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Advocates push for more understanding, recognition of Native Hawaiian holidays

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Advocates push for more understanding, recognition of Native Hawaiian holidays


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the holiday season approaches, many native Hawaiians and locals are making time to celebrate and learn about indigenous holidays often overlooked by Western culture.

La Kuokoa is celebrated to remember the Hawaiian Kingdom’s independence and those who fought hard and continue to fight against oppression.

Dr. Noelani GoodYear-Ka Opua, professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, believes indigenous holidays like La Kuokoa are purposely forgotten due to white supremacy and a power often utilized within western colonialism.

“So around the world, Thanksgiving is not a holiday that others celebrate. So similarly here in Hawaii, we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we celebrated La Kuokoa. And so the replacement of La Kuokoa with Thanksgiving was part of the cultural kind of work and change that the white supremacist oligarchy was trying to engage in,” Ka Opua said.

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Ka Opua says reclaiming this holiday helps restore native Hawaiians’ identity, especially those who are coming back home or have been ashamed of their culture.

Kalawaia Nunies, a UH Manoa student who is native Hawaiian, believes there should be more funding for celebrations of Native Hawaiian holidays and indigenous activities.

“The University of Hawaii at Manoa established in their 2002 strategic plan that this place shall be deemed a Hawaiian place of learning, however, within the last 21 years now, I believe that the university hasn’t done a good job and it’s evident through their community outreach and what they have done to kanaka Hawaii,” Nunies said.

La Kuokoa is not an official state holiday that allows government employees to take time off from work, but Gov. Josh Green signed in April of this year a bill recognizing La Kuokoa every year on November 28th.

Wikuki Kengi, a visitor from Aotearoa, the indigenous name of New Zealand, believes holidays celebrating sovereignty should be celebrated nationally.

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“Independence is really what we call rangatiratanga which is your sovereignty and your chieftainship and your Tapu and Mana which is really about having total authority,” Kengi said.

For Ka Opua, she says in past years there’ve been an increase in celebrations and people celebrating kanaka holidays, especially for keiki exploring their heritage.

“My kids at school, they’re printing shirts and having their own kind of celebrations. Actually now even at Kamehameha, it’s an official holiday on the school calendar so they have the day off,” Ka Opua said.

La Hoihoi Ea is the sister holiday of La Kuokoa which celebrates the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty and the Hawaiian Kingdom, which is celebrated on July 4th.

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Pregnant Army wife missing in Hawaii after vanishing from her on-base home

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Pregnant Army wife missing in Hawaii after vanishing from her on-base home


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A 19-year-old pregnant woman who lives at a Hawaii Army base with her service member spouse vanished from the barracks more than two weeks ago.

Mischa Mabeline Kaallohilani Johnson mysteriously disappeared from Schofield Army Barracks located on the island of Oahu on July 31. Johnson, who is marred to an unidentified service member assigned to the barracks, is six months pregnant.

The young woman – described as Filipino, 5 foot 2 inches tall and 170 pounds with large dragon tattoo on her back – was reported missing on August 1. Her family told Island News that she may be ’emotionally distraught.’

Johnson’s mother and sister, Mariana Tapiz, have been posting missing-person fliers in the areas of Aiea and Pearl City. Tapiz told Hawaii News Now, ‘we just hit Waikiki this weekend. Now we’re getting like central Oahu,’ she said. 

The Army Criminal Investigations Department if offering a $10,000 reward for any credible information leading to the missing mother-to-be’s location.

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Mischa Mabeline Kaallohilani Johnson, 19, mysteriously disappeared from Schofield Army Barracks on the island of Oahu July 31

Johnson's sister, Mariana Tapiz (pictured), and mother have been posting missing-person fliers in the search for Johnson

Johnson’s sister, Mariana Tapiz (pictured), and mother have been posting missing-person fliers in the search for Johnson

Mischa Mabeline Kaallohilani Johnson, 19, mysteriously disappeared from Schofield Army Barracks on the island of Oahu on July 31

Mischa Mabeline Kaallohilani Johnson, 19, mysteriously disappeared from Schofield Army Barracks on the island of Oahu on July 31

According to police, Johnson did not have any trackable devices, like a phone or smart watch, with her at the time of her disappearance.

It is unclear what clothing or footwear she was wearing at the time she went missing. 

Mischa Mabeline Kaallohilani Johnson is six months pregnant

Mischa Mabeline Kaallohilani Johnson is six months pregnant

Tapiz and her family are praying the fliers bring fresh interest in the case. 

On August 6, nearly a week after Johnson went missing, Major General Marcus S. Evans of the 25th Infantry Division and U.S. Army Hawaii Commanding General posted a video on Facebook discussing the effort.

Her safety, well-being, and health are their main concerns and are asking for the community’s assistance in helping locate Mischa, so she can return home safe,’ he safety said.

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Last Wednesday, the U.S. Army Hawaii issued another statement. 

‘Locating Mischa, support to the family, and the safety and security of all personnel at U.S. Army Hawaii installations remains our highest priority.

‘As a result of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) actions dating back to when Mischa was reported missing, U.S. Army Hawaii officials currently assess no threat related to this ongoing investigation to Schofield Barracks and the U.S. Army Hawaii communities.

‘We encourage anyone who may have information regarding Mischa Johnson to contact CID.’ 

The Army Criminal Investigations Department if offering a $10,000 reward for any credible information leading to the missing mother-to-be's location

The Army Criminal Investigations Department if offering a $10,000 reward for any credible information leading to the missing mother-to-be’s location 

DailyMail.com reached out to the Army Criminal Investigations for any updates.

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Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger: DOJ’s Ruling Expected Today – Potential Concessions Revealed – View from the Wing

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Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger: DOJ’s Ruling Expected Today – Potential Concessions Revealed – View from the Wing


Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger: DOJ’s Ruling Expected Today – Potential Concessions Revealed

Unless there’s another extension, we’ll learn today whether the Department of Justice signs off on an Alaska Airlines – Hawaiian Airlines merger, or files suit against it. The parties have been negotiating feverishly over conditions that Alaska would agree to in order to avoid government opposition. And there’s some suggestion now about what concessions may be demanded.

The Biden administration has opposed most business combinations. They’ve had mixed success at best – except in the airline industry. They won verdicts against the JetBlue partnership with American Airlines and against JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit, leaving the New York market less competitive and ultra-low cost carrier Spirit Airlines on the brink of collapse.

  • The deal doesn’t create monopoly or consolidation on inter-island flights within Hawaii, though many observers expect Alaska to reduce seat capacity on these frequently money-losing routes (though Hawaiian outperforms Southwest flying between the islands). These are brutal routes with low fares, and Alaska might offer fewer seats on regional jets which could lower costs and boost fares.
  • It would create some consolidation between the mainland and Hawaii, but these are highly competitive routes. United, American and Delta all are big players here as well.
  • There’s been no clamoring of opposition to the deal. Hawaiian politicians have been supportive. Unions haven’t been outraged.

All this suggests that a deal should be possible, notwithstanding that the Biden administration has opposed most forms of consolidation and cooperation (successfully in the airline industry, less so outside of it).

While it’s unclear what a deal could look like that allows Alaska Airlines to move forward with its acquisition of Hawaiian without DOJ opposition, I suggested two possibilities directly related to the acquisition.

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  • Route guarantees. Alaska could agree to maintain existing flying between the islands for a certain period of time, or not to drop capacity for a period of time where Hawaiian and Alaska currently compete.
  • Gate space in Honolulu. They could be forced to give up some of their prime real estate to foster competition.

And I offered two potential, unrelated remedies that DOJ could seek.

  • Gates and slots at other congested airports. There’s no reason that remediation has to come in the form of routes or assets directly implicated by the merger. When US Airways wanted approval of its deal to acquire American one of the things it gave up was gate space at Dallas Love Field (ironically to Virgin America, since acquired by Alaska, though partially now utilized by Delta rather than a small low cost airline).

    Alaska’s assets in this regard are limited – beyond-perimeter slots at Washington’s National airport, some slots at New York JFK, but they could be asked to give up prime real estate in Seattle or San Francisco (for instance).

  • The West Coast Alliance Alaska partners with American Airlines, DOJ could be asking Alaska to choose – Hawaiian or American. Dropping American Airlines codesharing wouldn’t be especially impactful to passengers. While status members would miss reciprocal upgrades, as long as Alaska remains in oneworld most of the benefits for customers would remain. And American hasn’t really taken advantage of the partnership – they haven’t built up the Pacific hub in Seattle they had planned.

Beat of Hawaii suggests that the two items under discussion are, in fact, the two directly-related items that I offered.

DOJ might impose conditions on the merger, such as a commitment to maintain current seat capacities and flight frequencies on interisland routes for a certain period, possibly for up to a decade. This would ensure that Alaska Airlines does not reduce service levels, which could lead to increased pricing and diminished accessibility for Hawaii’s residents.

…DOJ could require Alaska to relinquish some of its control over key airports like Honolulu (HNL) and Seattle (SEA) to prevent anti-competitive behavior. To us, that appears a less likely concern than the interisland issue.

Hawaiian shareholders are on edge – the deal gets them a huge premium, and share price will likely drop markedly if DOJ files suit. The airline is on shakier ground than the largest carriers.

Alaska is overpaying for relatively limited assets, but gains widebodies and some experience in transpacific flying.

HawaiianMiles members will see their miles become much more valuable, assuming an almost inevitable 1:1 conversion into Alaska’s Mileage Plan. But there might be some needed consolidation along the way, as well as presaging Alaska’s expansion into long haul, as long as DOJ doesn’t kill this like they killed competition in the Northeast and the ultra-low cost carrier market.

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Hamakua Hotel opens on the Big Island of Hawaii

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Hamakua Hotel opens on the Big Island of Hawaii


The 25-acre, eight-room Hamakua Hotel celebrated its grand opening last month on the eastern coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, according to property officials. 

Located 11 miles north of Hilo, the hotel sits atop a 100-foot sea cliff along the Hamakua Coast and features three room categories, which include private oceanfront lanais, air conditioning, flat-screen TVs and complimentary WiFi along with breakfast, happy-hour cocktails and multi-course dinners, according to a July 23 release.  

“We are extremely excited to welcome visitors to the finest hotel experience on the Hamakua Coast,” co-owner Eric Lochtefeld said in the release. “We have assembled an incredibly talented and hospitable team whose priority is providing an exceptional stay for our guests filled with seamless services and aloha spirit.”

Lochtefeld and his wife, Lori, purchased the property — formerly the Palms Cliff House bed & breakfast — in 2020 and spent $1.5 million renovating it, according to the boutique hotel’s website. 

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The Hamakua Hotel also features body and wellness spa services, and work is underway on an oceanfront infinity pool scheduled to open this fall, according to the July release.



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