Alika Garcia

Alika Peleholani Garcia

Viewpoints

Aloha Spirit

As a first responder during the recent Kona Low storms, I know that addressing the impact of natural disasters on human beings comes first: getting people to safety, protecting their homes when possible, and helping them begin the long road to recovery.

But when the rains stop and the flood waters settle, I wear another hat as the executive director of 

. In this role, I can see the otherwise unseen impact of such storms below the ocean’s surface and the way that extreme weather is affecting our nearshore reefs — and the long-term cost of this damage to our communities.

After the Kona Lows were over, I went underwater and saw it clearly: a thousand corals torn loose, flipped, or shattered by storm surge waves and flood debris. And that was just a tiny portion of the reef that encircles our entire island.

Across Oʻahu and throughout our pae ʻāina, the damage is real and widespread.

When corals are ripped out, we lose more than coral — we lose shelter for reef life, habitat for fish, and part of the reef’s natural ability to take the punch out of waves before they reach our shoreline. That loss affects our food systems, livelihoods and community health.

While repairing portions of the reef after the Kona Low damage, Kuleana Coral Restoration recently reached a milestone: 10,000 corals planted and repaired. The number is worth celebrating, but only if we understand what it represents.

A reef is not just coral. A reef is a community: fish moving through structure, crabs sheltering in crevices, shrimp flashing in and out of shade. When coral survives, it becomes structure and structure invites life back. That’s the neighborhood returning.

But we hold a firm truth alongside the celebration: planting corals is not enough by itself. Corals live within a system shaped by what happens above them. In Hawaiʻi, our reefs sit at the ma kai end of the water cycle where everything collects.

Mauka to makai water carries life. It also carries consequences. Our corals live downstream of our choices; what we allow to happen upstream affects the lived conditions for our reefs downstream. A Kona Low is an acute example of that connection, with damage to the land and stress underwater arriving together.

That connection can feel like a mirror of community health, especially for Kānaka communities trying to persist in a modern world that wasn’t built with our best interests in mind. Reefs get smothered, stressed, and pushed by forces bigger than any single organism can solve alone — not unlike the way that our people experience the socio-economic pressures that keep us from thriving in our homeland or that drive us away.

Coral restoration matters because coral is living architecture. It is housing underwater. When reef structure collapses, the smallest relatives lose shelter first. Planting and repairing corals helps rebuild that structure so life can return.

But just like housing on land, simply building more homes doesn’t solve the housing crisis. If the systemic forces that push families out remain unchanged, the crisis continues. Reefs face the same reality. If upstream pressures don’t change, coral planting becomes temporary.

However, “upstream” doesn’t mean “out of our control.” It means that changes must be made earlier in the system; what we choose, what we tolerate, what we prioritize, and what we build together. Durable reef recovery comes when we align coral restoration work in the ocean with actionable mālama ʻāina, from working to ensure that our freshwater streams are cleaner to making smarter shoreline decisions and everything in between.

And the urgency is growing. With oceans trending warmer and the possibility of a strong El Niño pattern this year, coral bleaching and more damaging storms become more likely.

When reefs are already weakened they can’t slow waves as well, and storms can hit our coastline harder. That’s why preparation matters: ready crews, ready communities, and a shared plan to respond both above and below sea level.

Planting 10,000 corals is not a finish line. It’s a beginning: repairing the reef neighborhood while strengthening the human community that protects it.

[{"type":"text","text":"By restoring reefs, our eldest kūpuna, we restore ourselves."}]

This article is reprinted with permission from 

OHA's Ka Wai Ola newspaper: "By Restoring Our Reefs We Restore Ourselves" by Alika Peleholani Garcia, in its June 2026 issue, Vol. 43 No. 6. Read more at 

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Reef Repair Project2

Hau‘oli Lorenzo-Elarco and Kenika Lorenzo-Elarco

Hawai‘i History

Rather than framing ocean protection as a burden, we should instead ask why Pacific Island peoples, and our protected and sacred oceans, are forced to bear the unfair burden of industrial fishing, write two members of the Papahānaumokuākea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group.

Fishing Nets

Community Voices: Commercial fishing is not a cultural practice

Philamer Felicitas

Marine debris from lost or discarded commercial fishing nets to plastic and other waste carried to the ocean by streams, rivers and lakes, does not simply disappear at sea. Much of the debris collected in the massive Great Pacific Garbage Patch north of Hawaiʻi eventually converges on our shores — especially in Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary. Despite relatively little of this waste originating in Hawaiʻi, our local community continues bearing the responsibility of ongoing cleanup efforts to protect one of the most sacred and ecologically significant places on Earth.

Marine Debris KWO Cover

Community Voices: What preserving Papahānaumokuākea means below the surface

<title>Community Voices: By Restoring Our Reefs We Restore Ourselves</title>

When corals are ripped out, we lose more than coral — we lose shelter for reef life, habitat for fish, and part of the reef’s natural ability to take the punch out of waves before they reach our shoreline. That loss affects our food systems, livelihoods and community health, says Alika Peleholani Garcia, executive director of Kuleana Coral Restoration.

Community Voices: By Restoring Our Reefs We Restore Ourselves

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

Columnists

On Monday morning, the trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs spent 

 accusing one another of retaliation, secrecy, and filing court documents nobody approved.

One of the agency’s lawyers said a court filing by four dissenting trustees had hurt his ability to defend the agency. One of those trustees asked, twice, that the four’s own lawyer be heard as well, but the chair said no. The chair asked, more than once, who authorized the filing. The answers satisfied no one.

If you read the coverage, you learned a great deal. There was a budget fight last June between the board’s chair and its chief executive. The chief executive was placed on leave in September. By November she was suing the agency and its trustees, claiming her removal was retaliation.

A judge let four trustees hire their own lawyer in April. A unanimous board voted in May to seek mediation. This was upended weeks later when the dissenting trustees filed a court document siding largely with the woman suing them. Civil Beat’s 

Now try to answer one simple question: why did those four trustees hire their own lawyer? The news offers a paraphrase — they felt their views were not being represented. Represented by whom? Against what risk? Were they defending themselves, or the ousted executive, or some idea of what the agency owes its beneficiaries?

The article cannot say. Not because the reporter failed, but because 1,800 words cannot hold one year of drama, seven months of litigation, nine trustees, and a stack of dueling filings.

The four trustees’ account is available in writing. The disputed filing runs 42 pages and cost $4.31 to download from the state courts. The record is public, yet almost nobody will read it — not from laziness, but because a person who paid that toll on every public dispute would have time for nothing else. So everything most of us will ever know about this issue must pass through a narrow opening.

This is how we meet nearly every public matter. We come to Red Hill this way, and to the rail, and to the zoning fight down the road. We arrive in chapter twelve of a novel that began before we started paying attention, and someone hands us a synopsis — written, usually, by a person who also arrived late.

The first to plead his case seems right, the proverb says, until another comes and examines him. A news article is somebody’s opening statement, or several opening statements stitched together. The cross-examination comes later, if it comes at all. It comes in follow-up stories, in depositions, and in records requests nobody reads. The news article is not lying to you. It is simply the latest voice in an ongoing proceeding.

The tempting response is to fire the narrator. Many conservatives have concluded that the mainstream press cannot be trusted, so they switched to friendlier news outlets, taking the new synopsis on the same faith they once gave the old one. But that is not skepticism. The man who trades one narrator for another has not become harder to fool. His progressive neighbor, who treats a single outlet’s account as the complete record, is making the same mistake. Different congregations, same habit.

Consider the people we might expect to be immune. New members of major public boards routinely inherit contested case files that run hundreds of pages, covering litigation that began years before their terms. They read every document, consult with counsel, and then the law obliges them to decide. But they are always entering halfway through.

And yet we still have to judge. The voter votes for OHA trustees this fall whether or not he has read the court filings. The juror must return a verdict. The board member makes a decision with the case file still heavy in her lap. “It’s complicated” is not a verdict any court will accept, and the ballot has no box for it.

So the question is not whether to judge with partial knowledge — we have to. The question is how to judge well.

Hear the other side before you settle anything, even when the first side sounded complete. Hear at least two witnesses. Keep what is alleged and what is proven in separate drawers, and check which drawer you are pulling from before you repeat the news at dinner. Where the record lets you wait, wait.

These are old disciplines, older than newspapers. Courts adopted them for a humbling reason: our law assumes that the judge cannot see everything. Our whole system of trials is built on that admission. No single narrator, however honest, tells the whole story.

There is one Judge who has read every file to the last page, who sat in every executive session, and who requires no cross-examination. His position is filled, and none of us should aspire to it. Our verdicts are drafts at best. Knowing this is not a reason to stop judging. It is the only way to do it well.

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<title>What 1,800 words can’t tell you about the OHA lawsuit</title>

The disputed court filing at the center of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ board war runs 42 pages and costs $4.31 to download. Almost no one will ever read it. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why we meet every public story halfway through — and why we have to judge anyway.

What 1,800 words can’t tell you about the OHA lawsuit

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

“War shall cease on Hawaiʻi when one shall come and shall be laid above on the altar of Puʻukoholā, the house of god.”

This was the prophecy of Kapoukai of Molokaʻi when Kamehameha inquired how he could successfully control the island. By the death of Keōua, all of Hawaiʻi Island came under Kamehameha’s rule.

Years before that, Kalaniopuʻu was aliʻi nui of Hawaiʻi. His sons were Kīwalaʻo and Keōuakūʻahuʻula, and his nephew was Kamehameha. When Kalaniopuʻu died, he left the rule of the land to Kīwalaʻo and his war god, Kūkaʻilimoku, to Kamehameha. Kīwalaʻo offered some land to his uncle, Keawemauhili, leaving his half-brother, Keōua, with nothing.

Eventually, the death of Kīwalaʻo left Hawaiʻi Island divided between the rival claims of the three aliʻi. Keōua ruled over Kaʻū and much of Puna in the south, Kamehameha controlled Kohala and Kona in the west, and Keawemauhili held Hilo in the east. Regardless, Kamehameha continued his conquest by invading Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi.

While on Molokaʻi, the kahuna Kapoukahi prophesied that war would end and the land would be his if Kamehameha built a heiau at Puʻukoholā and dedicated it to the war god Kū.

Historians say that aside from women and the kapu aliʻi, Kealiʻimaikaʻi, Kamehameha’s sacred brother, every person was involved in building the heiau, including Kamehameha himself. The kāhuna selected the site and determined the orientation, size, and arrangement, and the people formed a human chain nearly 20 miles long, passing the stones from person to person from Pololu Valley to Puʻukoholā.

In order for the heiau to be acceptable to the gods, the construction was under strict kapu, and every stage of progress was met with ritual and ceremony. Any person who was unfortunate enough to break the kapu, even by accident, paid with his life.

The prophet also proclaimed that the heiau would possess the mana (spiritual power) necessary to fulfill the prophecy only if a high-ranking individual were offered in sacrifice. So, after completing the heiau in 1791, Kamehameha invited his cousin, Keōua, to Kawaiahae with an offer of peace.

It is said that Keōua knew he was about to die. As his party traveled to Kawaihae by canoe, they made one last stop. In a pond called Luahinewai, he performed ʻūmuʻo, a ritual circumcision.

Ideally, when a man is meant to be sacrificed to the gods, his body could not be damaged. Keōua’s self-mutilation made him an imperfect sacrifice. His final act of defiance to Kamehameha.

As Keōua was about to step ashore at Kawaihae, he was killed by one of Kamehameha’s aliʻi. Thus, he became the first sacrifice of Puʻukoholā, but not the last. With Keōua dead and his supporters either killed or captured, Kamehameha became the aliʻi nui of Hawaiʻi Island, leading to the eventual conquest and consolidation of all the islands under one rule.

In 1972, the Queen Emma Foundation donated 34 acres of land around the Puʻukoholā Heiau, including the John Young Homestead, establishing the Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. This landmark sees thousands of visitors each year, making it one of the most significant historic sites in Hawaiʻi. But not all of those visitors are among the living.

He pō Kāne kēia, ke māʻau nei nā ʻeʻepa o ka pō. 

This is the night of Kāne, for supernatural beings are wandering about in the dark.

This ʻŌlelo Noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb) is said of those who go wandering about at night. It is believed that on the night of Kāne — the night of no moon — ghosts, demigods, and other beings wander about among the living. Pō Kāne is often referred to when speaking of the legendary huakaʻi pō, also known as the night marchers.

The most common description of the night marchers is a group of ghostly warriors marching in a haunted procession. Their announcement comes in several forms: the sound of the pū (conch shell), the pounding of distant pahu (drums) getting closer, the music of the ‘ohe hano ihu (nose flute), the sound of stomping feet, or a line of torch lights traveling along a path. Some say that they have felt the earth shake or caught the scent of sulfur, and some have said that they witnessed a column of mist moving across the land.

If you are in the way of the oncoming procession, you should run. If it is too late to run, you must lie flat on your stomach, cover your head, and shut your eyes tight. If you know it, it would be helpful to chant your moʻokūʻauhau, your lineage, and pray that an ancestor walks among the dead to speak for you.

One woman shared her story about the huakaʻi pō that traveled through Kawaihae Hawaiian Homes. Their house was built near a path that the night marchers are said to travel. Her family is descended from the men who built the heiau, and now walk with the ghostly procession on the nights of no moon.

As a child, she remembers staying up late at night, listening for the sounds of marching feet. She saw no torch lights, as some people say, but she could hear the sounds. Once the marching grew closer, so did the sound of drums. She said that she stood near her window and peeked out, and just as her grandfather told her they would, the men walked past their house on a long-forgotten path toward Puʻukoholā. Knowing she had ʻohana in the procession, she was filled with wonder more than fear.

No matter how much time passes and how much the scenery changes, our ancestors continue to walk unhindered and uninhibited. After all, the land still belongs to them.

Puukohola Heiau

<title>Huaka‘i Pō at Pu‘ukoholā</title>

It is said that Kamehameha himself helped build the Pu‘ukoholā heiau, a massive undertaking that involved a human chain 20 miles long passing stones from Pololu Valley to Puʻukoholā. Once completed and consecrated, Kamehameha's kahuna had said, the heiau would mean the successful end to Kamehameha's wars of conquest. Naturally, tales of night marchers — Huaka‘i Pō — still haunt the area.

Huaka‘i Pō at Pu‘ukoholā

Yamachika Tom IMG 1913 Large

Tom Yamachika

 about one part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could really hurt our state economically.

It’s about the federal SNAP program to help needy families with food costs. It used to be fully funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So, Hawaiʻi citizens benefited from this federal largess to the tune of about $700 million a year.

The OBBBA changed this. Now, the USDA audits the states, who are responsible for running the program and paying out the benefits, and if a state paid out too much or too little, then the state will need to pick up an escalating share of the cost depending on our “error rate.” If our error rate is less than 6%, the USDA picks up all benefit costs as they did before. If it’s between 6% and 8%, we need to pony up 5%, which would be around $36 million.  Between 8% and 10%, we are on the hook for 10% of the benefits. And if the error rate is 10% or more, then we get socked for 15%, which would come out to about $109 million — which isn’t in our budget.

And then, of course, the feds didn’t make it easy for the states to comply. 

. The issues included federal policy changes that kicked in immediately, giving states zero time to learn about the new changes and work them in to their processing procedures before they were made accountable for errors.

Historically, we have had issues even before OBBBA. Our error rate for 2022 and 2023 exceeded 20%. The USDA was thinking about whacking us with a $11 million fine, but our folks managed to talk their way out of it with promises of new, badder, and better computer system that our Legislature had no choice but to fund.

In 2024, our error rate dropped to 6.68%. It was much better than the previous two years, but still left lots of room for improvement.

Now the 2025 error rate is out. There is good news and bad news.

The good news is that we don’t have the worst error rate, and ours was just slightly above the national average. Also, the penalties don’t take effect just yet.

. Double digits mean triple penalties, and don’t expect anyone to cut us some slack. “These payment error rates are further proof that state accountability is severely lacking in SNAP,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. “USDA has taken historic action to help interested states curb SNAP waste, and I hope other states, regardless of political leadership, prioritize needy families and the American taxpayer over politics.”

 that our Department of Human Services is keenly aware of the problem and is working hard to fix it. DHS reported that its error rate through the end of June was 6.52%.

Again, that’s an improvement, but we are still in penalty territory. We should be able to do better. Our error rate for most of the last two decades was under 6%, so we should be able to get ourselves out of the proverbial hot water.

The Trump Administration was able to trot out J.D. Vance to make us a national laughingstock over Medicaid fraud enforcement. The last thing we all want is for the administration to set us up on another issue, this one with a massive price tag which we probably won’t be able to wiggle out of like with the proposed $11 million fine.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Let’s do this."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Related ASD coverage on SNAP"}]

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Fresh produce (SNAP)

<title>Community Voices: SNAP disaster imminent</title>

The good news is that we don’t have the worst error rate, and Hawaiʻi was just slightly above the national average. The bad news is that our error rate was 10.92% in 2025. Double digits mean triple penalties, and don’t expect anyone to cut us some slack when they take effect.

Community Voices: SNAP disaster imminent

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 launched its pau hana menu in 2024. It recently updated it to include more dishes for $6 each.

The pau hana deal is available daily from 2 to 6 p.m. The featured dishes are full-sized portions for about half the price.

Deals include the hot honey chicken sando (regular price $15), fish katsu sando (regular price $15), kalbi burger (regular price $17) and bao buns (regular price $13). The bao include two per order.

So far, the hot honey chicken sando has been one of the most popular orders. It features chicken katsu, herb cabbage slaw, chili crunch hot honey and Japanese cucumber pickles.

The fish katsu sando looks similar, but features herb cabbage slaw, a caper tartare sauce and Japanese cucumber pickles.

The eatery’s bao buns — stuffed with braised applewood smoked slab bacon, hoisin, keiki cukes and micro cilantro — and kalbi burger were previously included on the pau hana menu. The latter features a brisket blend beef patty with kimchi slaw, West Side sauce, American cheddar and Japanese cucumber pickles.

[{"type":"text","text":"Customers can also take advantage of $5 fries."}]

Drink discounts include $6 beers — which include local draft brews — $9 wines by the glass and $12 tropical cocktails. Options range from frozen liliko

i margaritas and pina coladas to mango mules. Cocktails usually cost $16 to $18.

Customer parking is available in the Lilia Waikīkī parking garage (entrance on Walina Street); two-hour parking with $4 validation.

Piko happy hour spread 061126

<title>This eatery launched a $6 happy hour</title>

Piko Kitchen + Bar in Waikīkī updated its pau hana menu to include more dishes for $6 each. Its pau hana deal is available daily from 2 to 6 p.m. Customers can enjoy options like hot honey chicken sandos and fish katsu sandos, along with $6 beers and discounted cocktails.

This eatery launched a $6 happy hour

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Keith Zuniga, his wife and their two young daughters love Hawai‘i and always will. 

Zuniga, 34, joined the University of Hawai‘i baseball team's coaching staff following the 2023 season, where he served as the program's pitching coach, recruiting coordinator and associate head coach. Led by Zuniga, the Rainbow Warrior pitching staff led the country in ERA in 2024 and were 18th nationally in 2025. In 2026, the 'Bows were third nationally in ERA and fifth in the country in walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP). 

With numbers like that, interest in Zuniga from other programs across the country has been prevalent for multiple offseasons. But on Saturday, Zuniga received an opportunity he couldn't refuse: An offer from USC to become the program's new pitching coach. USC's former pitching coach Sean Allen departed to become the head coach at Lamar, leaving a void filled by Zuniga. 

USC, one of college baseball's most traditional powers, has 12 national championships under its belt and recently decided to invest more resources toward the program under head coach Andy Stankiewicz. Before reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2025 and 2026, the Trojans had a 10-year postseason drought. 

Zuniga was on a UH recruiting trip in Japan when the offer from USC materialized. After weighing the decision, Zuniga returned to O‘ahu early. 

"I was in the middle of a flight to Japan to recruit for Hawai‘i on Thursday, and literally in the middle of flight was when everything transpired," Zuniga recalled to Aloha State Daily. "I landed in Tokyo, spent less than 24 hours and flew out that very next night. I spent Saturday in Tokyo, and I flew back to Hawai‘i, and spent the entire Saturday in Hawai‘i. I had an eight-day week."

The length of the week only added to the weight of the decision for Zuniga, who says his young family was truly fulfilled by the Island lifestyle. 

"When it comes to family, man, that's been the most difficult part of this entire decision, because I truly believe that there is no better place to raise a family than Hawai‘i. I truly mean that," he said. "I'm excited, I'm a little torn for my daughters, because the school system, the people here have been unbelievable. Everything we've done is done as a family. We're all excited for this new opportunity, but obviously that family portion, the ‘ohana, and the love and joy we've experienced here on the island, that's something we're truly going to miss and cherish forever."

Zuniga's departure came on the heels of the program parting ways with hitting coach Dave Nakama. Hawai‘i head coach Rich Hill will need a new hitting and pitching coach ahead of a new era for the 'Bows, who are departing the Big West Conference 

When asked to comment on the program's assistant coach vacancies, Hill indicated to ASD that he would prefer to comment when the positions are filled. 

Current UH assistant coach Jordon Twohig is believed to see an increased role in working with the team's hitters. Meanwhile, director of pitching development Connor Harrison is being elevated to associate pitching coach. 

Zuniga believes the right replacement for his old gig is already in Mānoa. 

"I do think there's a guy in house that can really thrive in this position," Zuniga said. "He knows what coach Hill expects after being a player for him, he's now been in the dugout with coach Hill as a coach. I really think that there's a guy here ready to take that next step. I think the right guy is here. It's Connor Harrison."

Harrison was recently in Arizona and California recruiting for the 'Bows with Twohig on the summer showcase circuit. Harrison, who pitched for the 'Bows from 2021 to 2024, expressed gratitude for his recent promotion. At the same time, he's ready to throw his hat in the ring for the job as the team's main pitching coach. 

"I pitched here. I always knew I kind of wanted to coach," Harrison told ASD. "I just love being around the game, and that's kind of how my brain worked as I was trying to see what Coach Hill was doing while I was playing. Playing matchups, playing the strategic side of the game, and that's what's most fun for me — the game within the game, and how important each pitch can be, and how important each run could be potentially.

"It was an honor that (Zuniga) wanted me to come back and help out and be his right-hand man, and his new job is is a testament to what he was able to do on the Islands for those three three years, and I'm hoping I get the opportunity to be the next guy."

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<title>Hawai‘i baseball set to reshuffle coaching staff</title>

The Rainbow Warriors will need a new pitching and hitting coach after recent departures.

Hawai‘i baseball set to reshuffle coaching staff

Kam Napier Headshot

Born and raised on Oʻahu, I’ve been very fortunate to have built a career as a writer and editor right here at home. 

Most recently, I was Editor-in-Chief of Pacific Business News for 10 years, from April 2014 to August 2024. Before that, I worked at Honolulu Magazine for 19 years, the last eight of which I served as editor, leading the publication to General Excellence Awards from the City and Regional Magazine Association. Along the way, I’ve accumulated a box full of award plaques from the Hawaiʻi Publishers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaiʻi Chapter and more for my articles on everything from architecture to zoology, as well as for my column writing 

my first love in journalism going back to the Cane Tassel, the school paper of Waipahu High School. As a freelance writer, I’ve appeared in the Honolulu Weekly, Hawaiʻi Business Magazine, Hana Hou! and Honolulu Civil Beat.

Throughout my career, I’ve been blessed to be a part of local publications with long and distinguished histories. Honolulu Magazine, for example, dates back to 1888, when it was founded under a royal charter by King David Kalakaua. With Aloha State Daily, I’m thrilled at this opportunity to be the first editor of something Hawaiʻi hasn’t seen in years — a new news publication! One that is independently owned and locally operated.

Our goal is to inform, delight and surprise you. In our journalism, we will strive for true neutrality, telling you what happened, not what to think or how to feel about what happened, believing that the best journalism comes from curiosity and intelligence. There is a place for strong, opinionated voices at ASD, and you’ll find them among our regular columnists and community voices pieces.

Hawaiʻi has some big challenges, which we’ll cover from the perspective of how they impact you. Hawaiʻi is also full of amazing people doing incredible things and we’re looking forward to telling you their stories, as well. The Islands are full of inspiration and, of course, aloha!

<title>A. Kam Napier</title>

A. Kam Napier

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Aloha, I am Aloha State Daily’s senior editor reporting on community news. Know of any organizations and people making a positive difference in Hawaiʻi? Please reach out to me.

Originally from Los Angeles, I am Native Hawaiian with roots from Maui, residing on Oʻahu with my husband. Since moving to the Islands in 2019, I have volunteered for various local organizations such as 808 Cleanups, Keiki O Ka ʻĀina’s Board and Stone, March of Dimes Hawaiʻi and more.

Most recently, I was the associate editor of Pacific Business News for nearly six years. Prior to that role, I served as a copy editor and reporter for a daily newspaper, as well as a freelance writer for a lifestyle magazine, in California. Over the years, I have received multiple awards for my writing. I hold a bachelor's degree in communications from The Master's University, where I played soccer.

I am excited to build ASD as your go-to, reputable and fun news source for Hawaiʻi. Happy reading!

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at 

<title>Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros</title>

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

WEB square Kallin Spiller Headshot RGZ4464 2

Representing Hawaiʻi on the national stage as a Rainbow Wahine was one of the greatest honors of my life, and I carry that pride with me in all I do. After graduating from Columbia University in the City of New York, I moved to Oʻahu in 2021 to attend graduate school at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. I earned two master’s degrees in two years and served as captain of the Rainbow Wahine basketball team, helping lead the program to back-to-back conference tournament championships and NCAA tournament appearances. What began as a move for school and basketball has grown into a life rooted in connection, storytelling and a deep love for the Islands.

As Advertising Director at Aloha State Daily, I’m excited to build advertising partnerships that help organizations expand their reach by connecting them with an audience invested in the Islands and for readers to discover businesses, services and solutions that add value to their lives. I’m also proud to be part of a locally operated news source that shares stories that matter here in Hawaiʻi, while allowing readers to come to their own conclusions. 

Before joining Aloha State Daily, I held leadership roles at Wai Kai in leisure sales, marketing and community relations. I’ve also worked in sports media in Hawaiʻi as a broadcaster and analyst, contributing to television and radio coverage. 

I’m grateful to continue giving back to the community that has shown me aloha through it all, and I’m thrilled to do that here at Aloha State Daily by helping organizations grow and playing a part in keeping people informed and inspired.

<title>Kallin Spiller</title>

Kallin Spiller

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Business, tourism and the economy are all important facets of life in the Islands, but nothing can happen on those beats without people. I love telling the stories of your friends and neighbors, your coworkers and leaders, people who are making the decisions that affect your life and cool people who are doing cool things. Like most reporters, I'm nosy. I like to know about people —

what they're doing and why, what makes them tick, etc.

At Aloha State Daily, I'm excited to be a small part of building something awesome from the ground up. And I believe in our mission! Regardless of where you live, the role of local news doesn't change — it's important in keeping our communities informed about the things that impact our daily lives and holding people in positions of power accountable. Not to mention, Hawaiʻi has a lot of awesome stories to tell and I'm beyond grateful and excited to be able to share them.

Originally from Kentucky, I've lived in Hawaiʻi for almost seven years now - including 3.5 years in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island and another three years in Honolulu. I now live in Honolulu with my husband, who was born and raised here.

A lifelong writer and storyteller, I graduated from Murray State University with a degree in print journalism in 2007 and have spent the better part of the past 17 years working as a reporter. For most of my career, I've worked at community-focused papers in North Carolina, Kentucky and Hawaiʻi, covering communities big, small and in between, telling stories important to the people who live there. That's a big reason why I'm so passionate about community journalism and the role of hyperlocal news within the places we live, work and play.

<title>Stephanie Salmons</title>

Stephanie Salmons

Although I didn't move to Hawaiʻi until after high school, I have been connected to the Islands and followed Hawaiʻi sports my entire life. My father was born and raised on Oʻahu, and my family would come to Hawaiʻi for Christmas to visit his family members on an annual basis. Deep down, I always knew it's where I wanted to spend my life. The last 11 and a half years have only reaffirmed that. 

I got my start in journalism covering sports for Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi, the student newspaper at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa. I was also a sports clerk/sports reporter at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for a total of about four years. After graduation, I interned at the Sporting News in Charlotte, N.C. in the summer of 2018 before returning to the Star-Advertiser. In November 2019, I joined KHON2 News in Honolulu as a digital sports reporter for five years. 

The sports scene in Hawaiʻi as a whole is robust and at times, complex. I truly believe Hawaiʻi is home to some of the world's greatest people and athletes. Being able to tell their stories for the last decade has been an honor and a blessing. I can't wait to do the same for Aloha State Daily. Getting in on the ground floor for a new venture is something I always found intriguing and with ASD, it's something I'll be able to do for the first time. Additionally, ASD's commitment to journalism comes at a time where I believe it is more important than ever in our world to support local and quality journalism.

<title>Christian Shimabuku</title>

“Where should I go to eat?” Is a question I get a lot — whether it’s in person or via Instagram, from both friends and acquaintances via social media. I’m excited to share my findings and adventures with our community — not necessarily to tell them where to eat, but to give an accurate representation of what’s available out there. I love covering the new restaurants and new, local businesses popping up. Limited-time offerings (holiday cocktail bars, weekend pop-ups, etc.) are also exciting because sometimes they’re the result of fun collabs between local businesses.

I received my bachelor’s degree from Biola University, as well as my master’s degree in journalism at the University of Southern California. I was the associate editor of Frolic Hawaiʻi from 2017 to 2021 under Honolulu Magazine, and then worked most recently as the dining editor of Crave with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

My goal is for ASD’s dining section to be the premiere guide for the state. I’m excited to cover the food and dining scene, and to help our readers stay updated with all things food-related. It’ll be a fun, fresh start and I’m excited to be able to cover everything.

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at 

<title>Kelli Shiroma Braiotta</title>

Katie Helland Headshot

I’m excited to help bring a brand new source of news to the state. In my coverage, I look forward to sharing stories that will help you plan fun things to do for date nights and spend family time in Hawaiʻi. I also hope to share stories about the people behind events and organizations, as well as their interests in music, hula, film, comedy and more.

I started working at the city newspaper when I was still in high school through summer internships. Since then, I have worked for the community newspaper in my college town, as well as The Santiago Times when I lived abroad in Chile. Most recently, I worked for Pacific Business News in Honolulu.

At ASD, I can’t wait to talk story, which is how reporters hear some of the best news tips! Hawaiʻi has such an incredibly rich culture. And for me, it is home.

<title>Katie Helland</title>

Katie Helland

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

How does your government shape the way you live? What does your vote do to change and improve your community? These are questions I’m interested in answering for our readers. I want to make government more relatable by showing how decisions made at the City Council, the state Capitol or Washington D.C. affect you and your day-to-day life. I want to show how the gears of government fit together — and how they sometimes don’t — and what that means for people right here.

Christina O’Connor

Team

A. Kam Napier

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Kallin Spiller

Stephanie Salmons

Christian Shimabuku

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Katie Helland

Michael Brestovansky

Kady Pascual

Perry Arrasmith

Rick Hamada

Sterling Higa

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

DeSoto Brown

Christina O’Connor