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Question: Going to Honolulu City Lights is a family tradition, and we buy a Christmas ornament as a memento. I don’t know why, but we are missing a few years. How can we fill in the gaps in our collection?
Answer: You can purchase ornaments from past years at the Friends of Honolulu City Lights website (honolulucitylights.org) and at Macy’s Ala Moana Center store, according to the Friends’ website.
The 2015 ornaments also are available at those sites, plus other Macy’s stores on Oahu and at First Hawaiian Bank branches on the island, according to the website.
You wondered why there are gaps in your collection when you have attended faithfully year after year. You may be assuming that there’s always been an ornament associated with the event, but that’s not the case.
The festivities date back to 1985, but the first commemorative ornament was not issued until 2000, to help pay for the holiday extravaganza that the nonprofit Friends put on in partnership with the municipal government.
That inaugural ornament is not stamped with the year it appeared, but all subsequent ornaments are, creating a memorable timeline treasured by many who flock to Honolulu Hale annually to enjoy the lights, trees, wreaths and outdoor displays.
The website has a good selection of past years’ ornaments, with only 2002 and 2003 sold out. Ordered online, each ornament costs $23, which includes shipping in the U.S.
This year’s Honolulu City Lights celebration kicks off Saturday, Dec. 5. The Electric Light Parade starts at 6 p.m., followed by the lighting of the Christmas tree outside Honolulu Hale.
Q: Please give more information about the automated refuse collection system. You said where to place the bin, but you didn’t say what time.
A: For residential collection on Oahu, place the refuse container at the curb by 6 a.m. on collection days but not before 6 p.m. the night before, according to the city.
Promptly remove the container from the curb once the refuse is collected, and return the cart to your property for storage. Do not leave containers at the curb on non-collection days.
The previous Kokua Line question-and-answer to which you referred, about where to place the refuse cart (directly at the curb, with the handle facing away from the street, according to the city) generated numerous emails, phone calls and online comments.
Some readers vented about trying to follow the rules, only to have their bins blocked by inconsiderate motorists. Others noted that safe placement varies according to specific conditions of the neighborhood. Here is a sampling of the feedback, which Kokua Line appreciates:
» “I’d like to add a footnote to your article on proper trash bin placement. We had our overhead utility cable ripped down when it got entangled in the trash bin when the truck lifted it up. So, whenever possible, place the bins away from overhanging utility lines to avoid having them torn down by the bin when it is hoisted and dumped.”
» “If you live on a street where cars are parked bumper to bumper within both sides of your driveway, the only way to place your bin is to drive out and park in a friendly neighbor’s driveway and then haul out your bin and leave them in the center of your driveway. Another way is to task a member of the household to move the bin after you drive away.”
» “I am not going to risk my trash not getting picked up because some inconsiderate person parks two inches away from my bin, which happens all the time. It takes two to follow these rules.”
» “So how come we have to place it on the curb but the garbage truck puts it back down in the street? That’s what happens in my neighborhood.”
Trash collection on Oahu clearly is a hot topic. The city provides all sorts of interesting information on the subject at opala.org, the website for the Department of Environmental Services. Check it out if you can.
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.
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