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This week we launched a series on school bullies that aims to shed light on Hawaii’s particular problem with harassment and bullying in our schools.

Our plan is to explore the issue over time, through interviews and conversations with educators and administrators, experts and analysts and parents and kids. We’ll look at the extent of the problem in Hawaii — it’s quite serious — and why it’s been so difficult for policymakers to put any real solutions in place. What are those solutions? We’ll try to answer that too as we look at programs and innovative research here in Hawaii and elsewhere.

The response has been encouraging. Several schools have invited us to observe their efforts and we’ll be taking them up on that. Parents have shared how bullying has affected their families and their lives. We hope to share those stories through our Community Voices section and feed a dialog that brings about positive change in the way people think about bullying and how it’s being addressed.

We’d love to bring you into the conversation. Please send your own stories, ideas and suggestions to reporter Nathan Eagle at nathan@civilbeat.com.

It’s just by coincidence that our series launched the same week Archbishop Desmond Tutu is in town. But we couldn’t turn down an opportunity to run freelancer Stuart Coleman’s interview with one of the world’s foremost ambassadors of peace.

And as community contributor Curtis Kropar points out, bullies are everywhere, including among our community leaders.

That point couldn’t be more important right now, as the political campaigns enter the final week before the primary. The ultimate in political bullying — attack ads — are flooding the TV and radio airwaves in an attempt to turn public opinion one way or the other, but primarily against mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano. We’ve fact-checked those ads and found them to be mostly false and misleading.

With that in mind, here are 10 stories and Fact Checks from our week that you shouldn’t have missed:

• FACT CHECK — PRP: Honolulu Rail Gives ‘Many’ UH Grads Jobs

• Coincidence? Two Commercials Feature Dice, Cash And Corruption

• ‘Pay-to-Play’ Corruption a Hawaii Campaign Theme

• Outside Money’s Big Role In 2012 Hawaii Election

• Caldwell, Carlisle Surge While Cayetano Fades In Fundraising Effort

• Generation Dan

• Mufi’s Last Chance?

• Not So Public: City Shells Out $600k But For What?

• You Can Have The Island, But I’m Keeping the Elephant Tusks

• Lawsuit: Hawaii IBEW Chief Wanted Hitman To Take Out His Enemies