Question: Can you find out why your newspaper never reports attendance at the home games of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball games? Attendance is reported for away games and for all other sports. What’s the secret? A recent article mentioned that 6,000 fans were at a game, but when you check the statistics section, attendance is not reported.
Answer: Don’t blame the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
"We don’t report the basketball attendance because UH, at the direction of coach Gib Arnold, will release only figures for tickets distributed, not actual turnstile, even though UH reports turnstile attendance for other sports," said Frank Bridgewater, Star-Advertiser vice president and editor.
This was the case in Saturday’s Senior Night game against Cal State-Fullerton, which UH won 81-77.
Reporter Brian McInnis reported "a raucous crowd of about 7,500" at the Stan Sheriff Center, but if you checked the boxscore for attendance, it said "A — not reported."
Sports columnist Ferd Lewis wrote about the situation back in 2011 — is.gd/05DYSj — explaining, "A UH spokesman said that Arnold prefers the higher number so that prospective recruits will gain a more positive perception of the Rainbow Warriors’ following."
However, that may not be the case next season.
In a statement to Kokua Line, the Athletics Department said Arnold’s request that only the number of "tickets issued" be released to the news media was
approved by the previous athletics director (Jim Donovan) and that the UH media relations department "has adhered to this policy."
"However, since this policy is not consistent with the attendance reporting practices at our other home sporting events, we will review it prior to the 2014-15 men’s basketball season," the statement said.
Question: I thank the Star-Advertiser for its article about the Honolulu Police Department testing cameras on police vehicles that take photos of license plates to identify stolen vehicles (is.gd/q6DSOO). Is there another system of cameras that the government is using to track cars? I have seen cameras mounted on freeway overpasses, facing rearward, one per lane, along the H-1 freeway.
Answer: Those cameras are part of the state Department of Transportation’s "GoAkamai Advanced Traveler Information System," which we described previously: is.gd/fpOEwS.
Forty-eight cameras are placed along the H-1 and the H-201 Moanalua Freeway to "provide accurate, real-time traffic flow information to motorists to help them plan their commutes," said DOT spokesman Caroline Sluyter. They have been operating since early 2012.
"To ensure privacy, the cameras are mounted on the trailing edge of the overpasses and randomly detect rear license plates only," she said.
Sluyter said images are "truncated," with only a partial plate, such as letters or numbers only, taken and the data encrypted.
"A second image is taken at the next overpass and the travel time between the two locations is calculated," she said. "Once complete, the images are deleted and no data is stored."
She assures you that the system does not track vehicles and is not used to issue citations.
The data are presented on the GoAkamai.org website and GoAkamai mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The data also is presented in a color-coded map showing various levels of traffic in green (no congestion), yellow (moderate), red (heavy) and black (stop-and-go traffic).
Mahalo
To staff at the state Department of Taxation. I recently called the Taxpayer Services number, 567-4242. The wait was not terribly long, 10 minutes, and I was provided frequent updates. I cannot tell you how helpful and professional all three representatives I spoke with were. One representative, Marie, called me back even though the information I needed was not pertinent to her section. Another walked me through an online application procedure. Mahalo to all of them for their patience and kindness. — North Shore Auntie
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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.
