|
Kokua Line
June Watanabe
|
Hale Kuha'o has long waiting list
Question: I am trying to find the name and address of a housing unit in Waipahu that has only handicap units, or a list of complexes that have handicap units that are low income. I am under 62 but disabled and looking for low-income housing on Oahu. Can you help?
Answer: You are probably referring to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Hale Kuha'o complex at 94-909 Kauolu Place in Waipahu.
You can pick up an application at Hale Kuha'o, but there are no apartments available, said manager Valerie Simeon. The wait list is now a year to a year and a half long.
Hale Kuha'o provides a way for those with significant physical disabilities to live independently.
First preference is given to tenants with spinal injuries, Simeon said.
Most tenants have their own caregivers -- it's not something that Hale Kuha'o operators get involved in, she added.
A 1998 Star-Bulletin article noted the opening of the 24-unit apartment complex, which had such high-tech features as automated light switches, window shades that would respond to the sound of a voice and doors to a wave of a hand.
The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the state, the city, the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and the Queen Emma Foundation.
We checked with HUD and was told that a search for HUD-assisted units in Hawaii, including for the disabled, can be found online at www.hud.gov/apps/section8/step2.cfm?state= HI%2CHawaii.
Just type in the area and kind of housing interested in, e.g., Waipahu/disabled, and a list of possibilities comes up.
Crosswalk follow-up
The city Department of Transportation Services has completed its review of the crosswalk situation at Hooli Circle and Kuahaka Street (
"Kokua Line," Nov. 17) and determined a marked crosswalk is "not justified" there.
A "Kokua Line" reader asked why the city did not have a marked crosswalk at that intersection, arguing that its size and accident history warranted one.
Alfred Tanaka, acting city transportation director, said the study of the site included analysis of the traffic volume, a site inspection and review of the area's accident history.
"We will, however, continue to monitor the intersection and make changes if necessary," he said.
The Department of Transportation Services had earlier said that marked crosswalks aren't necessarily safer than unmarked ones because past studies have shown that marked crosswalks tend to give pedestrians, especially children, a false sense of security.
Auwe
To the teenager in a green T-shirt and shorts and her two friends who rudely and obnoxiously walked right into me at Longs Kahala Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 20. Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners? -- Angry Shopper
See the
Columnists section for some past articles.
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com