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Welcome to Inside Honolulu! The Honolulu City Council has recessed until 2011, but there’s still work to be done. There’s also a council vacancy to be filled, with less than two weeks until the special election. Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

Mufi Named President of Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association

4:27 p.m.

Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann is the new president of the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association. Hannemann said Wednesday it was too early to say whether or not he’d take the job. Yesterday, the association’s board called an emergency meeting to discuss the hire.

Civil Beat caught up with former Honolulu Managing Director Kirk Caldwell today. He continues to have a strong interest in public service, but said it’s too early to go on the record about what he plans to do next.

Army Corps of Engineers Briefs Mayor

10:05 a.m.

A group of members of the Army Corps of Engineers met with Mayor Peter Carlisle this morning.

“We’re just briefing him on what we’re working on,” said Derek Chow, district chief of the Corps’ Civil and Public Works Branch. “Just checking in with him.”

The Army Corps of Engineers is one of the granting agencies for rail permits, but Chow said that’s not what the meeting was about. Prior to construction, the Corps’ Regulatory Branch will be tasked with reviewing a Clean Water Act permit that involves construction around waterways.

Skyrocketing Liquor License Fees Linked to Newspaper Ad Hike

9:21 a.m.

The Honolulu Liquor Commission is more than for liquor licenses. The increase went into effect this week, in response to the increased cost of placing public notices in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Filing a new application for a liquor license now costs $2,250, up from $950.

Acting liquor commissioner Anna Hirai told the the rate hike is “solely” because of the newspaper’s huge increase in advertising rates.

When an applicant requests a liquor license, the commission is required to post a public notice in the newspaper, so that people in the neighborhood have the opportunity to weigh in.

City Seeks Engineers, Painter, Traffic Signal Electrician

The city needs more than a budget director to keep things running smoothly. Honolulu officials a string of new vacancies for the following jobs this week:

• Senior Account Clerk
• Administrative Specialist
• Electrical Engineer
• Accountant
• Engineering Support Technician
• Painter
• Lead Traffic Signal Electrician

That’s on top of dozens of other positions listed as open. Honolulu is seeking a forensic pathologist, an and several civil engineers.

The job opportunities come with this disclaimer: “Salary amounts are subject to furlough/paycut.”

City Projects Move Forward, Leadership Gaps Remain

Another quiet furlough Friday caps off a week of significant progress on long-term city projects. Gov. Neil Abercrombie cleared a major hurdle for the city’s rail plan a day after a federal judge moved forward a massive consent decree requiring decades of sewer system upgrades.

“Judge made it really clear that this is one of the fundamental functions of government that we cannot keep putting aside,” said Bill Tam, one of the lawyers who worked on the case, who was recently named deputy director of the state’s Commission on Water Resource Management. “Sewers are one of the critical — but boring, not sexy — things that keeps our health together, our well being. There are always other pressing needs, human needs, things that are more visible. But you’ve got to do the regular maintenance. You don’t want to take a risk on this.”

The sewer overhaul and the rail project are the twin multibillion-dollar projects for which Honolulu will foot the bill over the next several decades. How self-declared fiscal conservative Mayor Peter Carlisle plans to pay for them in his first budget — due in March — will be a key indicator of the new mayor’s leadership.

Tomorrow marks three months since the special election that made him mayor, but Carlisle still hasn’t picked a director for the Budget and Fiscal Services Department. Honolulu Managing Director Doug Chin said the mayor has made some other leadership picks, but said they won’t be announced until after the holidays.

Catch Up on Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

Wednesday, Dec. 15: Real property value dips on Oahu; Commission votes to ask prosecutor to explore new allegations against Rod Tam; Former Mayor Mufi Hannemann mum on new job; Judge approves massive consent decree; City delays rolling out new website.

Monday, December 13: City Info-Tech Director Gordon Bruce tweets about hacking, Superbowl; County leaders impatient for House organization; Miniscule voter turnout at Honolulu Hale so far; Mufi Hannemann plans return to City Hall.

Friday, December 10: Mayor Peter Carlisle, City Council member Ann Kobayashi, Planning and Permitting Director David Tanoue and Environmental Services Director Tim Steinberger attend economic forum about the benefits of building new homes.