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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Best to call police on noisy neighbors
Question: For the past five years, my family has gone annually to Waahila Ridge State Park for a Memorial Day weekend lunch. We enjoy the cool pristine surroundings of pines and local plants. Unfortunately, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 27, we were dismayed to find the park locked shut. There were no signs showing the reason for the closure. Is there a reasonable explanation for the closure during the Memorial Day weekend?
Answer: Unfortunately, it was a matter of bad timing for your family.
The park caretaker was sick on May 27, "and it took a little while to get the gate open," said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The gate was opened later that morning, she said, apologizing for any inconvenience to your family.
The department began a $160,000 project to improve the park in February, but construction work will not close the park, Ward said.
Q: I have two neighbors, one who cuts her grass almost every other night to 7 or 8 p.m., and the other who is always fixing his motorboat, sometimes from 7 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. Is there anything I can do to stop this? Talking to them isn't working.
A: For noisy leaf blowers and other lawn equipment, you are advised to call the Honolulu Police Department.
"These types of noise problems are best handled by an agency like HPD due to their response capabilities and immediate action that can be taken," according to advice in a brochure issued by the state Department of Health's Noise, Radiation and Indoor Air Quality Branch.
An officer would have to make a subjective determination as to whether the noise were unreasonable.
HPD also is the agency to call for general noise problems caused by neighbors. Again, it will be up to the responding officer to determine "whether the noise is unreasonable taking into consideration the circumstances surrounding the nuisance," such as time of day or night, volume, etc.
Copies of the noise brochure, "Who are you going to call when the noise gets too LOUD," are available at the noise branch, 591 Ala Moana. Call 586-4700.
The brochure has not been updated since 2000, so some information is outdated.
For example, it says complaints about private garbage trucks can be directed to the noise branch, but that branch no longer responds to vehicular noise issues ("Kokua Line," Feb. 20, 2002). The advice now is to contact the companies directly, or police as a last resort.
Mahalo
To the Feltman family of Hickam Air Force Base. They were out for a family walk and offered to help fix my flat tire. Shame on me when the spare tire also was flat. They took the spare to fill up with air, walked all the way back, put the spare on and would not accept a gratuity. May they find the aloha spirit they showed me 10 times over while living in Hawaii. -- Anonymous
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.
See also: Useful phone numbers