Question: Will Pearlridge Center be having another branch of the post office in the mall? We’ve had two branches of the post office here since I have lived in the area (Aiea) and it was wonderful! The last of the two was in Pearlridge Center-Downtown, next to Longs. The employees were wonderful — very knowledgeable and informative, and it had all the necessary supplies. It was well used. Now, I have to take a bus to the Aiea post office. When I get off the bus, I have to walk down a hill and two blocks to the post office, which is a bit dangerous in the rain, especially for seniors, who also might be carrying packages. Then on the trip back to the bus, it is up the hill. Please, may we have a post office branch in the Pearlridge mall again?
Answer: Not anytime soon, apparently. The Pearlridge mailing center to which you refer was a Contract Postal Unit (CPU), a separate business with which the U.S. Postal Service contracted to provide mailing services and products to the public at standard rates.
Since the Postal Trends shop closed last year, the Postal Service has been working with the mall’s management to identify a new business with which to partner as a CPU, but has yet to find one, said Duke Gonzalez, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii.
So for now, your closest post office remains the Aiea branch, 99-040 Kauhale St.
CPUs provide basic services of a regular post office, including selling stamps and shipping packages by priority or express mail. The Postal Service promotes the contracts as a way for retailers to increase foot traffic to their stores and provide a popular customer service. Businesses operating a CPU face numerous restrictions, however, including that they not sell products or services that compete with the U.S. Postal Service. Also, they may not add any surcharge to the standard rates.
The opening of a CPU is driven by the need for additional Postal Service access points in a community. The Postal Service, rather than a willing retail host, decides whether that need exists.
Child care programs
The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation is holding a public hearing on proposed administrative rules governing its recreational programs for children. The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. June 21 in the first-floor conference room of the Mission Memorial Building at 550 S. King St. You can read the proposed rules at 808ne.ws/1Pi9i1D. The proposal seems primarily aimed at converting existing regulations into administrative rules, but there are some new elements. One reader noted a provision granting authority to raise the Summer Plus Program fee $1 every year to cover rising operational costs. That’s covered in the proposal’s Subchapter 6: Fees, Waivers and Refunds.
Q: Do you need a license to fish in Hawaii? I mean for fun, not commercially.
A: Yes and no. No license is required for recreational saltwater fishing (in the ocean), but a license is required for the taking of certain freshwater fish, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources.
You can learn more about Hawaii’s required fishing licenses and permits at 808ne.ws/ 1UFanVD. Click on “Recreational” to go to a web page where you may order a freshwater game fishing license online or get directions for obtaining one in person.
The freshwater license requirement applies to anyone over the age of 9, whether a permanent resident, visitor or member of the military stationed in Hawaii. Children younger than 9 may freshwater-fish without a license when accompanied by a licensed adult, according to the web page.
As noted, recreational fishing means that you won’t sell your catch. Any person in Hawaii who takes marine life to sell must hold a commercial marine license, according to DAR.
Auwe
Please quiet down! That’s what I have to say to neighbors who act like since it’s summer for them it’s summer for everybody. Some of us still have to get up for work in the morning, so please be respectful and end the nightly festivities at a decent hour. — Not retired, but oh-so-tired
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.
