Sophia McCullough

Hawaiʻi's four counties are in different stages of increasing the transient accommodations tax to make up for lost revenue after the state stopped allocating its statewide tax. Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters says the council needs to hold the first vote on its hotel room tax bill at the Oct. 6 meeting in order to get it passed before the end of the year.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization came out with a report on depression, saying it's common worldwide and a leading cause of disability. Local psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Cook has found that psychedelics and alternative medicines benefit his patients, at a time when so many are under added stress and anxiety.

COVID-19 cases are trending down across the state but medical facilities are still strained. Hilton Raethel, head of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, shared the latest about long-term care facilities, staffing problems, and monoclonal antibody treatments.

Joe McGinn, an Oʻahu farmer and farming instructor, says he’s recently seen an increase in the theft of ʻulu, or breadfruit. He spoke to The Conversation about why he thinks thieves specifically target the fruit, and how increased community agricultural efforts could help eliminate the need for stealing.

Like many hospitals across the state, Hilo Medical Center on Hawaiʻi Island approached a crisis situation at the height of the COVID-19 surge. Case counts are going down — average daily new cases have dropped by 35% over the past two weeks. But Hawaiʻi's health care infrastructure is still overburdened.

Kolekole Bridge on Hawaiʻi Island has been undergoing emergency repairs since last week, causing long traffic delays on the only road in and out of Hilo along the Hamakua Coast.

A ceremony in the nation’s capital Wednesday morning marked the exact time 60 years ago that President Kennedy signed the law creating the U.S. Peace Corps. A new Hawaiʻi recruiter, fresh off a stint volunteering in Madagascar, shares his transformative experience.

Hawaiʻi Lt. Gov. Josh Green is urging the federal government to increase medical resources for states and help them avoid rationing care during the pandemic — a policy that has concerned many older adults and their families.

Hawaiʻi has fewer coffee farmers these days and the biological threats, from the coffee berry borer beetle to the coffee leaf rust, loom large. To many who think coffee is vital, it's hard to imagine mornings without coffee.

As of Wednesday, Maui restaurants, bars and other "high risk" businesses must require proof of vaccination from indoor customers.