Question: Whatever happened to the police memorial that was going to be built in Honolulu? I contributed money to it and have been asking everyone, but no one knows.
Answer: A memorial is still being planned, but another $700,000 or so is needed before it can be built.
Hawaii remains the only state without a memorial honoring its fallen law enforcement officers.
The Hawaii Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation is looking to raise at least an additional $300,000, with more funding expected to come from an as-yet unidentified source.
Money that earlier had been thought to be committed to the project failed to materialize.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the memorial near the Kalanimoku Building, across from the state Capitol, with plans to complete it in 2013.
That didn’t happen because "we’re still in the fundraising stage," Thomas Aiu, a member of the foundation’s board of directors, said Tuesday. "We have acquired the land from the state. That took us a while."
The foundation also just completed going through most of the permitting process. But that process has proven costly, with permits for such things as structural engineering and architectural studies totaling about $100,000, Aiu said. "After all the expenses, we have about $200,000."
About another $700,000 will be needed to get the memorial built, he said.
Although the state has provided space in the Capitol district for the memorial, private money will be used to construct it.
The face of the foundation’s fundraising efforts currently is FBI Special Agent Edward Ignacio, a former officer with both the Honolulu and Hawaii County police departments. He is raising money for the memorial by participating in grueling triathlon races, Aiu said.
Ignacio is "running the run portion of the triathlons in full tactical gear," he said."He’s doing that when everyone is shedding pounds to be as light as possible. He’s running the whole 26 miles in his police gear."
With Ignacio’s efforts, "we’re hoping to raise another $50,000 to $100,000," Aiu said.
For more information and to make a donation, go to the foundation’s website, www.hlemf.org. Or call Rusty Spray, capital campaign coordinator, at 330-7744 or email rustyspray@gmail.com to find out how to donate.
Question: I appreciate all the network college football games free on TV with on-screen scrimmage lines and first-down lines. Making a first down is an integral part of football games. But on the pay-per-view Oceanic channel, University of Hawaii games don’t show those lines. Why?
Answer: Because it’s too costly, especially for local television and its limited viewership, according to Oceanic Time Warner Cable.
Oceanic tested equipment to show the lines for about a season and a half, said spokeswoman Sandy Davis.
"It really turned out to be a budget issue, staffing and cost of the equipment," she said. "We just couldn’t make it work with University Hawaii games" and its viewership.
Mahalo
To three Honolulu police officers and a kind motorist who came to my aid after my Volkswagen stalled at a busy intersection on Farrington Highway. I was fortunate that an HPD vehicle was in back of me and the three officers pushed my car off the highway. Since I was steering the car, I waved and said "thank you" to the officers as they returned to their car. They are a true example of the term "Honolulu’s Finest." Then Dean Monsagnac, also driving a Volkswagen, stopped and not only offered me the use of his cellphone, but offered to drive me to my home since I was only a block away. Can you imagine a total stranger doing that? This is proof that the aloha spirit is still present in Hawaii. — Junior
Mahalo
To whoever maintains the Patsy T. Mink Oahu Regional Park. It’s looking great. Keep up the good work. — Anonymous
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.
