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This week was Education Week at the state Capitol. But it’s fair to say the thing lawmakers got schooled on had nothing to do with teaching keiki.

Instead, hundreds of people turned out for a bill about genetically modified organisms, which have drawn the wrath of many residents concerned about the environmental and public health risks of GMO foods.

The specific issue? Whether the state should force GMO foods to be labeled as such.

The House passed a labeling bill with little fanfare. But things turned ugly when it got to the Senate and committee chairmen initially shrugged it off as not worth their time to hear it.

Emotions ran so hot and heavy that Sen. Clarence Nishihara, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, was flooded with emails and voicemails, many of them angry and at least one way over the line. That caller urged him to “go back to Japan.” She’s since apologized.

But if you didn’t get to hear that message and one other, read our coverage. The messages are posted at the end of the story.

Public sentiment was so strong that Senate leadership relented and held a hearing after all. In the end, the committees voted to study the issue.

But other important public policy was being made or at least debated in Honolulu as well as Washington, D.C. Here are 10 more stories you might want to catch up on:

• Why Is Hawaii The Only State Without A Statewide Police Standards Board?

• Police Misconduct Bill Teeters In Hawaii House Under Union Criticism

• OHA Trustee Says $21M Property Deal Was Shady

• The Rising East: North Korea Turns Up The Verbal Belligerence

• Hawaii Monitor: Safeway Overcharges — Mistakes Or Corporate Policy?

• Will Championing The Environment Win Brian Schatz A U.S. Senate Seat?

• BOE Demands Safeguards Amid Uncertainty Over Education Budget Cuts

• Hawaii’s Rising Truancy Problem Leaves Lawmakers Scrambling

• Hawaii Preschool Plan in Crunch as Advocates Vow to Restore Funding

• Ed Reform Puts Millions Of Dollars In Pockets Of Private Consultants