Question: This is a morbid question, but I have to ask, with all the mass shootings. Is there a resource as a family we can look at to prepare for this awful possibility? … My extended family lives close by and we do a lot of things together … kids, adults and kupuna. …
Answer: The U.S. Department of Homeland Defense has the best website we’ve seen devoted to this topic, at ready.gov/active-shooter. It includes easy-to-understand text, videos and graphics that you can view and share with family members at your discretion, depending on their ages. How potential victims should react to an active shooter is distilled in the advice to “Run. Hide. Fight.”
>> Run: The No. 1 goal is to escape, if possible. Leave belongings behind and run. Flee even if others disagree. Call 911 once safely out of range.
>> Hide: If escape is impossible, get out of view and be silent. Silence all electronic devices. If indoors, turn off lights, close blinds and lock and block doors. If there is more than one person in the room, hide separately; don’t huddle. Try to signal police silently, such as through text message or social media.
>> Fight: This is the last resort. Be as aggressive as possible, prepared to inflict lethal injury. Recruit others to help ambush the shooter. Improvise weapons from chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, whatever may be on hand.
The website also advises to determine an escape route at any venue, and how to recognize potential signs of mass violence.
Q: Who is responsible for maintaining the city properties on Kahaloa Drive and Kahaloa Place in Manoa? Previously, the Road Maintenance Division periodically maintained the property but the responsibility was reported to be delegated to the Parks and Recreation Division. Since January 2017, the properties have not been maintained and the overgrowth is now on the street and blocking the drainage in the residential area.
A: Cleanup is scheduled to occur before the end of November, although as of Wednesday which agency would take the lead was undecided, said Ross Sasamura, director of the city’s Department of Facility Maintenance.
“The work that’s needed to control overgrowth at the area in question is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of Honolulu. Agency assignments to accomplish this work will not preclude clearing the area to restore proper access and drainage,” he said.
Diamond Head closures extended
Rockfall mitigation work at Diamond Head will limit access to the summit trail through mid-December, about two weeks longer than state officials first reported (Kokua Line shared those details Oct. 23). Here’s the updated schedule, from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources:
>> The Monday-to-Thursday full closures of the summit trail are extended through Nov. 30, except for Thanksgiving week, which has special hours (see below). No hiking will be allowed Nov. 13-16 and Nov. 27-30.
>> In addition, the trail will close at noon on Nov. 17, Dec. 1, Dec. 4-8 and Dec. 11-15. Hikers must be off the trail by 2 p.m. on those dates.
>> Weekend hours are unchanged. The summit trail will be open regular hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays, including today, which is Veterans Day.
>> Special Thanksgiving week hours also are unchanged. The trail will close at noon Nov. 20-22 and be open regular hours Nov. 23-26. Thanksgiving is Nov. 23.
Crews are stabilizing areas along the trail, which involves loosening rocks, making it too dangerous to allow hikers on the trail while work is underway, according to the DLNR, which said the project is expected to be finished by Dec. 15.
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.
