Question: There are three sand volleyball courts at the Ewa end of Ala Moana Beach Park. In September the sign posted with rules on court usage and etiquette was taken down and replaced with a new sign reflecting the new law that bans smoking on our public beaches. How can we go about requesting that the sign with the rules and etiquette be put back?
This past summer there have been numerous instances where groups have come by at 7 a.m. or earlier, put their nets up and held on to the courts without actively using them, sometimes to midafternoon. They should not be allowed to set up their nets and not use the courts for such a long period of time.
If this should continue happening, what would be the proper way of putting a stop to this? Would we need to call HPD to have them come down to enforce court etiquette? We would really appreciate your guidance on what should be done with this unethical and selfish practice.
Answer: The “rules” sign was not removed by the city Department of Parks and Recreation to be replaced by the “no smoking” sign.
“We do not know what happened to it,” said spokesman Jay Parasco.
It was a remnant of the department’s “old faded green signs,” which preceded the current blue signs, which came in around 1990.
It will take a while to repost the rules “because that old sign is not in the city’s sign catalog,” Parasco said.
The parks staff is working on a new sign to include rules for the sand volleyball area.
The bad news is that without posted rules, no enforcement action can be taken, Parasco said.
“In the interim we ask park users to cooperate with one another,” he said. “We appreciate the public’s patience as we update and replace the rules sign.”
It’s uncertain when the rules will be posted.
ORGANIC PRODUCE
Responding to the Oct. 22 “Kokua Line” about pesticide use on produce, John McHugh, site agronomist with Pioneer Hi-Bred in Kunia as well as a private consultant on agricultural services, contacted Kokua Line about what he said is one of the most common misconceptions about organic produce: that pesticides are not used on organically certified farms.
“This could not be further from the truth,” he said. “It is OK, by USDA organic certification standards, to use pesticides that are considered to be ‘organic’ and are approved for use in certified organic farming systems.”
One example is Pyganic, which is made up of pyrethrins that come from the extract of a specific type or types of chrysanthemums, he said. “Pyrethrins are highly toxic to certain types of insects but considered of low toxicity to humans and other mammals.”
Pyganic also has a label warning that pyrethrins are highly toxic to fish, so care must be taken to prevent runoff or drift from entering nearby water bodies, he said.
“There are many other examples of organically approved pesticides, but the point is that they are allowed for use in certified organic farming systems as long as they have been approved by OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) or a similar certifying body,” McHugh said. “The notion that pesticides are not used in organic farming is mostly an old-fashioned concept that does not apply in the economic realities associated with food production in today’s world.”
McHugh, who has been an agronomist in Hawaii for 40 years, teaches a class in integrated pest management every spring at Leeward Community College and is, among many other things, chairman of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation’s Environmental Stewardship Committee and on the governor’s Advisory Committee on Pesticides.
AUWE
To the thieves who stole our Hypr stand-up paddleboard (red top and white bottom with a black fin) and paddle from beneath the bedroom window of our home on Kamehameha Highway in Kahaluu. Please do the right thing and return it to where you found it. No questions asked. — Kamaka
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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.
