polynesia,” including six island villages — Hawaiʻi, Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Tahiti, and Tonga. Guests can enjoy hands-on activities and shows, shopping, dining and an evening lūʻau called “HĀ: Breath of Life.”

“We love that people (locals) come and rediscover this place,” Hester said. “We know living here is expensive, coming here is expensive but we try to make it reasonable for locals as much as we can.”

He shared more about the transition, goals ahead and more.

What initially brought you to Hawaiʻi and what has kept you here?

From New Zealand, [my family and I] moved here 12 years ago in fall of 2013. In Aukland, I worked in administration looking after the LDS church school system throughout the South Pacific (Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati and Tonga) before coming here as a financial controller, then CFO in 2017, adding COO duties in 2019.

The food was shockingly different for our family. But the culture didn’t feel too different. Everyone dreams of living in Hawaiʻi, and we thought it would be a great adventure. What kept us here is the lifestyle, living on the North Shore out of the city. Being able to walk to work every day. More travel opportunities. It is the perfect climate for night walks, pickleball and fishing.

What trends in tourism has the center seen in the last decade?

Visitor count has decreased since pre-Covid and part of that is entirely by design. The other part of that is macro market conditions. [In 2020,] we took a look at a model where we could operate five days a week (instead of six) with 20-30% less tourists coming through. Now there was a huge bounce back in tourism in 2022-2023 and a lot of pressure to open the sixth day again and make more money. But we’d rather make a better tourist experience. … Another example: Prior to Covid, we would seat 500 people in that venue [for the lūʻau]. We won’t allow more than 330 in there now. 

Our total attendance numbers are right now closer to 500,000 and 600,000 annually. [PCC saw more than 795,000 visitors in 2023, down from over 1 million in 2022, 

. The center's revenue was nearly $58 million per its 

form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2024 via 

What accomplishment(s) as COO/CFO are you most proud of?

Since I joined PCC in 2013, I’m proud to have helped it transition from where it was with legacy systems and ways of governance. I think that’s transformed over the years into new systems, different processes and new governance that has enables PCC to operate more efficiently, as well as improve upon the guest experience.

The most satisfying sort of transformation was being involved with executive leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s hard to call Covid an accomplishment, but it’s how we responded. We went from being open six days a week to five days, which transformed the quality of our labor force. It caused us to relook at our whole mission, vision and purpose for being and how we look after our employees.

Tell me more about your staff makeup and how PCC has approached recruitment?

Adjustments to minimum wage, for example, have put pressures on our model more than the tourism scenarios. We have about 150 full-time employees and roughly 1,000 part-time employees. We’re affiliated with BYU-Hawaiʻi, a lot of our employees are students there and a big part for our reason of being is to provide employment through the educational experience. And we hope that continues.

My replacement as CFO has been announced: Tauariki Kalama, who has served as PCC’s financial controller for 10 years. We’re now searching for a financial controller.

What is your top priority in your first 90 days? What about more long-term goals?

I think I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I’m enjoying this role. I am much less “in the books” and far more about the people. … I’m very energized and engaged, looking forward to helping PCC move into the next generation.

Short term, I’m focused on continuing to find the 1% improvements we can control (i.e. guest experience), while striving to make sure everyone who comes here feels the aloha spirit, the spirit of the Polynesian people. We’re all part of one big family. There’s more that unites us than divides us. I think the world needs that message more than ever.

Over the course of 18-24 months, we’ve got quite a change coming to the Hawaiian village experience. We want to make it the anchor village of the center. They are kanaka, people of the land, and so looking at how do we better share the story of the Hawaiian people through culture, language, voyaging and their connection with the other Polynesian Islands. We’ll be investing in and expanding its footprint in PCC. … As for construction, routine roof repairs and other maintenance will be taking place throughout the property.

How does PCC integrate with the surrounding community?

We just hosted the Samoan fire knife dance competition, which has kept me busy.

With more than 100 homes impacted in Lāʻie after severe flooding in March, PCC opened its grounds for food and supplies distribution. The community rallied together but there are still a lot of people affected.

For me, I’m happy to support the community, while remaining focused on PCC’s core mission and objectives.

PCC CEO Jarod Hester 16x9

<title>Jarod Hester now oversees Oʻahu’s Polynesian Cultural Center</title>

Earlier this month, Hester succeeded P. Alfred Grace as president and CEO of the cultural attraction in Lāʻie and in his role plans to prioritize people — workforce, guests and community members. Hester, who previously served as PCC's chief operating officer and chief financial officer, is originally from New Zealand and shares what initially drew his family to Hawaiʻi nearly 13 years ago, pleasant surprises in the role so far, and his vision to continue to enhance experiences at PCC.

Jarod Hester now oversees Oʻahu’s Polynesian Cultural Center

Philamer Felicitas

Philamer Felicitas is a storyteller whose work is rooted in building and strengthening relationships. With a background spanning higher education, community advocacy and engagement, ocean conservation and digital media, she uses storytelling to uplift communities, preserve culture, and deepen connections between people and place. Guided by a strong sense of responsibility to her community, her work reflects the belief that stories should honor the people, places and experiences they represent. She currently serves as a communications strategist at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Philamer Felicitas

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