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City Council members have exactly one week until their decisions on next year’s budget will be front and center.

The other issues coming up at City Hall in the meantime: The mayor is talking about electric cars and continuing a plan to tear down the Waikiki Natatorium. Members of the public are angry about proposed parking fees at parks. And did you hear City Council member Tulsi Gabbard is running for Congress?

Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

Natatorium Demolition EIS To Be Completed in 2012

4:06 p.m.
Inside Honolulu caught up with the city’s Design and Construction Department director, Collins Lam, this afternoon. His department is working with consultant Wil Chee, the company studying the environmental impact of tearing down the Waikiki Natatorium war memorial.

Lam says the formal environmental review is just getting started, and won’t be complete until 2012. He says the most time consuming aspect is mapping wave action.

Preservationists point out that if the natatorium is removed, Kaimana Beach would be washed away unless significant underwater engineering takes place (the construction of barriers, known as T-groins, to influence wave direction). The popular local beach — also known as Sans Souci — did not exist before the natatorium was built in 1927, after which point sand was naturally deposited there.

Read the full story about the planned demolition for the natatorium site.

Mayor Adds to List of “Devil” Inventions

3:38 p.m.
One of the many fun things about covering City Hall is tracking the sometimes outrageous things the mayor says. Maybe you remember the time he said furloughs were “invented by the devil,” or when he called debt service “public enemy No. 1.”

At a press conference this afternoon, Peter Carlisle said he considers “computers to be an instrument of the devil here on Earth.”

Carlisle wasn’t just lashing out at technology. He was making a point about how easy he thinks the city’s online permitting process is, saying that even he knows how to use it, despite his aforementioned feelings about computers.

Not outrageous enough? Carlisle also took a swig from a water bottle, then jokingly told the crowd he was drinking vodka.

What’s your favorite Carlisleism?

Ethics Director Says Offenders Ignoring Warnings, Repeating Violations

3:04 p.m.
The city Ethics Commission’s executive director, Chuck Totto says he’s noticed a surprising increase in city workers who ignore the ethics advice they receive, and repeat violations as a result.

“The unusual issue that’s come up this last year has been that we’ve had a few cases where we’e actually instructed somebody what to do and they’ve not complied,” Totto said. “The Todd Apo case is one example where the commission had told him in a prior formal advisory opinion this is what you do. And he blew it. I’m not sure that it was intentional but it is one of those things where if you tell them not to do something or how to avoid a violation, you’d expect them to comply with that.”

Totto is referring to two cases in which he says Apo voted on an issue despite a clear conflict of interest, and despite warnings from the Ethics Commission. Apo told Civil Beat he disagrees with Totto’s interpretation, and says he “took ethics issues very seriously.” (Read the full story about Apo’s violations.)

Totto says he can’t disclose who else has repeatedly violated ethics rules, or in what branch of government the violators serve.

“We have had a handful of cases where we’ve instructed the subject of the investigation — we clearly told them — that they could not do something and they went ahead and did it anyway,” Totto says. “I don’t know that there’s a trend. Let’s hope that there’s not. Certainly, this is the first year that I had seen that. It makes the violation much more serious. It’s one thing if someone says, ‘I didn’t understand,’ or ‘I just didn’t think of it,’ versus, ‘Gee, we informed you specifically and you ignored it. You thumbed your nose at us.'”

City Puts Electric Car Charger Permits Online

2:39 p.m.
Honolulu electric car owners can now and print the necessary building permit to install charging stations at their homes.

Mayor Carlisle announced the new online feature for single-family homes Friday. Online permits will not be available for multi-family homes or commercial properties.

“We want people to drive electric cars, and we want to make it convenient,” he said.

The cost of the permits will depend on the dollar value of the installation, which requires adding a dedicated power line for the electric vehicle to charge.

David Tanoue, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, said people can expect to pay about $30 for a permit for an installation job in the $1,500 range.

— Nanea Kalani

Council Member Stanley Chang on His Distict’s Waikiki Natatorium

9:04 a.m.
City Council member Stanley Chang says he doesn’t have all the information about the long-closed Waikiki Natatorium war memorial, but says he believes moving forward with a task force’s recommendation to demolish the structure is smart.

“As a starting point, I think we should take a good look at those recommendation,” Chang told Civil Beat. “I know a lot of time and effort and energy went into developing a community-based plan for the future of the Natatorium. I don’t think that a decision should be made without having undergone a really thorough effort of outreach to all the stakeholders.”

The natatorium is managed by the city and sits on state land in Chang’s district.

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle told Civil Beat on Thursday that he is following that recommendation, and the city is doing an environmental review of the plan to tear down the memorial. Carlisle says he’ll consider public testimony once the study is complete. The latest developments come as preservationists are preparing for their annual memorial day ceremony at the site, which is set for Sunday.

Read the full story.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

May 26, 2011: City Council member Tulsi Gabbard announces run for Congress; Neighborhood Board election results are in; Nene birds hatch in Denver; For clues on who’s running, turn to Twitter.

May 25, 2011: Pack a lunch, sew a lei; City Council one step from passing historic homes bill; Fire spokesman weighs in on 911 call.

May 24, 2011: 911 operator calls man ‘F——g Idiot;’ Controversial Laie development gets hearing.

May 23, 2011: City Council advances fireworks bill; Kirk Caldwell organizes corn chowder party via Twitter; PVT landfill to turn trash into energy.

May 19, 2011: Sen. Daniel Akaka reiterates feds’ support for rail; Council member Tulsi Gabbard wants to send a message to President Barack Obama.

May 18, 2011: Still no report from City Council’s rail fact-finding trip; Doug Chin points to charter question to explain administration’s HART position.

May 17, 2011: City Council reinstates roads funds; Union talks “ongoing;” Council advances property-tax hike.

May 16, 2011: Did police chief’s son get preferential treatment? Honolulu Zoo rhino dies; Police officers to walk for slain colleagues.

May 13, 2011: California judge assigned to rail case; City winds down busy week on furlough day.

May 12, 2011: City Council member Romy Cachola learns new slang; Brookings Institute lauds Honolulu mass transit; Long-awaited rail lawsuit filed in federal court; City Council members vet new rail financial plan.

May 11, 2011: Council advances rail bond bill; City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia waiting for word on ethics investigation; Council advances fireworks storage bill; Council scraps scrap-yard subsidy, kind of; Rail lawsuit to be filed soon.

May 10, 2011 Council member Tom Berg wants to move Honolulu Zoo into Diamond Head crater; Council to consider banning some cell phone use for pedestrians.

May 9, 2011: After heavy rains, Waimanalo Gulch gets extension; What happens in Copenhagen, stays in Copenhagen?; Feds monitoring city’s use of housing money.

May 6, 2011: Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle says Koolau Loa plan keeps “country country,” too; City Council’s Tulsi Gabbard gets promoted.

May 5, 2011: Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle heads to sunny East Lansing, Mich.; Emergency Management Deputy Peter Hirai clears up rumor about Waikiki sirens; Double the turnout so far in Neighborhood Board elections.

May 4, 2011: City Council advances HART budgets, measure to float rail bonds; Romy Cachola irked that no Filipinos appointed to HART; Mayor would likely support end to recycling subsidy.

May 3, 2011: Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle signed into law new North Shore plan; City Planning and Permitting Director David Tanoue questions move to turn shipping containers into homes; Environmental group raises concerns about trees along rail route.

May 2, 2011: City Council member Stanley Chang takes on managing director; Ann Kobayashi defends yelling at testifier; Romy Cachola calls testifier “stupid;” Tom Berg proposes horse racetrack for Kapiolani Park; Bill to eliminate scrap yard subsidy advances; Council member miffed that rail leaders skipped special council meeting.