Question: I need information about the drug disposal event. Please print the hours and locations. Just the date and a link don’t help me, and I’m sure other readers also.
Answer: You seem to know the date, but for readers who are not aware: People with unused or expired prescription medication are invited to drop it off, anonymously and no questions asked, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at locations around the state.
Only solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules will be accepted; no liquids. New or used needles and syringes will not be accepted either.
Here are the drop-off locations, according to a flier from the the state Attorney General’s Office, a partner in this 13th National Take-Back Initiative (NTBI):
Oahu
>> State Capitol, 415 S. Beretania St.; drive through from Beretania Street.
>> Kahala Mall, 4211 Waialae Ave; inside the mall, near the Kilauea Avenue end.
>> Pearl City station of Honolulu Police Department, 1100 Waimano Home Road; parking lot.
>> Town Center of Mililani, 95-1249 Meheula Parkway.
>> Windward Mall, 46-056 Kamehameha Highway; inside mall, near food court.
>> Marine Corps Exchange, Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe; must have base access.
>> Schofield Barracks Army and Air Force Exchange Service Post Exchange; inside near flower shop; must have base access.
>> Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange, 4725 Bougainville Drive; main lobby; must have base access.
Hawaii island
>> Ka Waena Lapaau Medical Complex, 670 Ponahawai St. in Hilo; upper parking lot.
>> Kona station of Hawaii Police Department, 74-0611 Hale Makai Place; parking lot.
Maui
>> Maui Police Department, 55 Mahalani St. in Wailuku; parking lot.
Kauai
>> Kauai Police Department, 3990 Kaana St. in Lihue; parking lot.
Besides the AG’s office, this free disposal service is coordinated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the state Department of Public Safety’s State Narcotics Enforcement Division.
The organizers said that ridding households of unneeded and expired prescription drugs at NTBI events may lower the risk of prescription-drug abuse, accidental ingestion or poisoning, and improper disposal via the sewer system.
For more information, check online at dea.gov or ag.hawaii.gov, or call 541-1930 on Oahu (please note that this phone number will not be staffed on Saturday, the day of the event).
Q: I wanted to suggest the geoportal as a place to find beach rights of way (BROW), but when I went on there I couldn’t find them. Are they listed?
A: Yes. We had the same luck as you when we visited Hawaii’s Geospatial Data Portal at geoportal.hawaii.gov and searched for “beach right of way,” so we followed up with the state. The Office of Planning’s Hawaii Statewide GIS Program said information about public shoreline entry points could be found by searching for “public access,” and that based on your input it has also tagged the voluminous data-set “BROW” and “PROW” (for public right of way) to make it easier to find. Enter any of those terms in the site’s keyword search and a clickable map of Oahu’s shoreline access-ways will pop up. Thanks for supplementing the resources we mentioned in a recent column (808ne.ws/414kline) about public access to beach lanes.
Mahalo
Thank you to the very nice gentleman from Makaha who quietly paid our bill at Liliha Bakery on April 7 at about 1:15 p.m. My mom and I enjoyed talking with you while seated at the counter area of the bakery, and were surprised that you took care of our bill. We will definitely pay your kindness forward. Thank you for making our day! — Aloha, E and D
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.
