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Transparency was a hot topic this week when a local attorney released emails he’d received through a public records request that showed city and state officials were less than truthful about what was going on with the Waikiki Natatorium.

It turns out that the state had been planning to take back control of the controversial World War I memorial, which has been in disrepair for years. A task force had decided it was best to tear it down and put in a community beach. But when word started leaking out last summer that Gov. Neil Abercrombie intended to turn it into a beach volleyball court, community activists and reporters asked about it. The string of emails revealed how city and state officials worked to keep the public from finding out what was really going on, partly because Mayor Peter Carlisle was in a tough primary.

But staff of the Carlisle and Abercrombie administrations weren’t the only ones in the hot seat for their actions. A special legislative committee grilled University of Hawaii officials over what’s become known as the “Wonder blunder,” a failed effort to put on a concert to help the athletic department. The taxpayers lost at least $200,000 on that deal.

Rail, tsunami debris and even the violence in the Middle East made our home page this week. Here are 10 stories you won’t want to have missed:

• New PRP Ad Clouds Caldwell’s Campaign

• Rail Ruling Halts Construction at Kawaiahao Church

• Caldwell Against Gov’s Natatorium Plan, Cayetano Wants More Info

• Want To Know Cayetano’s BRT Plan? Read His Civil Beat Online Posts

• Cayetano’s Transit Plan: Back to the Future

• Hawaii Fluoride Debate Idle Despite Major Policy Shifts On Mainland

• Hanabusa Takes Round One in Djou Rematch

• Djou Plays Dad Card As Campaign Issue

• Hawaii Still Lacks Tsunami Debris Cleanup Plan, Funding

• The Rising East: A Violent Clash of Civilizations?