Question: Is everyone who dies in Hawaii automatically given a death record? Is every death supposed to be recorded with the Department of Health?
Answer: “Yes, DOH records every person’s death that occurs in the state,” as required by Hawaii law, said department spokeswoman Janice Okubo.
Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 338-8 (808ne.ws/hrs3388) states: “A certificate of every death or fetal death shall be filed with the Department of Health in Honolulu or with the local agent of the Department of Health in the district in which the death or fetal death occurred or a dead body was found within three days after the death or fetal death occurred or the dead body was found. In every instance, a certificate shall be filed prior to interment or other disposition of the body.”
Although records of all Hawaii deaths are kept, access to them is restricted. As we explained in Kokua Line on Sept. 19 (808ne.ws/919kline), death certificates are not public records. These and other vital records (marriage, birth and divorce records, for example) are available only to entities with a “direct and tangible interest,” as designated in HRS 338-18.
Find information about ordering certified copies at health.hawaii.gov/vital records/. Applications for death certificates must be made in writing, by regular mail or in person. Orders are filled only if applicants prove they are entitled to the information.
Q: How can I get in touch with Barack Obama? Or Michelle?
A: Send a message online to the former president and first lady through The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama. Fill out the contact form at barackobama.com/contact/. The office encourages electronic communication, rather than physical mail.
Q: Since the heater isn’t on now at the Kailua pool, will it stay on longer once they fix it?
A: No. Oahu’s public pools are heated only from November through February.
“Our heating period operates on that four-month schedule regardless of disruption,” said Nathan Serota, spokesman for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
The pool and showers at Kailua District Park are not heated at the moment because of a leak in an underground gas line, which was discovered Nov. 16, Serota said.
Serota also corrected a misstatement in Monday’s column. He had said pools were heated for three winter months within a four-month time frame, with exact dates at the facility’s discretion. Actually, the period is from November through February (four months) for all heated pools, he said.
Auwe
Auwe to the thoughtless people who burn fireworks and very loud bombs late at night. They frighten the animals and scare my sleeping grandchildren. Can’t you wait and do only what is legal with a permit on New Year’s Eve? — Sleepless in Aiea
Mahalo
Heartfelt mahalo to two good Samaritans who rendered assistance to my senior-citizen parents, who were involved in a car accident Nov. 28 at the intersection of Salt Lake Boulevard and Bougainville Drive: St. Francis nurse Michelle and a gentleman wearing U.S. Army fatigues. These two strangers did what needed to be done in a take-charge, yet calm and reassuring, manner. Mahalo also to the two police officers who responded to the accident — two of HPD’s finest! — G.L.
Mahalo
Good news! Aloha still lives in Hawaii. My 91-year-old mother lost her wallet. We spent hours trying to track it down. We began the process of canceling credit cards. A woman drove into our driveway. Janelle is a nurse. She found the wallet in a parking lot on the ground. She lives about a quarter-mile from us. She accepted fruit like we did her a favor! What can we say, but thanks. — Bruce, Kaneohe
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