Inside Honolulu: June 15
The legislative action at City Hall happens year-round, but the real action this week is inside the City Council offices. A potential council reorganization could shake up leadership roles.
Meantime, oversight of the city’s $5.3 billion rail project is transitioning into the hands of a new semi-autonomous agency, while a stack of bills is waiting on the mayor’s desk to be signed into law (or vetoed). We may have to wait until he returns from China on June 20 to see what he decides to do.
There’s always something interesting going on at Honolulu Hale. Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.
City Offers Amnesty on Fireworks Turned In
10:38 a.m.
The upcoming July 4 holiday is one of the first major tests for the city’s new fireworks ban, which took effect in January.
Officials released comprehensive information on a new Fireworks Amnesty Program to help people get rid of the explosives they might already have.
Check out the from the city.
Community Services’ Moku, Holthus Meet with Former Director Martin
10:07 a.m.
We’d like to be a fly on the wall in the meeting between Community Services Director Sam Moku, Deputy Director Bridget Holthus and City Council member Ernie Martin this morning.
We just spotted Moku and Holthus in the City Council waiting room, and Moku confirmed he was there to see Martin, who preceded Moku as director of Community Services. Moku was reluctant to say what the meeting would be about, but said it was not about the recent HUD investigation into the city’s handling of federal grants.
The details surrounding HUD’s investigation are dense but there’s some juicy stuff in there. Catch up on our earlier coverage, including the piece Civil Beat published this morning:
Carlisle Administration Forgave $1.2 Million in Loans to Nonprofit Accused of Misusing Federal Funds
June 15, 2011
HUD, Feds Differ on Conflicts of Interest
June 13, 2011
HUD: City’s Use of Federal Monies ‘Unacceptable’
June 8, 2011
HUD Threatens to Recoup $7.9M From Honolulu
June 7, 2011
Martin Could Replace Garcia As Chair
9:49 a.m.
Seven months since the last City Council reorganization and another round of leadership changes may already be under way. Turns out Ernie Martin could replace Nestor Garcia as chairman, and Ikaika Anderson could replace Breene Harimoto as vice chair.
Read the full story for all the details.
Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu
June 14, 2011: Photos released from Peter Carlisle‘s Asia trip; Carpenters Union steps up rail advocacy; Water outage on windward side.
June 13, 2011: Read the complete HUD report; Tom Berg to hold town hall on rail; Still no rail report from fact-finding trip.
June 8, 2011: Acting Mayor Doug Chin signs historic homes bill; FAA issues Record of Decision on rail; Hillary Clinton to attend APEC; Stanley Chang posts messages to Twitter from Taiwan; Precedent in the dispute between Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and City Council members.
June 7, 2011: Two-time candidate Panos Prevedouros fundraising for 2012 mayor’s race; Tom Berg weighs in on chief of staff’s role in hacking of lawmaker’s email; Rod Tam sentencing pushed back; Ship that buried Osama bin Laden stops in Honolulu.
June 6, 2011:Creator of city rail poll says it was unbiased; More details on Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle‘s China trip; Former City Council memeber Rod Tam charged with eight counts of campaign spending violations.
June 3, 2011: City Council approves rail bond float, slew of fee increases, property-tax rate hike, operating and capital budgets; Council members reverse decision on eliminating subsidy to scrap yards.
June 2, 2011: Complete script of questions from city rail poll; Rail supporters plan virtual sit-in.
June 1, 2011: City announced poll showing majority support for rail; Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle mum on veto plans; Hurricane season starts.
