A deadly weekend shooting in Kailua sits alongside a passing hurricane and a debate over protecting native plants — bad news for one family, mixed news for the islands.

• Police are hunting a man in his 20s after a 30-year-old was shot and killed in a Kailua store parking lot, following an argument that started at a nearby fall festival.
• Hurricane Nolo is staying well south and west of the main Hawaiian islands, though it will pass near the Papahānaumokuākea marine monument.
• The Merrie Monarch Festival has called for a three-year pause on picking several native plants from the wild, because those plants are running out.
• Hula teachers back the pause, saying the forest plants are sacred relatives that must be replenished, not just costume material.
• Madonna and Taylor Swift dominated the MTV Video Music Awards, with Swift becoming the most-awarded artist in the show's history.

Outlook: Police are asking witnesses to come forward, and hula groups will need to rethink costumes and storytelling over the next three years.