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The New Year is getting off to a good start for Hawaii with a number of new beginnings.

We welcomed a new Honolulu mayor, Kirk Caldwell, and two new U.S. senators, Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono. Our newest congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard, also took the oath of office joining Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. By most reports, Hawaii’s elected congressional representatives secured , unusual for freshmen, that should mean Hawaii will continue to have strong advocates on Capitol Hill.

Here at home, Caldwell and the Honolulu City Council — many of who are also new — vowed to usher in a new era of collaboration, with the mayor working more closely with the council than the previous administration was known to do.

The week began with a cliffhanger — would Congress and the President be able to avert the so-called fiscal cliff? Late Monday night, the Senate passed a deal that would increase revenue in part by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The House finally agreed to the agreement and voted on its version of the bill on Tuesday — New Year’s Day. President Obama signed it and came back to Hawaii to continue his family vacation in Kailua.

Civil Beat began the new year with a new reporter, although she is really an old hand here. Alia Wong joins us as our fulltime education reporter, and she’ll also help cover City Hall as needed.

Alia interned at Civil Beat in the summer of 2011 and again this past summer. You may remember her award-winning story on A Lost Child of Kalaupapa. Or perhaps her video tour of Oahu’s worst public restrooms.

Meanwhile, she was earning degrees in journalism and international relations from Boston University. She is a Punahou grad.

For more stories by Alia Wong and other Civil Beat writers, check out this week’s Top 10 list:

• No Honeymoon for Mayor Caldwell: Critical Infrastructure Issues Ahead

• Will Honolulu’s Mayor and Council Finally Work Together?

• Hawaii Monitor: Construction Defects and the Coming Condo Boom

• Hawaii Teacher: On Board The Battlestar Scholastica

• Audit: Honolulu’s Post-Rod Tam Spending Policies Still Too Vague

• Dan Inouye’s Leftover Campaign Cash: Now Where Will It Go?

• Campaign Cash Aready Fueling Hawaii’s 2014 Senate Race

• Can Hawaii Kindergarteners Flunk Their Teachers?

• Off the Beat: Welcome To Dan Inouye Honolulu International Airport?

• ‘Inouye Cliff’ Way Bigger Than ‘Fiscal Cliff’ For Hawaii