Question: The Department of Education says it is trying to hurry up and cool down the hottest public schools. Is there a priority list somewhere that the public can see that shows what is planned at different schools?
Answer: Yes. One convenient place to look is on the Web page the DOE maintains to provides details about its heat abatement program, including listing which schools already have central air conditioning and which schools have highest priority for future installation. You can find the page at bit.ly/1VJjTr6.
As the page explains, 20 public schools have central air conditioning now. Ewa Beach Elementary School is No. 1 on the DOE’s AC Priority List for future installation; campus electrical upgrades need to be completed first. Ilima Intermediate is second; temporary portable AC units are being installed there now.
Within the online site are links to status updates for AC-related projects across Hawaii’s single statewide school district, as well as to instructions about how to donate air conditioning units to specific schools.
Installing conventional central air conditioning is not the only option for overheated schools. The website also describes how solar-powered ventilators, skylights, increased insulation, ceiling fans, heat-reflective roof coating and solar-powered AC are being utilized at various sites.
Another potential option is to start the school year later, rather than in the heat of the summer, but that drastic a change would require painstaking negotiations among numerous parties, the DOE says.
The DOE says it does not have enough funding to install and maintain central air conditioning at all of Hawaii’s public schools.
Q: I arrived at Beretania Florist on Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. I don’t mind donating to the Hawaii Foodbank and (expected to) receive a “thank you” via a dozen roses. But they were already out, in one hour and 45 minutes. They gave out 7,700 roses (about 641 dozen). The counter didn’t have 641 canned goods. Is it a sham?
A: No. Rest assured that Beretania Florist’s annual Good Neighbor Day is a legitimate promotion that rapidly raises significant donations for the food bank. This event is very popular and typically runs out of free roses in just over an hour.
Not all the donated canned goods are kept out front, explained Reece Farinas, a member of the family that owns and operates the business. “We have limited space on our small round display table, so as it fills up we box up the excess in the back,” he said.
Last year the event raised about 998 pounds of food and $200 cash for the Foodbank, which certifies the haul. The nonprofit will be by on Tuesday to pick up this year’s donations, Farinas said, and “we expect it to be even more than last year.”
The event began at 7 a.m. Wednesday, and the roses were depleted by about 8:30 a.m., as usual, he said. This year the florist gave out 7,700 roses, to celebrate 77 years in business. The flowers were doled out by the dozen, with the caveat that each person who received them should keep one bloom for themselves and hand out the other 11 to friends and family.
“It’s such a popular thing because you’re helping the food bank and you not only get a rose for yourself, you get 11 to share with your loved ones,” Farinas said. “We always say ‘while supplies last.’ When we run out we run out.”
Inevitably, some people are disappointed.
Mahalo
On Aug. 4 I decided to resume my daily walking. I took the shortest route to the mail stand in the old section of Mililani. Just when I walked into the courtyard, I fell, and my legs were too weak to lift myself up. As I was struggling to stand up, a couple of good Samaritans approached and carried me to the fire station across Kipapa Drive. In all of the confusion I don’t remember their names. My heartfelt gratitude to the firemen at the fire station, the doctors and nurses at Wahiawa General Hospital, and especially the good Samaritans who helped me in my predicament. It is good to know that there are caring people in our community that we can rely on. — Helpless at 80
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