Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I have a handicapped parking sticker. At every University of Hawaii game at Aloha Stadium, as we head to the handicapped parking area, there is a big sign saying "all full/drop off only." But they have more spaces than cars parked. What's going on? Do we need something else besides a handicapped sticker or is the stadium saving spaces for their friends? Parking at stadium
tight for everyoneAnswer: If you're not there by 3:30 p.m. or so of game day, you're generally out of luck in finding one of the 100 parking spaces reserved for the handicapped, a stadium official said.
Because of the success of the UH team, the games have been drawing big crowds and the word has gotten out that you've got to go early to get one of those stalls, he said.
Also, he said the empty stalls you saw were probably those reserved for members of Koa Anuenue, the UH booster club, under agreement with the UH. Those stalls are in Section 3B and are held for Koa Anuenue until a half-hour after a game starts, he said.
Eighty-nine handicapped parking stalls are located closest to Gate 4 in Sections 2A, 2B and part of 3B, he said.
After meetings with the state Commission on Persons with Disabilities last year, 11 more handicapped parking stalls were added: three to Section 6A, near Gate 6; three to 9A, near Gate 7; and five to 13A, near Gate 1.
Parking is at a premium for everyone at the stadium, not just the handicapped, the official said.
As it is, the stadium is in compliance with state and federal regulations regarding the number of parking stalls available to the handicapped (100 out of a total of about 8,000 stalls), the official said.
"The reason we don't add any more stalls (for the handicapped) is because they would become labeled as handicapped stalls and no one else would be able to use them," he said.
The stadium tries to accommodate the handicapped in regular stalls, such as along the medial strip, if those stalls are available.
Q: Is there an agency that can determine what that black residue on the outside of our windows is?
A: Check first with the state Department of Health's Hazard Evaluation & Emergency Response Office, 586-4249. Various factors will determine what branch in the department may come to your aid.
They include what part of the island you live in, whether you live in a house or an apartment, if you have air conditioning, etc.
For example, if you live in an apartment and you have air conditioning, the Noise, Radiation and Indoor Air Quality Branch might become involved. Or, if you live near Campbell Industrial Park, the Clean Air Branch might be more appropriate, while the Food & Drug Branch might be called if you live in an area where pesticide use could be a factor, a DOH spokesman said.
Pueo Park update
Last month, Kekama Galiato, coordinator for Na Hoa Noho O Ka Paka O Na Pueo (Neighbors of Pueo Park), said the group would welcome concrete pots to help spruce up the city park at 1816 Alewa Drive.This week, he called to say several people donated pots, while four truckloads of mulch was brought in from the Kapaa landfill. From 7-11 a.m. Sunday, Halloween Day, the group will hold a work day.
For more information or to volunteer, call Galiato at 595-0746.
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