Kokua Line
By June Watanabe
Wednesday, September 23, 1998
Kokua Line
Report illegal activities to anonymous lines
We have a serious problem in the Pacific Palisades area with stolen mopeds. We also suspect drug-dealing going on. If we know where "chop shops" are and where they are housing the stolen mopeds, what do we do to get police to investigate?The address you provided was passed on to the Honolulu Police Department's narcotics/vice division, auto theft detail and District 3 Crime Reduction Unit, said HPD spokeswoman Jean Motoyama.
HPD has a confidential code-a-phone number listed in the telephone directory -- 955-3500 -- for people who want to report non-emergencies confidentially, she said.
Also, the narcotics/vice details will accept anonymous tips regarding drug dealing at 529-3101, while anonymous tips on chop shops can be called in to 529-3115.
Lt. Alan Anami, head of the Auto Theft Detail, said to give as much specific information as possible. Police will respect the wishes of tipsters who want to remain anonymous, but he said if at all possible, leave a contact number.
"A lot of times, the information provided is good, but we still need a little more that we can't obtain any other way," Anami said.
I am a freshman at Leeward Community College but am still 17. However, I have to pay $1 when riding TheBus because the student fare is supposed to be only for students from elementary to high school. You can be in high school until 19 and still get the 50-cent student fare! This is discrimination. I complained to the TheBus' customer service and was told that the city sets the fares. The woman also told me of a similar situation in which a 15-year-old girl, who has two babies so does not attend traditional school, also has to pay full fare. Excuse me, she is still only 15. What about home-schooled children or those who graduate early? What about school-aged people who are forced to drop out to help support their family? Why can't the fares be set according to age and not by educational institution?
You do seem to have a good argument. The route to take is via your City Council representative, who could then try to amend the fare structure, which is set by law, not by bus officials.
Otherwise, there are no plans to seek a change within the city's Public Transit Division, which oversees TheBus system, according to Alvin Morimoto, chief of operations and marketing.
Student fares were set years ago after the city took over bus operations in 1971, he said.
Morimoto thinks the original idea was that the high school cut-off (student fares are for students aged 6 through high school) would give drivers a way to easily verify if a bus rider qualified for the cheaper fare, via student IDs.
It would be harder for drivers to verify student fares if it were set by age, he said. Drivers already have the difficult task of maneuvering the huge vehicles "and we're trying to make (bus service) more efficient," he said.
Morimoto also points out that "our fare box recovery" is low. "We recover only about 28 percent of our operating costs."
To Brian Webster of Honda Windward, who got the license number of the car that rear-ended me; and to Officer Paul Stetser and his two colleagues, and the two service station attendants at Tosco Co-Op Unocal Station in Kaneohe for all calming me down. -- Grateful senior citizen Mahalo
To whoever is responsible for maintaining signs at Honolulu Airport. We took my daughter there recently for a night flight and could hardly see the painted signs for departures and parking. People not familiar with where to go can easily get lost. -- L.W. Auwe
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
