Letters to the Editor

Columnists

Viewpoints

Opinion

Kuu Hiraishi

Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi 

Scan 20241017 2

Corey Idleburg

Hina Keala

Adam manalo camp

Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp

Columnist: Lisa Eller

Lisa Eller

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Davianna Mc Gregor 2

Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 just launched its new happy hour, which is available daily from 4 to 6 p.m. in the eatery’s bar and lounge area.

Start with discounted beverages like liliko

i spritz ($10), a variety of martinis ($10) — choose from matcha, tropical, mango, and lychee and peach — sake specials ($12) and featured wines by the glass ($10 each).

While not part of the happy hour drink menu, the eatery also just revamped its signature cocktail line-up with new additions ($18), including Olena mamaki tea, Rabbit Island, cucumber margarita and an espresso martini.

The happy hour dishes feature half-portions of popular items from the a la carte menu. The poke nachos ($12) are a customer favorite. They feature four different chips — won ton, sweet potato, taro and shrimp chips — topped with shoyu ‘ahi, spicy mayo, yuzu crema, green onions, pickled red onions, pea tendrils, kizami nori and edamame. The dish is full of contrasting textures, which makes it especially fun to eat.

The brisket sliders ($17) are a happy hour exclusive. These housemade rolls are stuffed with barbecue brisket, pickled onions and guava barbecue sauce.

’s new Paniolo burger from the a la carte menu — which also includes brisket — these sliders are sure to please.

The coffee rib-eye steak ($20) is another popular choice and is probably one of the best deals on the menu. It’s coated with a coffee demi glace and served with an arugula salad with tarragon dressing.

If you’re looking for comforting flavors, opt for the barbecue chicken pinsa flatbread, which is topped with kiawe barbecue chicken, mozzarella cheese, parmesan, peppers, red onions and barbecue sauce.

Other happy hour dishes include a lobster roll ($17), margherita pinsa flatbread ($10), seared ‘ahi ($12), kiawe smoked pork ribs ($17), chicken wings ($12) and garlic fries.

Insider tip: Ask about the restaurant’s new secret menu, which also should be accessible via a QR code on the menu. The secret menu currently features a burrata salad ($18), burnt brisket tips ($17), cheesy bread ($12) and a bone-in beef rib platter ($85).

The latter is impressive and designed to share. The platter includes six slider buns, pickled vegetables and barbecue sauce. The bone-in beef rib is available in limited quantities; the meats are smoked in-house. The fork-tender beef is flavorful in and of itself; the sweet and tangy barbecue sauce just takes it to the next level. 

Meanwhile, the cheesy bread features a garlic sourdough bread with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses in the middle.

Guests can enjoy complimentary self-parking for 2.5 hours with restaurant validation.

Complimentary 2.5-hour self parking with restaurant validation

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

100 Sails happy hour 030226

100 Sails Restaurant & Bar just launched a new chef selection dinner buffet, available from 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays. This buffet costs $62 per adult; instead of action stations like prime rib or sushi handrolls, it features specialty items like roasted beef tri tip, guava barbecue pork ribs, mushroom risotto and more.

100 Sails buffet cheese 021026

New weekday dinner buffet at Prince Waikīkī

The sizzling omurice — fried rice topped with an omelet and demi-glaze sauce, served on a hot skillet — is one of the most popular dishes. Happy hour runs daily from 5 to 7 p.m.

Chez Kenzo happy hour spread 011426

Budget Bites: Chez Kenzo Bar & Grill’s $9 happy hour

<title>New happy hour at Prince Waikīkī</title>

100 Sails Restaurant & Bar’s new happy hour menu is available daily from 4 to 6 p.m. in the restaurant’s bar and lounge area. Dishes include poke nachos, brisket sliders — a happy hour exclusive — coffee rib-eye steak and barbecue chicken pinsa flatbread. Also new: The eatery’s secret menu, which includes a mouthwatering bone-in beef rib platter.

New happy hour at Prince Waikīkī

ASD icon blue inverse lighter

ASD Staff

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"The Three Stooges..."}]

Smile 26 3 5

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, March 5, 2026</title>

The Three Stooges...

Daily Smile: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

Two military officers stationed in Hawai‘i have been busted this week for sexually exploiting children.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawai‘i Ken Sorenson announced Tuesday that 22-year-old Rumaldo Valdez, former Navy petty officer, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for the possession and promotion of child pornography.

The following day, Sorenson announced a conviction in a separate, unrelated case: 44-year-old Ross Andrew Brown, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was convicted on two counts each of attempted sexual enticement of a minor, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted receipt of child pornography.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Valdez"}]

In the Valdez case, the FBI was first alerted to his reported activities in 2021, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children submitted a tip that several people were using a Discord server to produce and share child sexual abuse material.

According to a criminal complaint, a confidential source on that server told the FBI that one user — operating under variations of the username “Duck” — had coerced an underage girl into sending him a sexually explicit video, which “Duck” then used to blackmail the girl.

The source claimed “Duck” had thus manipulated the girl into cutting the word “duck” into her arm, which she filmed. “Duck” then shared the video online — the FBI special agent who wrote the criminal complaint stated that participants in such child exploitation rings often use such media, called “fansigns,” as “trophies.”

“Duck” had also previously been tied to an online group called “Greggy’s Cult,” a ring of people that produced and distributed similar material before seemingly disbanding around 2021.

In any event, the FBI had linked “Duck” to Valdez through his IP address and Discord email by 2024. In May of that year, agents seized his computer and hard drives from the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific in Wahiawā.

On Valdez’s hard drives agents found several encrypted files containing child pornography, including at least one involving the murder of an infant and multiple depicting a toddler being tortured.

Elsewhere on Valdez’s drives, investigators found multiple images and videos of children displaying variations of the “Duck” username.

Valdez pled guilty in October 2025 to possession of child porn. Much of the court documents surrounding his case are sealed to the public; however, a sentencing memorandum by his defense attorney argued that Valdez was a minor when he began his activities — only 15 or 16 when he first became involved in “Greggy’s Cult” — and that he had joined the Navy “to get away from the destructive online extortion that he was involved in and tried to build a productive future for himself.”

Nonetheless, Valdez was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

“Let Valdez’s sentence serve as a warning to any other depraved and sadistic individuals who seek to harm and exploit children – there is nowhere for you to hide, no corner of the internet you will not be found, and no stone we will leave unturned to bring you to justice,” Sorenson said in a statement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Brown"}]

Meanwhile, Brown’s arrest came following a sting by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division.

According to a criminal complaint, a CID agent posed as a 14-year-old girl in 2023 using the now-defunct anonymous social media app Whisper. The agent’s posts prompted responses by a user who was eventually identified as Brown.

During their online conversations, Brown repeatedly made sexual comments toward the agent, believing that he was flirting with a 14-year-old.

Eventually, they made plans to meet in person in April 2023 at Schofield Barracks. The agent requested Brown bring a specific type of gum, and Brown dutifully bought the gum en route, without knowing he was being surveilled. CID arrested him promptly at the rendezvous point.

At a trial in February, Sorenson presented 38 other sexually explicit conversations between Brown and people presenting themselves as girls as young as 12 years old, including explicit images purportedly of minors. At least one of those conversations involved Brown unsuccessfully attempting to meet with a 15-year-old girl for sex at an airport hotel in 2021.

While a jury found Brown guilty of six out of the 17 charges against him, he will not be sentenced until June 23. He remains in custody, despite several motions by his attorneys for his release.

“It is a profound breach of trust to both our military community and the public we serve, when a senior military officer commits crimes that exploit the vulnerable,” said CID special agent in charge Ruben Santiago in a statement.

 For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Courtfed

<title>Two military officers busted for child sex exploitation</title>

A Navy petty officer and an Air Force lieutenant colonel have been respectively sentenced and convicted for sexually exploiting minors online.

Two military officers busted for child sex exploitation

, vividly remembers serving tacos on a street corner in Waikīkī back in 2011.

“I started a little taco stand from 2011 to 2015,” he says. “I was in Waikīkī, making tacos from midnight to 4:30 in the morning. And sometimes I would stay there until 5 a.m.; I would take a lot of food with me.

“(Before that,) I was waiting tables and bartending in Vegas,” he adds. “When I moved to Hawai

i, I had to open my business to make the same amount of money. I opened in Kalihi Valley in 2015 on Cinco de Mayo.”

Since the business’s original Kalihi store opening, it has expanded. Alvarado had a Kapahulu location for a few years — “from 2020 to 2023,” he says — and opened in Pearl City. The biz recently opened its third Oʻahu location in the former spot of Pauoa Chop Suey.

“This one is in the neighborhood, so it’s really nice that people can walk here,” Alvarado says. “A lot of people have such long-lasting memories of Pauoa Chop Suey. They’re very acceptant of us; we appreciate how warm and welcoming everyone has been. I tell them, ‘I know we have some big shoes to fill, but I’m confident my feet are bigger!’”

As soon as you walk into the restaurant, the eatery’s new Los Angeles Dodgers-inspired mural is immediately eye catching.

“(For the mural) I already knew what I wanted,” Alvarado says. “I wanted to feel like I’m going right into Dodger Stadium, and all of my favorite players had just won back-to-back World Series.

“This is a big space,” he adds, regarding the restaurant’s size. “It’s kind of bigger than what we need, but it’s nice to space some things out. Now we have more dining (seating). We had that at Kapahulu, but we don’t really have that at Kalihi.”

The menu across all three stores is mostly the same, but the Pearl City and Pauoa locations also feature churros (two for $7) and nacho fries. Nacho fries ($15) are loaded with nacho cheese, shredded cheese, beans, onions, cilantro, sour cream, jalapenos, olives, pico de gallo and salsa verde, according to Alvarado. Customers can also add a protein of their choice for a supplemental charge.

“I love the nacho cheese; I have it on the menu because I like it,” Alvarado says.

Tacos are available as three-taco combo plates — which include three tacos, rice, beans and a fountain drink — or a la carte (prices vary, depending on the protein). Five-inch corn tortillas are filled with a protein of your choice, onions, cilantro and salsa verde. Choose from carnitas, beef, chicken, carne asada or a veggie (rice, beans, cheese, onions, cilantro, pico de gallo and salsa verde) option.

The three-taco combo plate — along with the eatery’s wet burrito combo plate — are the two most popular dishes, according to Alvarado.

“For the meat choice, carne asada — the steak — is the most popular,” he says. “My personal favorite is the carnitas — the crispy, shredded pork.

“The aim is to make it like a hash brown,” he says. “You crispy it up, so that when it gets to you, it has a little crispy texture and it’s still moist. There’s a little squeeze of lime on all the tacos. It gives it this nice freshness.”

The wet burrito combo plate ($17.50-$19, depending on protein) features a 10-inch burrito with cheese, onions, cilantro, olives and your protein of choice. It’s finished with red enchilada sauce, more shredded cheese and sour cream.

“I do the carne asada wet burrito with half carnitas, so it’s both steak and pork in the same (one); that’s my jam,” Alvarado says.

The menu also features regular burritos, quesadillas, macho burritos —with 12-inch flour tortillas — Mexibowls (bowls with rice, beans and a variety of toppings) and nachos.

As the new store gets more settled, Alvarado says customers can look forward to specials, and he is optimistic about the new year. 

“I’ve been doing it (the business) since 2011 and the restaurants have been since 2015, but my workers make it all happen," he says. "I have veterans that moved over (from the Kalihi store to the Pauoa store) and everyone’s willing to take on a little more responsibility. That’s the most precious part — the growth — and everybody being a part of it. One person doesn’t make this; it’s the whole team. We’re as good as our weakest link, and we don’t have any weak links!”

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays (closed Sundays). 

[{"type":"text","text":"Limited customer parking is available in the lot behind the restaurant."}]

Open 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays

Customer parking available in the lot behind the restaurant

Alejandros Pauoa owner 030326

<title>Alejandro’s Mexican Food opens in Pauoa</title>

This is the third location for the business, which opened its first store in Kalihi Valley in 2015. Customers can look forward to tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nacho fries and more.

Alejandro’s Mexican Food opens in Pauoa

[{"type":"text","text":"Training for the 2028 Olympics"}]

Smile 26 3 3

<title>Daily Smile: Tuesday, March 3, 2026</title>

Training for the 2028 Olympics

Daily Smile: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

This is Minnie. She let out her first ever puppy bark today in an effort to bravely fend off her own reflection...

SMILE 26 3 1

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, March 1, 2026</title>

Daily Smile: Sunday, March 1, 2026

This article is reprinted with permission from OHA's Ka Wai Ola newspaper: "A Quiet Pillar of the Polynesian Voyaging Renaissance" submitted by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, in its March 2026 issue, Vol. 43 No. 3. Read more at 

<title>Polynesian Voyaging Society</title>

Polynesian Voyaging Society

Aloha Spirit

Milton “Shorty” Gervin Bertelmann (Aug. 15, 1947 – Nov. 26, 2025) was an extraordinary leader of Hōkūleʻa, who sailed twice from Hawai'i to Tahiti. Across his journeys, he raised the bar of excellence for voyaging, establishing rigorous standards of training, safety, preparation and conduct that remain foundational today.

Polynesian Voyaging Society

Latest from Polynesian Voyaging Society

Community Voices: A quiet pillar of the Polynesian voyaging renaissance

More from our columnists