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| Apr 29, 2021 | Kokua Line: When will University of Hawaii announce whether students must get COVID-19 vaccine? | Question: Will the University of Hawaii say by May 1 whether admitted students must get the COVID-19 vaccine to enroll this fall, or to live in a dorm? Other schools have announced and I would prefer my son go to one of them, so he knows hi... |
| Dec 30, 2020 | Off the News: Time to treecycle that noble fir? | Without getting too bah-humbug about it, here’s the truth: Christmas 2020 is history. So, likely, is that live Christmas tree.
To recycle it, those who have the green cart can cut it up, put it inside and recycle it on green-waste collectio... |
| Dec 23, 2020 | Kokua Line: No trash pickup on consecutive Fridays, due to Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays | Question: Our trash pickup day is on Friday. Is the city planning an alternate day for us? It will be two Fridays in a row with Christmas and New Year’s.
Answer: If you are on a three-cart collection route and it is your gray cart (rubbish)... |
| Dec 11, 2020 | Oahu restaurants get 90-day delay of ban on plastic utensils | Restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and other businesses that serve prepared food on Oahu are getting an extra three months to use up their plastic or other fossil fuel-based forks, spoons, knives and other utensils.
Mayor Kirk Ca... |
| Dec 10, 2020 | 90-day extension OK’d for education of plastic utensils ban for Oahu restaurants | Mayor Kirk Caldwell has agreed to a request to extend by 90 days the “education period” for Oahu restaurants and other food vendors that by law are supposed to stop using plastic or other fossil-fuel-based forks, spoons, knives or other ute... |
| Jun 19, 2020 | Kokua Line: New bulky item pickup system starting in July has condo dwellers worried | BRUCE ASATO / 2019
A pile of bulky items and regular trash sits on a sidewalk in the 430 block of Nohonani Street in Waikiki. Starting July 1, Honolulu County will collect bulky items only by appointment.
Question: Starting in July, everyon... |
| Jan 31, 2020 | Appointment-only bulky pickup continuing in urban Honolulu | BRUCE ASATO / [email protected]
A pile of bulky items and regular trash sat on a sidewalk in the 430 block of Nohonani Street in Waikiki on July 8.
The city’s pilot appointment-based system for bulky item collection service in urban... |
| Dec 4, 2019 | Kokua Line: Oahu’s bag ban expands Jan. 1, and affected businesses can’t waive fee | Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
KITV
David “Davey D” Daniels
Question: I was wondering, with the stores charging 15 cents if the customer requires a bag, where does the money go? Read more
Mahalo for r... |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Kokua Line: Honolulu’s bulky-waste pickup exceeds others in level of service, city insists | Question: We have been leaving our bulky items on the curb like always. Is that wrong? I am seeing so much on the news, but things seem the same here.
Answer: No, it’s not wrong, because you live in Waipahu, which is not included in the pil... |
| Aug 13, 2019 | Bulky item pickup program improving, Caldwell announces | Video by Craig T. Kojima
Two months in, an update was provided on Honolulu's revised bulky item trash pickup program.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / [email protected]
Environmental Services Director Lori Kahikina examined several items Monday i... |
| Apr 30, 2019 | Bulky-item pickup by appointment only debuts for some of Oahu | STAR-ADVERTISER/2012
Bulky items waiting pickup on Keeaumoku Street. Starting next month, bulky-item pickup will be by appointment only in several city districts.
Starting May 15 residents from Foster Village to Hawaii Kai — including busy ... |
| Jan 4, 2019 | Kokua Line: Home exemption rises automatically if city has owner-occupant’s birth date on file | Question: Regarding the property tax assessment, do we get an extra exemption for being elderly?
Answer: The value of the home exemption for owner-occupants on Oahu increases at age 65. The basic exemption is $80,000, which rises to $120,00... |
| Dec 14, 2018 | Kokua Line: Place glossy paper in trash for burning at waste-to-energy plant | Question: I’m saddened that Hagadone Printing will be closing soon. I’ve been taking all my shredder waste, magazines, glossy mailers, junk mail, etc., for recycling at their location on Puuhale Road. How long will they be accepting paper w... |
| Dec 10, 2018 | Letter: ADU builder can’t get new trash bin | STAR-ADVERTISER
Trash bins line the curb along Wainiha Street in Hawaii Kai.
We recently went through the grueling process of permitting and building an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on our property, adding another rental property as the ci... |
| Oct 26, 2018 | Kokua Line: Readers seek advice about propane storage and disposal | DARYL LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Phoenix Roewe fills a propane tank for a customer at Pahoa Battery and Propane in 2015.
Question: How can I get rid of some propane tanks I have stored on my property? I don’t want them around afte... |
| Sep 17, 2018 | Kokua Line: Spike in driver’s license renewals peaks in October, city says | STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
The five driver’s licensing centers, like this one in Kapolei, have more staff devoted to driver’s license and state ID services, while satellite city halls handle a variety of tasks.
Question: Regarding the 2018 spike ... |
| Aug 21, 2018 | Tow crew must unhook car if driver shows up in time | Question: Auwe! There is hardly any street parking left, and they tow you at the drop of a hat! I begged the guy to let me move my car, and they took it anyway! Is that legal?
Answer: No. “If you show up on the scene when your car is in the... |
| Nov 28, 2017 | City wants to extend landfill’s life | The city will move forward with its plan to continue using the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill into the near future with the hope that it won’t need a new location down the line, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced Monday.
A condition of a perm... |
| Nov 28, 2017 | Neighbor looks for solution to rubbish bins left on curb | STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Collection and disposal of garbage on Oahu is covered in Chapter 9 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, which you can read at 808ne.ws/garbrule.
Question: How do we take care of this problem? One neighbor is putting h... |
| Aug 1, 2017 | Regular alkaline batteries OK to be trashed, city says | Question: My son has so many different gaming devices that take batteries. He just throws them in the trash when they run out (the batteries), but that doesn’t seem right to me.
Answer: As long as you are talking about regular alkaline batt... |
| May 23, 2017 | Law regulates times, places bins can be put out on curb | Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
COURTESY MAYOR’S OFFICE
A model of the bronze statue of King Kamehameha III by sculptor Thomas Jay Warren selected for placement in Thomas Square.
Question: Is there a l... |
| Nov 18, 2016 | Cats may be relocated only if they’re cared for afterward | Question: Can I get in trouble for relocating feral cats from colonies?
Answer: It depends on your intent and behavior. Allison Andrade Gammel, community relations director for the Hawaiian Humane Society, explains:
“The question can be ans... |
| Oct 25, 2016 | Container for used needles can be bought or constructed | Question: Why don’t they accept needles at those prescription drug takebacks, and what am I supposed to do with them? I am talking about needles I use at home for my diabetes, not a lot of medical waste from a hospital or anything like that... |
| Aug 23, 2016 | City undecided on rubbish, recycling bins for ADUs | Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Question: We are in the process of getting our permit to build an ADU on our property. It will be a separate dwelling. Will the city issue additional gray, green and blu... |
| Apr 4, 2016 | AARP will shred documents for free during ‘Shred Fest’ | Question: Do you know if there will be one of those free shredding events after tax season?
Answer: Yes. AARP’s “Shred Fest” is scheduled for April 30 from 8 a.m. to noon. Free document shredding will be provided at the Access Information M... |
| Mar 14, 2016 | Seniors pay original price to replace lost bus passes | Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Question: Recently I lost my senior bus pass. It was a two-year pass. I sent an email to TheBus to find out whether I have to buy a new pass or whether they will reissue... |
| Jan 26, 2016 | Getting another green bin awaits union negotiations | Question: I’m wondering why so many neighbors on my street have two green waste bins and I can’t get another one. I called the city office several times and got various answers but no second container. We have several large trees in our bac... |
| Aug 17, 2015 | Recording police activity in a public place is legal | Question: Under what circumstances can the police confiscate your video equipment when taping a police incident on a public road or sidewalk?
Answer: An officer may not take your camera or recording equipment merely because you are recordin... |
| Jan 12, 2015 | Banning the bag | Honolulu is the fourth and last county in the state scheduled to begin a ban on certain kinds of plastic bags on July 1
The ubiquitous plastic bag lines our garbage pails, holds our lunches, carries wet swimming suits from the beach and sho... |
| Nov 4, 2014 | Special schedule of fees addresses off-duty officers | Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
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You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription. Subscribe Now R... |
| Jun 13, 2014 | Bulky trash still piling up despite enforcement efforts | GEORGE F. LEE / [email protected]
Discarded bulky trash cluttered the street Thursday at 2636 Maunawai Place in Moiliili.
GEORGE F. LEE / [email protected]
A pile of bulky trash grew larger Thursday at 2637 Kuilei St.
The cit... |
| Jun 10, 2014 | Take precautions to prevent fires from 9-volt batteries | Question: I was watching a YouTube video in which a gentleman with a smoke detector took the 9-volt batteries out and just threw them into his rubbish container. Guess what? His house caught fire. It turns out that when your batteries run o... |
| Mar 11, 2014 | Fumes send Noelani Elementary students home | STAR-ADVERTISER / 2009
Firefighters were called to investigate a chemical odor at Noelani Elementary School, but the origin of the smell was not found.
The chemical odor that sickened 10 children and forced a Manoa school to end classes ea... |
| Nov 5, 2013 | Call city’s Refuse Division about pickups, tipped bins | QUESTION: It has become quite common for our gray, blue and green bins to get picked up days late, and sometimes not at all, in the Diamond Head area. Who can we contact or notify?
ANSWER: Call your district base-yard number before 2 p.m.
F... |
| Feb 1, 2013 | Many trash carts are able to be fixed instead of replaced | QUESTION: Since June I have been trying to get the trash and recycling carts replaced at a home that I purchased. They were left in very bad condition, with holes in some wheels. I have been calling the Refuse Division for several months a... |
| Nov 21, 2012 | Park’s grass pays price for lack of groundskeeper | QUESTION: I’ve been going to Koko Head District Park for 12 years, and the grass there has always been lush and often overgrown. Recently I’ve noticed that it’s completely dead. It seems as if someone has turned off the sprinkler system and... |
| Oct 8, 2012 | Unmarked state vehicles authorized to use garage | Question: I took the state vehicle assigned to our office to get gas at the DAGS (Department of Accounting and General Services) garage off Punchbowl Street. The vehicle ahead of me had regular license plates — not the plates that state veh... |
| Mar 17, 2012 | 22 sites under study for new landfill | An advisory committee will evaluate and rank as many as 22 sites for a new landfill on Oahu, giving the mayor a recommendation by April 5, officials said Friday.
The city has been working for more than a year to identify a site to replace o... |
| Nov 20, 2011 | From trash to treasure | CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / [email protected]
Assorted glass bottles await pulverizing at a recycling facility at Campbell Industrial Park in July 2008.
The problem, said Suzanne Jones, is that people still think of the stuff they recyc... |
| Nov 4, 2011 | Trash truck fleet recovering from heavy bout of repairs | Oahu residents from Halawa to Kapolei can expect curbside pickup of their green waste and recyclables to resume this week following a three-week period in which a large number of refuse trucks were out of service, a city spokesman said.
At ... |
| Nov 2, 2011 | Heavy storms responsible for damaged H-3 callboxes | Question: Why are most of the roadside emergency phones out of order on the H-3 freeway? I am assuming the H-3 phones are out of order because they are either covered with a trash bag and/or the signs have been turned into each other so tha... |
| Oct 30, 2010 | UH campuses taking in e-waste | COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
Volunteers and others help collect old computers at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako, one of several University of Hawaii locations that will collect electronic equipment for recycling today. Edu... |
| Sep 13, 2010 | Da Kine | Night of ‘Five-0’ stars
Follow Star-Advertiser reporter Gary Chun via Twitter at @garychun during today’s "Hawaii Five-0" premiere at Sunset on the Beach, which starts at 5 p.m. with entertainment by Willie K, Makana and Taimane G... |
| Aug 20, 2010 | Council sets fine for haste with big trash | STAR-ADVERTISER / 2009
Bulky waste, here piled at a Moiliili street corner, could draw a fine of up to $250 if put out too soon under a bill passed by the City Council.
Putting bulky waste out on the sidewalk too early could result in a fin... |
| Talking trash | CRAIG T. KOJIMA / [email protected]
Assorted trash at the landfill at Waimanalo Gulch is shown here. Area residents have been fighting for the landfill to be closed, but near-term plans call for it to be expanded.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATIO... |
| ‘Sky lanterns’ seen during New Year’s are not banned | Question: On the Monday evening after New Year’s, as I drove into our valley in East Oahu, I saw something in the sky. At first I couldn’t tell what it was, because it was almost stationary and orange-looking. I then realized it was a float... |
| City crews will not pick up Christmas trees left at curb | Question: I live in the Salt Lake area, and many homes are leaving Christmas trees for bulky pickup. I cut my tree up and put it in the green recycling container. I guess people don’t know that sending it to the landfill is wrong. Since we ... |
| Kokua Line: Survey about bulky pickup ‘coming soon’ to refuse-collection website | Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Question: I am writing to express my disappointment with the city’s new Bulky Item Pilot Program. Read more
Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!
You're readi... |
| Bulky trash continues to pile up in East Honolulu | TYNE PHILLIPS / [email protected]
Honolulu City Councilman Trevor Ozawa examines a pile of disposed items left on Hawaii Kai Drive for bulky item pick up.
Honolulu City Councilman Trevor Ozawa is again demanding the city step up ... |
| Kokua Line: Get death certificate from state if mortuary has gone out of business | Question: How can I get a death certificate if the mortuary is out of business? This is for a relative who died some years ago and no one else in the family has a copy.
Answer: As you indicated, death certificates are typically ordered thro... |
| Kokua Line: Bulky pickup reservations start May 15 for June collection | Question: When can we start making appointments for the new bulky pickup system?
Answer: Regular monthly service is winding down for metro-Honolulu residents (Foster Village to Hawaii Kai), who soon will have to make an appointment for curb... |
| Off the News: No to ‘virulently homophobic’ group | Maui police are gritting their teeth over Westboro Baptist Church’s coming visit.
The Kansas-based church, described by the Anti-Defamation League as a “virulently homophobic” hate group, is planning a Jan. 10 demonstration. It concerns the... |
| Kokua Line: Not all have gotten message that metallic balloons can be hazardous | Question: Auwe! I am still seeing so many Mylar balloons at graduation lei-giving and other outdoor celebrations. Don’t people know by now what a hazard they are?
Answer: Electric companies, marine conservationists and many others have spre... |
| Trash bins, part 2: Readers share frustration, feedback | Question: Going to Honolulu City Lights is a family tradition, and we buy a Christmas ornament as a memento. I don’t know why, but we are missing a few years. How can we fill in the gaps in our collection?
Answer: You can purchase ornaments... |
| Kokua Line: Bulky-item pickup program getting over 150 calls a day | Question: I have been calling for two days about bulky pickup and they say I can go to the computer and make an appointment. But what are you to do if you don’t have a computer? I’m 88 years old and I would like to have some things picked u... |
| Earth Month extends green possibilities | COURTESY FOODLAND
Foodland shoppers with reusable bags can donate their 5-cent bag credits to Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation, which conducts environmental education and a Plastic-Free Hawai‘i Campaign.
It’s epic planet party time: Earth Day, firs... |
| Shoppers get knack of bringing own sacks | DENNIS ODA / [email protected]
Jadyn Razon lifted a Foodland reusable bag into a grocery cart for shoppers Charles Liana and his wife, Debra Liana, at the Foodland in Kapolei on Wednesday. They already owned bags, so they brought them... |
| Private boats in Pearl Harbor have government clearance | QUESTION: Concerning Pearl Harbor, isn’t it a security risk for sailboats to be sailing there?
ANSWER: No, say Navy officials.
Pearl Harbor and the Defensive Sea Area surrounding the approach to Pearl Harbor are patrolled by Navy security f... |
| Kokua Line: Police or tow-truck crew clean street after fender-bender | Question: Could you please ask Chief Ballard why HPD officers do not clean up the toxic debris they leave behind from their road flares they put out? My 11-year-old daughter asked me this as we drove by Hind Drive and Kalanianaole Highway t... |
| Sorting it out | DENNIS ODA / [email protected]
The city is working to educate the public about what can be deposited into the blue bins.
DENNIS ODA / [email protected]
Gerald Fernandez tosses No. 2 plastics into a collection bay at RRR?Recyclin... |
| Ban on disposable plastic food utensils and single-use bags starts Thursday in Honolulu | STAR-ADVERTISER / 2019
A plastic knife and fork.
Starting Thursday, when a city ordinance aimed at reducing plastic pollution takes effect, Honolulu food vendors will be prohibited from providing or offering conventional disposable, service... |
| Traffic control among many of HPD’s tasks after outage | QUESTION: Why weren’t there any police officers to control major intersections in Ewa during the March 4 power outage at peak traffic times as a minimum? On top of everything else we had to endure, the driving was extremely dangerous and sc... |
| Kokua Line: Most of Oahu’s satellite city halls set to reopen by appointment on July 1 | Question: Are the satellite city halls ever going to reopen?
Answer: Yes. Eight of the nine are scheduled to reopen July 1, by appointment only. To be clear, that means no walk-in service for any type of transaction, according to Honolulu C... |
| Solid white line indicates changing lanes is hazardous | Question: In response to the "auwe" from a driver about motorists crossing the solid white line on the H-1 freeway, at the University Avenue on- and offramps, Koko Head-bound ("Kokua Line," Sept. 23): The assumption that... |
| Older people given leeway on licensing documents | Question: I am 82 and have had a Hawaii drivers license since 1970. I went to renew it and had all kinds of documents. The problem was that I was married by an official of the Jewish temple and my marriage certificate is in Hebrew. So they ... |
| Appointments for June bulky item collections begin today | COURTESY PHOTO
Residents in zones 1 through 8 in the map above are now required to schedule an online appointment for bulky item collections.
Got bulky items to throw away?
An appointment is now required if you live in metro Honolulu, which... |
| Tell nearest collection yard about trash bins left on street | Question: Our neighbor leaves his garbage cans on the street. Who can I call to complain about this in the city?
Answer: You may report the infraction to the nearest collection yard, according to the Department of Environmental Services. If... |
| Kokua Line: Green waste in Oahu carts goes to Wahiawa for composting | Question: Where does the city take our green waste, and what do they do with it?
Answer: Waste from the green carts on Oahu’s three-cart disposal routes is taken to Hawaiian Earth Recycling in Wahiawa, where that company processes it into c... |
| Oahu appointments-only bulky item pickup begins islandwide July 1 | STAR-ADVERTISER / 2017
Bulky trash items along Hiapo St. and Waipahu St. in Waipahu awaited pickup by the city.
The city’s appointment-based bulky item pickup system will go islandwide starting July 1, the Department of Environmental Servic... |
| Kokua Line: Library not the only source of tax table, updated forms | Question: I would like to know if the state tax office will have tax charts for us to pick up, or do we have to go the library again this year? I have a group of friends who do their own taxes, and we get together to share a copy. If not ev... |