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Editorial Team

Honolulu Civil Beat
Hawaii farmers are fighting to keep their soil from flushing out to sea
Young cacao trees stand in an unlikely spot on the northeastern slopes of the Waianae Range, growing on a windswept point overlooking Oahu’s North Shore.
 
Hawaii farmers are investing in tech to monitor and protect property and livestock
Hawaii farmers and ranchers are adopting new forms of technology at a rapid pace, which state agricultural officials say is a good sign for the future.
 
Dana Shapiro, co-founder and CEO at the Hawai'i 'Ulu Co-op, points out damage from Queensland Longhorn Beetles in Hilo, Hawaii, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (Kevin Fujii/Honolulu Civil Beat via AP)
Farmers want Hawaii to tackle the tree-killing Queensland longhorn beetle before it spreads
It’s been just over one year since Lavaloha farmer Daeus Bencomo found telltale signs of Queensland longhorn beetles on his 30 acres of cacao: penny-sized boreholes, the larvae’s sawdust-like waste and mucus seeping from scarred trees.
 
Hawaii community goes all in with new $17M facility to boost food security
West Oʻahu is poised to take a significant step toward greater food security as ʻElepaio Social Services prepares to break ground on a multimillion-dollar facility.
 
In this photo provided by Honolulu Civil Beat, people garden at one of Skyline's test sites for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge at Hō'ae'ae Station in West Loch, Hawaii, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (Thomas Heaton/Civil Beat via AP)
Changing course, Honolulu is now planting food in public spaces
Honolulu Skyline passengers may notice something different on their morning rail commute: more than half-a-dozen planter boxes full of growing tomatoes, eggplants, scallions and sweet potatoes, among other edible plants.
 
Hawaii boards must release records showing hiring decisions, judge says
Two state boards have acknowledged that they violated Hawaiʻi’s Sunshine Law when they hired top-level state employees in a series of closed-door meetings and interviews.
 
What Is Farming? Hawaii Moves To Broaden Allowed Agricultural Uses
Strings of cages are submerged in the slightly salty waters at Ron Weidenbach’s North Shore fish farm, each home to 100 growing tilapia destined for Oʻahu restaurants and tanks in Chinatown fish stores.
 
New Hawaii ag park aims to let Kauaʻi farmers ‘just focus on farming’
Tools, greenhouses, customers and, most importantly, land and water — these are basic needs sorely lacking for farmers in Hawaiʻi.
 
Kaua’i billionaire wants to sell prime ag land. Hawaii might buy it
More than 1,000 acres of former Kauaʻi plantation land owned by a billionaire tech entrepreneur are in the sights of the state’s Agribusiness Development Corp. as part of the effort to help Hawaiʻi achieve its local food production goals.
 
This Plant Can Power Grids, Planes, Poultry And Cattle. Hawaiʻi Isn’t Sold
An unusual coalition of Hawaiʻi airline executives, farmers and ranchers, and fuel refineries is eyeing a new crop they hope will be almost as big to the islands as sugar was in its heyday.
 
Hawaii hemp growers say new state rules will put them out of business
Gov. Josh Green’s approval of new regulations for CBD products, touted as a win for locally grown hemp, actually represents a major setback for the industry, local hemp farmers and CBD processors say.
 
Safer buildings vs more housing: How new building codes may impact Hawaii
A month after wildfires ravaged Maui in August 2023, Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation to postpone the adoption of any new building codes that might exacerbate a housing shortage that had just gotten worse.
 
17,000 axis deer were killed on Maui this year, but they just keep coming
About 50 axis deer crowded around the fence line separating Maui Nui Botanical Gardens and Keopuolani Regional Park, startling the gardens staff on a recent Thursday afternoon.
 
As rhinoceros beetles spread, Hawaii board bolsters pest control powers
The Hawaii Board of Agriculture has approved rule changes to help control the spread of invasive species following about a 20-month delay.
 
Honolulu’s dying palms to be replaced with this new tree — for now
Most of Oahu’s dead and dying coconut trees will not be replaced until the population of voracious coconut rhinoceros beetles is under control, the Honolulu parks department said Monday.
 
Hawaii has gone down under for invasive species advice – again
A delegation of Hawaii lawmakers and officials recently returned from a more than $50,000 visit to New Zealand seeking ways the state could better shield itself from invasive species – advice it failed to heed almost two decades ago.
 
Hawaii ag agency won’t get all the money slated for pest management after all
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green last week slashed $10 million from the Department of Agriculture’s budget aimed at limiting the spread of invasive species.
 
Cattle are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Hawaii seaweed could change that
Limu kohu is most traditionally destined for poke bowls, but the distinctive-tasting seaweed is now being fed to cattle in a trial to reduce the amount of methane they burp into the atmosphere.