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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Navy antennas still in use
and offer no hazardQuestion: Are the two tall antennas on the Navy property in Lualualei still being used? I've heard conflicting opinions. Locals say that light bulbs used to light up in their bare hands when they approached the antennas.
Answer: Two 1,500-foot-high antennas at Lualualei are still in use as the Department of Defense's primary long-range communications transmitters for the central Pacific.
Smaller antennas also are being used for a variety of other military communications requirements, said Agnes Tauyan, deputy director of public affairs for Navy Region Hawaii.
She says the light-bulb story is similar to other old wives' tales told by people around the country about power lines, power plants or any high-power antenna.
"As a matter of public record, several agencies have conducted Personal Radiation Hazard surveys over the years and have all concluded that there is no significant radiation hazard" from the 1,500-foot antennas, she said. "The stand-off distance originally established back in 1972 remains valid today."
Tauyan noted only one change to the antennas' operating parameters since then and "that change actually lowered the exposure levels."
She assures you that there is "no hazard to anyone not trespassing the fence line, and certainly no light bulbs glowing at those designated safe distances."
She also said the Navy conducts surveys of the antennas every three years, in accordance with Navy directives.
Q: Is there any truth to the talk about converting the International Market Place into a fancy dining, etc., site?
A: Depends on what you include in the "etc."
The Queen Emma Foundation announced plans in September for a major redevelopment of the International Market Place property, beginning next year.
The foundation owns the 4.5 acres of land at 2330 Kalakaua Ave. that houses the famed Waikiki shopping site.
Restaurants are just one component of the planned new retail shopping complex announced earlier, said Les Goya, project manager for the foundation.
The plan included open-air shops and restaurants, a center for storytellers, an amphitheater for ceremonies and entertainment, and carts and kiosks like those that are there now, albeit in smaller numbers.
A food hall or court is being considered.
"We're in the process right now of reviewing the merchandising mix," Goya said yesterday. Part of the decision on what goes in will be based on the results of a marketing study.
Initial plans also included a 320-space parking facility, mostly underground, to try to lure more local people to the area.
A consultant is doing a study on the parking situation, Goya said, and based on that information, "we will determine what direction we take on that."
The $120 million project is targeted to begin in summer 2005 and open in early 2008, Goya said.
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