Messy Draft Budget: Once Again, City Council, Mayor Don’t See Eye To Eye
Honolulu City Council members approved a draft of the city budget Wednesday that would deny Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s request to fund eight staff positions in a new housing division and cut $125 million of...
View ArticleHanabusa Takes Over As Chairwoman Of Honolulu Rail Board
Former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa was named Thursday chairwoman of the board for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, a semi-autonomous city agency in charge of building Honolulu’s $6.6...
View Article$100K Sought For Pacific Arts Festival
Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi wants to set aside $100,000 to help Hawaii plan for the 2020 Festival of Pacific Island Arts. It will be the first time that Hawaii has ever hosted the...
View ArticleCouncil Members Seek $250K For Church
Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin and Councilman Joey Manahan want to spend $250,000 in taxpayer money to pay for the expansion of New Hope, an international evangelical Christian megachurch...
View ArticleShould Honolulu Bring Back A Housing Department?
From his office window on the 31st floor of a downtown Honolulu high rise, Ben Lee can see housing developments the city helped build during his 20 years working under former mayors Jeremy Harris and...
View ArticleCouncilmen Push For New Hope Church Subsidy That May Be Unconstitutional
Honolulu City Councilmen Ernie Martin and Joey Manahan contend their proposal to subsidize the expansion of a Christian evangelical megachurch in Kalihi will benefit the community, despite criticism...
View ArticleMartin Backs Off Proposal To Fund Expansion Of New Hope Church
Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin has deleted his budget request for $250,000 to fund the expansion of an evangelical Christian megachurch in Sand Island on Oahu’s south shore. Instead, the...
View Article‘Final’ Price Tag For Rail Not Expected Until Next Year
Despite the political rhetoric surrounding Honolulu’s rail project, all that is certain when it comes to the final price tag: Nobody will know the ultimate cost until at least next January and it could...
View ArticleProsecutor Files Complaint Over Police Officer Actions
Honolulu police officer Garret Davis was helping a stranded motorist on the H1 freeway on Jan. 21, 2012, when a pick-up truck slammed into his patrol car and killed him. He was 28 years old. More than...
View ArticleUnder Investigation: Kealohas Speak Out, Suggest They’re Political Targets
Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine Kealoha, took to the television Wednesday to proclaim their innocence in a wide-ranging federal grand jury investigation that involves...
View ArticleHonolulu May Pay $1M For Child’s Fall
The Honolulu City Council is considering approving a $1 million settlement in a case involving a 2-year-old boy who was permanently injured during a city-sponsored Easter Egg hunt in 2008. According to...
View ArticleCaldwell: ‘I Want To Keep This Job’
Standing in front of dozens of supporters outside Honolulu Hale, many of them City and County employees, Kirk Caldwell made it official Wednesday: He’s running for another four years as mayor. He said...
View ArticleRail Contractor Gets ‘Public Apology’ After Bitter Lawsuit Ends
A year and a half ago, Su Yong Yi wrote to the U.S. Small Business Administration charging that Nan Inc., a major contractor working on Honolulu’s $6.6 billion rail project, had defrauded the federal...
View ArticleNot So Public: What’s The Honolulu Board of Water Supply Trying To Hide?
We recently received a tip about an employment disagreement at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. So we did what we generally do when we get an interesting tip: We submitted a public records request...
View ArticleCase Against Rail Contractor Dismissed
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit against Ansaldo Honolulu, a contractor for Honolulu’s $6.6 billion rail project. John McCaughey, a former employee, filed the complaint last year arguing the...
View ArticleCarlisle Wants To Be Mayor Of Honolulu, Again
Peter Carlisle is running for mayor of Honolulu, seeking to take back the office he lost to Kirk Caldwell four years ago. At a press conference Friday morning held downtown at the law offices of...
View ArticleHonolulu Rail Price Estimate Jumps To $6.9B
Honolulu’s rail project is now expected to cost taxpayers $6.9 billion, about $1.6 billion more than the original price tag for the 20-mile rail line. Colleen Hanabusa, chairwoman of the Honolulu...
View ArticleFuture of Honolulu Rail Uncertain After Feds Say It Might Cost $8.1B
City officials are considering their next move with Honolulu’s rail project after federal officials informed them Wednesday that the construction could ultimately cost taxpayers up to $8.1 billion....
View ArticleDoes Colbert Matsumoto Have A Conflict Of Interest With Rail?
Local businessman Colbert Matsumoto, who was recently appointed to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board by Mayor Kirk Caldwell, has significant financial interests in several...
View ArticleTotto Tells Ethics Commission To Scrap ‘Silly’ Time Sheet Rules
Chuck Totto took a stand Wednesday against what he described as “silly” rules that he believes undermine the credibility of the Honolulu Ethics Commission. Totto, executive director of the commission,...
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