Eric Tanouye News Today

With graduations underway, many people are shopping for lei. Kristen Consillio caught up with some lei shop owners who say, theyre struggling to get by.

Carol Okada had been sidelined at the Department of Agriculture because of personality clashes and her relationship with nurseries.

Thank you to the writer of the Feb. 16 letter regarding the Hawaii Tourism Authority (“There are better ways to spend $69 million,” Star-Advertiser, Letters).

The bills were supported by the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, Big Island and Oahu Invasive Species Committees, Sierra Club of Hawaii, and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, but opposed by the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association.

The bills provide for programs to help protect the growing but vulnerable industries.

Lawmakers also gave the nod to a flurry of other bills, such as extending agricultural leases and expanding the search for geothermal resources.