Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Duke stamp first-day
issue takes timeQuestion: Within a week of the issue of the Duke Kahanamoku stamp on Aug. 24, I followed the procedure for having the first-day-of-issue postmark on two letters to the mainland. One was addressed to San Jose, Calif., and the other to Tecumseh, Mich. As of this week, neither party has received a letter. I sent out several more this week and certainly hope they are accepted and meet the Sept. 23 deadline. Are all letters being held until the 23rd, or is there some other explanation why the first two have not gone through?
Answer: There is an explanation: The time element is part of the normal process involving a first-day cancellation of a commemorative stamp, such as the one honoring Kahanamoku.
For those unfamiliar with the procedure, postal customers have until this Monday to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail for the 37-cent Kahanamoku stamp. The procedure is to buy the stamps, affix them to envelopes, address the envelopes to yourself or someone else, then place them in a larger envelope addressed and mailed to the Hawaii postmaster (Duke Kahanamoku Commemorative Stamp, Postmaster, 3600 Aolele St., Honolulu HI 96820-9991).
The Postal Service applies the first-day-of-issue postmark to each addressed and stamped envelope, then sends it through the regular mail.
There is no unexplained delay, it just takes more time for the envelopes to be processed, said Lynne Moore, manager of consumer affairs for the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii.
Because thousands of such envelopes are received, "We 'mass' them here in Honolulu, but we don't do the cancellation here," she explained. "They're done in Kansas City. ... The first-day-of-issue cancellation postmark is put on these items, and from there they're sent out."
A two- or three-week time frame is not unusual because the envelopes are sent out in bulk and not individually, she said.
Q: Is there an age limit to serve as a juror? If so, what is it?
A: There is no age limit to serving on a Hawaii state court jury.
If you are over 70, you could be excused from serving on a federal court jury, but that wouldn't happen automatically. You would have to request being excused because of age from the federal court clerk's office.
Mahalo
To the young man on a motorcycle and his friends who helped my dad with his stalled van at Punahou and Dole streets on Wednesday, Sept. 4. During Dad's after-school grandchildren "taxi" service, his van died coming off the Punahou exit. He was alone, without a phone, and cars were driving around him in the after-school traffic. He was feeling pretty helpless. A young man on a motorcycle circled the block and called some friends to push the van out of traffic. He let Dad use his cell phone to call Mom to arrange a ride. After a trying afternoon, Mom was so relieved to see Dad walk through the door. A big mahalo to the gallant guy on a motorcycle and his posse for rescuing my dad and restoring our family's peace of mind -- Grateful Daughter
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