Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I live in East Honolulu and about a year ago, trucks marked "AT&T Hawaii" installed what I believed to be phone lines throughout the areas of Kahala, Aina Haina and beyond. They at times blocked lanes but caused no major snarls. I was happy that AT&T was installing the lines, as I thought this would bring some necessary competition into the local phone market. Since then, I have not heard or seen any news about AT&T entering the local market. What happened? Is AT&T going to offer local service? AT&T closer to
offering local serviceAnswer: "We think competition will be pretty close at hand" -- sometime next year, said AT&T spokesman George Irion.
That work in your area last year probably had to do with AT&T's purchase of TCI (Tele-Communications Inc.), the cable TV company that claimed 9,000 customers in Hawaii Kai, Irion said.
"In addition to that, we've got a joint venture with Time Warner to use the Time Warner cable facilities," he said. In Hawaii, Time Warner has Oceanic Cable, which serves most homes on Oahu with cable service. Hawaii Kai customers have been receiving notices about the change in providers.
The idea is to "offer competitive local services," Irion said. "But in reality, by doing it through the cable network, it's going to be a lot more than just local service because of the broad band -- so there'll also be interactive TV, entertainment, high-speed Internet services (including RoadRunner) and multiple phone numbers coming in on that cable," Irion said.
Q: Why is it that local municipal golf courses cannot spend a few dollars and put in 100-yard, 150-yard and 200-yard markers on the fairways? I've noticed that mainland municipal courses all have yardage markers on the fairways, as well as 150-yard markers on both sides. They also have yardages to the green marked on sprinkler heads. This would surely improve the courses as well as help to make golfing more enjoyable.
A: The Ala Wai Golf Course, the heaviest played golf course "in the world," has 100-, 150- and 200-yard makers on fairways and cart paths, said city golf course system administrator Dave Mills.
All other municipal courses have 150-yard markers, "which we feel are sufficient for those courses," he said. The Ewa Villages Golf Course had yardage on sprinkler heads, but most disappeared over time and have not been replaced.
"Markings will definitely speed up play, but golf purists feel that estimating distances is part of the game," Mills said.
Auwe
Last December, we visited our son and his family, stationed at Hickam Air Force Base. We took a walk down Waikiki Beach and had our pictures taken with some birds by a man called "Jeff."We paid $20 and he promised to send them to our son's address. Of course, he never did. Tourists, beware of this rip-off. Twenty dollars isn't a lot of money, but if he took $20 from everyone he suckers, he is a mighty rich man. -- Jim and Barbara Kelley
(The Honolulu Police Department's Waikiki crime reduction unit talked to other "bird men" after we passed on your complaint. But they "were unable to identify that person or locate a person matching his description," spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.
(It is possible that "Jeff" took advantage of people for just a few days then took off, she said.)
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