No one out here in Kaaawa will be happy to see that our elementary school is on the list for possible closure or consolidation. It is a small school, that’s true. But it is, in some ways, the heart of the community. It ties people and families together in a way that a school miles away could do. If it disappears due to economic rather than educational concerns, that would be a sad ending for a Kaaawa institution that celebrated its centennial a couple of years ago.

Mayor Hannemann is pushing the city’s new property tax web site, www.realpropertyhonolulu.com, which includes an option to receive property tax assessments via email. I suppose this will eventually replace the existing site, www.honolulupropertytax.com, although the latter is still up and running.

But perhaps the mayor should check out New York City’s “Doing Business Database“. According to CityEthics.org, it is:

…a searchable list of individuals (principal owners, principal officers, and senior managers of entities) “doing business” with a wide assortment of city agencies and quasi-governmental entities, including through contracts, bids or proposals for contracts, concessions, franchises, grants, economic development agreements, and pension fund investment agreements, as well as those engaged in real property transactions (the sale, purchase, lease or exchange of real estate to or from the city) and seeking land use actions (applicants subject to the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (which governs applications for changes in zoning designation, special permits, and other actions) as well as zoning text amendments). The list also includes registered lobbyists, and is searchable by individual or entity.

Now that is a database!

I would guess that if this were done in Honolulu or for the State of Hawaii, it would become a hot local site and the elected official who set it in motion could claim quite a bit of credit. Maybe its the kind of thing a lame duck mayor (or governor) could set in motion before leaving office.

For today’s browsing, check out the Kamehameha Schools Online Archives, which include photos, documents, audio, and other files from the schools’ long history.

And from my own files come several photos taken from the Liberty House end of Ala Moana Center in 1965 or early 1966. There’s this one looking mauka where only a few high rise buildings impede the view of the mountains beyond. But the surprising photo looks across towards the Ilikai across a parking lot where the Yacht Harbor Towers condo now stands. There just wasn’t much out there between Ala Moana and the Ilikai at that time, which surprised me. Just click on the photo, and be sure to scroll the full width of these photos, since some may stretch beyond your browser window.