Question: A relative of mine has recently passed away. Are you aware of a school, library or training agency that would accept donations of laptop computers, and would they provide a donation receipt? These computers would be wiped clean of any personal information.
Answer: Yes. One option is a 24-year-old program sponsored by the Rotary Club of Metropolitan Honolulu: Hawaii Computers for Kids. Hundreds of elementary schools and nonprofit groups use donated personal computers for instruction and training, said Ken Goldstein, the program’s founder and coordinator.
Schools and nonprofits need: Core i-series and later Windows computers, Intel- based Macs, networking equipment and working printers with USB ports. Each acceptable computer should have its own working LED monitor, he said. Other items will be considered, and receipts are offered.
For more information or to arrange a donation, call Goldstein at 239-7950 or email info@catii.com.
Q: Regarding that shredding event (808ne.ws/shredhi): Is there a limit on the number of boxes I can bring in?
A: Yes. Each person is limited to two banker’s boxes of documents to shred at the Hawaii Better Business Bureau’s Secure Your ID Day, which will be held Oct. 15 from 8 to 11 a.m. For locations and other details, see the recent Kokua Line column (link above) or bit.ly/secureyouridday.
Q: Wasn’t there supposed to be a big public meeting about the Red Hill storage tanks?
A: Yes. You haven’t missed it. It’s scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Moanalua Middle School, 1289 Mahiole St.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Hawaii Department of Health, the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency are sponsoring the meeting, according to a notice posted by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, which considers the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility a serious threat to Oahu’s long-term supply of safe drinking water.
Representatives of agencies will be on hand to explain what is being done to monitor the groundwater below the aging facility — which has leaked in the past — and discuss any progress made toward upgrading it, according to the notice.
The facility, which includes 20 massive fuel tanks owned by the Navy, is located 100 feet above a groundwater aquifer that supplies drinking water from Moanalua to Hawaii Kai. In January 2014 the Navy reported that 27,000 gallons of jet fuel had leaked from Tank 5, which can hold up to 12.5 million gallons.
Ongoing testing by BWS of its wells in the area shows that the water is safe to drink. “However, Navy studies show that fuel leaks from the Red Hill tanks have occurred in the past and the groundwater underneath the tanks are already contaminated with fuel. These findings describe a situation that poses a serious threat to the aquifer’s long-term ability to provide safe drinking water,” the BWS states on its website.
It wants the Navy to double-line the underground fuel storage tanks, install advanced leak detection and tank corrosion protection, and clean up the fuel that already leaked so that it doesn’t contaminate the wells.
The agency has created a searchable online archive related to leaks at the facility, including inspection reports and groundwater monitoring records; find it at 808ne.ws/redhillrecords.
Auwe
Auwe to those bicyclists who ride on the makai sidewalk on South King Street, even after the city took away one traffic lane to put in a bikeway. — Smh (shaking my head)
Mahalo
Mahalo nui loa to the kindhearted person who found my blue mock-croc-skin wallet on the bus, containing my new bus pass and cash. You made my week joyful. Thank you very much. — J.C.
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.
