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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Root barriers encircle
new monkeypodsQuestion: Why were monkeypod trees planted along the median on Punchbowl Street, between Vineyard and Beretania? Aren't there concerns about the roots buckling the pavement?
Answer: Monkeypods are the city's trees of choice in the downtown/civic center area because "they are a popular canopy tree," said Carol Costa, director of the city Department of Customer Services.
"We have received nothing but compliments about how nice the monkeypods look on Punchbowl and other medial strips around Oahu," she said when asked about your question.
Regarding roots causing damage, there apparently is no cause for concern because of reinforced barriers.
Costa said a 6-foot-diameter reinforced concrete drain pipe, cut in half longitudinally and going down 30 inches, was used as a root barrier.
"It was placed on both sides of the tree in line with the median curbs," she said.
Q: Where can I donate books to the library that had a fire recently? I think it was on the North Shore.
A: The fire last Tuesday actually was at the Waialua Sugar annex, where books that were meant to be sold to raise money for Waialua Library were being stored.
But since news of the fire spread, people have responded by sending thousands of dollars in donations, as well as books to help the little community library.
"It's going to be in the thousands," Phillip Thatcher, president of the Friends of Waialua Library, said yesterday when asked how many books have been donated. "The response has been absolutely enormous ... from all over the island."
But more books are welcomed because whatever is donated will be sold at a book sale held monthly to help support the library, he said.
The monthly sales help raise about $4,000 annually for the library, but at last report, monetary donations spurred by the fire had already exceeded that amount.
You can call Thatcher at 227-0837 about donating books.
Better yet, he said, you can just drop books off, any time, at Waialua Library, located at Kealohanui Street and Goodale Avenue. He said it's safe to do so because people constantly check to see if there is anything to be picked up.
Meanwhile, monetary donations can be sent to Waialua Library, P.O. Box 684, Waialua, HI 96791.
In 1997 the Public Library Association voted Waialua Library the best small rural public library in the United States. It also recognized the Friends of Waialua Library as the best friends library group in the United States.
Mahalo
To the person(s) responsible for adjusting the traffic lights on Kamehameha Highway and Keole Street in Kaneohe. For years we have been frustrated with the long wait at the intersections. The joke was that you could "eat a plate lunch" while waiting for the lights to change! Now it changes instantly once you approach the stop line and we're on our way, saving minutes to our busy schedules. -- Puanani/Kaneohe
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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.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com
