Question: We saw something that shocked us recently. It was the University of Hawaii “H” logo for a high school baseball team in Oklahoma. Were we wrong? The program was “Horneytown, USA” on the Travel Channel, about towns with “unusual” names, and they had a feature on the Hooker Horney Toads team in Hooker, Okla. The logo looked exactly like the UH logo. Could it be?
Answer: We thought your question was a joke until we looked up the Travel Channel and found it did have a series called “Horneytown, USA.”
But the fact that the Hooker Horney Toads baseball team had an “H” logo that looked exactly like UH’s, except that it was purple, was no laughing matter to UH officials.
According to the UH’s licensing administrator, the school, the program and the Travel Channel all are not authorized to use the UH logo.
The matter has been referred to the UH’s agent, the Licensing Resource Group, which “will follow up and send cease-and-desist notices on behalf of the university,” a UH spokeswoman said.
Although you can still see the UH logo on a locker and coach’s hat in the Travel Channel segment — www.travelchannel.com/video/the-hooker-horny-toads — it no longer appears to be featured on the team’s Facebook page.
This is not the first time that the distinctive “H” logo has been used by a mainland team.
In 2010 Star-Advertiser sports columnist/reporter Ferd Lewis, then writing for The Honolulu Advertiser, reported that the Hightower Hurricanes of Texas had been using a logo identical to UH’s, also without authorization.
UH told Lewis that the “H” logo had been registered as a trademark. It has been in use since the 2000-2001 school year, during the tenure of football coach June Jones.
At the time, a UH spokeswoman said Hightower would be contacted, and “we will likely work out an agreement in which Hightower recognizes the university’s legal ownership of the logo and pays us a nominal licensing fee." (See is.gd/EarTFR.)
We checked the Hightower Hurricanes’ website, and it appears they are still selling some merchandise with the “H” logo: is.gd/nS0OdR.
Question: Is there a place to call to report illegal painting of curbs? On Young Street it looks like someone painted the curbs red to prevent people from parking close to their entry areas. There are no signs to indicate parking is prohibited. They appear to have illegally removed areas that the public should be able to legally park in. Can we notify the proper authorities to have them remove the illegal painting of the curb?
Answer: If you suspect someone has illegally painted a public curb red, you’re advised to call the Honolulu Police Department at 911 or report it to the city Department of Transportation Services by calling the city’s complaint office at 768-4381. You can also report it online at www1.honolulu.gov/csd/publiccom/fixit.htm.
The city long ago stopped painting street curbs red to signify no-parking areas, except at passenger and commercial loading zones and at bus stops.
MAHALO
To the kind oama fisherman down at Wailupe Beach Park. I took my 9-year-old daughter fishing at the park, wanting her to experience the fun I had as a kid fishing for oama. Seeing that we weren’t catching anything, you kindly changed out your line and hook to my daughter’s pole and gave us some of that secret oama bait of yours. Soon after, she caught her very first oama with her dad by her side. Thank you for making her and my experience a memorable one. Your kindness went a long way that day, and I wish there were more fishermen like you always helping others, especially the younger generation. — Happy Father
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
