Nearly two months after Gov. David Ige said it wasn’t a good time to travel to the Islands—this was during the end-of-summer Covid-19 surge—he is now encouraging people to return to Hawaiʻi. In a press conference yesterday, Ige said Hawaiʻi will be “open to vaccinated residents and visitors who are traveling domestically and between islands for […]
The late-summer Covid-19 surge—spurred by the highly contagious delta variant—seems to be on the decline in Hawaiʻi, as new infection cases have consistently dropped below 200 a day. (In fact, on Tuesday, there were just 49 new cases reported statewide, the lowest single-day number since July.) And that decline has prompted Oʻahu officials to ease
The plan was to move from San Diego to Oʻahu for a couple of years to surf before starting medical school. But like so many others with similar ill-fated plans, Tony Nelson wound up never leaving. He got a job at Duke’s Waikīkī in 1997 as a bar host, then quickly worked his way to bartender. Nelson, now 50 and
Thousands of people have been flocking to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on Hawaiʻi Island since Kīlauea began erupting again on Sept. 29. This new eruption—the first after the previous eruption stopped four months ago—produced an 89-foot-deep lava lake inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater, complete with lava fountains reaching up to nearly 50 feet. Talk about showing off!
Hawaiʻi has long been considered the endangered species capital of the world, as the Islands are home to hundreds of endangered and threatened plants and animals. On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed delisting nine more Hawaiʻi species from the Endangered Species Act—meaning, wildlife officials will stop searching for them. The nine—eight birds
Kekoa means “warrior” in Hawaiian. And this warrior—an endangered Hawaiian monk seal known as KE18—lived for about a decade at the Long Marine Laboratory at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Now he’s back—and living at Sea Life Park in Waimānalo on Oʻahu. Kekoa, a 9-foot-long male, was removed from the wild years ago
Like many of you, we’re eager to travel—but right now it’s a bit complicated. That’s especially true if you’re flying to Hawaiʻi, which launched its Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program on Oct. 15, 2020 and began welcoming vaccinated travelers—no COVID test, no quarantine—from July 8, 2021. Even with these programs in place, the rules change often—and
Haʻikū Stairs, aka Stairway to Heaven, is one of the most Instagrammed trails on Oʻahu—even though it’s been closed (read: off-limits) since 1987. (Though you’d never know that from social media!) So Honolulu officials decided it was enough. Yesterday Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he plans to move forward with removing the controversial stairs, which
Fried saimin is a potluck staple in Hawaiʻi, a stir-fry of curly noodles, Spam (or char siu pork) and veggies seasoned with dry dashi (Japanese soup stock). You’ll see this dish on menus at local restaurants, okazu-ya and saimin stands. In fact, some places—like Leeward Drive-Inn and Shige’s Saimin Stand on Oʻahu—even specialize in it.
If you’ve ever been to the luxe Fairmont Orchid on Hawaiʻi Island—and lucky enough to dine at Brown’s Beach House on a Tuesday or Wednesday—you might have tried the dessert special: the Tropical Malasada Shortcake. (At least you should have!) It’s a housemade malasada, sliced in half and filled with vanilla ice cream and topped
Updated, 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Hawaiʻi recorded its highest single-day COVID-19 count—1,678 new cases—prompting government officials to come up with a plan to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus. So, beginning Sept. 13, anyone who wants to enter a restaurant, gym, bar, movie theater or other Oʻahu business will need to show proof
What better way to celebrate National Mai Tai Day—or any day, really—with a new take on the classic tiki cocktail. Ryan Birkett, head bartender at Doraku Sushi in Waikīkī, walks you through the recipe for Aoki Tai—new to the restaurant’s menu—which uses housemade falernum, a Caribbean cocktail ingredient spiced with clove, lime, ginger and almond.
