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Divers off Makaha on Oahu were treated to an incredibly rare sight on March 28 when they saw a potential pygmy albino blackfish whale, known outside of Hawaii as either false killer whales or short-finned pilot whales.

“[The Blackfish is] one of four species that we call Blackfish because they’re all kind of black in color and hard to distinguish,” said Dr. Jessica Jacob, assistant professor at Hawaii Pacific University. “Based on the shape of the fin and the white lips, I would say it’s a pygmy killer whale.”

Although the false killer whales have skull shapes that closely resemble that of an orca, they aren’t closely related. Like orcas, though, they are a toothed species. They’re normally dark grey or black, which is why seeing a white one in a pod was so surprising.

“We noticed there was a white baby with them,” Travis Woo, a safety diver with Iruka Hawaii Dolphin Snorkeling Tours, told KHON2 News. “My initial reaction was euphoria.”

According to KHON2, an albino whale of any species has never been seen off Hawaii. It’s possible that this calf is leucistic, which is a genetic condition where some or all of the whale’s cells don’t produce melanin. It’s different than pure albinism, where there is a complete absence of melanin. Albino animals generally have white or pink eyes.

“It is potentially an albino individual, but there’s really only two ways to confirm that,” Pacific Whale Foundation Chief Scientist Jens Currie explained. “One is to do genetic sampling and look for that mutation that would cause a lack of pigmentation and lack of melanin production, which produces the color of individuals. Or, sometimes, you can examine the eyes of those individuals and the lack of color in their eyes makes them appear pink.”

According to The Cascadia Research Institute, white whale calves would have a hard time reaching adulthood. They said that this particular calf looks to have sunburns and blistering, and due to its coloring, they stand out to predators.

“Usually these dolphins, they go and hunt kind of far off shore and we don’t see them that often, but we’re seeing them hanging in closer to shore trying to guard this calf,” Woo said. “So, they’re sticking with it. We’re all rooting for it and hopefully it makes it. It’s unlikely, but it is possible.”

On March 13, 2025, a key Senate committee in Hawaii pushed forward a proposal to legalize digital sports betting in the state. This proposal, House Bill 1308, has been welcomed by Hawaii sports betting fans with enthusiasm, as expected.

With this proposal, four digital sports betting platforms would be allowed to operate in Hawaii without having any retail locations.

What would change

House Bill 1308 would legalize online sports betting in the state of Hawaii. However, many of the details of this legalization are not covered by the bill. Issues like tax rates and licensing fees were not included in the bill, and these have been keeping discussions active during debates about the bill. Also set to be legalized in the bill is daily fantasy sports, serving further to expand Hawaii’s online gaming options.

If the bill is approved in its current form, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) will lose its oversight on the subject to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), in what was another critical amendment in the bill.

While there are concerns over legalizing sports betting in Hawaii, Senate members who were part of the House Bill 1308 review committee argue that digital sports betting is already happening in Hawaii but through unregulated, offshore platforms.

Concerns and opposition

For Deputy Attorney General David Williams, a known critic and opponent of this bill, legal sports betting would bring several negative consequences to the state. He argued that credit card debts, bankruptcies, and domestic abuse would rise with more access to online sports betting.

Similarly, Brandon Maka’awa’awa, vice president of the Independent & Sovereign Nation State of Hawaii, criticized the lawmaker’s failure to get an economic impact study before moving the bill forward. Then there’s DCCA Director Nadine Ando, who warned that building a regulated sports betting market afresh would be costly and difficult to achieve.

She further stated that most states with legal sports betting manage their regulatory challenges via dedicated gaming commissions—a resource that may be lacking in Hawaii. Testimony from Boyd Gaming also highlighted that similarly sized states have sometimes seen lower-than-expected revenues from sports betting, potentially undermining funding for regulatory enforcement and responsible gambling programs.

Support for modernization

Many senators feel that it is finally time for Hawaii to embrace digital gaming, despite the wave of opposition. Sen. Donna Mercado Kim has stated that sports betting is already an everyday activity in the state. She even suggested that some of the law enforcement people currently with her have placed bets at
online betting sites
just before pushing out some of the amendments’ provisions.

In her words, proceeds from betting activities can be channeled back into education and for public benefit. Here’s submission aligns with most of what has been the prevailing argument for the benefit of the proposal. The main point is that the revenue that has previously been lost to offshore operators would be captured with the legalization of digital sports betting and then put to good use.

This revenue would help strengthen the state’s finances and modernize its gambling industry. The hope is that it would create an environment that is both competitive and consumer-friendly.

Local economic implications

For traditional Hawaii casino operators and Video Gaming Terminal (VGT) operators, the stakes are particularly high. They are wary of the fact that most of the revenue they make would be cannibalized with the introduction of digital sports betting. Add this to the fact that Hawaii’s tourism and local economies are loosely tied to its existing gaming sector, and you’ll understand why they’re seriously opposing the proposal.

The larger fear is that many of these operators will lose their profits with a swift shift to online betting, ultimately leading to job losses and diminished support for public services.

The road ahead

Now that it has passed a Senate committee review, the next stop for House Bill 1308 is the Senate Ways and Means Committee. This is the last step before the bill is put to a full Senate vote. During this process, further amendments can still be added to the bill.

The challenge before the lawmakers is the task of carving out substantial new revenue streams without causing financial harm to the traditional gaming sector or social harm to the Hawaiian people.

A few issues like tax rates, licensing fees, and regulatory guidelines remain unsettled, and it’s one to keep an eye on.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was forced to return to Hawaii and not land in Houston, Texas, as planned due to a “mechanical issue” on his plane, the actor recently revealed.

On Friday, Johnson uploaded a video to X, formerly known as Twitter, to inform his fans that he would not be making it to the grand opening of the United Football League’s second season due to issues on board. The actor is among the owners of the UFL.

“I’m here back home in Hawaii, and I was scheduled right now to be in Houston, Texas. Right now, I was going to be on the field in Houston, Texas hyping up the crowd getting them ready with mana and electricity as we kicked off our UFL, our United Football League season number two, live on Fox,” Johnson kicked off the video.

“I was ready to go. Man, I was super pumped to get down there to Texas, to rock and roll with all the players and fans and coaches. I’m just so super-bummed that I can’t be there, and I’m so sorry.

DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON VISITS CAPITOL HILL TO HELP BOOST MILITARY RECRUITMENT

“Last night, we had some issues with the plane about 35-to-40 minutes into the flight. The pilot comes back to me, he gets down on one knee, and he is face-to-face with me. It’s just me on the plane. Just me and the crew. And he says, ‘Mr. Johnson, I’m sorry to inform you, but we cannot continue to fly over the ocean,’” he continued. 

“The pilot comes back to me, he gets down on one knee, and he is face-to-face with me. It’s just me on the plane. Just me and the crew. And he says, ‘Mr. Johnson, I’m sorry to inform you, but we cannot continue to fly over the ocean.’”

— Dwayne Johnson

“‘We have a problem. We have to turn the plane around, and we have to land back in Hawaii. You have my word I will land you back safely on the island.’”

Johnson praised Capt. David for his “demeanor” in that scary moment.

“He explained to me what happened, and he said it was a hydraulics issue with overheating. He said there are some issue we can work out as we are in the air, and then there’s some that we are not going to take a chance, especially over the ocean, and especially when the computer of the plane is saying don’t fly anymore over the ocean, you gotta get back to land,” he continued.

Dwayne Johnson was flying from Hawaii to Texas for the grand opening of season two of the United Football League. (Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Johnson related to his fans about the moment on a plane when you feel turbulence and begin thinking, “Is this it? Is this how I check out?”

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“But when the pilot comes out and he has a conversation with you, and he gets down on one knee, and then he goes back to the cockpit, the flight attendant, she was amazing, she goes, ‘Mr. Johnson can I get you anything?’”

He said he told the flight attendant to bring him a drink and “make it a double.”

Dwayne Johnson thanked the crew of the airplane for getting him back to Hawaii safely. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

“When you are back there alone with just your drink, and you are thinking about this, and you’ve got everything crossed hoping you make it back safely, you start to realize really quickly the s— that is really important in life.

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“Then you realize the s— that doesn’t matter that you are thinking about and worrying about. I had one of those moments last night. Bottom line is: I’m grateful to be back on the ground. I’m grateful to be back home in Hawaii. Super-bummed I can’t be there in Texas,” Johnson continued.

Johnson was “super bummed” to miss the grand opening weekend. (Getty Images)

While he appreciated the crew for getting “us back to land safely,” he also thanked God.

“I appreciate God, the universe… I took this as a sign from God and the universe. I wish, though, I was there in Houston, Texas,” he concluded. 

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