|
Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Reader seeks effort
to aid PhilippinesQuestion: I read an article about a Filipino organization that sends books to the Philippines for educational purposes. Can I have the number, please?
Answer: We contacted a couple of local Filipino organizations but couldn't find any effort locally to collect books for the Philippines.
If any reader knows of one, please call "Kokua Line" at 529-4773 and leave a message.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit Books for the Barrios organization, based in California, collects books and educational materials to ship to schoolchildren in the Philippines. It would welcome monetary donations from Hawaii residents.
"We were a Navy family who lived in the Philippines for six years," Nancy Harrington told us via e-mail about how she and her husband, Dan, started Books for the Barrios. "I am a teacher, and I was stunned at the lack of reading material. That was 1981. ... Nothing has changed much for barrio children."
Books for the Barrios has shipped millions of books to the Philippines since 1981. It accepts "quality" English, math, science and reference books, as well as encyclopedias not older than 1990.
However, because Books for the Barrios is strictly a volunteer effort, the Harringtons do not want Hawaii residents shipping books. Instead, they would appreciate monetary donations because "we are struggling financially."
Checks to the registered 501(c)(3) organization may be made out to Books for the Barrios and sent to 2350 Whitman Road, Suite D, Concord, CA 94518-2355. You can also donate online or get more information at www.booksforthebarrios.com or by calling 925-687-7701.
Auwe
To all those inconsiderate beer drinkers at the UH football games. It's irritating to have to stand up every time you go back and forth to buy beer and go to the bathroom. Your loud yelling with profanity is uncalled for, especially with families and children close by. If you need to drink so much and act up, go to a bar and watch the game on TV. The Stadium Authority should find a way to limit beer consumption rather than think of only revenues. -- A.K.Aloha Stadium does limit beer sales, said operations manager Scott Chan. It stops all beer sales at the end of halftime or, "if deemed necessary, earlier, because of (bad) behavior," he said. The latter happened during the Pro Bowl, when "behavior was just too unruly," he said.
Chan also pointed out that fans can purchase only one 16-ounce or 20-ounce cup of beer at a time. Meanwhile, employees of the concessionaire must go through a training program to learn the rules about serving alcohol, and Liquor Commission personnel are on hand to monitor employees, Chan said.
The idea is to "take a proactive stance" to prevent problems from happening or escalating, he said. That all said, Chan noted that the stadium doesn't have control over how much fans may consume during tailgate parties in the parking lot.
"We're trying to do what's reasonable to meet" the demands of both sides -- those who consume alcohol and those who may not, he said.
|
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
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.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com
