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Bill Brennan

Kalani Akana Cultural D opt

Kalani Akana

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Katie Chang

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HPU School of Nursing Dean Edna Magpantay Monroe

Edna Magpantay-Monroe

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Richard Turbin

Philamer Felicitas

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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 is known for its contemporary cuisine with Island flavors, but it’s also home to a speakeasy.

The IYKYK — “If you know, you know” — speakeasy is tucked away within the Kaimukī eatery. It opened last fall.

You can make reservations for the speakeasy by calling the restaurant directly; online reservations are not available.

Non-speakeasy members are limited to a 90-minute reservation time. Memberships to the speakeasy cost a one-time fee of $250; the physical membership card must be presented at each visit. Benefits include priority reservations for the speakeasy, priority seating, birthday perks and surprise offers, priority access to exclusive experiences (wine and bourbon tastings and curated culinary events), and more.

The speakeasy also features a IYKYK Thursday special, in which customers can get the membership for a discounted price of $150 (the offer includes a guided tour of the speakeasy and complimentary “I Know” cocktail with the purchase of any featured food item).

The speakeasy has its own tapas menu, which features a rotating selection of dishes. During our visit, tapas included Molten Bay crab cakes ($19.50), truffle fries ($13.50), Catalan albondigas ($15), and spicy cucumber salad ($13).

The Molten Bay crab cakes were fried to a golden brown and were served with Old Bay aioli for dipping. The savory truffle fries were topped with shaved Parmesan, truffle oil and a fresh herb mix.

﻿Meanwhile, the Catalan albondigas ($15) — hand-rolled Spanish beef meatballs — were simmered in a saffron-tomato sauce with roasted mac nuts and parsley. The spicy cucumber salad ($13) boasted a kick, thanks to the housemade Gochugaru sesame soy marinade.

The tapas menu changed since our visit. It now includes dishes like midnight musubi arancini ($12) — crispy fried rice arancini with a filling of Spam and molten cheese, served with Gochugaru-spiced marinara — the cellar board for two ($38) and shrimp skewers with a miso butter glaze ($14). The cellar board is a charcuterie board that includes sliced meats and baked brie; it’s designed to complement wine, whiskey and late-night cocktails.

You can still order from the restaurant’s full cocktail menu. Choose from signature options like the Smoking Pig ($19.50) — house branded specialty Crooked Crown bourbon that’s aged in wine barrels and garnished with a crispy bacon strip and cherry — Aperol Spritz ($17.50), and smoked rosemary mezcal margarita ($19).

The Smoking Pig boasts notes of oak and subtle fruit. It’s a crowd favorite due to its complex flavor and “smoking” presentation. The Aperol Spritz is ideal for those who prefer effervescent flavors, as it comprises Aperol, elderflower liqueur, fresh strawberries and champagne.

Even if you’re enjoying cocktails in the speakeasy, you can still order food from The Surfing Pig’s dine-in menu. Popular options include creamy brussels sprouts ($15), Billionaire bacon ($14), and center-cut boneless pork loin ($36).

The IYKYK speakeasy is open during the restaurant’s regular business hours (4 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays, 4 to 10 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays).

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The Surfing Pig speakeasy entrance 051226

<title>The Surfing Pig has a hidden speakeasy</title>

The Kaimukī eatery is also home to an “if you know, you know” speakeasy, which opened last fall. Customers must call the restaurant to make reservations for the speakeasy.

The Surfing Pig has a hidden speakeasy

Aloha Spirit

Last year I had the opportunity to take a year to return to graduate school on the East Coast.

While there, I was able to do a deep dive on a variety of topics, especially artificial intelligence and the rise of geopolitical tensions around the world. Clear themes emerged for me, and many are reflected in 

But one of my biggest takeaways from school didn’t come from the classroom. It came from observing the people around me. I realized that the most compelling and truly powerful people in the world are not the ones with the most money or the fanciest titles. 

They are the people who have a hometown that they are fighting for.

Hometowns are not necessarily the places you’re born, but they’re the places you’re willing to take a stand for. The places where rights meet responsibility.

At school, I met people like Joseph whose hometown is Pyongyang, North Korea. He’s a refugee in the U.S., but he dreams of one day returning to be a high school civics teacher. Sara’s hometown is Erbil in Kurdistan. She’s an educational leader and dreams of a better future for young Kurds.

These two were not necessarily the loudest, the richest or most aggressive. But I realized that that really doesn’t matter. That at the end of the day, people want to dream and build in service to the places they love. And they are the most compelling, and joyful, people in the world.

And then I realized that I’m the luckiest. I have the best hometown in the world – Hawai‘i. And every day, I wake up, join the team at the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, and figure out new ways to fight for our Island home.

As theologian and philosopher, G.K Chesterton said, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

I know that we all love Hawai‘i. I’m all-in on Hawai‘i. If I was a stock trader, I would say that I’m bullish. Our stock is undervalued, and our forward growth potential is huge. 

How can I say that? We have significant headwinds. The University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) seems to come up with a different way every month to quantify our financial pain.

So many are losing hope. So many are leaving. At my parents’ Sunday dinner table, we have to cap the number of times we talk about cost of living or housing. I’m sure you’re the same.

How will we break out of this cycle, out of restrictionist mindsets, out of our atmosphere of low trust? How do we grow and move forward?

To be completely honest, I’m not 100% sure on the 

It’s going to be the middle: people from every community who care deeply about their hometown.

Our staff travels 20,000 miles to find and train these young people, now numbered at 1,000 per year. Young people are not necessarily the student body president and leader of 3 clubs. Future ranchers from ‘Ele ‘Ele, future pastors from Kapolei, future fashion designer from Kalihi, fishermen from Kihei, paddlers from Lanai City. The list goes on and on.

This group could be a beacon of hope for Hawai‘i.

It reminds me of our alumni director, Trisha Ramelb. She is a powerful example of CTL’s current pipeline: she started in 10th grade, finished both high school programs, then joined our alumni programs.

Trisha is a picture to me of what the future could look like. She’s principled. She’s not afraid to stand alone, and talk to people she disagrees with. Trisha has worked hard on the fundamentals of leadership. Trisha knows that leadership is not measured by viral moments on Instagram, but on execution and putting in the work. 

Hawai‘i will change when more and more young people, like Trisha, start to enter the leadership conversation — fresh voices in Hawai‘i’s tight leadership circle. Hawai‘i will change when extraordinary ordinary people start to speak up.

Moving forward, the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders will go all-in on this leadership thesis. We will expand our high school programs, double down on foundational human skills like character, problem-solving, and communication in the age of AI, and grow our Vanguard alumni network to make a long-term investment in their continued growth.

Thank you to every foundation, company and person who invests in CTL. There won’t be a direct and immediate monetary return. 

But I hope your true dividend will be a new chapter in Hawai‘i led by a real, growing, excited group of world class, local leaders — leaders who are madly in love with their hometown, and willing to do whatever it takes.

Editor's Note: This essay was adapted from the speech Katie Chang gave at CTL's caption event, CTL Vision Lab, held April 30, 2026.

Katie Chang is the Executive Director of the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders. She can be reached at 

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Emerge group 1 Large

<title>Community Voices: The people who will save Hawai‘i</title>

Katie Chang, executive director of Center for Tomorrow's Leaders, talks about why she's bullish on Hawai‘i's future. She sees a thousand reasons each year — the number of student leaders in CTL's programs who are going to fight for their Hawai‘i.

Community Voices: The people who will save Hawai‘i

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

There’s still time to apply for The Culinary Institute of the Pacific’s culinary training programs for experienced chefs and aspiring culinary high school students hosted at Kapi

The deadline to apply for the next two workforce development programs, Cohort 21 (June 15–19) and Cohort 22 (June 22–26), are open through May 29. 

Each cohort will feature five-day training sessions “with access to world-class instruction without leaving the state,” according to CIP, thanks to an ongoing partnership with 

, who was born and raised in Hawai’i, and has more than 35 years of culinary experience.

This collaboration with CIA all started with a connection Chef Roy had, and DBEDT [The Hawaiʻi State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism] contracted with KCC to do the work. We have a three-year timeline to do 24 cohorts,” Grant Itomitsu, KCC Culinary Arts Department chairperson, told Aloha State Daily.

Since September 2024, the CIP x CIA Workforce Development Program has provided advanced training to more than 215 culinary professionals across Hawaiʻi’s foodservice sector, per CIP.

Itomitsu notes that “no student has had to pay for tuition" 

ull tuition scholarships valued at $1,500 per student are provided by the Hawai

i Ag & Culinary Alliance CIP x CIA Workforce Development Scholarship Fund, the State of Hawai

i, the TSK Charitable Foundation and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

“We have a lot of great partnerships with 

Zippy’s and with the military, too, so we’ve been blessed with the support of donors that are paying for tuition for these culinary workers.”

He adds that one of the programʻs highlights is “utilizing agriculture that come from Hawaiʻi.” When it comes to sourcing ingredients, Itomitsu says they frequently use local vendors.

“We've actually had farmers in our program and they would bring some of their [produce] into class and share how they’d use it, their experience with it,” he said. “It’s a real dynamic learning experience, to get things picked fresh from a farm and figure out how to incorporate it into a menu.”

Itomitsu says the program has evolved over time. A main focus now is “on the state’s plan to nourish the keiki of Hawai’i, which involves working with DOE cooks and chefs, as well as high school students, who receive a certificate of completion. “DOE cafeteria workers have been amazing. They have a great skillset already.”

When asked what's gained through this program, he adds: “Building a community of culinarians is what we’re most proud of. Though the courses are over a short period of time, people get really close. And afterwards, when we have events or a restaurant needs help, these individuals can call each other and hui to help support the needs. That, and I think changing the mindset of what people can do in terms of cooking utilizing local products.”

odel is changing, and it’s changing not only between CIA and CIP, but it’s also changing with relationships that we have with students and how they are going into the workforce,” Itomitsu said. “Each and every partner … we’re finding such strength in working together. And I think this has truly been a lot more than we could have ever expected.”

Interested in supporting this initiative through a charitable gift to the HACA CIP x CIA Workforce Development Scholarship Fund? Contact HACA Vice President Aya Leslie at 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

CIP High School Candid

<title>KCC’s summer culinary cohorts to get cooking</title>

Kapiʻolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific, in partnership with Culinary Institute of America, is offering two culinary training programs at no cost for high school students and culinary professionals in June. The deadline to apply is through Friday, May 29.

KCC’s summer culinary cohorts to get cooking

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Rick Hamada

Government & Politics

Scandals within government feed the narrative that government overall is corrupt.

Such conclusions are subjective, however plenty of claims, statements and a record of past transgressions (including legal actions against those within government here) connect the dots between the perception of corruption and its reality.

Recently, Vice President JD Vance labeled Hawai‘i as a failure in Medicaid fraud prosecutions. Those accusations were rejected by the State Attorney General but, as with most allegations, it's the finger pointing that's remembered, and the responses are often lost in the cycle. The guilt by association leads to the perceived affirmation that Hawai‘i is corrupt.

Speaking of the State Attorney General, she and her office are on the other side of the coin. The declared investigation into bribery and fraud allegations that a high ranking, elected official in the Big Square Building allegedly took a paper bag filled with $35,000 in cash is still unresolved. Despite the cloudiness of the allegations the perception is, in fact, that not only did it occur, but all that remains is identifying which lawmaker took it.

Whether or not we accept these assessments by outsiders or listen to locals who lament the scarring of Hawai‘i's reputation, there is unfortunately a roster of documented cases that bolster the argument of corruption here at home.

27 individuals participated in an illegal scheme to boost Honolulu voter registrations for candidate Ross Segawa. Segawa was convicted on 10 counts of election fraud, criminal solicitation, and evidence of tampering. Segawa served a year in prison and was expelled from law school. State Sen. Clifford Uwaine was convicted of conspiring to illegally register voters and served three months in jail; and Debra Kawaoka, an aide to Uwaine who also played a part in the false registration, served numerous weekends in prison. Brian Minaai and the other students each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

 reported on Andy Mirikitani's sentencing, "

He will spend more than four years behind bars. He used a kickback scheme to steal thousands of dollars from the city. Now, Mirikitani will pay for his crimes. Mirikitani's sentence, four years three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay back the money he stole." 

2002, Hawai‘i News Now again, reported on the sentencing of former state Sen. Marshall Ige. "A state judge sentenced Marshall Ige to six months in jail after being convicted in two separate cases. The first involved a couple from Beverly Hills approaching Ige in 1998, asking he clear their daughter's criminal record of two drug convictions. Ige said he could do it for $30,000 dollars. When he never came through, they contacted the Attorney General's office. The second case involved this farmer who leased 5 acres of land from the former Senator. In 1999, Ige threatened to evict Hanh Lam if he did not pay $7,000 dollars, in advanced rent."

 in 2003, reporting on the sentencing of Gary Rodrigues. "[O]nce one of the most powerful union leaders in Hawai'i, [he] will be able to remain free for as long as an estimated two years as he appeals his federal prison sentence of five years and four months for felony convictions of mail fraud, embezzling union money and related charges. A federal jury convicted Rodrigues in November last year on 101 felony counts, accusing him of taking kickbacks and steering phony union consulting contracts to his daughter."

These cases proved to be the highlights of the lowlights when it came to scandals well over 20-plus years ago. But the revelations of power grabbing, manipulation, and so much more within a beloved Hawaiian institution defined the most public and devastating story of corruption in our history — the Bishop Estate scandal that played out from 1997 to 1999.

This one got national attention, as this lengthy 1999 

 attests. Trustees then — "Gerard Jervis, 50; Henry Peters, 58; Richard “Dickie” Wong, 65; Oswald Stender, 67; and Lokelani Lindsey, 60" — famously made $840,000 a year in commissions. That's $1.7 million in 2026 dollars. 

"The estate became the center of public melodrama in 1997, when the school community learned of a private confrontation between Lindsey, the lead trustee for education, and student body President Kamani Kuala’au, who was bound for Princeton University," wrote the LA Times. Lindsey reportedly threatened the student by calling Princeton to jeopardize his academic career. Once word got out protesters marched on the Bishop Estate offices demanding that Lindsey to "stop meddling". 

This led to the "Broken Trust" essay appearing in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin alleging mismanagement of trust assets, conflicts of interests by individual trustees and poor selection of trustees, who are named by members of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. Other developments ensued including internal lawsuits calling for the removal of Lindsey, the state attorney general accusing the trustees of using trust assets to create an economic empire, engaging in kickback schemes, awarding improper contracts, making sweetheart deals for relatives and friends and using improper business practices.

Perhaps the most sordid, yet tragic, story involved a Bishop Estate trustee and an Estate team member caught engaging in sexual infidelity in a hotel restroom. The public revelations led to the suicide of the woman involved and the attempted suicide of the trustee. I'm purposefully redacting names because I want to. Even after so many years later, enough is enough.

The dissolution of the Bishop Estate, the criminal to immoral conduct of the trustees (Oz Stender was never implicated) and the incredible shock and awe of the betrayal of the Princess's legacy remains the most troubling scandal to this day.

[{"type":"text","text":"Is corruption in Hawai‘i a reality or a perception?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Depends on where you look."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But let's turn the light on."}]

In recent years, State Sen. Kalani English, State Representative Ty Cullen, HPD Chief Louis and Prosecuting Attorney Katherine Kealoha were each public servants found guilty of crimes and served time proving that scandal and corruption exists today.

[{"type":"text","text":"And these are the only the cases we can confirm."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"I will say this."}]

Hawai‘i has its scandalous moments because humanity is imperfect. As long as you have humans operating with a public expectation of perfection, some (not all) will succumb to failures. However, it is unfair to cast aspersion upon every governmental agency, elected official or public servant because that's a patently false premise. Most serve honorably. It's how you identify, investigate and prioritize the consequential actions against violators that makes a lasting and influential impact.

And the State of Hawai‘i has this opportunity to define our reputation regarding corruption starting with the swift and transparent answering of this question.

[{"type":"text","text":"Who the hell took $35,000 in a paper bag?"}]

Solve this and perhaps our state will be on the road to reputational repair.

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<title>Hamada: How corrupt is Hawai‘i?</title>

Most public servants get through the day doing absolutely nothing wrong. But as ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada observes, there have been more than enough high-profile cases of corruption to justify the perception that Hawai‘i can be pretty rotten.

Hamada: How corrupt is Hawai‘i?

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.

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

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

Rose Angelo

Rose Angelo is a student at the University of Colorado. This article is based on research for her undergraduate honors thesis “Creating a Food Sovereign Maui: Indigenous Land Management and Agricultural Practices.”

Rose Angelo

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