November 2025
Wednesday, November 26Honolulu Permit Counter Closing Next Week To Catch Up With Backlog
Thursday, November 13Elderly Honolulu Architect Convicted For Attempted $20 Bribe
Bribery Case: Architect, 92, On Trial For Failed $20 Gift To City Worker
Monday, November 3Honolulu Fired Building Permit Worker Who Cut Through Delays For A Few People
October 2025
Monday, October 20‘Complete Failure’: Honolulu Permit Workers Say Tech Upgrade Is A Bust
Monday, October 6Honolulu Permit Director Blames Delays In New System On Growing Pains
September 2025
Thursday, September 25Honolulu Mayor Defends Bumpy Rollout Of New Building Permit System
June 2025
Wednesday, June 4Honolulu Mayor: With AI, Building Permit Office Will Speed Up By Year’s End
April 2025
Monday, April 14Speedier Reviews, Quicker Honolulu Building Permits? Not So Fast
February 2025
Friday, February 21‘Renovation Aloha’ Home Flippers Hit With Flurry Of Building Violations
December 2024
Friday, December 27At Honolulu’s Troubled Permitting Department, There Are Signs Of Hope
Friday, December 6Honolulu Yanks ‘Renovation Aloha’ Permit After Civil Beat Exposes Illegal Work
Wednesday, December 4For ‘Renovation Aloha,’ Permit Violations Are The Cost Of Doing Business
June 2024
Wednesday, June 12Honolulu Finally Fires Electrical Inspector Who Approved His Own Jobs
Thursday, June 6The Backlog Of Honolulu Building Permits Is Taking A Toll On City Revenue
March 2024
Wednesday, March 27Honolulu Building Permits Are Expected To Be Issued Faster With Tech Upgrades, Director Says
Tuesday, March 5One Way To Ease Honolulu’s Building Permit Backlog: Pay Workers More
February 2024
Wednesday, February 14Honolulu Permitting Office Making Progress While Delays Persist, Audit Says
December 2023
Wednesday, December 6Honolulu’s Building Permit Delays: A ‘Nightmare’ Decades In The Making
October 2023
Wednesday, October 18Some Honolulu Building Permit Applicants Sailed Through Despite Long Waits For Most
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Honolulu Permit Counter Closing Next Week To Catch Up With Backlog
More than 800 projects are waiting to clear the first hurdle in the permitting process.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Elderly Honolulu Architect Convicted For Attempted $20 Bribe
An offer of supposed lunch money could land the nonagenarian in prison.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Bribery Case: Architect, 92, On Trial For Failed $20 Gift To City Worker
An elderly architect tried to slip an employee what he called a gratuity. County prosecutors say it was a bribe. A judge will decide.
Christina Jedra/Civil Beat/2023
Honolulu Fired Building Permit Worker Who Cut Through Delays For A Few People
The city accused a plans examiner of preferential treatment. The employee said she was trying to help permit applicants.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
‘Complete Failure’: Honolulu Permit Workers Say Tech Upgrade Is A Bust
The permitting director insists the new program is working and problems are being fixed, but some staff are begging for a return to the old system.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Honolulu Permit Director Blames Delays In New System On Growing Pains
New technology has not yet been able to “accelerate everything” as the mayor promised, but the permitting director is urging people to keep the faith.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Honolulu Mayor Defends Bumpy Rollout Of New Building Permit System
The $7 million system, funded by city and federal funds, has had problems since it launched on Aug. 4. The mayor urged patience during the transition period.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Honolulu Mayor: With AI, Building Permit Office Will Speed Up By Year’s End
Applicants should start seeing a difference soon, the mayor says, thanks to new technology.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Permit Pileup: An Update from Honolulu’s Mayor
Mahalo to Mayor Rick Blangiardi for joining us to discuss new updates at the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.