Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: There is a house at the corner of Bay Street and Kalanianaole Highway with a big chain-link fence around it. It was used to store construction equipment when they were widening the highway. The highway has been finished for several years, but the house is still there, empty, looking run-down and neglected. Is it going to be sold? What's going to happen to the property? What will become
of the highway house?Answer: Actually, there are two properties next to each other at that site, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.
The department hopes to put them up for sale this summer. Kali said she wasn't certain if the properties would be sold by auction or sealed bids.
Q: It's taken us more than a month since the conversion by Bank of Hawaii from Visa to American Express to be able to access an ATM with our new card. Was I the only one who was having problems? We did not receive a new card at the end of March, so my husband went to the bank to inquire. It took several calls before we each finally received a card. After activating our cards, we tried using them at several ATMs only to be rejected by them all. We went to the nearest Bank of Hawaii branch to report the fiasco only to be told I was not set up to take cash out of my checking account although I previously had been able to with my Visa card. I was told to apply for a check card through Bank of Hawaii. More than a month later, I called a 1-800 number to find out exactly what bank machine would take my card. After talking to three people, a representative in Hawaii told me I should be able to take cash from my checking account at a Bank of Hawaii ATM machine. Once more, I attempted to take cash out from an ATM that had the American Express seal on it. It promptly spit out my card -- EXPIRED! We did receive a form letter from Bank of Hawaii apologizing for the inconvenience and included was a $10 certificate. Needless to say, this ongoing saga has caused us much frustration and inconvenience.
A: We had to condense your account of the saga for space but think the gist of your frustration is captured. We asked Bank of Hawaii if other customers had experienced the same problems following the conversion from Visa to American Express.
Judy Tenzer, spokeswoman for American Express in New York, responded, expressing "our greatest apologies" for your experience, said your problem had been resolved and added someone would be communicating with you further in writing.
However, she said, the majority of customers who were converted to American Express "had no trouble in the process."
"I'm sure there were some people who experienced glitches as we did make the change," Tenzer said. "Hopefully, we've been able to work with anyone who did have those issues."
She noted that Bank of Hawaii and American Express have a service provider who manages the credit card account. "It's the same provider that Bank of Hawaii had been working with."
Mahalo
To two good Samaritans, Summer and Jason Muragin, for aiding two seniors whose car was stalled on a dark and lonely Auloa Road on the evening of April 13. Both of you and another good Samaritan pushed our car to the side of the road. You offered the use of your cellular phone, provided a tow truck company telephone number and remained with us until you were assured that help was on its way. God bless you for our kindness and thoughtfulness. -- Amy Hayashi
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