Kokua Line
By June Watanabe
Tuesday, October 6, 1998
Kokua Line
Enclosed are ads offering to give information on entering and winning "Powerballs/Lotto," on checking to see whether your phone lines are tapped and selling police decals. Are these legal? State law allows offering
information on lotteriesIt's illegal to participate in a lottery from Hawaii, but it's not illegal to provide information about lotteries, according to the Honolulu Police Department's vice division.
We wrote to the owner of Maka'i Hui Enterprises -- the name was misspelled Maika'i in the ads -- who said he is a retired police officer who thoroughly researched the law to make sure he wasn't doing anything illegal. He declined to give his name.
"From Hawaii, you cannot purchase (lottery) tickets legally in the mail," he said. He said he is only offering published booklets that list lotteries in the United States and Canada, as well as mainland brokerages that will buy lottery tickets "and send the tickets to people making the purchase."
"I don't sell the tickets," he said.
Regarding the information on telephone taps, he said he is a security consultant and is offering a way to tap in a code on your phone which will reveal whether there is an intrusion on the line.
As for the police decals, "They are not connected with the police union" nor do they "signify any police department," he said. "It just says support the police departments in the state of Hawaii."
We work for the state and were given a memo saying we are not supposed to sell any kind of fund-raiser at work, including school PFSA materials, like sweetbread. However, one state department is selling sweetbread and cinnamon bread tickets for Aloha United Way. Why is AUW privileged and allowed to do that?
In a nutshell, it's because AUW consolidates the charitable campaigns of more than 65 different agencies into one, said Capt. Charles Anthony, spokesman for the state Department of Defense.
His department is the lead agency for the state government in this year's AUW campaign.
"Because the state can't endorse every single charitable campaign, it has chosen to wholeheartedly endorse Aloha United Way," Anthony said. "That's why the exception is made."
If you have any questions about the campaign, call him at 733-4258.
Mahalo to the organizers for an excellent Bob Dylan concert at the UH. But auwe to the so-called maximum security guards. We got there two hours early to sit in the front row, but people who came in later, one by one, got to go to the front. This was very unfair. Someone should have prevented this from happening. -- No name Mahalo and Auwe
To Ma'ema'e School for the careful teaching of English. A young boy came to my door selling candy to help his cousin at a Waianae school. He spoke so well and so clearly, I was really impressed. Even his school name was pronounced carefully and correctly. Keep up the good work, Ma'ema'e. -- Nuuanu resident Mahalo
To the giggly young women who almost hit us about 5 p.m. Sept 4 at Kaheka and South King streets. I was walking in the crosswalk with my cane when they sped up to make a right turn, within inches of us. You saw us and just laughed. Your car is a lethal weapon. A lot of elderly and disabled people use the crosswalk. Please respect others. -- No name Auwe
To a man in a white truck and his family. I had visitors from Chicago and we couldn't find Costco in Salt Lake. He drove all the way from Aiea to help us find it. -- No name Mahalo
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
