Inside Honolulu: September 14
There’s always something interesting going on at Honolulu Hale.
Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.
4:18 p.m. Sister City Summit: A Summary
Hawaii’s four counties played host to more than a dozen sister cities from around Asia and the Pacific for a summit Sept. 14 in Honolulu. Inside Honolulu was there. This is the best of our life-tweet account of the event.
3:50 p.m. No News From Ethics Meeting
We told you Monday that the Ethics Commission was gathering but that all of the interesting items were in executive session.
Now that the meeting is pau, there’s still not much to tell.
Executive Director Chuck Totto told Inside Honolulu this afternoon that most of the matters were procedural in nature. For example, the matter of whether to use a hearing officer for a contested case hearing came up, but Totto isn’t at liberty to talk about the specifics of the contested case — what the alleged violation is, and who the respondent is or even whether they’re a city officer or employee.
Totto did say that one item — the report and recommendation regarding acceptance of travel gifts by the Honolulu City Council — was pushed back to a future meeting because the Commission ran out of time.
2:43 p.m. $1 Million for Psych Hospital
The city government today played a part in a blessing for Kahi Mohala Behavior Health‘s renovated Leeward Oahu facility. It’s “Hawaii’s only freestanding, community-based, nonprofit psychiatric hospital,” according to .
Phase I of the project, now completed, secured $548,000 in Community Development Block Grants from the federal government, via the city. Phase II, scheduled to be completed in early 2012, will receive another $550,000.
CDBG funds are the same type of funding that ORI Anuenue Hale received from the city to construct and operate its Central Oahu facility targeting elderly and severely disabled individuals. The Carlisle administration has touted the oversight efforts it’s made in managing federal grant money.
11:23 a.m. Tulsi Passes the Basket
Honolulu City Council member Tulsi Gabbard is facing an uphill climb in her run for Congress. (For more on that, read Neal Milner‘s excellent piece on the matchup between Gabbard and former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann.)
Gabbard today is asking for help. In an email to supporters titled “Momentum,” Gabbard solicits donations in advance of the Sept. 30 close-of-books for federal campaign contributions.
“Donate now – $25, $50, $100, or whatever you can afford – and keep our momentum going as we approach our first critical deadline,” Gabbard writes.
The next filing will be an important one for her candidacy. Though she declared in May and filed at the end of June, this three-month period is the first full one for Gabbard. It’s also the first filing deadline since Hannemann announced his run.
10:44 a.m. Live-Tweeting Sister Cities Summit
A heads up to Inside Honolulu readers: I’ll be live-tweeting the Counties of Hawaii Sister Cities Summit for the next hour or so from the Hawaii Convention Center.
You can follow me on Twitter .
9:12 a.m. Rail Soil Sampling Next Week
Just announced: The rail project will conduct soil tests along Kamehameha Highway in Aiea and Pearl City starting next week in preparation for construction of the second phase of the route.
Read the press release here:
9:08 a.m. BRT v. Rail
Civil Beat‘s fifth Fact Check of claims made in an op-ed from rail opponents is up on the site today. This one looks at the idea that former mayor Jeremy Harris‘ Bus Rapid Transit plan would have accomplished “virtually all” of the objectives of rail — at a fraction of the cost.
The claim earned a grade of “True.” But, as always, it’s sort of complicated. The bus plan would have required a dedicated lane, so that proposal definitely had problems of its own.
Read the Fact Check here.
Police On Protests
Yesterday, Civil Beat reported that at least one organization is already planning protests for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit being held in Honolulu in November.
The story talks about the history of such demonstrations at similar events, and touches on security issues. Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu provided the following statement to Chad Blair after the original story published:
HPD respects the right of the public to demonstrate and voice their views, and we make no distinction as to the purpose, message or intent of any group. At several locations, there will be a secure zone and an area for the general public.
Permits are issued by the city’s .
Sister City Activities
The welcome dinner was last night, but today’s the main event for the Sister Cities Summit.
This morning, every participant will be allowed to share information about opportunities in their city. Honolulu City Council member Stanley Chang and Honolulu Office of Economic Development Director Ann Chung will moderate.
After lunch and the signing of four new sister-city agreements, eight cities will present clean energy technologies and strategies. Council member Tulsi Gabbard will moderate.
A third session, titled “APEC Update and Doing Business in China,” will feature Council member Nestor Garcia and representatives of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
View the program here:
Where’s Carlisle?
From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Mayor Peter Carlisle attends and addresses the Inaugural Hawaii Counties Sister-Cities Summit at the Hawaii Convention Center. A spokeswoman tells Inside Honolulu that Carlisle will be speaking in the 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. session and again later at 1:30 p.m.
At 6:30 p.m., Carlisle attends a dinner reception for InHa University and Incheon City delegations at Seoul Jung restaurant in the Waikiki Resort Hotel.
Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu
September 13: Details On The Plan; ‘Modified Existing Plan’ It Is; Bombardier’s Response; Bombardier Lawsuit Denied; Berg: Reverse Ansaldo Contract; Sister Cities Program; Going After Castro; Godbey’s Disclosures; Wrong Again On Jobs; Real Property Tax Commission Meets Today; Friday’s Council Agenda; Where’s Carlisle?
September 12: City Asks for Early Decision on Rail Lawsuit; Ethics Commission Today; Where’s Carlisle?
September 9: Carlisle’s Public Sked; Remembrance Walk; Congestion Deception; ‘Outrage’ on Mayor’s Homeless Comments; Successful Sewage Trucking; Where’s Carlisle?
September 8: What We Learned; Honolulu’s Lousy Traffic; Undercover in Washington; Eagles Have Landed; Corp Counsel on Procurement; Horner Impressed; Stanley Chang Testifies; Aloha From Italy; Sale Or No Sale, Finmeccanica Is Obliged; Joint and Several Liability; Finmeccanica: Failure ‘Impossible’; The Questions; The Players; Ansaldo On The Big Screen; Where’s Carlisle?
September 7: Four Council District Plans; The Resignation Letter; Jamila Resigns From Planning Commission; Thoughts on Washington Trip; Not Following Rules; Where’s Carlisle?
September 6: Thursday Night In Waianae; Council Public Hearing Notice; Mayor On Homelessness; Jobs Claim Half True; Where’s Carlisle?
September 2: Peter, Toru, Carrie All Washington-Bound; Carlisle’s Public Sked; HART at First Hawaiian; Carlisle at Civil Beat; Ansaldo: We Complied With Licensing Requirement; Long Weekend; Civil Beat’s ‘Hatchet Job’; Where’s Carlisle?
September 1: PIG Picks Bunda; Carlisle’s Rail Pep Talk; Semi-Autonomous, But Connected; All Sewage Ideas Welcome; Defining ‘Undercover’; Today’s Meetings; Where’s Carlisle?
