Question: Do you know the “Waianae Steve” website? He hikes on Oahu and lists his hikes and dates on that site. But nothing new has been posted for several years. Was someone unhappy with his hiking lists? Has something happened to Steve? I don’t know his last name. Do you know anything about the website or Steve? — Colorado reader
Answer: L. Steve Rohrmayr, the retired schoolteacher and avid outdoorsman known as “Waianae Steve,” tells Kokua Line that he is just fine, still hikes about twice a week and hasn’t had any complaints about the website, waianaecrider.com, where he chronicled adventures on more than 110 Oahu trails from 1999 to 2014.
He said he stopped updating the website to avoid repeating himself. Having lived in Hawaii since the 1960s, he has traversed most of the highlighted trails more than once, and asks, “How many times can you post about the same thing?”
He writes on the website that many of the trails he describes require permission to enter, noting that “just because I tell about my adventures on these trails I am by no means urging anyone to follow in my footsteps.”
The website also has information about native Hawaiian plants, island history, particularly in the Waianae Valley, and other topics that hold his interest.
Rohrmayr also is a longtime member of the Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club, clearing trails and guiding hikes, especially in Leeward Oahu. Nonmembers are welcome to join many of the group’s regular excursions. You can find out more at htmclub.org.
Q: What ever happened to the idea of voting by mail?
A: Individuals registered to vote in Hawaii may request an absentee ballot to do so by mail. If you are asking about the long-standing proposal to require all Hawaii voters to cast their ballots by mail (with limited exceptions), that measure failed in the state Legislature this past session, for the third consecutive year. HB 1401, HD 1, SD 1 stalled in conference committee, to the dismay of Hawaii Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Hawaii and other advocates who said it would boost voter turnout in a state known for dismal participation by the electorate.
Q: I heard that there was a precedent for an elevated park if they scrap the rail, but I didn’t catch the name or location. Do you know?
A: It could be New York’s High Line, a popular public park built 30 feet up, atop a defunct elevated freight railroad on Manhattan’s West Side. The High Line runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th avenues.
The park, popular with New Yorkers and visitors during all four seasons, is one example of “a movement in cities across the world to reclaim underutilized infrastructure and reimagine it as public space,” according to the High Line Network, which you can read more about at thehighline.org.
“Great Museums: Elevated Thinking,” a documentary that first aired on PBS in 2014, described High Line Park as a “uniquely captivating public space” for nature, art and leisure, flourishing above 22 blocks of busy city streets.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the couple in a silver/white car who stopped on Ulupuni Street to help me up after I fell in my driveway the morning of June 20. Your kokua and aloha will be remembered. — A reader
Mahalo
I want to thank the volunteers who provided their time and knowledge to teach our community seniors how to properly use the computer and not be afraid. Mahalo to Rene Mansho (project coordinator); the instructors, Alan (college student) and Joshua (high school student); and Carole Kai, for allowing us to use the facility and computers. — V.R.
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.
