Question: What is the status of the new shower project at Kaimana Beach next to the Natatorium? The project started out with a great flurry and fanfare with folks eagerly anticipating the completion of the new showers, and then seemed to stall.
Answer: A blessing for “the new and improved shower at Kaimana Beach” is scheduled to be held Monday, the city said Friday, indicating the project is complete. This will be welcome news for numerous readers who have complained about work apparently being months behind schedule. When the city announced in January that construction on the new outdoor shower was ready to begin, it estimated the project would be completed by summer.
Q: Kokua Line mentioned that Going Green will be at McKinley High School on Oct. 28. Does that include shredding of documents? I need to have things shredded.
A: No. It’s mainly an e-waste recycling event, although some other items will be accepted — but there’s no document shredding. The drive-thru, drop-off community event scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 28 at McKinley High School will accept computers, printers, scanners, TVs, auto and lead-acid batteries, HI-5 containers, used eyeglasses and hearing aids, gently used clothing, towels and blankets, canned goods and nonperishable food, including pet food, according to a news release from Going Green coordinator Rene Mansho.
Going Green has not sponsored a free shredding event in several years.
Q: How long will the lights be out at Sandy Beach? It’s scary dark out there.
A: Until about mid- November, according to a news release from Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which explained that the city turned off about a dozen freestanding and comfort station lights at Sandy Beach Park on Sept. 29 to prevent artificial light from disorienting honu hatchlings and seabird fledglings. Honu, or Hawaiian green sea turtles, “tend to emerge from their buried nests at night, guided by moonlight and other celestial light sources towards the ocean,” the news release said. Young seabirds also can be set off course by artificial lights, resulting in exhausted birds falling to the ground and being killed by predators or vehicles, or dying of starvation, it said.
The extinguished lights are on the Halona Blowhole-side of the beach park, the news release said. They are expected to remain off until biologists confirm the hatchlings have left their nests, likely by mid-November.
Maui telephone survey
State Department of Health employees will be calling a random sample of Maui residents Monday through Wednesday to assess people’s needs after the Aug. 8 wildfires. “The information collected will be used to direct state and federal resources to meet the immediate and medium-term needs of Maui residents as well as to link participating households to any additional services they might need and have not been able to access. We appreciate the community’s participation in this assessment,” state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said in a news release.
The telephone survey is voluntary and will take less than 10 minutes to complete, the news release said. People will be asked about their health and well-being, what they need, whether they have access to medical and behavioral health support services and any barriers they’ve faced in seeking and receiving services. No personally identifiable information will be collected. All survey responses will be confidential.
Mahalo
I would like to send a “thank you” to Kaui, an employee at AutoZone in Pearl City. I needed new windshield wipers for my car. Kaui helped me get the type I needed and installed them as well. I also needed a new gas cap. He fixed that for me too. Mahalo Kaui! — Senior citizen
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
