Kokua Line: Senior couple harassed on formerly pleasant walk

Question: Any advice for a couple of seniors who were harassed on our walk around the Ala Wai Canal recently? It’s one of our favorite routes, but we are reluctant to use it now because of the man who yelled at us and followed us for about a block, threatening to use the microphone on his rolling boombox to further “shame you elders” for having “no respect” for him. We have seen him a few times before, playing loud music, but this time he definitely saw us and would probably recognize us if we dared to walk by him again. I don’t think we could outrun him, and using our phones to call 911 would just antagonize him. I’m sure we aren’t the only people who love Hawaii, treat everyone with respect but feel increasingly frustrated as we tiptoe past tents; walk in the street to make room for those who live, bike and skateboard on sidewalks; avoid public restrooms; and make sure we are home before dark. We’re walking! It’s good for our health and the environment. Is our only safe option never to leave our tiny apartment except to drive to the Y for exercise? Thanks for listening, even if there is no solution to this problem.

Answer: You asked for advice, so we’ll start with this: Don’t give up. Ever. Don’t accept your diminished quality of life as inevitable amid homelessness in Honolulu (you said in a follow-up email that the man was homeless and impaired). There are potential solutions and strategies that understandably focus on homeless persons. But folks like you also must be heard — vulnerable senior citizens tired of being hassled by people seemingly immune to intervention.

Here are a few potential steps for you and many other Kokua Line readers who have expressed similar concerns:

>> Call 911 if you are the victim of a crime or your safety is threatened.

>> Call 768-4381 to request enforcement of the Stored Property Ordinance and Sidewalk Nuisance Ordinance, which apply to personal property illegally stored on city property. Ala Wai Park and Kapahulu Bike Path were scheduled for enforcement today, so you don’t need to call this time. Crews continuously remove personal belongings from city property, based on complaints.

>> The Institute for Human Services assists homeless people in the area you mentioned.

Call 447-2929 to request outreach. Be aware, though, that teams may have already offered to help this man and been rebuffed by him.

>> Contact information is different for state property. Contact the state Homeless Help Line to report an encampment on state land or to seek social services for a homeless person or group. Call 586-0193 or emailgov.homelessness@hawaii.gov (email is preferred).

TurboTax fix

We’ve heard from readers who had trouble filing Hawaii income tax returns using TurboTax income tax preparation software installed on their home computers. They reported this message: “Your state return(s) is currently unavailable to view, print, or download because some of the forms haven’t been finalized yet.”

We contacted the state Department of Taxation and Inuit, the maker of TurboTax. Inuit said the message is incorrect and that it’s fixing the problem.

“Unfortunately, a small number of TurboTax Desktop (CD or download) customers filing a Hawaii state return are seeing a ‘Forms Not Final’ message for one or more of their Hawaii state forms, when that is not the case. We are working quickly to address this issue and expect to have a fix in place by (the end of the day) Wednesday. Customers can sign up to be notified when it has been fixed. This does not impact TurboTax Online customers,” said Ashley McMahon, a spokeswoman for TurboTax.

Go to 808ne.ws/hifile for more information.

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.