Question: Whom do we call to report a homeless group that is growing by the day? I don’t want to call the police, but their stuff is out there 24/7 and it’s blocking public property (sidewalks, bus stop, benches, etc.). It needs to go.
Answer: You should contact the city Department of Customer Services by emailing complaints@honolulu.gov, calling 768-4381 or submitting a problem report online at honolulu.gov/csd/concern.html, said Andrew Pereira, a spokesman for Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
You also may write a letter to:
Department of Customer Services, Attention: Director
Mission Memorial Building
550 S. King St.
Honolulu, HI 96813
This contact information is an update from January, when Pereira advised calling the Department of Facilities Maintenance directly to trigger enforcement of the Stored Property Ordinance and Sidewalk Nuisance Ordinance, which allow the city to remove personal belongings that create safety hazards or obstructions on public sidewalks.
“Due to some recent changes in staffing in the city’s SPO/SNO office, the previous telephone number that was promoted (768-3585) is not always monitored as it was in the past,” Pereira said, so “the best way to ensure all complaints and concerns are noted and addressed is by contacting the Department of Customer Services.”
The SPO/SNO laws can be enforced islandwide (unlike Honolulu’s separate sit-lie law, which restricts sitting or lying on public sidewalks in designated commercial districts and is enforced by the Honolulu Police Department), but DFM has limited personnel to do so and therefore relies on complaints from the public to highlight areas of concern.
So be sure to follow up, even if you made a complaint earlier that appeared to go unanswered.
Q: I need the kokua of Kokua Line readers to help me find a relative of an N. Donovan. My husband found a necklace over 10 years ago near the intersection of Punchbowl and Beretania streets. Inscriptions on it indicate that N. Donovan may have been a graduate of Dominican College in San Rafael, Calif., in the early 1900s. I placed ads twice in the classified/lost and found which were unsuccessful. I also called the college and they were unable to find any graduate with that name. I am surmising that a relative of N. Donovan was either a visitor here or lives on Oahu and lost the necklace. Can your readers help locate that person?
A: Although this is not typical Kokua Line fare, we were touched by your persistence in trying to return this heirloom. In a follow-up phone conversation, you mentioned that you had also searched fruitlessly online over the years, although you stuck to free data sites. Websites that mine various public-records databases might have been more successful, but we understand your need to avoid costly fees.
We’re happy to try crowdsourcing this query through Kokua Line. If this necklace rings a bell, please email the reader directly at binbinko620@gmail.com. Provide a detailed description of the jewelry, including the color, design and year and full name (N. is just the first initial) in the inscription.
Auwe
Death, taxes and digging up Kapiolani Boulevard are certainties in life. Does any city/state agency monitor contractors who dig up and then place temporary metal plates covering large holes? Between Date Street and Isenberg Street going Ewa-bound, the metal plates will destroy your tires! Seems like they were haphazardly placed. Does any construction supervisor care at all? Auwe! — B. Nuibe
Mahalo
I would like to give a big “thank you” to Darren, a customer service manager at Pearl City Walmart. I keep my charge- account receipts until I receive my bank-card statement to reconcile the bill. Upon receiving my latest statement, there was a Walmart charge for which I had no receipt; I wasn’t sure if I had misplaced it or been wrongly charged. … I called Pearl City Walmart, was transferred to Darren and explained that I needed to know if the charge on Feb. 28 was mine, and if he could tell me what I purchased. … Five minutes later he called back and the problem was resolved. — Grateful customer
