If Hawaiʻi County’s general plan finally passes this week it could set in motion an effort to improve public transit, make urban areas denser, and add paths for pedestrians and bicycles.

This year’s heavy rain has turbocharged the growth of vegetation statewide. When the inevitable dry months come, it will become extra fuel for wildfires.

The Hawaiʻi County Fire Commission has appointed a temporary replacement but filling Todd’s shoes within the State Fire Council presents a bigger challenge.

The University of Hawaiʻi will need to get creative with renewable energy for the Mānoa campus, where the challenge is greatest.

The state must spend millions to see if more electricity can be produced using heat deep under the earth. And it will have to convince residents to support such an effort.

Advocates say HB 958 addresses a growing public safety challenge. But the attorney general worries it’s unconstitutional and a threat to electric vehicles.

The Senate Commerce chair was in the middle of some of the Legislature’s most contentious issues.

Legislators passed a historic new green fee. They also kicked some of Hawaiʻi’s most daunting environmental challenges down the road.