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Kokua Line
Question: Are there any laws that restrict the use of the city water supply for use by private businesses? There is a big unmarked white van with workers that bring big crates of wet suits (bigger than milk crates) to wash off at Wailupe Beach Park on Kalanianaole Highway. They wash and rewash each one repeatedly and sometimes leave the water running, which is a total waste of good water. They park near the shower and unload their wet suits there. Wet-suit washers
waste good waterAnswer: There is no specific law that restricts water use for anyone, according to Denise DeCosta, spokeswoman for the Board of Water Supply.
However, metered lines on private or public property are under the control of the property owner, she pointed out. So, if someone is tapping into your residential line without permission, that could be construed as theft, she said.
The same would hold for public property. In fact, DeCosta said, there have been cases of unauthorized hookups to fire hydrants in which police were called.
In this case, instead of referring the matter to police, she referred your complaint to the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
"We do have staff checking on this," said Toni Robinson, of the department's East Honolulu District Office. No one was aware of this going on or whether what you observed was a one-time occurrence, she said.
At any rate, such activity is not authorized and "it is against the ordinance to wash private vehicles (or property) at parks," Robinson said.
If you witness this again, call police at 911 or the East Honolulu District Office, 973-7250, she said.
Q: How does the city keep track of handicap placards -- that is, if a handicapped person passes away, how does the city know that the placard is no longer being used by a qualified person who really needs it? What's to stop the family from using it? There must be a system.
A: There is a way to track the placards, but Dennis Kamimura, city motor vehicle and licensing administrator, said he did not want to publicly divulge it.
In the best of scenarios, "the decedent's relatives should notify us," he said. If not, "we do find out."
If you suspect such a situation, Kamimura said to call police at 911 and they can investigate.
Q: When will the medial stripe be repainted on Alohea Avenue? It is especially dangerous in the evenings with all the cars parked on the sides of the street.
A: As you've noticed by now, the restriping finally was completed on Wednesday.
Apparently, it was on the books to be done but somehow got overlooked until your query, according to a supervisor with the city Department of Facility Maintenance.
Mahalo
To Nolan Moriwaki, business manager for Local 1 and Local 630, and Edison Keomaka, director of training for the Mason's Union. They, along with Mason's president Larry Correa, were instrumental in helping build our new baseball/softball batting cage.On Saturday, Nov. 18, Ricky Tamashiro and his class of apprentices from Honolulu Community College laid the concrete slab quickly, efficiently and superbly. They helped us realize a project that has been on hold for over a year. Everyone at Waianae High School is grateful for the support the Mason's Union has given to the school over the years. -- JoAnn Kumasaka, principal
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