Hawaii

How Native familes make salt at one of Hawaii's last remaining salt patches

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

How Native familes make salt at one of Hawaii's last remaining salt patches

HANAPEPE, Hawaii — The process of making salt from sea water is a lengthy and laborious one that requires patience, perseverance and stoicism. Work that salt makers do for hours or even days could be wiped out by passing rain showers, which are all too common on the island of Kauai. The multi-step process used by Native Hawaiian families is several centuries old.

How is salt made at the Kauai salt patch?

Step 1: Deep wells or puna are cleaned of dirt and debris so the sea water that enters them through underground channels is clean and conducive to salt making.

Step 2: The salt beds or loi are smoothed out using river rock to seal the rich black clay and mud mixture.

Step 3: Sea water from the wells is transferred to rectangular holding tanks known as waiku. The brine in the waiku begins to evaporate and salt crystals begin to form on the surface.

Step 4: The salt maker gently pours this brine from the holding tanks into the drying beds.

Step 5: Over several weeks, the water evaporates and slushy layers of white salt begin to form. This salt is harvested by carefully and slowly raking the large flakes from the bed and transferring them to baskets.

Native Hawaiian salt from years past lay dried in the Hanapepe salt patch on Monday July 10, 2023, in Hanapepe, Hawaii. The existence of this salt patch is being threatened by climate change, rising sea levels and pollution. Credit: AP/Jessie Wardarski

Step 6: The harvested salt is then dipped back into the sea water to rinse off debris.

Step 7: Once rinsed, the salt is left to dry in the sun for at least four weeks.

During a good salt making year, a family may complete three harvests repeating the same process.

Can the salt be sold?

Pi'ilani Taniguchi Butler carries a bucket of wet clay to... — Pi’ilani Taniguchi Butler carries a bucket of wet clay to her family’s salt beds on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Hanapepe, Hawaii. The salt beds or “loi” are smoothed out using river rocks. The beds are then lined with this rich black clay. Credit: AP/Jessie Wardarski

No. This sacred salt can be traded or given away, but must never be sold. The amounts harvested annually have significantly shrunk. Five decades ago, families gave away 5-gallon buckets full of salt. Today, it is handed out in sandwich bags.

How is the salt used?

Hawaiians use it in cooking, healing, rituals and as protection. Typically, the whitest in color is used as table salt, the pink salt is for cooking and the red is used in rituals and blessings, but that could vary depending on the circumstance and the cultural or spiritual context.

Malia Nobrega-Olivera, who is working to preserve this sacred tradition, believes Hanapepe salt has the power to ward off bad energy.

After the Maui fires in August that claimed 100 lives, spiritual practitioners from the island specifically requested white Hanapepe salt from Nobrega-Olivera to bless and “calm” the traumatized island, particularly areas that housed makeshift morgues. The salt makers continue to send their salt to survivors who are rebuilding their lives. They also plan to visit Maui to share their knowledge of salt making with the locals.

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Hawaii

Rouhliadeff scores 16, Hawaii beats D-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46

Published

12 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Rouhliadeff scores 16, Hawaii beats D-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46

HONOLULU (AP) — Henry Rouhliadeff scored 16 points to lead six Hawaii players in double figures and the Rainbow Warriors beat Division-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46 on Wednesday night.

Rouhliadeff made 6 of 9 from the field and finished with nine rebounds and five assists. Dre Bullock scored 12 points for Hawaii (9-2) and Hunter Erickson, Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Gytis Nemeiksa and Isaac Finlinson added 11 points apiece.

Jamal Entezami led Hawaii Hilo with 11 points and Jessiya Villa scored 10.

Hawaii shot 51% overall and made 13 3-pointers. The Rainbow Warriors, who went into the game averaging 13.4 assists per game, had a season-high 25 assists on 35 made field goals.

The 52-point margin of victory was Hawaii’s largest since a 106-49 win over Redlands on Jan. 28, 1972, and the third largest in program history. The Rainbow Warriors beat BYU Hawaii by 67 (106-49) in the 1962-63 season.

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Hawaii

Chef Sam Choy: America’s best poke not from Hawaii is a ‘slap in the face’

Published

24 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Chef Sam Choy: America’s best poke not from Hawaii is a ‘slap in the face’

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Poke is a dish created by Native Hawaiians and perfected by local immigrants. But according to online reviews, the best poke in the country is not from Hawaii. And one world-renowned chef who’s credited with poke’s popularity calls it a “slap in the face.”

People are willing to stand in long lines every day for poke. So to say the best in the country is not in Hawaii – that’s fighting words for some.

“So for you to say that, yeah, I kinda like scrap kine,” said Branden Machado, poke connoisseur.

“Nah, I laugh, I laugh,” said Mike Sablay, poke connoisseur.

The restaurant in Big Bear, California, is called Tropicali and was recently reported to have America’s best poke, based on Yelp.

“When I heard that, I was very upset, because I well know, and as you well know, and our millions of listeners and watchers of our station, they well know that the best poke is in Hawaii,” said Sam Choy, world-renowned celebrity chef/restaurateur.

“When I read that, I felt a little slighted,” said Chris Kam, Alicia’s Market. “Understandable, people from the mainland don’t really know what Hawaiian poke is about.”

With a large shark’s head as the front entrance, the decor – just like the menu – is said to be based on Hawaiian culture, but not to emulate it. So poke there – and elsewhere on the continent – looks much different from the poke bowls we’re used to seeing in Hawaii.

“It came with cucumbers, it came with won ton strips, I ordered the spicy one, so it came with the spicy sauce, and then I ordered unagi sauce on the side, and it tasted so good,” said one anonymous local who tried Tropicali and liked it. “It tasted so fresh, I was so surprised it was crazy.”

“That’s not poke, that’s like a salad,” said Kam.

“Nah, nothing can beat back home,” said Sablay. “Everything over here is like the best. Everything’s all local, everything’s all fresh.”

“Like on Oahu, we have the freshest fish, we have the best recipes, like and it’s not only us,” said Justin Tanioka, Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering. “It’s other companies around the island that have mastered poke.”

Since this is a Yelp award, having great Yelp reviews does help. Tropicali currently has more than 4,000 reviews and maintains a 4.9 Star rating. However, locals say to declare themselves the best in the country for a food that’s not only born in Hawaii, but beloved in Hawaii, is extremely bold.

“It’s definitely a slap in the face for all the poke makers in Hawaii who work unbelievably hard to create their magical dishes,” said Choy. “Two things. One, we use fresh fish. And the other one is tender loving care, TLC is in there. We’re putting our heart and soul in that. We’re representing our history, we’re representing our aina, we’re representing all the people in the past that made poke.”

“It’s all preference, and you know where you are,” said Tanioka. “But to me, the best poke in the world, honestly, is in Oahu.”

“Cuz check that out, Big Bear ain’t got nothing on this, my cuz,” said Machado. “We get the best poke in the world. Bumbye, we teach you.”

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Hawaii

Maui man sentenced for possession of explosive powder

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Maui man sentenced for possession of explosive powder

KULA (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Maui man was sentenced to 40 months in prison for setting off a homemade explosive device near Kaamana Street in Kula, back in August 2024.

According to court records, Jess Kiesel Lee, 43, planted multiple homemade fireworks in the area, one of which had Lee’s finger prints on it.

The Maui Police Department worked with the FBI to determine that at least one of the devices contained a mixture of compounds consistent with explosive firework powder.

A month later, an FBI search of Lee’s residence in Kula uncovered methamphetamine, firearms, ammunition, and IEDs containing flash powder.

Lee admitted to knowingly possessing that explosive powder after as a convicted felon.

U.S. District Judge Jill Otake noted that fireworks pose a danger to both individuals and the general public.

Otake went on to say that Lee’s placing his homemade firework near a wooded area on Kaamana Street placed the surrounding community in danger considering Maui’s susceptibility to wildfires.

“The protection and safety of our community is our highest priority,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “We have witnessed the serious harm and life-threatening danger presented by the possession and use of illegal explosives in our local communities, including illegal fireworks. We pledge to aggressively investigate, charge, and convict those who unlawfully construct, possess, or detonate explosives and explosive materials. We credit our steadfast partners at the FBI for their outstanding investigative efforts in this case.”

Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing any explosive shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

“Homemade explosive devices present a significant danger to our island communities,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “The FBI—in coordination with our law enforcement partners—is committed to using every tool available to hold criminals accountable when they threaten public safety.”

Following his prison sentence, Otake sentenced Lee to three 3 years of supervised release.

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