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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
City hot lines standing by
to handle graffiti reportsQuestion: Is there a number we can call for a group that goes around town removing graffiti?
Answer: There is no one group we know of that goes around removing graffiti, but there are two hot lines you can call to report the defacement of property:
The Honolulu Police Department's graffiti hot line is 529-3222 and the City and County of Honolulu's is 527-5180.
Call the HPD number to report graffiti on either public or private property.
Staff in HPD's Informational Resources Section retrieves messages Monday-Friday and a report is made and sent to the patrol district where the graffiti is located, according to HPD Detective Letha DeCaires, coordinator of the CrimeStoppers Program.
Patrol officers check the scene, write out a police report about the degree of criminal property damage involved, then notify the proper authorities for action, she said.
For example, if it's a defaced freeway sign, the state Department of Transportation would be notified; on public school property, the Department of Education; on a private business property, the owner.
"Private owners are encouraged to remove the graffiti quickly," DeCaires said.
In the past, she noted that HPD officers have partnered with the community to "clean" graffiti. "This has also been done through service organizations, such as Boy Scouts," she said.
Meanwhile, DeCaires said that information on graffiti is shared within the department at a monthly meeting of the eight patrol districts, which helps HPD determine trends and other related criminal activity.
She also noted that attacking graffiti is No. 4 on the police chief's "wish list" of priorities.
Meanwhile, the City and County of Honolulu's 24-hour graffiti hot line is checked by the staff of the Department of Facility Maintenance's Road Maintenance Division.
Calls received on the hot line are transposed onto "Service Requests" and given to a department investigator, according to Tyler Sugihara, acting chief of the Road Maintenance Division.
The investigator reviews the requests and faxes them to HPD for investigation of possible gang involvement.
The city would not get involved if the graffiti is on private property. If a contact number is provided, the complainant would be notified that the private property owner is responsible for the cleanup, Sugihara said.
If the graffiti involves a utility company within a city roadway or if it involves state property, the request would be referred to the appropriate company or state agency, he said.
If the graffiti involves city property, the request would be referred to the appropriate city agency.
The Division of Road Maintenance's Halawa Corporation Yard has a crew that specifically responds to graffiti cleanup for city roads, traffic signs, walls, bridges, and flood control facilities, Sugihara said.
The Department of Transportation Services also has a crew that cleans graffiti from city bus stops and bus shelters.
Q: There is a utility pole at Young Street and Pawaa Lane that's damaged at the base and tilting. Who is responsible for repairing it? I'm afraid it's going to fall on nearby apartments or hurt someone.
A: The pole was not in danger of falling, Hawaiian Electric Co. officials assure you.
The pole, damaged in a car accident, was braced, "so it was never in danger of falling," said HECO spokesman Jose Dizon.
"We erected a temporary pole and are moving our electrical equipment onto it," he said last week. "The next step is to remove the old utility pole, replace it with a new one, then move the equipment from the temporary pole to the new one."
Many utility poles are "joint poles," often involving the city, phone company and HECO.
Verizon Hawaii workers had to make its own repairs before HECO could complete its task.
The work should be completed by this week.
Q: On Feb. 23, you reported that Wesco had planned to complete its project on the Mililani sewer system by Friday, March 5. That hasn't happened. The project has closed off the sidewalk on both sides of the mauka portion of Lanikuhana Avenue near Kamehameha Highway. There is no accessible route for a person in a wheelchair or on crutches. Daily, children walking to school have to crawl or stretch over the big, black pipes. Both sides of the road are also torn up. When will the project be completed? When will Lanikuhana and its sidewalks be restored?
A: Recent bad weather was blamed for causing a delay in the project.
Work on the Kamehameha Trunk Sewer Reconstruction Project was to be completed last week with cleanup starting this week.
Because of the on-and-off heavy rains, workers have not been able to remobilize to complete the work, according to Tim Steinberger, director of the city Department of Design and Construction. They are waiting until there is a clear weather window of more than 24 hours.
If you have concerns about accessibility, you can call the city Department of Customer Services at 523-4381 or e-mail FixIt@co.honolulu.hi.us .
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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