Mayor’s chief of staff retiring

Ray Soon is retiring as Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s chief of staff and will be replaced by Gary Kurokawa, the city’s deputy budget director.

Soon leaves March 31 and Kurokawa will begin April 3, city officials confirmed Tuesday.

As chief of staff the last 3-1/2 years, Soon served as a liaison with the Honolulu City Council, helped create the city’s affordable-­housing strategy and worked on the acquisition of Kahuku Golf Course and the purchase of other lands through the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund. He also worked on transit-oriented development plans, negotiating with landowners, including the Aloha Stadium Authority, on the proposed rail station in Halawa.

Before working for the city, Soon was director of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, vice president of community relations at Kamehameha Schools and president of a private consulting firm. Prior to being deputy budget director, Kurokawa was administrator of the city’s Real Property Assessment Division for 16 years.

Honolulu temperature hits date’s record

The high temperature in Honolulu on Tuesday tied the record for the date, the National Weather Service said. The high of 86 degrees tied the record set in 1989, the weather service said. The mercury is expected to hit 84 degrees for the rest of the week.