Kokua Line
Kokua Line
For the past 20 years, we've followed the University of Hawaii Rainbows for an away game on the mainland to most WAC (Western Athletic Conference) cities, plus Iowa, Wisconsin and California, and were never searched at the gate. Will our Aloha Stadium's Gestapo-like crew be searching our carry-ins again this year? If so, we'll take a nap in the afternoon and stay up to watch the delayed telecast of UH games. ‘Stupid’ bag searches
sore spot for UH fans
Will Aloha Stadium and its food vendor be harassing UH fans again this year by inspecting all bags at the gate? I understand UH lost more than 3,000 season ticket-holders simply because of this stupid inspection. I know it's not UH's fault, but the vendor hires guards to check if you have any mochi crunch in your bag and if you do, it's confiscated because the item is sold in the stadium. What happened to aloha spirit at the Aloha Stadium?From these two and past complaints, the stadium policy of "searching" bags obviously is a major sore spot with some University of Hawaii football fans.
But bag searches really can't be blamed as the main reason for the decline in attendance.
As Aloha Stadium manager Edwin Hayashi put it, "If they win, people will come."
Hayashi said if you look like you might be carrying in something you shouldn't -- food or drink -- you will be asked to step aside to a table to reveal the contents. Otherwise, you go right in.
"Usually, people (with bags) know already, so they go straight to the table," Hayashi said.
But he insisted it's not a "search," and if you refuse to divulge the contents, no one is supposed to stop you from going in.
"We will ask (people) what they have. We will not just search them," Hayashi said. "We had an orientation this year to stress this" -- that ushers should be "courteous and ask what (people) have in a bag. If it's something that they shouldn't have, we will ask that they take it back to the car."
The main concern is with safety, Hayashi said. The danger is that cans and bottles can be thrown, possibly injuring fans or players. After some games, cleanup crews have found up to 700 pounds of empty beer cans, Hayashi said. That does not include wine and beer bottles.
He insisted that while stadium ushers -- not guards hired by any vendor -- will be looking for alcoholic beverages and such things as bentos, they don't care if you bring in mochi crunch.
"You don't bring bentos into a restaurant," Hayashi said. It's not only the concessionaire that loses out, but also the stadium, which gets a commission on food sold, he said.
In the last week of May, someone stole the Kaha Street and Kainalu Drive street sign, which was posted on top of the stop sign at the corner. It is situated close to the rear entrance to Kainalu Elementary School. I have reported it, but have received no response. We passed on your complaint to the city's new Department of Facility Maintenance in early August, but when the sign actually will be replaced depends on priority.
Apparently, the sign is still missing.
For future reference, call 523-4029 to report a missing or damaged sign, said Facility Maintenance Director Jonathan Shimada.
The city keeps no statistics on stolen or missing signs, he said, and he did not know how much it would cost to replace them because "our sign replacement program is not categorized."
When signs are reported missing or damaged, the Signs and Markings Section is notified and then a determination is made on what type of sign is involved, such as a parking sign. New signs are replaced by priority, Shimada said.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com
