The state is one step closer to acquiring the dam, which has a price tag for repairs in excess of $60 million.

The beetle has become emblematic of the state’s decades-long struggle to contain and mitigate the impacts of invasive species throughout the islands.

Residents are worried the mess they are wading through is contaminated by chemicals sprayed on farms upstream. Test results are pending.

Sugar and pineapple acreage was sold off over the years, divided into hundreds of smaller plots for farming and housing. After the deluge, everyone is pointing fingers.

A budget request from Gov. Josh Green puts the new price tag on repairs to the dam and reservoir, which rose to dangerous levels during the recent Kona low, at more than $60 million.

Taxpayers will pay more than $20 million for repairs. Partial owner Dole might still get the water.

Crop insurance is hard to attain in Hawaiʻi, and federal programs are tailored to mainland agriculture.

Not everyone living on agricultural land is a farmer. But state agencies have struggled to distinguish the genuine food producers from the hobby farmers looking for a tax break.

Farmers spent Saturday wading through their properties, trying to pick up the pieces from crops and livestock lost during torrential rains, flooding and high winds this week.

Gay & Robinson has filed a lawsuit demanding nearly $700,000 in unpaid rent from Aloun Farms.