Hawaiʻi’s Green Fee, enacted through Act 96 (2025), increased the Transient Accommodations Tax by 0.75 percent to create a more predictable funding source for natural resource management, climate resi...

Early community feedback through advisory committees, surveys and public meetings help shape the mix of housing units, street designs, and shared amenities in the county’s master-planned communities.

Community members and researchers are looking at how sulfur, insect-killing fungi and other nature-based approaches can help Hawai‘i control the invasive pest.

Korean Natural Farming has attracted farmers and gardeners who want to use fewer imported, synthetic chemicals and better nurture the lands they care for.

Kaua‘i is the first county in Hawai‘i to adopt a Wildland Urban Interface ordinance. Across the United States, many jurisdictions have implemented similar codes to better protect homes and communities...

These programs make up a growing community-based support system, helping those on the front lines and their families cope with the challenges of the job and build strong relationships.

Several initiatives are engaging first responders in ‘āina and cultural healing practices to help ease the stress and trauma they face in their line of work.

YWCA Kaua‘i’s Ho‘omana I Ka Lāhui program sought to advance healing, support and well-being in Kaua‘i’s Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Filipino communities.

Agricultural co-ops have a long history of helping Hawai‘i’s food producers pool resources, share risk, preserve market access and magnify their collective influence.

Nationally, construction has the second-highest suicide rate among major industries, and some in the local field want to see greater awareness and resources for mental health support.

For the last nine years, the Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Co-op has been empowering local farmers and revitalizing a key Hawaiian staple crop.

The University of Hawai‘i’s Cooperative Extension team helps local farmers by solving plant and pest problems, testing new crops and providing education.

Residents from Ke‘anae, Nāhiku and other East Maui neighborhoods said they are committed to their home, culture and communities by continuing to protect a crucial water system. They share the wisdom o...

Local farmers have been commercially cultivating and selling Hawai‘i-grown Camellia sinensis, or true tea, for 25 years.

The invasive pest is present throughout O‘ahu and in parts of Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island. With a biocontrol solution still a couple years away, officials are urging community members statewide to stay ...

Several efforts are underway to find breeding sites and treat impacted trees, but many community members say that Kaua‘i needs collective, community-wide involvement to successfully contain and eradic...

Despite losing its federal funding, the University of Hawai‘i’s Seeds of Wellbeing’s peer mentor network continues to help farmers navigate stress—and reduce stigma about mental health in the local ag...

While finding land is still difficult for new and small farmers, several efforts have been launched in recent years to help them access arable land and strengthen the island’s local food system.

Kumu Ola Hou combines architecture and neuroscience to help people experiencing homelessness expand their cognitive abilities and get back on their feet before they move into more permanent housing.

A little over 200 community members told Overstory how they would like to see local journalism be done differently.

The legislative proposal is a type of “community opportunity to purchase” policy and follows the lead of at least 13 other jurisdictions that have used this tool to preserve local homes.

The growing network of community land trusts seek to provide permanently affordable homes for Hawai‘i’s people—and redefine the narrative on housing in paradise to emphasize collective, rather than in...

The growing network of community land trusts seek to provide permanently affordable homes for Hawai‘i’s people—and redefine the narrative on housing in paradise to emphasize collective, rather than in...

This new approach would help buffer Hawai‘i homes from speculation and encourage more locals to actively contribute to addressing the Islands’ housing challenges.

Our goal is to present a fuller, richer picture of how we got to where we’re at today, what is keeping Hawai‘i from solving its housing challenges and what are the potential ways forward.

This new approach would help buffer Hawai‘i homes from speculation and encourage more locals to actively contribute to addressing the Islands’ housing challenges.

A group of Kaua‘i renters is joining a growing number of Americans looking at co-ops to help combat skyrocketing housing prices.

We sought to build meaningful relationships with the communities we’ll be serving, understand their information needs and engrain thoughtful listening into our newsroom culture.

Early ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i newspapers provided an outlet for Kingdom of Hawai‘i citizens to exercise literacy and marked the beginnings of a collective repository of Indigenous thought, discussion and knowl...

We sought to build meaningful relationships with the communities we’ll be serving, understand their information needs and engrain thoughtful listening into our newsroom culture.

A group of Kaua‘i renters is joining a growing number of Americans looking at co-ops to help combat skyrocketing housing prices.

The Overstory brand is a nod to the forest canopy, reflecting our approach to journalism as we explore the interconnected layers within every story.

Early ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i newspapers provided an outlet for Kingdom of Hawai‘i citizens to exercise literacy and marked the beginnings of a collective repository of Indigenous thought, discussion and knowl...

We sought to build meaningful relationships with the communities we’ll be serving, understand their information needs and engrain thoughtful listening into our newsroom culture.