Question: A beautiful old stone wall edges Diamond Head Road from the lighthouse to the lookout by the Amelia Earhart plaque. In mid-June someone stenciled black letters against a white background every few feet, directly on the wall. The message is well-meaning, asking people to “pick up after yourself and your dogs,” but it reeks of graffiti itself. Who gave this person or persons permission to deface this beautiful old wall? Does the state oversee this wall? This needs to be cleaned up immediately before others take their message to the wall.
Answer: The wall is under the jurisdiction of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, which said the stenciled signs were not authorized.
“So, despite the good intentions behind them, they must be removed,” said city spokesman Jay Parasco. He said the person who painted the signs hasn’t been identified, but that “there have been no reports of similar acts of vandalism in the area.”
He thanked you for pointing out the signs, which parks officials plan to remove “as expeditiously as possible, time and resources permitting.”
While most dog owners do clean up after their pets, poop is found at many popular city properties, Parasco said.
But “despite the unapproved signage, there has been no indication that this portion of Diamond Head Road has an abnormally high volume of uncollected dog droppings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the public is “strongly urged” to contact the city to request official signs be installed, rather than to “illegally take matters into their own hands.”
It took a while to get a response from the Parks Department because it initially questioned whether it was responsible for the wall.
The state Department of Land and Resources, which is responsible for the Diamond Head monument area, told us anything on the makai side of Diamond Head Road, including the pullouts, wall and the slope down to the beach, falls under the jurisdiction of Parks and Recreation.
Amelia Earhart Lookout
The lookout on Diamond Head Road is named after pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart, whose disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 still continues to make news.
A memorial boulder, set in a cutout at the lookout, has a bronze plaque showing an airplane and the inscription “Amelia Earhart, First person to fly alone/From Hawaii to North America/January 11, 1935.”
The memorial was dedicated March 14, 1937, months before she disappeared.
Mahalo
To the person who returned my fanny pack, which I inadvertently left in the cart, to the service desk at Costco in June. I received a call from Costco saying they had it as I walked into my house and did an about-face back to Costco. Thank you, whoever you are, for your integrity and kindness. You are an example of what is good and right about the majority of people. I will return to another your favor to me. — Patti Marshall, Kaneohe
———
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.
