Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I mailed a mortgage payment to Bank of America in Los Angeles on Sept. 8. As of Sept. 25, they still hadn't received it. I also mailed some letters after Sept. 11. For example, on Sept. 17, I mailed a letter to the IRS and they received it on Sept. 24. Have there been any problems with mail mailed prior to Sept. 11? Mail leaves isles
on time but hits
mainland delaysAnswer: Postal service is not completely back to normal, but it shouldn't take more than two weeks for your payment to be delivered in California, said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Felice Broglio.
She advised stopping payment on your first check and sending a new one.
To begin with, if you had mailed the payment on Sept. 8, it should already have been in Los Angeles before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, she said.
The mail flow was disrupted when the Federal Aviation Administration grounded planes on that day. However, flights carrying mail out of Hawaii resumed two days later, "so we had no trouble lifting mail off the island." Mail continues to leave here every day, Broglio said.
However, she acknowledged there may be delays on the mainland, where the postal service is "utilizing truck transportation quite a bit."
Instead of three days, it may take three to five days for your mail to reach its mainland destination, she said.
Regarding your letter taking seven days to reach the IRS, Sept. 17 was a Monday. Allowing for the possible five-day delivery time would take it to Friday, at which point the weekend, when the IRS is closed, would account for the other two days, Broglio said.
The advice is to allow more time for bills or payments, factoring in that delay.
Broglio noted that prior to Aug. 27, the postal service exclusively used passenger airlines to fly mail out. Beginning Aug. 27, it began using a Federal Express cargo plane to fly most of its outgoing Hawaii mail.
"The only thing we can put on passenger airlines right now (by order of the Federal Aviation Administration) is letter-class airmail," Broglio said.
For all mail coming in from the mainland, "we still are dependent on passenger airlines."
However, with the current FAA restrictions, "we have now contracted for cargo flight to come in" as well, she said.
It's not known how long the restrictions will be in effect. Broglio pointed out that following the Unabomber scare a few years ago, people were banned from putting any mail more than 11 ounces in collection boxes; they had to be taken to a post office. That restriction is still in effect.
Nothing to crow about
Re the comment that the "wonderful" feral chickens in Hawaii Kai should be left alone (Kokua Line Sept. 23): Apparently the writer does not live across the marina from where these 20-plus chickens roost! The roosters (three spotted so far) crow EACH and EVERY morning beginning as early as 3 a.m. As I have tried unsuccessfully to get a response from the three responsible parties (Bishop Estate, City & County of Honolulu Parks Maintenance, and the Hawaii Kai Marina Association) for months, I am pleading for the Hawaiian Humane Society to cite the landowners for violating noise laws! Also, AUWE to the person or persons who let these chickens loose in the first place (possibly unwanted Easter pets?) -- Sleepless in H.K.
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
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