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There’s always something interesting going on at Honolulu Hale.

Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

5:44 p.m. City Debates Population Base, Delays Decision

It’s already happened across the street at the Capitol, and now the city’s Reapportionment Commission is wrestling with the issue of who to include in the population base for redistricting.

Many of the same arguments have been raised, and some have made clear how they’ll be voting when it’s time to vote.

Commissioner Rey Graulty, who was also on the commission in 1991, has repeatedly brought up the recent opinion from the Office of the Attorney General that the Hawaii Supreme Court would likely overturn the state commission’s decision to include nonresident military and students.

Commissioner Kerry Komatsubara, who chaired the 2001 commission that eventually extracted military (though dependents were left in), said it would just be simpler to just include everybody. He says the Hawaii Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling in a Big Island case might apply to the state but doesn’t apply to the City and County of Honolulu because Honolulu’s charter differs from the Big Island’s and from the Hawaii Constitution in that it doesn’t refer to permanent residents or residents.

The commission voted to defer a decision until it can get some more data on military population. Unlike the state, which is already halfway through its 100-day window to complete its work, the city has until January 2012 to draw the lines for the nine Honolulu City Council seats.

5:11 p.m. City Responds to Rail Critic … In Dallas

A couple weeks ago, we linked to a column in the Dallas Morning News that was critical of Honolulu’s proposed rail system.

Apparently, our readers over at the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation politely asked for an opportunity to respond.

Today, Morning News columnist (and former Hawaii resident) Mike Hashimoto prints a response from HART Interim Executive Director Toru Hamayasu in his blog. Hamayasu writes:

Much has changed since Mr. Hashimoto last lived here more than 40 years ago.

Honolulu has some of most congested highways in the nation. A 2010 INRIX® national Travel Time Tax study ranked Honolulu the second most congested metro area in the nation — only Los Angeles fared worse. Honolulu’s congestion was ranked worse than San Francisco and New York.

Read the whole thing .

4:09 p.m. Three Committee Agendas Posted

Three new agendas have been posted on the cork board outside the Honolulu City Council‘s committee meeting room.

Committees on Parks and Cultural Affairs, Executive Matters and Legal Affairs and Safety, Economic Development and Government Affairs are all set to meet Tuesday, so today’s the deadline to get those meeting agendas sunshined. (They’re on the board, but not yet online. We’ll post them here when they’re online.)

Also, new Budget Committee Chair Ann Kobayashi tells Inside Honolulu that her committee meeting next Wednesday will include a hearing about ORI Anuenue Hale, the nonprofit at the center of a federal probe that could cost the city $7.9 million.

Oversight of that controversy, and the Department of Community Services that’s embroiled in it, had been part of a different committee before the reorganization that put former DCS Director Ernie Martin atop the council hierarchy. We covered all those changes earlier this month in a story titled Roses By Other Names? Chair Retitles Committees.

It seems Kobayashi isn’t going to let the issue slide now that it’s under her purview.

Berg’s Other Firing

Elsewhere on Civil Beat this morning is a story about Honolulu City Council member Tom Berg, who told an employee she was being fired for not doing his bidding as a member of the Ewa Neighborhood Board.

It turns out she’s still on the payroll, but the episode reveals how Berg works and also could land the councilman in some hot water.

Read the full story here.

Reapportionment Commission To Meet

Also on the agenda today is the City Council Reapportionment Commission‘s third meeting. It’s at 4 p.m. at Honolulu Hale and will cover the following items:

• Discussion and adoption of commission rules;
• Discussion of and action on population base — 2010 Census data and “permanent resident” base
• Discussion of and action on guidelines and criteria used to draft proposed redistricting plans

Read ) and get some background on the process .

Sumitomo Appeal Today (Seriously)

We thought it would start yesterday, but today’s the day that Sumitomo‘s rail appeal gets started. They’re challenging the city’s award of the billion-dollar core systems contract to Ansaldo, alleging that they’ll be cheaper over the life of the system and that Ansaldo isn’t qualified to do the work.

There will be expert witnesses and lots of procurement code citations in coming days, to be sure. Inside Honolulu will be there as much as possible, and will let you know what’s happening as it happens.

Where’s Carlisle?

Mayor Peter Carlisle has no events on his public schedule for today.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

July 26: Honolulu Water Still Cheap; Sumitomo Hearing Postponed; Sierra Club Is In; Police OT Case Back In Court; Sumitomo Appeal Gets Rolling Today; Where’s Carlisle?

July 25: Wife of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” a Carlisle Backer; Kaneshiro’s Small-Kine Fundraiser; Eric Ryan Is a Crook?; Slush Fund for Ansaldo Parent?; Mayor Rakes In Campaign Cash; Where’s Carlisle?

July 22: Carlisle’s Public Sked; City Seeking Hackers (just kidding); Honolulu’s Locked-Down Freeways; Disposing Needles on Kauai; Bombardier Mulling Options; Where’s Carlisle?

July 21: Carlisle Out Of Town; Horner Rails Against LEED Costs; $1.3M in Rent for HART? Hamayasu on the Defensive; Head-Hunting Costs Money; Ready to Strike Again; A Third Rail Lawsuit To Watch?; Natatorium Re-Opens … In California; HART Meets Today (Twice); Where’s Carlisle?

July 20: Sumitomo Speaks; Water Rates Going Up, Up, Up; Sumitomo Rail Protest Still Alive; The Release; Carlisle: Sludge To Honouliuli; Martin: I Could Be Mayor; Sewage Sludge Presser at 10; Police Commission, Behind Closed Doors; Sumitomo’s Turn; Where’s Carlisle?

July 19: Koa Ridge Hits a Roadblock; City Pleased With DCCA Decision; Landfill Site Search Expands; Fact-Finding Rail Trips Cost $11,000; State Denies Bombardier Appeal; Open That Kimono; Rail a Rare Open Appeal Hearing; Where’s Carlisle?

July 18: City Files Rail Lawsuit Response; UPDATE: Tom Berg, Also a Crook; Martin’s Campaign Treasurer a Convicted Coke Dealer; City Wants More Time at Landfill; Then There Were Two; Eric Ryan: Tom Berg Is A Crook?; Berg “Pissed” but Ryan “In Play”; Food for Conflict Thoughts; HART Ready to Buy Parcels; Bike Battle Still Brewing; City Response to Rail Lawsuit Due Today; Weekend Shakeup at the Hale; Where’s Carlisle?

July 15: HART Board to Meet Next Week; ORI Plan Due Today; Kym Pine Website Launch Delayed By “Major” News; Mayor’s Public Sked; Tulsi Pulls In $20K; Where’s Carlisle?

July 14: Zoning Board Appointees On Track; Neighborhood Board Battle Brewing; HPD Not Alone in Lack of Self-Tracking; Where’s Carlisle?

July 13: City’s Staggered Terms Stay Staggered; Pow-Wow Just An Update; Does Military Count: City Edition; Rail Pow-Wow at the Hale; They’re Talking About Us In Dallas; Berg Stands By His Man; Laie Developer Resigns at Gov’s Request; About Those HART Offices…; Rail Opponents Pay for Ink; Where’s Carlisle?; On Tap for Today.

July 12: (Unnamed) City Official Violated Ethics Code; Ethics Questions Up From Last Year; Prosecutor Kaneshiro Target of Ethics Complaint; Elsewhere on Civil Beat; Carlisle Quiet Today.

July 11: Transparency Site Getting Stale; Hoopili Hearing Set for September; Fire Commission Meeting Today; Carlisle’s Early Start.

July 8: Rail Appeals Opened to Public; Carlisle’s Public Sked; Ethics Panel To Decide on Violations Tuesday; Smoke on the (Waste) Water; Three Oahu Projects in Environmental Notice; County Governments Gather in Honolulu; General Plan Process Under Way.

July 7: T-Minus One Hour to General Plan Meeting; Rail Contractor Protest Closed To Public; What to Read This Morning.

July 6: Oh Godbey, New City Lawyer in the House; Derailed: Tom Berg Q&A; Steinberger Slams ‘Anti-Synagro’ Resolution; Ag Land Property Tax Bill Heads Back to Committee; New Chair, New Seats; Council Gathers Early to Fete Honorees; Martin, Anderson Ink Op-Ed.

July 5: New State Law Protects County Firefighters, Lifeguards; Federal Highways Rep: City and State Need to Play Nice; Leeward Politicians Push for Bikeway; State Officials in the Hale for Transportation; Ernie Martin’s First Agenda as Chair; No Crime Stats for HPD.

July 1: City Parade to Cost $20K; Furloughs Are Over, Pay Is Up; No Laie Decision At Next Council Meeting; Housing Office Open For Business; HART Kicks Off New Era for Honolulu Rail; Happy New Year!; Martin Tabs Kobayashi as Budget Chair.