Question: Is it true they tell the Health Department if your child didn’t get a physical before school starts?
Answer: Yes. You are referring to the state requirement that students entering seventh grade in Hawaii’s public schools have a physical exam within 12 months before classes begin. “If a child does not receive a physical examination by the first day of seventh grade, he or she will still be allowed to attend school. However, the Department of Education will provide the student’s name, address and email to the Department of Health. The Department of Health and Department of Education will follow up with the child’s parents or legal guardians during the year to encourage scheduling a well-child visit,” according to a DOE fact sheet. Notify the school by Oct. 30 if you don’t want your contact information shared with the Health Department.
Q: What counts as “renewable energy,” when they’re talking about Hawaii energy goals?
A: Hawaii’s Renewable Portfolio Standard for investor-owned utilities defines renewable energy as “energy generated or produced using the following sources: (1) wind; (2) the sun; (3) falling water; (4) biogas, including landfill and sewage-based digester gas; (5) geothermal; (6) ocean water, currents and waves, including ocean thermal energy conversion; (7) biomass, including biomass crops, agricultural and animal residues and wastes, and municipal solid waste and other solid waste; (8) biofuels; and (9) hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources,” according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Read more at 808ne.ws/renen.
Q: Will they sell the boats seized in Lanikai?
A: Only if they are worth enough and their owners do not claim them under a set process, according to a news release from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources on Wednesday. The day before, the department had impounded three catamarans and one sailboat it said were stored illegally on Lanikai Beach, which is public land.
DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) “will follow its impound procedures, issue a legal notice and, if not claimed by their owners, the vessels may be put up for auction if their individual value exceeds $5,000. If they are worth less, they will be disposed of,” according to the news release.
The four vessels were taken to an impound yard in the Keehi small boat harbor. They were among the few remaining after the department warned owners June 15 to stop storing boats on the beach without a permit. About 90 boats were being left there overnight when the warning was issued. DLNR removed the unauthorized vessels to restore open beach space.
Volunteers needed
Each tax season, many Hawaii residents rely on the AARP Foundation’s free Tax-Aide program for help preparing their federal and state income tax returns. Tax-Aide, in turn, relies on reliable volunteers to run the program, which is offered in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service. AARP recruits and trains volunteers months ahead of tax season, and is putting the call out now that it needs more help. Tax-Aide seeks volunteer tax preparers, client facilitators, interpreters and people who can provide technical and management assistance, according to an AARP news release. Every level of experience is welcome. For more information, check aarpfoundation.org/taxaide or call 888-687-2277.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the kind person who found and turned in my wife’s bracelet and to the Blaisdell Concert Hall staff who kept it safely until she claimed it the next day. This is her favorite bracelet, which I gave her more than 20 years ago. You’ve made her very happy and so grateful. And me, too! — Greg Markus
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.
