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

Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

2:52 p.m. Mayor Listens to Preschoolers

Earlier this year, Civil Beat told you about the Mid-Pacific Institute preschoolers who were demanding to see the mayor. They were concerned about dirty water that had been released into the ocean at Waialae Beach Park in Kahala.

The children were concerned that their little voices wouldn’t be heard. But it seems the big people were listening.

The students’ teacher, Leslie Gleim, emailed earlier this month to share the good news. She forwarded an email she’d received from the city’s Department of Facility Maintenance.

Ms. Gleim,

Will the Mid-Pacific Institute Preschool be taking its students to the beach in the Waialae/Kahala area anytime soon? The City and County is planning to perform stream maintenance activities in the vicinity in the near future and would not want to conflict with your school’s activities. We are aware of the concerns raised by your students last year regarding warning signs. It is common practice that our division place signs prior to the start of any work.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call. Thank you.

Thomas Takeuchi, P.E.
Drainage Engineer

2:21 p.m. The CityCamp “Unconference”

Local educators, entrepreneurs, designers and developers will come together in December for “CityCamp Honolulu,” a first-of-its-kind “unconference” to foster direct collaboration between the community and city government.

CityCamp Honolulu is part of an international series of events focused on advancing innovation and increasing transparency in municipal governments. As part of a broader “Gov 2.0” movement, CityCamp aims to make cities more “user-friendly” by tapping the diverse talents of their tech communities.

Read the full city press release here.

1:07 p.m. Two TOD Workshops Next Week

City officials are in Washington D.C. talking about Transit-Oriented Development right now, and the Department of Planning and Permitting is holding a pair of TOD planning workshops next week.

The first, which will deal with development around the Iwilei, Chinatown and Downtown transit stations, is scheduled for Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hawaii Community Development Authority on Cooke Street.

The second, covering the Middle Street, Kalihi and Kapalama stations, is scheduled for the same time Tuesday at the Farrington High School Library.

Both discussions will include the results of community surveys. A spokeswoman said some 8,000 residents within a mile of one of the stations were surveyed by mail since the first round of workshops in June of this year.

12:38 p.m. Rail Construction Knocks Out Traffic Cams

A construction vehicle working on the Honolulu rail project hit an overhead communications line near Aloha Stadium Tuesday and knocked out some traffic camera coverage, according to the city.

“We understand that many commuters rely on these cameras for their traffic updates, and we are working diligently to get the needed repairs done as quickly as possible,” said Kevin Rozendaal, a project manager for Kiewit, the rail contractor that hit the line. “We are sorry for any problems this may cause.”

11:33 a.m. UPW Strike During APEC?

A strike by the United Public Workers union could ruin months of APEC planning in one fell swoop. No trash pick-up, for example, and no janitors at the airport.

But KHON reports that UPW is leaning against a strike during APEC next month because it fears a public relations backlash.

Read (or watch) the story here.

11:07 a.m. A Merry Celebration

It’s party time!

Civil Beat Washington Bureau Chief Adrienne LaFrance snagged an invite to a witness Hawaii power players celebrating rail progress at an upscale French bistro in D.C.

The party was attended by five of the nine members of the Honolulu City Council as well as both of Hawaii’s senators.

Read all about the celebration here and check out the best photos from the event here.

Here’s one more note about the party, hosted by the Pacific Resource Partnership, which paid $1,500 for the shindig and about $40,000 to bring 18 local officials to Washington for the Rail~Volution conference.

PRP’s executive director is John White, who you may remember lost to Ernie Martin by a scant 47 votes in the 2010 election, 11,056 to 11,009.

Interesting to see Martin attend a party hosted by White’s organization given the recent electoral nailbiter. Though if Martin successfully runs for mayor next year (see below), that might create an opening for White to pounce on the Council seat he was once so close to winning outright.

9:23 a.m. Martin Running For Mayor

Honolulu City Council Chair Ernie Martin says he’s running for mayor — just maybe not in 2012.

DC808 caught up with Martin in Washington D.C., where he and other local officials are attending a rail conference. Martin has hinted at his ambitions for higher office before, but this was the strongest statement yet of his future intent.

“I will run for mayor eventually,” he said Tuesday. He said he’s evaluating the “window of opportunity.”

Read the full story here.

Other potential candidates include Panos Prevedouros and Kirk Caldwell. Some have floated the name of state Sen. Clayton Hee. And of course, there’s the incumbent.

Mayor Peter Carlisle has had an impressive fundraising haul — more than $280,000 in campaign contributions in the first six months of this year — despite no announced opponent. Carlisle is holding another fundraiser tonight — $25 per person at Bishop Museum, according to his campaign website.

Martin, by comparison, raised about $55,000 during the first six months of 2011, according to records. He held three fundraisers during that time, even though his brand new Council term isn’t up until after the 2014 election.

Where’s Carlisle?

Mayor Peter Carlisle has no events on his public schedule for today.

Read Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

October 18: Hula Festival Venue Change; “Overwhelming” Response: APEC Turning Away Volunteers; Garbage Truck Problems; APEC Surveillance Camera Locations; Where’s Carlisle?

October 17: You Say You Want A Rail~Volution; An Evening With Carlisle; Mufi’s Fundraising Muscle; Waipahu Rail Soil Tests Begin; Young People Love Honolulu; Where’s Carlisle?

October 13: Low Sewer Bond Interest; Full Steam Ahead; HART: Ansaldo Still Capable; Police Gifts: A History; There’s No Crying In Rail Contractor Disputes!; Drug Summit Coming To Hawaii; Where’s Carlisle?

October 12: Money For Buses; Ewa Development Plan Up For Review; Second Crack At Homeless on Sidewalk; Where’s Carlisle?

October 11: Rail On PBS; Sidewalk Property Bill Advances; Noise Bill Deferred; Merits of Rail-Volution; Carlisle’s Blood; Targeting Homeless?; Rod Tam’s Friends; Today’s Meetings; Where’s Carlisle?

October 10: Transportation Committee Canceled; Hilton Hawaiian Village On The Agenda; Rail = Jobs; Honolulu’s Global Mayor; Zoning and Planning; Where’s Carlisle?

October 7: Gabbard: End The War; Real Property Tax Commission Meeting Monday; The Holidays Are Coming; Carlisle’s Public Schedule; New Rail Financial Plan; More Committee Agendas; Where’s Carlisle?

October 6: Second Committee Posted; Ansaldo Contract Not Signed Yet; Zoning and Planning Meeting Monday, Not Thursday; Rail Opponents To Speak at Rotary Club; Today’s HART Meetings; Where’s Carlisle?

October 5: Police For Sale?; Cameras Coming for APEC; Sidewalk Property, Noise Control Bills Advance; Private Possessions, Public Property; Today’s Honorees; Today’s Council Meeting; Where’s Carlisle?

October 4: Fifty Years Of Friendship With The French; ACLU Scolds HPD; FACE Rail Rally Today; Station to Station; Public Hearing, No Public; Where’s Carlisle?

October 3: Carlisle Responds, Others Attending; Carlisle Attending “Upscale” Condo Groundbreaking; Former DLNR Chair Thielen New City Ag Liaison; HART On Rail Costs; Archaeological Work Begins; Overcharging at Landfill; Carlisle Eats Local; HART Meetings Thursday; Where’s Carlisle?