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Three weeks until the city budget is due, while the City Council proposes a slew of new resolutions. The mess at the Waimanalo Gulch landfill is still getting cleaned up, and transit officials cross their fingers for good news on rail funding. Civil Beat is tracking all of it, and reporting from the inside.

City Lifts Water Advisory After Main Break

5:59 p.m.
City officials are announcing a water advisory to residents from Red Hill to Pearl City has been lifted.

In a statement issued by the Honolulu Environmental Services Department, officials wrote: “Crews placed one pressurized force main back into service at the Pearl City Sewage Pump Station today. A contractor continues to repair a break on the second force main.”

Cabato, Moku Nominations Sail Through Committee

1:06 p.m.
The mayor’s picks for directors of the Parks and Recreation and Community Services departments breezed through a Parks and Human Services Committee hearing with unanimous approval from City Council members.

Both Gary Cabato and Sam Moku are expected to win easy approval from the full council to lead the Parks and Rec and Community Services, respectively. Family, friends and past and present colleagues turned out to voice their support for Cabato and Moku. No one testified against either of them

A former colleague of Moku’s broke down in tears when describing the quality of Moku’s character, and how much he said Moku had done for him over the years.

“I didn’t know I was going to be like this,” the man said with a smile after testifying.

A former director of the Parks and Recreation Department, Bill Balfour, had high praise for Cabato.

“This man is the real deal,” Bill Balfour said. “Absolutely the real deal. The Parks Department and the citizens of this city and county will really benefit from his leadership. I heartily endorse him. Having been there once before, I know what it’s all about.”

Mayor Peter Carlisle appointed Balfour as a special assistant in the Parks and Recreation Department in November.

After City’s Plastic Bag Bill Stalls, State Steps In

11:37 a.m.
State lawmakers are again taking up an issue that stalled in the Honolulu City Council.

Senators Mike Gabbard, Maile Shimabukuro and Brickwood Galuteria are sponsoring that would require businesses to collect 25 cents for each plastic or paper bag a shopper uses. A City Council measure to charge a nickel per plastic bag stalled in November.

State and Honolulu measures to ban plastic bags, or charge money for their use, have repeatedly failed. Both Maui and Kauai counties successfully passed bills prohibiting plastic bags.

City Council Committee Defers Proposal to Ban on Segways in Parks

11:02 a.m.
City Council members unanimously decided to defer that would ban Segways and other personal “mobility devices” from city parks. The proposal came up in a Parks and Human Services Committee meeting this morning.

City Council member Romy Cachola said he worried the attempt to keep Segways out of parks would also ban elderly residents and those who use scooters because they have disabilities.

“If we pass this kind of policy, we will not be hearing the end of it from our constiuents and the disabled and the elderly,” Cachola said. “We might be creating more of a problem by trying to solve another problem.”

But creating special exceptions for those who need personal mobility devices to get around might be possible, said City Council member Ann Kobayashi.

“We can always exempt those with disabilities,” Kobayashi said. “We also need to protect the rights of park users and pedestrians. It is a fine balance.”

Committee Chairman Tom Berg said the committee has received two pieces of written testimony from people with concerns about how the bill would prevent disabled residents from getting around and spending time in parks.

Infrastructure Repairs Could Spike Oahu Water Bills

Add it to the list of rising costs for Honolulu residents: Aging city water pipes need to be repaired and in many cases replaced. The issue arose in the City Council’s Public Works and Sustainability committee meeting Monday afternoon.

Upgrading the pipes could spike the Board of Water Supply’s capital improvements budget more than 600 percent in coming decades, according to testimony from Wayne Hashiro, a Board of Water Supply manager and chief engineer.

City Council members expressed concern over burdening ratepayers, who are already expected to shoulder some of the cost of billions of dollars in federally mandated improvements to the city’s antiquated sewer system. City Council member Ann Kobayashi said she worries about some of the cost of the planned multibillion dollar rail system being passed to residents.

The water board is semi-autonomous, which means it does not need City Council approval to raise rates if a majority of board members agree on an increase. Officials respond to about one water-main break per day in Honolulu. That’s still fewer than the number of breaks occurring in many other U.S. cities.

Catch Up on Inside Honolulu

Feb. 7, 2011: Council clashes over response to Rush Limbaugh comment; Bryan Mick withdraws nomination to Neighborhood Commission; Carrie Okinaga says mayor has “phenomenal” pick for city’s next top lawyer.

Feb. 4, 2011: City zoo could get giant bats; State wants city’s rail funds; Homeless assistance programs get a boost from the feds.

Feb. 3, 2011: Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa ratchets up fight against landfill; FTA to announce New Starts funding any day.

Feb. 2, 2011: Landfill hearing gets heated; Tom Berg wants to meet fellow tea partier Michele Bachmann; City Council asks Rush Limbaugh to apologize; Rail lawsuits start trickling in.

Feb. 1, 2011: Bulky item pick-up to start again; Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz introduces bill that would create development exceptions for rail; Tom Berg invites anti-rail groups into his office to discuss next steps in rail opposition.