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

Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

5:38 p.m. Council Advances Campaign Sign Rules

A bill that would place restrictions on the size of noncommercial signs on private property has passed second reading and is one step closer to become law.

would limit signs to no larger than three feet by five feet. It would also limit each property to three signs with identical messaging. Clearly, the target is political signs.

Bob Loy of the Outdoor Circle is a major advocate of the measure, saying the signs are a visual blight and a traffic hazard.

The Honolulu City Council received this week from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Two members — Stanley Chang and Tulsi Gabbard — expressed reservations. The bill will now head back to the Committee on Zoning and Planning.

4:22 p.m. $1 Million Settlement Approved

Tammie Stopp is going to get her money.

The Honolulu City Council moments ago approved the settlement that will pay Stopp, a visitor from California who tripped on a Waikiki sidewalk in 2002 and has sued the city, nearly a million dollars. The city’s insurance company will pay her another $2 million-plus, according to her attorney, Michael Jay Green.

Council member Nestor Garcia this morning said Stopp’s injuries amounted to a “million-dollar baby toe,” but neither he nor any other members spoke up against the deal. It was approved, without comment, objection or reservation as one of three committee reports taken together in one lump.

The Council is on cruise control now, as it sees the finish line for what has become a marathon morning session. It has yet to break for lunch, and still has the 2 p.m. public hearing to hold.

3:54 p.m. Mililani Senior Development Gets OK

A senior affordable rental housing development known as Meheula Vista has just gotten a green light from the Honolulu City Council.

will exempt the 300-unit Mililani Mauka project from a number of land use regulations.

A handful of angry community members testified that the project would have a negative impact on the Central Oahu community. In addition to traffic and parking problems, they suggested people might use the seniors’ addresses to get school district access for their grandchildren, burdening area schools.

Some said the promise of “affordable” housing can be broken too easily; one referenced a February report in Civil Beat that explored developers’ troubles in trying to sell affordable units and the possibility of bail-outs.

Council Chair Ernie Martin, who lives in Mililani Mauka, voted against the resolution.

“I feel fairly confident that the developer has done all he can, but again, while I support senior housing in general, I’m going to vote no on this particular measure,” he said.

He called his vote “symbolic” and said it was to express displeasure with Castle and Cooke, which made certain promises about the character of the community when it was originally developing the region.

3:06 p.m. Laie Hotel Deferred One Month

As expected, the Honolulu City Council just voted to wait until next month to make a decision on the in Laie.

After dozens of citizens testified, Vice Chair Ikaika Anderson explained that 30 days would allow the council to work with all parties involved to find an “equitable and fair” solution. He said he’s optimistic the parties can find “compromise and middle ground” before Sept. 16.

The major issues are traffic and flooding. A would tighten the provisions in the permit to require mitigation work before final permits are issued.

12:49 p.m. ‘You Got Shafted, I Got Shafted’

In discussing the , Distrct 1 Council member Tom Berg repeated a regular refrain that his community should not have to bear the burden of the island’s only municipal landfill.

In response, Romy Cachola reminded Berg that promises from the previous mayoral administration can’t always be relied upon. Cachola rehashed his own moment of victimization, when the route for the rail project changed.

“You got shafted, I got shafted,” Cachola told Berg.

The plan passed on first reading and now heads to committee. Vice Chair Ikaika Anderson told Berg he looks forward to a trip out to Leeward Oahu to take testimony on the proposal.

12:26 p.m. Council To Defer Laie Hotel Vote

The room is packed with people in baby blue Envision Laie shirts waiting to testify, but the Honolulu City Council will not be making a final decision on the controversial four-story Marriott today.

KITV an expected deferral about one hour ago.

A staff member of Council Chair Ernie Martin confirmed the delay and said it would be for 30 days.

12:06 p.m. HART to Ansaldo: Prove You Can Handle It

With administrative appeals from losing bidders Bombardier and Sumitomo now dismissed, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is proceeding with its chosen design-build-operate-maintain contractor, Ansaldo Honolulu.

In a letter sent Tuesday, HART Interim Executive Director Toru Hamayasu told Ansaldo’s Enrico Fontana to provide some standard documents to lock up the contract.

“Also, in view of recent public statements attributed to the Finmeccanica, the parent company of the Ansaldo Honolulu JV partners, it is requested that Ansaldo Honolulu JV advise HART of any material changes in the financial capacity of Ansaldo Honolulu JV since the submission of your Request for Proposals (RFP) Part 1 response,” Hamayasu wrote.

HART’s Audit Committee will discuss the status of the core systems contract at a meeting Thursday morning.

Read the full letter here:

11:19 Council Sends Ag Property Tax Bill To Mayor

The Honolulu City Council has just passed a bill unanimously that would tweak the property tax rules for agricultural parcels.

now heads to Mayor Peter Carlisle for his signature.

10:51 a.m. Godbey Confirmed As Corp Counsel

Robert Carson Godbey has been doing the job for about six weeks already, but now it’s official.

The Honolulu City Council has confirmed Godbey as the city’s top lawyer.

Before Chair Ernie Martin approved the resolution without objections, member Tom Berg complained that the Department of Corporation Counsel has defended the design-build-operate-maintain rail contract with Ansaldo Honolulu despite the fact that its proposal will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars more than the losing bidders.

“Does Corp Counsel represent the taxpayers or the corporate entities? I think we have our answer,” Berg said.

Other members spoke glowingly of Godbey’s character, ability and expertise.

10:36 a.m. The ‘Million-Dollar Baby Toe’

Civil Beat reported that the Honolulu City Council will vote today on a proposed million-dollar settlement for a woman who fell on a Waikiki sidewalk a decade ago and sued the city.

Council member Nestor Garcia approached Inside Honolulu minutes ago just before the meeting began to gripe about the story.

“I’m disappointed in you, Levine,” he said, smiling. “It was a million-dollar baby toe. A baby toe.”

The plaintiff, Tammie Stopp, has had numerous surgeries in the years since the injury and is unable to walk or work. Her lawyer, Michael Jay Green, says the city is responsible for all those surgeries even if they were unnecessary and even if medical malpractice came into play.

Garcia was among the nine members who voted in favor of the settlement in committee last week. We’ll see if he votes in favor of the million-dollar big toe when the matter comes up on the agenda later this morning.

8:59 a.m. Police Commission Agenda

The Honolulu City Council meeting is obviously the big one today, but the Honolulu Police Commission is also slated to gather today.

Here’s for the 2 p.m. meeting.

The “new business” section includes requests from Sgts. Duke Zoller and Aaron Bernal and officers Christopher and Patrick Bugarin for legal counsel. Those four are facing charges in a fake overtime scam. The Commission will consider the requests and a recommendation from the Department of Corporation Counsel — purportedly in open session.

The executive session includes complaints against officers and other sensitive matters.

8:16 a.m. HUD Not Happy With City’s ORI Report

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is not satisfied with the city’s recent report on its work to bring troubled nonprofit ORI Anuenue Hale into compliance.

Honolulu Department of Community Services Director Sam Moku said last week’s meeting with HUD was productive, but the feds say the city’s report is “lacking.”

Read Adrienne LaFrance‘s full story about HUD’s response here.

Council Meeting Today

The full Honolulu City Council meets today, and Inside Honolulu will be there.

Check out the agenda as we wait for the meeting to start at 10 a.m.

You can also read Civil Beat‘s story about one of the agenda items: a million-dollar settlement for a California woman who tripped on a broken Waikiki sidewalk a decade ago and sued the city.

Sewage Trucking Begins

Yesterday marked the first day of the test run bringing untreated sewage sludge from Sand Island to the Honouliuli treatment plant.

Hawaii News Now followed the truck and talked to the folks who were stuck behind it. The coverage is so close you can almost smell it. Read it .

Where’s Carlisle?

At 8 a.m. this morning, Mayor Peter Carlisle will deliver remarks at the 2011 American Logistics Association/Defense Commissary Agency Hawaii Conference at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.

At 6 p.m. tonight, the mayor will be a guest at an event celebrating Pacific Guardian Life‘s 50th Anniversary and the 35th Anniversary of the partnership between Meiji Yasuda Life and Pacific Guardian Life at the Waialae Country Club.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

August 16: Corp Counsel on Bombardier Suit; Bombardier’s Lawsuit; Tam Sentencing Delayed Again; Feds To Pay For Kolekole Pass Repair; Ethics Panel Waits on Travel Gift Policy; Rod Tam Sentencing; Newsmaker Interview Today; Where’s Carlisle?

August 15: Missouri Company Gets Sewer Contracts; Landfill Selection Meetings Postponed; Bombardier Appeals to FTA, Court; Busy Weekend for Rail; Questions for Yoshioka; Ethics Commission Today; Where’s Carlisle?

August 12: Feds’ Rail Lawsuit Response; Carlisle’s Public Sked; Council Agenda Published; Cabinet Gathers; Moku on HUD Meeting; Transportation Newsmaker; Where’s Carlisle?

August 11: Horner Lays It Down; Mayor’s Math Problem; Capitol Moat Sewage; Council Chair on Commissioner’s Ethics Violation; HART Finance Committee to Meet; Where’s Carlisle?

August 10: Vacation Rentals Argument Not Over Yet; Quintal Retires, Quietly; Packed Auditorium; Beat the School Jam; Vacation Rentals on Planning Commission Agenda; Morning Reading; Where’s Carlisle?

August 9: Ethics Agenda Out; EPA Fines Pest Control Co.; Regulating B&Bs Not So Easy; Where’s Carlisle?

August 8: Bombardier on Appeal; Carlisle In Da Hale; Where’s City Oversight?; Police Department Names Names; Carlisle on Japan, in Video; Where’s Carlisle?

August 5: 6:51 p.m. Carlisle in Japan, in Photos; Bombardier Officially Rejected; Ansaldo Enlisted to Fix San Fran’s Light Rail Cars; Traffic Ticket Quota; Carlisle’s Public Sked; Ansaldo Honolulu “Pleased” With Finmeccanica Restructuring; Waianae’s Clean Water Award; Chair Garcia’s Checklist; Where’s Carlisle?

August 4: Congestion Tolls in Honolulu … Someday; HART Here, HART There; Zoning Appeals Board Appointments Advance; Committee Moves Sign Bill Forward; Moratorium Lifted on New Sewer Connections in Waimanalo; Free Speech vs. Open Space; Today’s Committees; Where’s Carlisle?

August 3: Board Defends Rate Hike; Appointee Asked About Water Rates; Tow Trucking Debated; Seniors, Disabled Ask for Help; ORI Discussion Coming Soon; Today’s Committees; Fewer Golfers, More Money; Chang’s Public Service; Where’s Carlisle?

August 2: Case Closed, Not Decided; City Rests, Ansaldo Satisfied; City Witness Rebuts Sumitomo; Ireland, Silva Like Merger; Talking Merger; No Competition for Carlisle; Berg: GOP “Party of the Skin Heads”; Today’s Committees; Want Train? Get Brains; Where’s Carlisle?

August 1: Across the Street?; Waipahu Board Backs Hoopili; Executive Session?; Ansaldo Responds; Rail Appeal Continues, With Questions Churning About Ansaldo; Sewage Spill in Kailua; Where’s Carlisle?