ASD Staff

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

What Hawaiʻi graduation ceremony isnʻt complete without "Piko Mango," "Lilikoi" and "Cheehoo"?

Firefly graduation cap and Hawaiian lei 73612

<title>🚧 Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Reading local names at graduation</title>

Today's social post from ekahi808 will help you prepare for Hawai‘i's upcoming graduation season.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Reading local names at graduation

What Hawaiʻi graduation ceremony isnʻt complete without "Piko Mango," "Lilikoi" and "Cheehoo"? 

[{"text":"Itʻs so hard to stay on top of things!","type":"text"}]

I Stock 1445555124

<title>🚧 Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!</title>

Todayʻs social media find comes from jasonpolakaw, a collection of foil board fails.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!

Adopt a Pet

"Burger is a 30-pound, 1-year-old terrier mix with a playful spirit and a child-like curiosity about the world around him," says Hawaiian Humane Society. "He was found as a stray in Wahiawā back in January and was brought to us by a kind-hearted Good Samaritan."

"Like his namesake, Burger is extremely food-motivated. Tasty treats help him learn new skills and reinforce the ones he already knows. 

"Burger can be a little selective with his canine siblings, so we encourage potential adopters to bring their resident dogs in for a meet-and-greet to ensure a good match.

"This handsome boy is a Reid Krucky Memorial Fund recipient, which means his adoption fee is waived. He’ll also go home with a special package full of goodies to help him settle into his new life."

Burger can't wait to meet you at the Hawaiian Humane Society’s Kosasa Family Campus at Hoʻopili, open daily from 11 a.m to 7 p.m.

Burger 4252025

<title>🚧 Adopt-a-Pet April 25, 2025: Pup named Burger loves to eat</title>

"Like his namesake, Burger is extremely food-motivated," says the Hawaiian Humane Society.

Adopt-a-Pet April 25, 2025: Pup named Burger loves to eat

Cheryl Tsutsumi

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

Columnists

“I would rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.”

Those words are attributed to George Washington, but it’s easy to imagine Melvin Matsuda saying them. “Farming has provided me and my family with a great life,” said Matsuda, 73, who was born and raised in Kahuku and has farmed there for more than 50 years. “I never was an office kind of guy. I like being outdoors, seeing crops grow and feeling soil in my hands.”

Matsuda’s paternal grandfather immigrated to O‘ahu from Fukuoka, Japan, at the turn of the last century to grow pineapple as an independent contractor in Kahuku. His dad also had a green thumb; in addition to being the irrigation supervisor for Kahuku Sugar Plantation, he grew banana, papaya, sweet potato, bell pepper and watermelon on small, scattered plots in Kahuku.

In middle school, Matsuda was already playing a key role in his father’s side business, setting up irrigation pipes, weighing and packing harvested produce, preparing invoices, helping customers load their trucks, and driving tractors for soil preparation and weed spraying.

“I didn’t even have my driver’s license yet,” Matsuda said. “Many times, I wanted to go out with my friends, but I had to work, and my dad didn’t pay me. When I was in high school, I took two cases of bell peppers, 30 pounds per case, to a grocery store near my house once a week. I got paid $30 for them, and that was my pocket money. Dad knew about it and didn’t mind.”

After Matsuda got his driver’s license, he became the farm’s shuttle driver, picking up workers before his classes at Kahuku High School and taking them to the fields, then driving them home after school. During the summer and weekends, he also helped with planting. For bell peppers, he and three ladies used trowels to dig small holes 18 inches apart on both sides of a ditch. They put the seedlings into the holes and covered the roots with dirt. It took a full day, from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., for them to plant half an acre.

Much about farm work is tedious, but inattention can result in big losses. “Dad was adamant about three things,” Matsuda said. “First, he told me, ‘Two crops can’t grow at the same time.’ That means you must control weeds. Second, he said, ‘Anytime you see the leaves curl on the pōpolo [black nightshade], your crop probably has aphids.’”

His father also advised him to check fields early in the morning and during the hottest time of the day. “In the morning when it’s cool, the plant looks vigorous,” Matsuda said. “In the afternoon heat, it gets stressed, and if it’s wilting, it needs water. But if you water too much, you’ll kill the plant or cause root diseases. If you don’t water enough, it’ll dry up and whatever it bears won’t be good.”

After he graduated from high school in 1970, Matsuda attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for three semesters, which confirmed that college wasn’t for him. Instead, he headed to California with his black belt and ran successful martial arts schools in San Bernadino and Palm Springs for five years.

[{"text":"Then came the call.","type":"text"}]

“My dad said he was going to retire, and he asked if I wanted to stay on the Mainland or go back to Hawai‘i and take over the farm,” Matsuda said. “I was on the fence, but my wife wanted to come home, so we did in 1976.”

Before Kahuku Sugar Plantation shut down in 1971, his father and seven other farmers had formed an association to lease 240 acres in Kahuku from Campbell Estate. They divided that land, and the Matsuda and Fukuyama families began farming adjacent parcels. Matsuda and Clyde Fukuyama had known each other from childhood because they attended the same church and elementary school.

“Also, I taught karate when I was in high school and Clyde took classes from me,” Matsuda said. “While I was in California, he got a degree in agriculture from U.H. When I came back, we started working on projects together, including one growing watermelon in Australia. We became good friends after that, and one day Clyde said, ‘Why don’t we merge our farms?’”

Matsuda-Fukuyama Farms was incorporated in 1995. As other farmers in the association gave up their leases, they acquired them and seized other opportunities. In the early 2000s, they obtained land to grow mango and papaya in Waialua and Hale‘iwa, secured irrigation contracts from Dole and Kamehameha Schools, and launched land prep services for Del Monte and Pioneer Seed Company. Matsuda headed those enterprises while Fukuyama focused on the crops in Kahuku.

In 2002, Matsuda participated in a training program sponsored by the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawai‘i, which included a visit to Ali‘i Kula Lavender on Maui. At the time, that attraction was at the forefront of agritourism, a new concept in Hawai‘i.

“Their setting, tour, displays, and products were fantastic,” Matsuda said. “I thought we could do something similar at our farm. Large-scale farming was not for my daughters, but that would be right up their alley. Kylie has a degree in Travel Industry Management, and Kalyn graduated in Business Administration.”

They and Kylie’s husband, Judah Lum, who has a construction background, took the ball and ran with it. Kahuku Farms opened in 2010 on five of Matsuda-Fukuyama’s 140 acres, offering educational tours; gardens with more than two dozen varieties of tropical trees; and café items incorporating the farms’ papaya, acai, cacao, apple banana, liliko‘i and long eggplant. Matsuda supplies the café with orange, tangerine, mango and avocado from a three-acre orchard in Hale‘iwa that he kept as a hobby when operations in Waialua and Hale‘iwa wound down in 2018.

Farming has taught him lessons that he believes apply to any path people choose to take in life. Conduct thorough research, so you can make sound decisions. Take the time and make the effort to properly prepare. Observe, evaluate and adjust, if needed. Be patient; ideal results usually aren’t achieved right away. Don’t underestimate the power and wisdom of nature.

“I’m semi-retired, but I can’t give up farming completely,” Matsuda said. “I don’t have any regrets. I think I would’ve done okay either way—karate in California or farming in Kahuku. But I love it here; Kahuku is home.”

Mel Matsuda Tractor

<title>🚧 Uncles and Aunties: Melvin Matsuda, the karate farmer of Kahuku</title>

Kahuku-born and -raised, Melvin Matsuda decamped to California in the early ’70s with his black belt and ran successful martial arts schools in San Bernadino and Palm Springs for five years. But when his father asked if he would come home to look after the family farm, he signed on, came home, and never looked back.

Uncles and Aunties: Melvin Matsuda, the karate farmer of Kahuku

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

Real Estate

The winner of a lawsuit against a County of Hawai‘i agency believes his verdict can help others who are struggling with building permit woes across the state.

California native Shahzaad Ausman has been embroiled in a dispute with Hawai‘i Island’s Department of Public Works for three years, with a home renovation project held up by conflicting and contradictory permit rules.

Ausman told Aloha State Daily that he purchased a home in Miloli‘i, on the west side of the Big Island, in 2021. That home was originally built in 1987, but after 30 years of coastal exposure, it was in need of renovations.

Ausman was not the home’s first buyer, he said. A buyer from Washington State had purchased the home a few years prior and had obtained the necessary permits from the county for the renovation in 2020.

“And then COVID hit right after,” Ausman said. With travel to Hawai‘i all but impossible, the previous buyer was unable to visit their property, let alone complete the project, and so they listed it for sale again, and Ausman eventually purchased it.

When Ausman took possession of the property, he said he checked to make sure all the permits on the house were valid. With the county’s confirmation, he began remodeling work in early 2022.

But when Ausman requested a county inspection, nobody from the Department of Public Works came, he said. Despite multiple calls to the department, he said he received no response until June 2, 2022, when they told him his permits had expired the day before.

“I said that didn’t make sense, because the permit should have been good for five years,” Ausman said. “They said no, it was the building permit from 1987 that had expired.”

Ausman said the county’s transition to its new online permitting system — the Electronic Processing and Inspection Center, or EPIC — had forced the expiration of his and many other property owners’ permits. 

When the county transitioned to the EPIC system, DPW decided to cancel all expired building permits. In 2021, when DPW announced the impending cancellations, the department stated that there were 40,000 building permits listed as “expired" in its system. 

But some pre-digital permits became listed as “expired” even though they had passed final inspection, although the department offered a grace period through 2022 that would allow such permit holders to apply for extensions. On June 1, 2022, that grace period ended, with as many as 6,840 building permits on the chopping block, 

according to prior reporting from the Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Ausman reasoned that the 1987 permit logically must have passed final inspection, because DPW would not have approved the 2020 alterations permit if it had not. But, later in 2022, he said DPW told him that not only was the entire house unpermitted, but all subsequent permits were null and void as a result. 

If Ausman wanted to live in the house, he would have to bring it up to current code and get a shoreline management area permit, which he called “a trap.”

“I would have to change every stick and nail of the house to bring it up to code,” Ausman said. “I’d basically have to rebuild the house.”

Ausman said he had no other choice than to bring the matter before the county’s Board of Appeals, which ruled “arbitrarily and capriciously” to uphold DPW’s decisions. Ausman noted that the same attorneys who advise the Board of Appeals advise DPW.

Following this, Ausman appealed the board’s decision in 2023, filing a lawsuit against the county and Stephen Pause, then the Public Works Director.

Oral arguments in the case were heard in February, and in March the Third Circuit Court rendered a verdict in favor of Ausman. 

“I couldn’t believe I’d won,” Ausman said. “It’s been a fight of three years, and they tried to wear me down, but I won.”

The court’s ruling stated that DPW acted in good faith when it issued the 2020 alterations permit, and that Ausman was reasonable in assuming that the permit remained valid when he purchased it, based on official assurances from the county. 

Consequently, the ruling found that it would be “unjust and unreasonable” for DPW to now revoke the 2020 permit and ordered the Hawai‘i County Board of Appeals to reverse its decision.

But even with a legal victory, the fight isn’t over, Ausman said. Following the verdict, he said the county reached out to his attorney — Kailua-Kona lawyer Patrick Wong — with a settlement offer.

[{"text":"“What is there to settle?” Ausman laughed. “I f---ing won.”","type":"text"}]

Ausman suspects that the county fears his case being used as legal precedent for other property owners whose permits have been similarly left in limbo following the EPIC transition. He added that the City and County of Honolulu is also shifting its permitting process from the current POSSE software to a new platform, Clariti, that could similarly cause growing pains.

The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting announced in March that it would purge inactive permit applications older than one year in advance of the transition, which could impact nearly 2,000 residential permit applications.

Meanwhile, Ausman’s Miloli‘i home still remains incomplete. Despite the verdict, he said DPW still hasn’t restored his permits, although he added that Wong is still drafting documents to officially enter the court order. 

“I’ve probably spent more than $250,000 on it, including attorney’s fees,” Ausman said, estimating that the work has been more than 70% complete for years.

[{"text":"Ausman said his case should serve as a warning to other homeowners.","type":"text"}]

“If they can do this to me, they can do it to so many more,” Ausman said. “You’ve got to be on top of it, keep researching for yourself and fight for your rights.”

Hawai‘i County DPW declined to comment on a legal matter, and referred ASD's queries to Hawai‘i County Corporation Counsel. ASD also reached out to Patrick Wong, Honolulu DPP and Corporation Counsel for additional comment.

Shahzaad Ausman pic 16x9

<title>🚧 Hawai‘i Island homeowner wins three-year permit battle</title>

Lawsuit against Hawai‘i County could set precedent for other permitting woes, plaintiff says.

Hawai‘i Island homeowner wins three-year permit battle

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has returned as Hawai‘i Bowl's title sponsor, rekindling the sponsorship it had with the bowl from 2003 to 2013.

The three-year deal between Sheraton and the Hawai‘i Bowl was announced during a press conference at the Royal Hawaiian Resort on Thursday afternoon. 

The Hawai‘i Bowl, which is owned and operated by ESPN Events, takes place around Christmas Eve and at the University of Hawai‘i's home football field. Date and kickoff time for the 2025 game will be announced at a later date. 

Hawai‘i Bowl executive director Daryl Garvin, ESPN Events vice president Clint Overby, Kyo-ya Management Company senior vice president Michael Takayama and Emilio Gomez, complex sales leader for Marriott’s Waikīkī Collection, fielded questions during Thursday's press conference and breifly met with Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi following the event. 

Thursday's announcement breathed new life into the Hawai‘i Bowl after concerns towards the game's future were been raised due to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics. 

"Bowl games are incredibly important from a programming standpoint, but also very important from a from a reward standpoint," Overby said on Thursday. "In the sport of college football right now, bowl games serve as a valuable opportunity for student-athletes, coaches and families to have a reward opportunity in the year. Certainly, title sponsorships and local support is a big part of that. And with the help of our friends here, we know that helps ensure that for the future. It's definitely a positive, and we look forward to many more years."

A large reason that the Hawai‘i Bowl was created in 2002 was because the University of Hawai‘i football team had a successful 9-3 campaign in 2001 but did not have a bowl game to go to. 

The Rainbow Warriors have not played in the Hawai‘i Bowl since 2019, prevailing over BYU 38-34 at Aloha Stadium. Although UH qualified for the 2021 Hawai‘i Bowl and were set to take on Memphis, the 'Bows withdrew prior to the game because of a Covid-19 outbreak within the team. 

Blangiardi, a former University of Hawai‘i football player and assistant coach, understands how valuable having UH participate in the game would be. 

"I would love to see UH in it," Blangiardi said. "We've had some struggles. The team has played hard. It's gotten better each year. We're big fans of Timmy (Chang), we want UH football to succeed. We all know the cloud of uncertainty because of what happened with the 

 and all the obstacles that represents to overcome for a Division I football program. 

"This game is within reach. It would be great to see in (Chang's) fourth year to make it to the Hawai‘i Bowl. I can promise you I'll be there from the opening game all the way through the whole season, cheering for that team to get here."

In 2022, the Hawai‘i Bowl returned, with 6,605 tickets issued at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, as Middle Tennessee defeated San Diego State 25-23. In the 2023 game, Coastal Carolina defeated San Jose State 24-14 as 7,089 tickers were sold. In the 2024 game, 6,720 tickets were issued as South Florida defeated San Jose State 41-39 in five overtimes. 

"We're intrinsically linked to UH, and it's long term football aspiration," Overby said. "So, as much as they can get bowl eligible and create additional buzz for the game, it's very helpful."

In 2025, teams from the Mountain West Conference and American Athletic Conference will be the two conference affiliates for the game. After that, the Hawai‘i Bowl will negotiate with different conferences for an affiliate opposite the Mountain West, of which UH is a member. 

Hawai‘i Bowl 042425

<title>🚧 Sheraton returns as Hawai‘i Bowl sponsor</title>

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts previously sponsored the Hawai‘i Bowl from 2003 to 2013.

Sheraton returns as Hawai‘i Bowl sponsor

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

Hawaiian Airlines has moved to new terminals within Los Angeles International Airport and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport this week, joining Alaska Airlines in an effort to streamline operations.

, Hawaiian's check-in operations moved to Terminal 6 at LAX on April 22, "co-locating with Alaska Airlines, to offer guests quicker and easier access between gates, counters and baggage claim."

On Tuesday, Hawaiian also moved from Terminal 4 at JFK to Terminal 8, a move Alaska says "enhances connectivity with Alaska's oneworld Alliance partners, including American Airlines and British Airways."

Alaska, which will move from its current location in the airport's Terminal 7, and Hawaiian are expected to be fully consolidated in Terminal 8 by October, according to the airline.

[{"text":"What does this mean for travelers to and from the Islands?","type":"text"}]

A Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson told Aloha State Daily in an email that, "As we continue to optimize our network, co-locations allow guests flying on both Alaska and Hawaiian a more seamless travel experience while also fostering a collaborative environment for our teams."

The process of co-locating is a "large collaboration" with each airport authority as well as the teams from both airlines, the spokesperson said, noting that co-location plans began once the airlines combined seven months ago.

Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, Inc. and Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. 

 that Alaska Airlines would acquire Hawaiian Airlines in a deal that was valued at approximately $1.9 billion, including $900 million of Hawaiian’s net debt, according to an announcement at that time.

. At that time, the airlines began working to secure a single operating certificate with the Federal Aviation Administration, "which will allow the two airlines to operate as a single carrier with an integrated passenger service system," according to an announcement at that time.

However, the distinct Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines brands will be maintained.

"As part of our continued work to improve the guest and customer experience, last month, we also co-located Alaska Air and Hawaiian Air Cargo operations in Honolulu," the spokesperson said. "We now have combined cargo operations in Līhu‘e, Maui and Kona in addition to Honolulu.

"Similar to airport co-locations, our cargo co-locations create a stronger, more connected cargo network that delivers greater value to our customers."

According to Alaska Airlines, co-location efforts began last year, when Hawaiian relocated next to Alaska in San Francisco International Airport's Harvey Milk Terminal 1 followed by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona.

And there are plans for the airlines to co-locate in Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City and Las Vegas by the end of the year, the airline said.

The Hawaiian Airline spokesperson told ASD that co-location timelines depend on a number of factors, including availability at each airport to accommodate the moves.

"We are looking forward to co-locating at all stations that Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines share," they said.

Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Holdings, Horizon Air and McGee Air Services are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group. With its acquisition of Hawaiian, it now serves more than 140 destinations throughout North America, Central America, Asia and across the Pacific.

 CEO of Hawaiian Airlines in September following its combination with Alaska Air Group. Read more from Sprague 

Hawaiian and Alaska SFO

<title>🚧 These airlines are now neighbors in terminals at two major Mainland airports</title>

Hawaiian Airlines has joined Alaska Airlines at terminals in Los Angeles International Airport and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Reading local names at graduation

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