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With just five weeks to go until Mayor Peter Carlisle must present his first budget, he still doesn’t have a full-time budget director. One big distraction: Cleaning up the literal and figurative mess at Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill. It’s a busy week, and Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

Carlisle Taps Attorney Jeff Portnoy for Ethics Commission

1:41 p.m.
Mayor Peter Carlisle is asking longtime local attorney and to serve on the city ethics commission through 2015.

“I was asked by the mayor if there was a particular board or commission that I thoguht I could be of value to the city in,” Portnoy told Civil Beat. “I thought that this was one I could bring my skills and expertise to … In my view, the most important quality a civil servant or public employee can have is to act ethically. I think everything else is secondary.”

If you don’t recognize Portnoy’s name from his years of work on first amendment, labor, health care, insurance and intellectual property law, you may know him as the color commentator for University of Hawaii basketball on ESPN radio.

Portnoy’s appointment is subject to approval by the City Council.

Check out , including Portnoy’s résumé.

Budget Director, Corporation Counsel Still Unknown

12:48 p.m.
There’s no question Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle knows some excellent attorneys. Of all the positions the mayor is suited to fill, finding the right person to be the city’s top lawyer should be a breeze.

But Carlisle wants to keep the Corporation Counsel he inherited. He’s requesting the City Council tomorrow approve an extension on what was a temporary appointment for Carrie Okinaga. In the letter to Honolulu City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia, Carlisle wrote:

“This temporary commission is for an interim period only and will be effective immediately and will terminate upon my permanent appointment of Corporation Counsel, on or about July 1, 2011.”

Originally, Okinaga’s temporary commission was set to expire Jan. 31.

Carlisle has said he hoped to convince Okinaga to stay. Former Mayor Mufi Hannemann told Civil Beat in December how lucky Carlisle is that she is willing to continue her work with the city until the new mayor finds a replacement.

Corporation Counsel and director of Budget and Fiscal Services are often described as the most critical appointments Honolulu’s mayor can make. Carlisle said last month he thought he’d have a permanent budget director in place by the end of the month. A request to his office for an update is pending.

Read to keep Okinaga on board.

Chromium in Honolulu Water is Naturally Occurring

12:02 p.m.
There may be medical waste in your neighborhood swimming spot, but officials are announcing today the water from your faucet is safe to drink. (Health Department officials also say the medical waste isn’t hazardous, but that’s another story.)

After a scare about levels of a probable carcinogen in Honolulu tap water, state and city officials are today announcing the water is safe. It comes after a December report that listed Honolulu as second among U.S. cities with high levels of the carcinogen in its water supply. But researchers in that report only used one water sample, and took it residence instead of from the water source.

Board of Water Supply spokesman Kurt Tsue said officials tested the island’s largest water sources and found chromium, but in quantities that do not pose a threat to public health.

“It appears to be naturally occurring,” Tsue told Civil Beat. “There is no indication of it being a result of dumping or toxicity due to waste.”

The Health Department and Board of Water Supply are holding a press conference on the matter today at 12:30 p.m.

Read Civil Beat’s coverage of the initial report, and an article about the officials’ reaction to that report.

Bill Would Require Honolulu Elephants to Have More Space

9:10 a.m.
Sen. Will Espero is introducing that would require the city zoo’s elephants to have at least one acre of roaming space. Last year, the non-profit animal welfare organization In Defense of Animals named the Honolulu Zoo the third-worst in the nation for elephants.

For years, the elephants have lived in an area the size of six parking spaces. Elephants in the wild roam up to 10 miles a day. Animal rights activists say more than half of elephants in zoos develop serious foot problems as a result of being in captivity.

The city in August broke ground on a new habitat, which will give the two Indian elephants a 1.4-acre habitat. The start to construction came after multiple delays to the long-planned upgrade. In January 2009, city officials told this reporter the new enclosure would be complete in fall 2010. In January 2010, the city still hadn’t finalized plans for the new habitat.

Espero said he also considered legislation that would ban keeping elephants in Hawaii. The federal government first granted the state a permit to have the animals here in 1992.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

Jan. 24, 2011: Until EPA intervened, landfill operator Joe Whelan was putting debris from spill back into closed dump.

Jan. 21, 2011: Waimanalo Gulch to stay closed until next week; Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle among mayors meeting with President Obama today.

Jan. 20, 2011: Mayor Peter Carlisle reports a positive meeting with congressional transit leader; City eyes Bellows, Waimanalo North for new landfill site.

Jan. 19, 2011: Advisory committee to meet on landfill site selection; Tom Berg is officially a City Council member; Sen. Dan Inouye reiterates his support for rail; Read the Record of Decision.

Jan. 18, 2011: City officials celebrate after FTA issues Record of Decision on rail; Sen. Dan Inouye wants an office at Honolulu Hale; City still working to clean up medical waste from landfill flood.

Jan. 14, 2011: Deputy prosecutor sworn in; City confronts myriad trash issues; Ikaika Anderson creating task force to consider sweeping overhaul to property tax structure; City workers hit the Furlough Friday halfway point.

Jan. 13, 2011: City opens emergency shelter on Leeward Coast; Heavy rains continue to hamper city business; City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia is in Washington, D.C., to discuss APEC.

Jan. 12, 2011: City Transportation hearing a one-sided affair; Council members concerned about camping fees; Customer Services director nominee Gail Haraguchi breezes through committee; Hawaii could get a preseason NFL game; Former Mayor Mufi Hannemann says air travel is key for economic recovery.

Jan. 11, 2011: First Zoning Committee of the new year gets updates on pending amendments to Honolulu’s Land Use Ordinance.

Jan. 10, 2011: Mayor Peter Carlisle gives kudos to Kauai; Committees move forward with two director nominations; Statewide fireworks ban unlikely; City officials worry about fireworks hoarders.

Jan. 7, 2011: City transportation director preps to take up IMG report in Transportation Committee meeting next week; Mayor Peter Carlisle stays quiet on illegal rental to President Barack Obama; Carlisle plans business trip to Hollywood, jokes about wanting a cameo in Hawaii 5-0.

Jan. 6, 2011: Emergency official cites threat of “huge mudslide” in Kaneohe highway closure; City eyes user fees, but in what form? Mayor tells Pacific Club crowd about inevitable cuts during “financial crisis,” calls city challenges “exciting.”

Jan. 5, 2011: Council vice chair to host hearing on IMG report; Rail division moves down permitting check list; A new year means a new website for Honolulu.

Jan. 4, 2011: Carlisle’s drinking buddies may be lonely this month; Honolulu’s first mayor inaugurated 102 years ago today; Tom Berg isn’t happy with his Council committee assignments.

Jan. 3, 2011: City Council to explore user fees as revenue generator; Nestor Garcia talks rail, APEC, city values in celebratory inaugural address.