Mark Ladao

Hawai'i Attorney General Anne Lopez is continuing to push back against allegations that the state is allowing Medicaid fraud, but acknowledges that progress needs to be made in its enforcement efforts.

An 83-year-old Oʻahu woman is fighting $600,000 in fines from the City and County of Honolulu for an online advertisement of an illegal short-term rental.

While money was tight at the state Legislature this year, it was still another successful year for local agriculture and food security.

A handful of bills that passed through the Legislature this year focus on reforming Hawaiʻi's permitting processes to speed up housing construction, including shoring up a shortage of permitting staff.

The Honolulu City Council just passed a $5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with cuts that some have argued against and could lead to line-item vetoes from the mayor.

Oʻahu farmers still reeling from the Kona low storms didn't get the funding assistance they asked for from the Honolulu City Council, so city support for them may be sparse.

There's a renewed interest in managing one of Hawaiʻi's most ubiquitous pests — fruit flies.

The state Agribusiness Development Corp. is finalizing the state's acquisition of the Wahiawā Dam on Oʻahu. The ADC board recently approved the final terms of an agreement to purchase part of the Wahiawā Irrigation System from Dole Food Company.

The state Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity is considering interim rules to limit the spread of coconut rhinoceros beetles on Maui and Lānaʻi.On Tuesday the board was presented with a community-led petition, spearheaded by the Lahaina Community Land Trust, that called for temporary limits on certain shipments to the islands, where CRB is not established.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has vetoed parts of the city budget to restore funding to the city's Office of Economic Revitalization, but the Honolulu City Council may decide to override that action.