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Kokua Line
Question: There is a church service that goes on at August Ahrens School that you can hear three blocks away every Sunday. It is so loud! I don't think they should have church service in a school. Who do we complain to? Outside groups
can rent schoolsAnswer: Call the school, 675-0202.
Four religious groups utilize three dining rooms at the school on Sundays, said Vice Principal Ed Hasegawa. It would help if you could provide more information to pinpoint which group you are complaining about, but he said he would follow up.
In general, any individual or group -- religious or otherwise -- is allowed to rent school facilities under Chapter 39 of the rules of the Board of Education.
(You can read the entire chapter on the Internet, www.k12.hi.us. Click on the Board of Education.)
The philosophy is that schools are public facilities that should be put to maximum use by the community, said Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen.
If officials of a school don't want to open it up to outsiders for whatever reason, they have to do so across the board. They cannot selectively ban people, Knudsen said.
The one provision relating to religious groups is that rentals cannot be for more than five years.
Outside groups pay an hourly fee, which varies according to the user. Type 1 users, such as the parent-school association, for example, pay no rental or service fee; Type II users, such as a government or nonprofit agency, pay only a service charge to cover actual expenses; while Type III users, such as churches, private schools and businesses, pay both a rental and service fee.
Any money left after operational expenses are deducted is split between the school (70 percent) and school district (30 percent), Knudsen said.
"It's a good source of income for some schools," he said. Contact individual schools to find out what the rental policy is.
Q: Can you tell us what the restrictions are for fireworks on Chinese New Year's?
A: The same restrictions that applied on New Year's Eve/New Year's Day applies to Chinese New Year's, tomorrow.
You are allowed to burn fireworks only between 9 p.m. today until 1 a.m. tomorrow. You are not allowed to use fireworks in Waikiki, or within 1,000 feet of a hospital, animal clinic, care home or church in service. You are restricted to the ground floor of private property. No aerials.
Auwe
On Sunday, I called the city's 24-hour pothole line. It rang for more than a minute and then a recording came on: "message tank full." I called again about 10:30. Still the same. I wanted to report that on the Ala Wai Boulevard, heading west, near Liliuokalani Avenue, there is a very large dip around the manhole cover. Sen. Tam wants government workers to have nap breaks? Hey, you need to wake up, people! -- No name(The hotline is checked twice a day during the regular work week, but no one is around to check it on weekends, said city spokesman Bob Rock.
(There has been a "tremendous increase in calls," both complaints and thank yous, and the machine was "completely filled," he acknowledged. But a couple of other people also called about the same location, he said. Typically, a crew is sent out within 24 to 48 hours.
(The city will look at possibly getting a message machine with more capacity, but in the meantime, call during the work week if you can't get through.)
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