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

Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

6:10 p.m. EOD, What’s the Deal?

It’s now after 6 p.m., so close-of-business is definitely behind us. And it’s not clear if Sumitomo‘s core systems contract offer has been extended or not.

Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Interim Executive Director Toru Hamayasu said this afternoon that he believes HART can circle back to the losing bidder at some future date and ask that the expired contract be renewed.

Asked if Sumitomo would consider renewing the offer and if the price would change under such a scenario, a spokeswoman told Inside Honolulu that the company “has no comment at this time.”

3:23 p.m. Tuesday’s Committee Meetings

This week has been light on Honolulu government meetings, but next week won’t be so quiet.

A couple of agendas were released today for Honolulu City Council committee meetings. More are still to come. Here’s a quick rundown:

• At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Committee on Safety, Economic Development and Government Affairs will meet. mainly covers gifts to the city, but also will include consideration of a to allow the Honolulu Police Department to use surveillance cameras during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
• At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Committee on Parks and Cultural Affairs will meet. includes urging the city to develop a public shooting complex in Kalaeloa.
• The Committee on Executive Matters and Legal Affairs, which had been scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, .

2:56 p.m. On Deadline Day, Sumitomo Still “Under Consideration”

Last month, we reported that the city had asked losing train system bidder Sumitomo to extend its offer for one month, just in case things didn’t work out with the winning bidder, Ansaldo.

Well, one month has passed, and Sumitomo’s contract offer is set to expire today. Has the city made up its mind yet?

Not quite.

Asked by Inside Honolulu whether the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation will be asking Sumitomo to extend its offer again, spokeswoman **Jeanne Mariani-Belding said, “As of this morning, it was still under consideration.”

Asked if the $1.4 billion deal with Ansaldo has been finalized, Mariani-Belding wrote on behalf of Interim Executive Director Toru Hamayasu that “We are currently waiting for additional information, including a report from the HART Finance Committee on the results of its recent videoconference with Ansaldo officials.”

She said the city is also awaiting an important piece of the paperwork, the bond surety guarantee, that is due with the signed contract from Ansaldo.

It’s not immediately clear what this all means, considering that Sumitomo’s offer will lapse at the end of business today.

9:44 a.m. The Great Waialae Bike Test

Here’s one for all you cyclists out there.

Civil Beat‘s newest contributor, Nick Castele checks in this morning with a look at the ongoing three-day test of the potential traffic implications of installing bike lanes on Waialae Avenue here in Kaimuki.

You may have noticed the cones blocking off a full lane of parking on the mauka side of the street this week. This is why.

Read the story to find out what it all means.

9:38 a.m. Fact Checking Rail Operations Costs

Today we’ve published our findings on the seventh and final Fact Check stemming from rail opponents’ op-ed in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser a month ago.

They’d claimed that rail will force the city to find an additional $100 million each year in higher taxes and fares. While there is an operating subsidy, that number is far too high. So we gave it a grade of Half True.

Read the full piece here.

9:29 a.m. Not So Special

In yesterday’s edition of Inside Honolulu, we highlighted an award the city received for its bookkeeping, an item titled “Thumbs Up For City’s Budget.”

Turns out, it’s not so hard to earn the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

Our anonymous friend(s?) over at Honolulu Notes point out today that 3,751 different entities won the same award. includes this map:

We also dug around on the GFOA website and found this (lengthy) from the 2009 fiscal year.

Where’s Carlisle?

Mayor Peter Carlisle will be in Washington D.C. all this week to attend the annual Joint Civilian Orientation Conference at the invitation of the U.S. Department of Defense. Managing Director Doug Chin is acting mayor until Saturday.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

September 21: Anatomy of Wastewater: The Book; Thumbs Up For City’s Budget; Businessweek: Honolulu No. 3; Congestion Deception Editorial Rebutted; Where’s Carlisle?

September 20: General Plan Comment Period Extended; More Bad News For Finmeccanica; Salaries, Salaries and More Salaries; State Excluding Military, After All; Horner Leaving First Hawaiian; Where’s Carlisle?

September 19: Rail Town Hall Meetings; Mayor’s Twitter Account Compromised; Federal Money For Electric Buses; Honolulu and the Military; Where’s Carlisle?

September 16: The “Creepy Crawlies”; Bill Survives, Barely; Ryan, Lee Back Tour Bus Ban; Carlisle Back To D.C.; More About the “Housing Preservation Initiative”; Law Enforcement Memorial and Today’s Honorees; Queens Plan, Too; Laie Marriott Approved; Other Resos On Horizon; Laie Testimony Begins; Sign Regulations Deferred; City Getting Out Of Landlord Business; The Three Other Finalists; Nine Other Applicants; Bunda Confirmed Unanimously; Testimony For Bunda; No Tours On Sundays; Council to “Play It By Ear” On Sign Regulations Bill; Today’s Meetings; Where’s Carlisle?

September 15: Ikaika Fundraiser Tonight, More Soon; Rail Opponents On the Radio; Finmeccanica Exec Offers Resignation; Horner’s Ansaldo Conflict?; Correction: $300K/Year; Honolulu’s $1.5 Million Lobbyist; Population and Ridership; HART Board on Friday; Where’s Carlisle?

September 14: Sister City Summit: A Summary; No News From Ethics Meeting; $1 Million for Psych Hospital; Tulsi Passes the Basket; Live-Tweeting Sister Cities Summit; Rail Soil Sampling Next Week; BRT v. Rail; Police On Protests; Sister City Activities; Where’s Carlisle?

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?