Rick Blangiardi

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi appointed Okamura and Sato to join the 11-member panel tasked with assisting the city in preserving the artistic and cultural heritage of the people, promoting a community environment revolving around culture and arts, and providing equal opportunity for showcasing cultural artistic talents in Honolulu.

Each of Hawaiʻi's four mayors signed their respective county's fiscal budget this month, which will go into effect July 1. Affordable housing and sustainability were budgeted as top priorities for each county; tax relief measures and capital improvement projects were among the other expenditures mayors signed off on.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed the City and County of Honolulu budget on Friday. Overall, the city and county’s budget comes in at around $3.4 billion, and highlights include tax relief and housing. The capital improvements budget will tack on $1.43 billion.

Applications are being accepted for positions on the Honolulu Youth Commission. The commission is comprised of Oʻahu residents ages 14 to 24 who provide advice to Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Honolulu City Council.

In a "unified" statement, city and state leaders formally announced their decision to work together on policy to guide the Navy’s defueling and remediation efforts of the island’s aquifer.

A project many years in the making is expected to glide along the Oʻahu skyline with passengers starting June 30. In this first partial service phase, the Honolulu rail will travel through nine stations from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium. To encourage people to familiarize themselves with the new system, the Fourth of July weekend will be free for riders.

Starting May 1, the City and County of Honolulu's Bill 57 goes into effect, letting businesses choose if they will allow guns on their property with proper signage. The bill was signed into law by Mayor Rick Blangiardi on March 31.

The Honolulu Salary Commission voted 5-1 this week in favor of increasing salaries for elected officials, including a 64% increase to $113,000 for councilmembers. The raises drew some community complaints and opposition. HPR's Casey Harlow reports.

The Blangiardi Administration announced Monday that two Honolulu city departments are undergoing leadership changes.

About 94,000 tons of commercial food waste goes into Oʻahu’s H-POWER every year. The Oʻahu Compost Project plans to divert that waste by turning old food into compost.