Rick Hamada
Aloha, it's a pleasure to meet you.
I'm Rick Hamada.
I was born in Chicago, Ill, raised in NW Indiana, lived and worked in California, traveled the world as entertainment cruise line staff which is what brought me to Hawai‘i over 35 years ago.
I am blessed to be associated with my first love dating back to childhood.
Radio and writing.
As a child growing up I found it remarkable that mom was in the newspaper business as section editor and a morning drive personality at our small town radio station. I was never at a loss for inspiration and I attribute so very much to my mom.
Fast forward.
Hawai‘i has blessed me to create a career and, most importantly, a family.
I recently celebrated 31-years at iHeart Radio Honolulu as a talk show host and serving as VP, Community Relations.
I was a MidWeek columnist for over 15-years and I am so thankful to now share weekly thoughts with you at Aloha State Daily.
All pales in comparison with my two wonderfully adult children, Zachary and Zoe.
The ultimate entry on my life's resume is unequivocally being a dad. Thank you, Lord.
Oh, and I love golf, a good ribeye, a quaffable Cabernet and Lou Rawls (he could sing a phone book and sound great. And for those of you of a certain age, google "phone book" and you'll see what I mean).
I'm looking forward to spending some time together.
Mahalo and aloha.
Latest from Rick Hamada

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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