Question: When can we start making appointments for the new bulky pickup system?
Answer: Regular monthly service is winding down for metro-Honolulu residents (Foster Village to Hawaii Kai), who soon will have to make an appointment for curbside collection of bulky items.
Assuming that you live in that area, you will be able to make an appointment starting May 15, for collection service scheduled to begin June 3, according to the city’s Department of Environmental Services. To be clear, you’d be making an appointment well ahead of the actual pickup.
Once the reservation system opens, you will be able to make an appointment online, at opala.org, or, if you lack internet access, by calling 768-3200.
Q: At my gym, (24 Hour Fitness) you scan your finger to check in. What happens to this data if I quit the gym?
A: Your identifying information would be automatically deleted if you cancel your membership, according to the company. You can have it deleted now, while you are still a member, if you’d rather use a photo ID to check in to the gym; simply put your request in writing, 24 Hour Fitness explains in its privacy policy.
The gym chain has used cardless check-in for about a decade, and emphasizes on its website that it neither collects nor stores members’ fingerprints.
It explains how the scanning system works: To enroll in cardless check-in, a member supplies a 10-digit check-in code (usually their phone number) and has their index fingers scanned. The scans chart the distance between a few fingertip points unique to the individual. An identifying number based on those distances is generated, and this number is what the company stores. “We do not store your fingerprints, nor can the data we store be re-created into a fingerprint image. Additionally, we do not sell, lease, rent, trade or otherwise transfer the data collected by the cardless check-in system to any third parties. Your identifying number and 10-digit check- in code are automatically deleted when your membership is terminated in our systems, or may be deleted at any time upon written request,” it states.
As you know, members using the cardless system scan their finger and input their 10-digit code when they enter the gym. The company says the system is convenient and ensures that only members use the facility.
Auwe
Why are some motorists in such a hurry that they almost cause a bad accident? On Friday at about 11 a.m. by the Kaheka Don Quijote and the covered parking garage, I was about to cross at the crosswalk and a car stopped. The car behind honked three or four times rapidly, sounding impatient, and gunned his motor. He raced across the crosswalk, going only half a block, where he had to stop at the red light. If I had taken a step or two, I wouldn’t be writing this; I would have been a fatality because of this stupid man who was so impatient he couldn’t wait. I hope he reads this, as he could have killed someone (me). Does getting there a second sooner make a difference? Please everyone, be patient, no need to hurry and be sorry. — A senior
Mahalo
Did you know there’s a lift assist service? A family member fell in the wee hours of the morning on May 1. For the better part of an hour, we tried every which way to get him up, to no avail. I finally called 911 and the dispatcher promptly connected me to “lift assist.”
The Fire Department responded immediately and, upon arrival, resolved the problem in less than a minute! I forgot to ask what station they were from (we are in the Ward Avenue/King Street area) but I want to extend a huge mahalo to the four firemen who were so helpful. — Grateful in Makiki
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.
