QUESTION: Any updated news about what’s happening with the Koko Head tennis courts, which have been closed about a year? You indicated in November that the city was hopeful for an agreement with the contractor by mid-December. December has come and gone.

ANSWER: Despite an ongoing dispute over premature corrosion of the new chain-link fence, the city acknowledges the tennis courts are heavily utilized and hopes "possibly" to reopen them in early February.

"We, at the city, are very sorry about the inconvenience of this closure and want to thank the public for their patience," said Collins Lam, acting director of the Department of Design and Construction. "But we must make sure that the city gets what was specified and paid for by taxpayers."

He explained that city engineers, inspectors and, initially, the contractor, had agreed in September that the fence did not meet city specifications, so the prematurely corroded portions would be replaced.

In October the fencing supplier sent samples from leftover materials to the mainland for testing. It took eight weeks to get the results from the manufacturer, which seemed to indicate that the chain-link fabric and piping complied with the city’s contract specifications, Lam said.

However, "there is obviously evidence of premature corrosion," he said, so the city plans a third-party test to verify the manufacturer’s claim.

Because the third-party determination might be a lengthy process, Lam’s department is working with the contractor and Department of Parks and Recreation to possibly open the facility as soon as the contractor takes care of minor punch-list items.

If all goes well, the courts may open at the beginning to mid-February, Lam said.

QUESTION: What happened to Book TV, which was part of CSPAN? It was my favorite weekend TV show on cable channel 78 (analog). Channel 78 was a "shopping channel" during the week and after 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. During the day on Saturday and Sunday, it carried Book TV.

ANSWER: Book TV now is available only on cable channel 47, by using a digital cable box, said Sandy Davis, director of customer care for Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

Legal notices were posted last September in the Star-Advertiser and on Oceanic.com, and notices included in bills and letters to customers, advising that CSPAN2 would be available only in the digital lineup, she said.

If you don’t have a digital cable box, Oceanic will provide the first box with a remote at no additional charge, Davis said. Call customer care at 643-2100.

AUWE

To the driver of the Jeep Cherokee who threw rubbish out the window while passing the corner of Harding and Koko Head avenues on Tuesday morning. — W