Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Plaque marks the spot
for consulate

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Question: On a wall at 1882 Lusitana St. is a plaque that says, "Consulate General of the Marshall Islands." It seems to be just an apartment building. Can you figure out why this is? It certainly can't be where the actual consul general resides nor where he/she does his/her business.

Answer: The consulate for the Republic of the Marshall Islands is indeed on Lusitana Street, in Suite 301 of 1888 Lusitana.

It's been there since 1996, a staff member said, adding that 1888 is behind 1882 Lusitana St. City records show the property is owned by the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The consul general is Philip Anungar.

Auwe

To parents at the Kahala Mall Easter Egg Hunt's "Toddler Section" on Aug. 10. Parents were not supposed to be in the egg section and not supposed to pick up any eggs. However, when the master of ceremonies asked the children to line the inside of the gate, parents and children bolted in and grabbed all the eggs before the "hunt" started. My child could not even get in the area because parents were on the ground grabbing eggs! Auwe to the organizers for not planning better by having monitors at the different entrance areas. Mahalo to the two kind women who shared their children's eggs with mine after learning that my child had none. May you be blessed 10 times over for your kindness and example. Mahalo also to the people who tried to put together a fun event for everyone. It's just sad that greedy parents had to spoil the fun for other kids -- what a terrible example when a parent can't even follow the rules. -- Disappointed Parent

Jaydence Goya, marketing coordinator for Kahala Mall, apologized for your experience.

It probably turned out to be an eye-opening learning experience for Kalani High School students, who put on the Easter egg hunt as part of a class project.

The students asked if the event could be held at the mall this year, instead of on the school's football field as in years past, and the mall was happy to oblige, Goya said.

At least 200 children showed up, plus one or two parents per child, as well as other people, she estimated.

There were many volunteer parents and teachers on hand to help the students, Goya said, but many were not easily identifiable because they were not wearing badges.

But, despite countless reminders, including a rule sheet and waiver form stipulating that parents were not supposed to pick up any eggs, "Things got out of hand" in the hunt area set aside for toddlers, she confirmed. The problem was that many of those children had to be accompanied by a parent.

Although parents were reminded several times about the rules, "According to the supervisor, it's happened in the past where excited parents would start picking up the eggs or shoveling it toward the children," Goya said.

There were a total of 8,000 eggs to be found, but "Once they said, 'Ready, set, go,' the eggs were gone," she said.

However, Goya said extra prizes were given to children who may not have gotten an Easter egg or who may have come late.

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Useful phone numbers

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See the Columnists section for some past articles.

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