Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: Now that Aala Park has been reopened and is no longer a no man's land, can someone finish that rink on the Beretania side of the park, as well as the restrooms and rubbish cans? Aala Park skateboard area
to be completed in MarchAnswer: The skateboard park is expected to be completed in early March.
It's the last component of the city's $2.7 million face lift of Aala Park. The revitalized park was reopened Jan. 30, although the skateboard area remains fenced as an active construction site.
Work on the facility should take another four weeks, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said last week.
The park now includes a baseball field, basketball court, play apparatus, parking lot, new landscaping and trees, and a comfort station, she said. Future plans include lighting the baseball field.
"The mayor and the managing director have been working with (the Honolulu Police Department) to keep illegal and undesirable elements away from the park," she added, noting that police plan an "aggressive, high-profile effort."
The restrooms will be locked from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and the park will officially close at 7 p.m., although Costa said the hours may be adjusted to allow games at the park until dark.
"These hours will allow police to root out illegal activities after hours that have dominated the park in the past," she said.
Q: We notice that there are little bugs sometimes in our rice, usually at the bottom. Does that mean the rice is spoiled?
A: The rice is still edible.
While you don't want to be eating any of the bugs, doing so won't kill you, said Larry Nakahara, manager of the state Department of Agriculture's plant pest control branch.
From what little information you gave, Nakahara surmises you are storing the rice in its original bag and that the bugs got in once you opened it at home.
"We have many storage pests," he said. "It's always a good idea to put the rice bag in a container that has a tight lid so other things cannot infest it." It doesn't have to be airtight, just tight enough to keep bugs out.
If you've already got bugs in the rice but don't want to throw the rice away, Nakahara suggested putting it in the freezer to kill the critters, then washing the rice as usual.
The most common bugs found in rice, flour, cereal, spices, etc., are the rice weevil (black with a long snout), red flour beetle (reddish brown, flat and elongated) and cigarette beetle (black, pebble-like).
You didn't specify what you meant by "bugs," so Nakahara said he couldn't give specific information. But if it's a beetle, for example, it's normally the larval stage that feeds on rice, he said.
But if you've just seen one adult "bug," it could be an adult going into the rice to lay eggs, he said.
More on unwanted MBNA cards
A reader complained last week ("Kokua Line," Wednesday) about receiving an unwanted credit card from the MBNA America Bank.Three readers suggested an explanation, including two who pointed out that MBNA had taken over credit cards from several other banks.
"I had a similar problem with them and did exactly what you told your readers to do," e-mailed Gail. "I discovered that MBNA took over credit cards from Chevy Chase Bank or First Union Bank. Tell your readers to check their credit card number against an old statement from their former billing company. They may be as surprised as I was."
Carrie Sakuma offered this: "Perhaps the person signed up for the card at one of the University of Hawaii events. I have a Visa card from MBNA after signing up for the UH credit card at a football game. I honestly did it just to get the free T-shirt being given out. It wasn't until a few weeks later when I got the card in the mail that I remembered I signed up for the card."
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.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com