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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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'Manoa' stickers sold by nonprofit
Question: We moved to Manoa last year and love the neighborhood. We've seen "Manoa" bumper stickers and wonder where we can get them. Can you help?
Answer: The bumper stickers are available at Tom Terrific's at the corner of East Manoa Road and Lowrey Avenue.
Owner Carolyn Borges sells them for $2 each on behalf of the nonprofit Malama o Manoa community organization (see www.malamaomanoa.org).
"Everything goes to Malama ... it's all a donation," Borges said. The store is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
The bumper stickers have become iconic for Manoa Valley residents, featuring the single word "Manoa" against the backdrop of blue sky and green mountain.
But they have their roots in the early political campaigns of former U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who represented Manoa in the state House for eight years.
The back of the stickers had a message, basically that the sticker was to indicate people's pride in living in Manoa. Even though Case's name was not on it, he said people associated it with him because he would personally hand it out as he went door-to-door campaigning through three elections.
After he left the state Legislature in 2002, Case said he assigned the rights and design to Malama o Manoa as "a parting gift to the community."
The concept of the sticker was "one of the few completely original thoughts in my life," he said, laughing.
He said the actual design, after many collaborative drafts and discussion, was created by graphic designer Doug Behrens, who had worked on all of Case's campaigns dating back to 1986.
The inspiration came from "a favorite place in Manoa" that Case used to frequent with his children: the baseball field at Manoa Valley District Park, "by the ditch, between the park and the houses, under the trees.
"If you look back from there, you can see that exact view," he said.
Even though the sticker was meant for Manoa residents, he said he's seen it "all over the state," including in Hilo and on Molokai. People have also told him they've seen it on the mainland and even in the Caribbean.
Mahalo
To the gentleman who found my wallet outside Foodland on School Street. The cashier was tallying my bill and when I reached into my handbag for my wallet, I discovered it missing. I rushed out to my car to check whether it had fallen on the seat there. The gentleman parked next to me asked if I were the person whose name he saw in the wallet and said he had been planning to return it to my house. I thanked him and offered a reward, which he refused. I rushed off without adequately thanking him because I thought the cashier was holding up the line because of me. I still think about what might have happened if it had fallen into the wrong hands and I am ever grateful for his honesty. -- T. Matsumoto
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.
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