At an Ewa Beach town hall, lawmakers warned fentanyl deaths remain high despite a small dip and urged families to use naloxone and stay vigilant.

A cluster of state bills moved forward this week to hand HCDA new powers over Hilo’s Banyan Drive, fund planning and give the state tools to buy key parcels. Committees advanced measures while demolition and master‑planning work proceed.

USDA’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program is being shortened, forcing Hawaii growers to accelerate certification work before an accelerated September deadline. Local mentors say the timeline risks slowing new organic supply.

Act 278 makes landlords notify mediation centers when they serve nonpayment notices; tenants get 10 days to request free, state-funded mediation under a two-year pilot.

A state audit found DOBOR can't show whether the 2019 salvage-insurance law saved taxpayers. Records and collection practices are incomplete, the report says.

A bill to scrap complex-area superintendents set off a raucous Capitol hearing, with principals and unions accusing lawmakers of bullying and new ethics guidance complicating the fight.

A Hilo jury sided with Hawaiʻi County and former R&D director Douglass Adams, rejecting discrimination claims tied to the 2022 film commissioner hire.

A proposal to let private interests lease stretches of state beach has raised alarm among Native Hawaiian groups and access advocates.

UH Mānoa has asked the state for $22.3M — including a $5M NIL fund — to update facilities and retain student‑athletes as bills move through the Legislature.

Lawmakers want a paid "hike safe" card and a state search-and-rescue office to reimburse crews — but Honolulu firefighters warn fees could discourage 911 calls.

Sen. Mazie Hirono joined a group of senators in a letter demanding federal agencies explain and pause enforcement actions aimed at immigrant children, and gave agencies until Feb. 26 to produce records. Lawmakers pointed to rising detention times and new data‑sharing and wellness‑check practices as proof of a troubling shift.

A Senate committee advanced SB3000 to let Hawai‘i’s attorney general and insurers sue fossil‑fuel companies for climate‑related costs, aiming to shore up the state’s fragile insurance market.

Senate Bill 2480 would replace party-based primaries with a top-two system, a change that drew 41 supportive testimonies and nine objections at a Feb. 13 hearing. Lawmakers advanced the measure to the full Senate with amendments.