Kokua Line June Watanabe

Useful Web sites and phone numbers

As of February 2, 2008

Abandoned/derelict vehicles: Call the city, 733-2530, during regular office hours, or the 24-hour informational hot line, 532-7700, press 250.

Aircraft nuisance: For civilian aircraft, call the state, (888) 697-7813. For military: Army, 656-1488; Navy/ Marine Corps, 257-8840; Air Force, 449-2490; 808 535-3230; National Guard, 733-4258. If service branch is unknown, call U.S. Pacific Command, 477-6282. Call the Federal Aviation Administration, 837-8300, for safety complaints about low-flying aircraft (wait to speak to an operator).

Animal nuisance: For crowing roosters and stray chickens, call the Hawaii Game Breeders Association at 783-8199 or 841-2384. For barking dogs, lost or found animals, or other animal complaints/ questions, call the Hawaiian Humane Society, 946-2187. For dangerous dogs, call police at 911. Better Business Bureau of Hawaii: For the latest scams, to check a company or charity's record, or to file complaints, call 536-6956 or go to www.hawaii.bbb.org.

Book/magazine donations: Call Friends of the Library of Hawaii, 536-4174, e-mail booksale@flhawaii.org, or drop off donations at 690 Pohukaina St. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays, except holidays; or check with your local library or school.

Bottle recycling/redemption program: Direct questions and complaints to the state Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch at 586-4226.

Cell phone recycling: Check the city's Environmental Services Web site on cell phone recycling -- envhonolulu.org/solid_waste/archive/cell_phone_recycling.htm -- or call the recycling office at 768-3200 for several options. Most companies will pay for shipping. Drop off old cell phones or rechargeable batteries at any Home Depot or Radio Shack store on Oahu, as part of a recycling program sponsored by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp.

Christmas cards: Used Christmas cards, fronts only, may be sent to Merlinda Oania at 98-596 Kaimu Loop, Aiea, HI 96701 (phone 486-0236). Her students at Waipahu Intermediate School make alphabet books for delivery at Christmas to hospitalized children.

Damage on roads: On state freeways and roads, call the state Highways Division's Oahu District Office, 831-6703, for a claim form. On city roads, contact the city Corporation Counsel's Office at 527-5656 for a form.

Check on charities: Go to the state attorney general's Web site, www.hawaii.gov/ag/charities, to see if solicitors are registered and have paid a $25,000 surety bond. Another resource is Guidestar, at www.guidestar.org, which has a database of more than 1.5 million IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations.

Computer donations: Hawaii Computer for Kids puts computers in K-12 public and private school classrooms and nonprofits statewide. Call Computer-Aided Technologies International at 521-2259 or e-mail info@catii.com. The Hawaii Open Source Educational Foundation (HOSEF) accepts and refurbishes functional computer hardware, installs free open-source software, then donates the computers to schools and nonprofit organizations. Call 689-6518 or go to hosef.org. A third option is Aloha Computers for Education in Samoa, which seeks donations of working desktop PCs or laptops for shipment to rural schools in Samoa. E-mail info@aces-samoa.org or go to aces-samoa.org.

Computer reuse/recycling/disposal: Check opala.org for list of businesses that accept e-waste for a fee, as well as other information about recycling and disposal in general.

Consumer protection: For consumer-related complaints and questions, call the state Office of Consumer Protection at 587-3222.

Credit ratings: For copies of credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies, call (877) 322-8228, or order online; the Federal Trade Commission says annualcreditreport.com is the only authorized Web site to order the free reports.

Donations to nonprofits: Check the Web site VolunteerHawaii.org and click on "Gifts-in-Kind Match" to find out what's needed or to list what you want to give.

Environmental concern line (city): Call 692-5656 to report illegal dumping or non-point source pollution; volunteer for environmental projects; or to get information on recycling, household hazardous wastes, bulky-item pickups, etc.

Eyeglass/hearing aid donations: Call District 50 (Hawaii) of Lions Club International, 739-1813, to find closest drop-off point for used glasses. Used hearing aids can be mailed to the District 50 office -- 3454 Waialae Ave., Suite 2, Honolulu HI 96816 -- or dropped off there between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. weekdays.

Graffiti hot lines: Call HPD at 529-3222 or the city's hotline at 296-9473.

Health/Human service agencies: For information and referral to health and human service organizations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, call 211 statewide, maintained by Aloha United Way.

Junk mail: Send a letter or postcard with name, home address and signature to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512; or register online at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist. Also, call (888) 567-8688 toll-free or go to www.optoutprescreen.com to "opt out" of all pre-approved credit offers, or contact the major credit reporting companies: Equifax Inc., Options, P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123; Experian, Consumer Opt-Out, 701 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013; and Trans Union Name Removal Option, P.O. Box 97328, Jackson, MS 39288-7328.

Landlord-tenant problems: Call the Landlord-Tenant Code hot line, 586-2634, 8 a.m.-noon weekdays, or hear recorded messages at 587-1234.

"Live Aloha" bumper stickers: Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to Live Aloha, 165 Waokanaka Place, Honolulu 96817. No charge, but donations welcomed.

Noise complaints: Call police at 911 about noisy neighbors or vehicles; call the Health Department's noise and radiation branch at 586-4700 about noise related to construction, stationary equipment, etc. Call that number also to get a copy of the free noise reference manual, "Who are you going to call when the noise gets too LOUD."

Overgrown trees: On city roadways, call the Department of Parks and Recreation at 971-7151 or the Department of Customer Services at 523-4381. On state roads, call the Department of Transportation at 831-6703. For trees on private property impacting safety on city sidewalks, call the Housing Code Section at 768-8159; for private trees overhanging city roads and posing safety concerns, call HPD at 911.

Potholes: On state roads, call 536-7852; city, 768-7777 or report it online at www.co.honolulu.hi.us/dfm/road/pothole.htm.

Recycling: Call 768-3200, e-mail info@opala.org, or check opala.org for locations of community recycling bins and other information.

Sidewalk, overgrown lots, other housing code violations: Call the city at 768-8159.

Smoking: For information about the state's no-smoking laws, call the state Tobacco Prevention and Education Program at 586-4613.

State ID card: To obtain or renew a card, call 587-3111.

Street light outages: City streets, call 564-6113; state, leave a message at 831-6714 at any hour. Be specific on location.

Telemarketing calls: To stop nuisance calls, call (888) 382-1222 -- or (866) 290-4236 for the hearing-impaired -- to sign up with the Federal Communications Commission's Do Not Call Registry; or register online by going to www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall.

Water Waste Hot Line: To report water waste by an individual, business or government agency, call the Board of Water Supply at 748-5041.