Kokua Line
By June Watanabe
Tuesday, September 15, 1998
Kokua Line
From about the corner of Luniakoa Street and Halekoa Drive in Waialae Nui, there are many electrical lines going up Halekoa. It's a bit hazardous because trucks the size of moving vans going uphill are forced to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid the low-hanging lines. Can someone look into this matter? Waialae Nui GTE lines
are hanging too lowWe apologize for the delay in responding. Your complaint initially was passed on to Hawaiian Electric, which said the lines weren't electrical. It recently was passed on to GTE Hawaiian Tel, which confirmed the phone cable was hanging lower than acceptable standards.
"We are working to correct the problem by moving the cable to another pole and elevating it to a more proper height," said HawTel spokesman Keith Kamisugi.
He apologized for any inconvenience and thanked you for bringing it to HawTel's attention.
What is the total improvement cost to Kamakee Street in Kakaako? I was displaced from there. Who bore the expense and who benefits?
The total cost of the project was $7.3 million, most of it borne by taxpayers through state funds, said Alex Achimore, director of development and operations for the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which oversees the redevelopment of Kakaako.
Adjacent landowners also were assessed a small portion of the costs, he said.
The project, begun in August 1995, was "substantially" completed in September 1997. But it took another year for underground utility cables to be installed, so street signs and markings weren't completed until fairly recently, Achimore said.
The project did disrupt businesses, he acknowledged, with The Meeting Place Cafe closing during construction. That is the only known business to close, Achimore said, although another coffee shop closed prior to construction.
Upgrading Kakaako, where a hodgepodge of small businesses have been housed for decades, has often been a focus of controversy.
"Our charge is to improve Kakaako and make it reach its potential of being a critical part of the city with higher-density uses," Achimore explained.
The HCDA's job, he said, is to balance "the preservation of small business with the ability to reap more economic uses out of the land. That's the challenge."
The Hawaii Kai Library is normally closed each Friday. Friday, Aug. 21, was Admission Day. The Hawaii Kai Library posted a sign saying it would be closed Aug. 22 because of the holiday. It closed 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, and did not reopen until 10 a.m., Monday, Aug. 24--86 hours later. Is the library budget so depleted that it had to be closed on Aug. 22? Other branches were open that day.
It had nothing to do with the budget, said Hawaii State Public Library spokesman Paul Mark.
By state law, public libraries may be closed on state holidays. By law, public libraries also may be closed over a three-day weekend when national holidays officially are observed on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, Mark said.
Admission Day is a state holiday. But because it fell on the normal day of closing for the Hawaii Kai Library, the contract with the employee labor union called for observance of the holiday on Saturday, Mark said.
That was the situation at the Wahiawa Library, which also is closed on Fridays. Most other public libraries were open on Aug. 22.
Mahalo
To Vincent Walker of Papakolea. We were on our way to the airport when our car got a flat tire. He unhesitatingly came to our rescue, allowing us to get to the airport on time. The aloha spirit is alive and well.--H. and M. Chang
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
