Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Ford Isle public use
judged on individual basis

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Question: I've noticed that the Navy opens up Ford Island for public access at various times of the year. In the spring, they let folks on to participate in and attend the electric car competition, and during football season Aloha Stadium patrons can park there. Maybe there are other times as well when it is open for public use. Whom can I contact to find out if our organization could use the facilities for our events? Once a month would be outstanding, but once in a while would be better than nothing. We are the Sports Car Club of America and we are searching for a large contiguous expanse of asphalt to hold our monthly autocross events on. At one time, the events were held on Hickam, then we moved out to Barbers Point. Aloha Stadium parking lot was used in the past as well. Many of our club members are either active-duty or retired military men and women. Autocross has a community benefit as it gets the young guys off the road and onto a controlled environment for driving their cars. The average event attracts about 100 participants and some fans. We do carry our own liability insurance for each event.

Answer: Perhaps someone reading this might be able to come up with a good venue for your autocross events.

Unfortunately, the Navy says it won't be able to accommodate your group because of ongoing construction projects and competing mission requirements.

Navy spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan noted Pearl Harbor officials had already received your group's request for a track area on Ford Island.

We asked what the criteria was for public use of Ford Island.

"Generally, we look at the overall community benefit and if there's impact to our military operations," she said.

The Navy does not get many such requests, "but when we do, each request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis so as not to interfere with military operations," she said.

In October, for example, a Boy Scout troop asked to use a small grassy area for a one-day event.

And, as a community service project, the Navy has partnered with Hawaiian Electric Co. in hosting the annual Electron Marathon, an electric car competition involving high schools from around the state.

But "that, too, is re-evaluated every year," Tauyan said.

The public can send formal requests for use of Ford Island to: Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, 850 Ticonderoga St., Suite 100, Pearl Harbor, HI 96820.

Q: What are the seven Ivy League schools?

A: There are eight schools collectively known as the Ivy League: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale.

There are also seven private colleges, the all-female counterparts, known as the "Seven Sisters": Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley.

The once all-male Ivy League is now entirely coed, while two of the "Sisters" accept both sexes: Radcliffe, which is adjacent to Harvard and merged with the latter in the 1970s; and Vassar, which went coed in 1969.

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Useful phone numbers

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