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Two big issues for us this week: racial tension and the sale of a huge chunk of Hawaii real estate — the island of Lanai.

The upcoming murder trial of Christopher Deedy, the U.S. State Department agent who shot and killed a man in McDonald’s before APEC, was the jumping off point for much meaningful discussion of an issue that, it turns out, is simmering just beneath the surface here — cultural and racial relationships between white outsiders and locals. A story about Deedy’s efforts to ensure a fair trial — Can a White Federal Agent Who Killed a Hawaii Local Get a Fair Trial? — sparked serious community discussion of race relations in Hawaii.

But a follow-up column — Haole? The Unbearable Whiteness of Being — that addressed head-on the often uneasy co-existence of haoles and locals in the islands opened an outpouring of heartfelt, emotional conversation.

There’s clearly a need and a desire to explore this sensitive but significant social touchstone. We hope to find ways to continue the discussion so please send us your thoughts on how to go about it.

On Wednesday, months of rumor and speculation were finally laid bare when David Murdock, who has owned most of the island of Lanai since 1985, announced he was selling it to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, another billionaire who likes to collect exotic real estate. Goodbye Lanai: From One Billionaire to Another looked at the news of the day which also made headlines all over the world.

We followed up with the question: Does The Sale Of A Hawaiian Island Matter?. It seems not so much. Other than a fairly straightforward utility transfer — water and transportation companies that serve two resorts on Lanai — there’s not really much opportunity for public oversight of the sale. People can file a protest with the Public Utilities Commission, but that’s about it. Even Gov. Neil Abercrombie turned down a plea by Senate President Shan Tsutsui to intervene.

Here are 10 more must-read stories from our week:

• Civil Beat Poll – Stunning Turnaround In Hawaii’s CD2 Race

• National Political Analysts Predict Hirono Will Win Hawaii Senate Race

• Overthrowing the Democrats? Independents Are A Long Shot

• Seven Years Later, Bottle-Bill Audits Still Bottled Up

• West Honolulu Sewer Ban Not What It Seemed To Be

• Closer — But School District Still Can’t Decide On School Bus Cuts

• Off The Beat: Transparency In School Bus Funding Is Only Fair

• A Look at Honolulu’s Sidewalk Ban Six Months and at Least $100K Later

• Federal Fisheries Group Presides Over Pacific Ocean Policies And Politics

• The Public File: Gabbard Enters The TV Ad Game