West
Hawaiian lawmakers poised to make 'shaka' the official state gesture
![Hawaiian lawmakers poised to make 'shaka' the official state gesture Hawaiian lawmakers poised to make 'shaka' the official state gesture](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Hawaii-Shaka.jpg)
- The shaka gesture, characterized by extending the pinky and thumb with curled fingers, originates from Hawaii and symbolizes various warm sentiments like greetings, gratitude and aloha spirit.
- Proposed bills in the Hawaii State Legislature aim to designate the shaka as the state’s official gesture, acknowledging Hawaii as its birthplace.
- Sen. Glenn Wakai said he anticipates minimal opposition to the measure, expecting it to pass smoothly through legislative channels.
A pinky and thumb extended with the remaining fingers curled down: That’s the “shaka” in Hawaii.
The gesture is sometimes known outside the islands as the “hang loose” sign associated with surf culture, but it was a fixture of daily life in the islands long before it caught on in California, Brazil and beyond. People in Hawaii have a variety of shaka styles and use it to convey a range of warmhearted sentiments, from hi and bye to thanks and aloha, among other meanings.
When captains of the Lahainaluna High School football team, from the Maui community devastated by last summer’s deadly wildfire, were invited to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas last month, they flashed shakas for the cameras.
SMALL FAMILY FARMS MAKE AMERICAN-GROWN ROASTED COFFEE THE WORLD’S BEST BREW
Now, a pair of bills in the state Legislature would make the shaka the state’s official gesture and recognize Hawaii as its birthplace.
Cody Matsuda, KihaaPi’ilani Makainai-Matsuda, Keli’inowelo Makainai-Matsuda and Mailani Makainai flash a shaka on March 6, 2024, in Kaneohe, Hawaii. A pair of bills in the Legislature would make the shaka Hawaii’s official gesture. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)
Sen. Glenn Wakai, who introduced the Senate version, said he can’t imagine the measure meeting any opposition and expects it to “sail through.”
Here are some things to know about Hawaii’s shaka — including its purported origin with a seven-fingered fisherman.
WHAT IS THE SHAKA?
On paper, the House bill notes that the “shaka generally consists of extending the thumb and smallest finger while holding the three middle fingers curled, and gesturing in salutation while presenting the front or back of the hand; the wrist may be rotated back and forth for emphasis.”
In practice, the shaka is far more nuanced.
Some say the only requirement is an extended pinky and thumb. Others say shaking the shaka is a no-no.
Those from beach or rural communities tend not to shake their shakas. But in the capital city of Honolulu, it’s common.
“It’s just a strong movement — one movement,” said Chase Lee, who grew up just outside Honolulu. He was taught never to shake the shaka. If you do, “you’re a tourist,” he said.
But Erin Issa, one of his colleagues at Central Pacific Bank, likes to wag hers.
“I’m a very animated person,” she said. “I feel awkward if I’m just standing still.”
She prefers to flash a shaka with the palm facing outwards, as a sign of respect: “It’s shaka-ing to you, not to me.”
“As long as you get your pinky finger and your thumb out, you can wave it or you can just do just a flat shaka,” Dennis Caballes, a Honolulu resident, said while fishing at a beach park.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The shaka carries friendliness and warmth — aloha spirit. Some hold it low when greeting a child, and some like to flash double shakas. It can convey greetings, gratitude or assent, or it can defuse tension. It was particularly useful in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were afraid to shake hands.
“It’s such a versatile gesture,” said state Rep. Sean Quinlan, who introduced the House bill at the behest of a documentary filmmaker exploring the sign’s backstory.
Big Island state Rep. Jeanné Kapela, one of the House bill’s co-sponsors, said residents are “so lucky to have a visual signal for sharing aloha with each other.”
Shakas can avert altercations when people are cut off in traffic, said Wakai, the state senator who introduced the Senate version.
“The angst toward that driver kind of just immediately gets reduced,” Wakai said.
WHERE DOES THE SHAKA COME FROM?
The prevailing story of the shaka’s origin traces back to a Native Hawaiian fisherman named Hāmana Kalili, who lived on Oahu’s North Shore in the early 1900s. Mailani Makaʻīnaʻi, Kalili’s great-great-granddaughter, wants the bills amended to include his name — something lawmakers are considering.
Kalili lost three fingers in a sugar mill accident, she said.
After the mishap, Kalili worked as a guard on a train. Kids who jumped the train for a free ride would curl their middle fingers to mimic Kalili’s injured hand, giving other train-jumpers the all-clear, said Steve Sue, who researched shaka for his documentary.
Other residents adopted Kalili’s three-finger-less wave more broadly, according to family lore, and it spread, possibly fueled by the waves of tourists that began arriving after World War II.
“I love the compassion part of it, you know, where, ‘Oh, okay, he doesn’t have all three fingers. So, I’m going to say hi the way he’s saying hi,’” Makaʻīnai said. “It’s the idea that … I’m like you and you’re like me.”
There’s a bronze statue of Kalili, his right arm extended into a shaka, at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie.
There are various theories about how the term “shaka” became associated with the gesture. Some have suggested that the name came from Japan’s Shaka Buddha.
HOW IS THE SHAKA USED NOW?
The sign has spread around the world since the surfing boom of the 1950s and ’60s. It’s popular in Brazil, where it’s been used by martial arts aficionados. Brazil soccer greats Ronaldinho and Neymar Jr. incorporated it into their goal celebrations.
The shaka is such an integral part of Hawaii life that it’s easy to miss, said Sen. Chris Lee, chair of the Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts.
Some Honolulu city buses are outfitted with a digital shaka light that bus drivers can turn on to thank motorists for letting them merge. Texters have co-opted the “call me” emoji to symbolize the shaka, and local station KHON-TV has ended each evening newscast since the 1970s with clips of people flashing shakas.
HAWAII FACES HOUSING CRISIS AS REGULATORY COSTS DRIVE UP CONDO PRICES, REPORT SAYS
Longtime KHON anchor Howard Dashefsky said throwing a shaka is almost a reflex when people in the community recognize him and call his name.
“There’s a lot of other places where you only get a one-finger gesture,” he said.
Shakas also come out naturally when people from Hawaii are somewhere else in the world and want to display connection to their island roots.
Businesses often use the shaka to project community belonging.
Central Pacific Bank, for example, called their digital checking account Shaka Checking at the suggestion of electronic banking manager Florence Nakamura.
“It makes people feel good when they receive one,” she said.
Read the full article from Here
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Alaska
Easiest business class flights to book, United complains about Alaska/Hawaiian and yet another Hyatt acquisition (Saturday Selection)
![Easiest business class flights to book, United complains about Alaska/Hawaiian and yet another Hyatt acquisition (Saturday Selection) Easiest business class flights to book, United complains about Alaska/Hawaiian and yet another Hyatt acquisition (Saturday Selection)](https://frequentmiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/United-complaining.jpg)
United complains to the feds about the Alaska/Hawaiian merger, Hyatt buys another boutique brand and the easiest business class flights to actually book. All that and more in this week’s Saturday Selection, our weekly round-up of interesting tidbits from around the interwebs (links to the original articles are embedded in the titles).
United complains to DOT about Alaska/Hawaiian merger
It’s time for this week’s thrilling episode of “As the Merger Turns.” First of all, a quick recap for those folks who haven’t been on pins and needles while following the latest action of the Alaska/Hawaiian merger. Alaska Airlines surprised nearly everyone last year when it announced that it was grossly overpaying for its “off-the-mainland” compatriot, Hawaiian Airlines. While it was a arguably questionable deal for Alaska shareholders, it was very exciting for most of us points and milers. Hawaiian brings a Pacific-Oceania route map and some fresh, widebody 787s that have never before darkened an Alaska hangar, while at the same point providing some potentially exciting ways to load up on roundabout Alaska miles. The DOJ, who hasn’t been a fan of domestic airline mergers over the last few years, spent several months reviewing the transaction, asked for two extensions before finally letting the review period expire without objection. That usually means smooth sailing, so points and miles folks started flocking like Emperor Penguins towards previously ugly ducklings like the Hawaiian credit cards and a transfer bonus from American Express to HawaiianMiles. But, not so fast, my friends. That champion of domestic airline competition and pedigreed consumer advocate, United Airlines, has filed a complaint saying that the merger would violate its own codeshare agreements with Hawaiian, leading to over-consolidation and a negative impact on consumers…an interesting argument from an airline that has an almost 80% market share in Houston International and a 65%+ market share at Newark and Dulles Airports.
So is the merger on or off? Who can say. But, like the Beatles famously sang, “I don’t know why you say aloha when I say aloha.” Or is it the other way around?
The easiest business class flights to book with points
Who doesn’t like international business class? Getting to fly across an ocean or continent in your own bougie little cubby with a seat that doubles as a lie-flat bed is one of the great, obtainable luxuries in modern travel…something that us funny-money hoarders sometimes don’t fully appreciate. That said, it isn’t always easy to find and book space on these pleasure cruises, and seats during school breaks can be like finding cigarettes in prison. Last week, Thrifty Traveler compiled a list of what they consider to be the six easiest business class products to actually seal the deal with when using points and miles (trigger warning – it’s also a bit of an advert for their premium service). Some folks on the East Coast might quibble with the Japan Airlines inclusion, but it’s nonetheless a good rundown on products that tend to have more availability than many others and are worth considering when you’re trying to find a bed in the sky.
Hyatt acquires a small, boutique brand again for the very first time
![](https://frequentmiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/The-Standard-Maldives.jpg)
Hyatt’s been on a bit of an acquisition bender of late. In the last year or so, World of Hyatt has picked-up the boutiqu-y marketing consortium Mr & Mrs Smith (MMS), Germany’s me and all Hotels, and the high-end “glampground” company, Under Canvas. Now, Hyatt is diving even further into the depths of chic, hipster lodging by purchasing the international chain Standard Hotels. Standard is a far-flung company, to say the least. It only has 24 properties, but they’re scattered to the winds, with locations in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, China, The Maldives, Ibiza, London, Mexico and the US. Hyatt describes Standard as being part of an eventual “lifestyle” division that includes other “lifestyle brands” like Andaz, Dream, Thompson, and Hyatt Centric. One wonders how many “lifestyle” brands a company needs to feel well-centered…or even what a “lifestyle brand” is. Regardless, ever since the addition of Mr & Mrs Smith, we hold our breath a little when we see a new Hyatt purchase, waiting to see if these will be a part of the company’s very good-value award chart or the poor-value, dynamically-priced awards that MMS subjects us to (and that’s also shared by Under Canvas). We reached out to Hyatt to see what the pricing would look like on these properties and are still listening to the crickets in the backyard. Hopefully, that’s not an omen of dynamic pricing to come.
Points, miles, FOMO and lifestyle inflation
![](https://frequentmiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/park-hyatt-new-york-1-bedroom-city-view-premium-suite.png)
For points and miles collectors (and spenders), it’s easy for our eyes to be bigger than our stomachs. Ideally, this “hobby” that we’re all involved in is something fun and rewarding, adding rich experience to our families and lives. But, it can be a compulsion as well. The combination of social media and fear of missing out (FOMO) can quickly draw people into spending more time, money and effort than they intend to in pursuit of “maximizing” all those rewards floating around out there. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about how points and miles should serve our lives and the way we travel, not the other way around. Last week, Leana over at Miles for Family wrote an interesting post in a similar-ish vein about her “…struggle to not let miles and points derail our financial future.” She paints the picture of someone who gets in the “game” looking for points to help take a family vacation to Florida and ends up manufacturing spend in pursuit of vacations to the Maldives and first class flights…that they may never take. It’s a worthwhile weekend read and something to consider for anyone who reads points and miles blogs on the weekend, like me.
![](https://frequentmiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PodcastEmail-icon.png)
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Arizona
Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player
![Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player Arizona Basketball Reportedly Has ‘Moved On’ From Recruitment of Top 20 Player](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4808,h_2704,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_wildcats/01j6n74w50b9eekgnctc.jpg)
While all eyes in Tucson are on the Arizona Wildcats getting their football season underway, basketball is slowly starting to get things in motion.
Two scrimmage dates have been announced for fans to get their first look at this year’s team, with one being held on their home floor and the other being played in Glendale.
Expectations are high for the Wildcats to hit the ground running during their first season in the Big 12 Conference, and with the way this program has performed under head coach Tommy Lloyd, that should be of little surprise to anyone.
In the three years since he’s taken over, Arizona has won two Pac-12 regular season titles and two Pac-12 tournaments, earning a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament every year.
But despite that success, they have topped out on the national stage by being unable to advance past the Sweet 16 round.
Solving that riddle will be the key for Lloyd during his time in Tucson, and by being inserted into a more competitive conference, it will be more difficult for them to maintain a stranglehold on the regular season.
So how can Arizona emerge as true national powers again?
They need to start recruiting at a much higher level than they have under Lloyd.
His first full cycle in charge was the 2022 class, and since that time, the Wildcats have failed to secure a ranking in the top 15.
There are signs this is changing since they finished with the 16th overall class last year, but only landing two four-star recruits makes it tough to maintain long-term success when they have to rely on the transfer portal.
Seemingly knowing that, Lloyd and his staff are attacking the recruiting trail by trying to land some of the best players in the 2025 class.
With visits set up for the fall, the Wildcats are poised to make a huge splash this year.
However, there is at least one recruit in this cycle Arizona had interest in who they are moving on from.
When referencing Tounde Yessoufou, Joe Tipton of On3 reports, “Arizona has moved on from his recruitment and will look to fill the small forward position elsewhere.”
The California native is ranked as the No. 19 player in this class and has garned national interest from some of the top programs around the country like Kentucky, Baylor, UCLA, Tennessee, Kansas, and UConn.
The 6-foot-5, four-star forward has taken two trips to see Arizona, including an official visit back on June 16.
But clearly they feel like their attention is better served elsewhere, whether that’s because the interest has waned from a singular party, or if both are more interest in other options.
Still, this cycle will be one to closely monitor for the Lloyd and the Wildcats as they look to secure their best recruiting class in this era.
California
Some artificial dyes could be banned from California schools
![Some artificial dyes could be banned from California schools Some artificial dyes could be banned from California schools](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/31/USAT/75032936007-usatsi-24090018.jpg?auto=webp&crop=4175,2349,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Psychologist provides simple tips to manage ADHD and symptoms
Dr. Ali Mattu explains how efforts like making checklists or being physically active can help manage ADHD.
California public schools could soon be banned from serving certain artificial dyes in food over concerns about developmental harm in children.
Dubbed a “first-in-the-nation” measure, state lawmakers this week passed Assembly Bill 2316 to prohibit six additives that are permitted by federal regulators to make food more colorful. California’s AB 2316, known as the California School Food Safety Act, is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
The bill says state research suggests such synthetic dyes can result in hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. Similar previous research prompted the European Union to restrict food coloring. Nearly all of the products that the California bill would ban in schools require warning labels in E.U. products.
The bill would ban commercial dyes of Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, in public schools in the nation’s largest state.
“California has a responsibility to protect our students from chemicals that harm children and interfere with their ability to learn,” state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who authored the bill, said in a statement. He said that he struggled with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, and he is now a parent.
On Saturday, a spokesperson said Newsom’s office didn’t comment on pending legislation. The deadline for Newsom to sign or veto legislation is Sept. 30, the spokesperson said.
The nonprofit Environmental Working Group and the California Medical Association, which represents doctors, supported the bill.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for the dyes banned under AB 2316 date back decades, the environmental nonprofit said. Those approvals were based on old studies not designed to detect behavioral effects in children, the medical association had said in its support of AB 2316.
The Consumer Brands Association, a dye industry representative, opposed the bill because it overrode existing food safety rules, and the group disputed findings about adverse health effects. John Hewlitt, the association’s senior vice president of packaging, sustainability and state affairs, said the bill was “advancing a political agenda.”
“The passage of this bill could cost schools and families money, limit choice and access, and create consumer confusion,” he said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “The approach taken by California politicians flies in the face of our science and risk-based process and is not the precedent we should be setting when it comes to feeding our families.”
A 2021 state Environmental Protection Agency assessment found American youth diagnosed with ADHD increased in the last 20 years, which prompted the state to look at food dyes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has similarly tracked increases in ADHD diagnoses in children in recent years.
Focusing on seven food dyes, including those that would be banned under AB 2316, state researchers reviewed prior studies on the effects of these dyes in humans and laboratory animals. Findings indicated they were linked to adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in children, and children varied in sensitivity.
On Friday, an FDA spokesperson told NBC News they had reviewed literature cited in California’s legislation. While saying most children have no “adverse effects” when they eat foods with color additives, the spokesperson reportedly said some evidence suggests certain children may be sensitive.
If signed into law, California’s ban would take effect in schools beginning in 2027.
-
Connecticut1 week ago
Oxford church provides sanctuary during Sunday's damaging storm
-
Technology1 week ago
Breakthrough robo-glove gives you superhuman grip
-
Politics1 week ago
Clinton lauds Biden as modern-day George Washington and president who 'healed our sick' in DNC speech
-
Politics1 week ago
2024 showdown: What happens next in the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump face-off
-
News1 week ago
Who Are Kamala Harris’s 1.5 Million New Donors?
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump taunted over speculated RFK Jr endorsement: 'Weird as hell'
-
Politics1 week ago
Vivek Ramaswamy sounds off on potential RFK Jr. role in a Trump administration
-
World6 days ago
Portugal coast hit by 5.3 magnitude earthquake