Question: For months, the city has been building low walls in the channel of Moanalua Stream, just below the makai crossing of Ala Aolani Street. The walls, which seem like they would obstruct the stream flow, have created stagnant ponds perfect for mosquitoes and are taking forever to build. What is going on?
Answer: The “low walls” are temporary and part of the $770,000 Moanalua Stream Lining Reconstruction project.
The project, which began late last summer and was targeted for completion in April, has been delayed because of unexpected seepage within the work area, said Robert Kroning, director of the city Department of Design and Construction.
That problem required modifying the national Pollutant Discharge Elimination System’s best management practices being used, as well as getting approval of the new plan from the state Department of Health.
“The contractor is expected to restart soon and barring any other unforeseen issues, the project should be completed around the end of the year,” Kroning said.
The “walls” are temporary barriers, required as part of the best management practices, to prevent water from entering or leaving the work area, he said. “They will be removed once the project is finished.”
The reconstruction project includes the removal of trees, debris, concrete structures and existing concrete within the channel; repairing and/or patching concrete invert and side slopes; routing and repairing existing cracks in the concrete; installing turf matting; and replacing debris stanchions.
Question: Around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, we went to the Waipahu Post Office drive-thru mailbox to mail a few bill payments. I could not believe that the box was so crammed that mail was piled on top of the slot! You could actually grab a couple of large handfuls of mail and walk off with it. Needless to say, we drove to Kapolei to mail our things, but I was in shock. Think of the ease of identity theft in that situation. How often does this happen and why?
Answer: “We apologize for the inconvenience experienced by your reader and sincerely appreciate his/her concern,” said Duke Gonzales, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.
He said the drive-by mailbox at the Waipahu Post Office is emptied periodically throughout the day by a postal clerk.
On June 2, he said it was emptied less than two hours before you encountered the “overflowing mail.”
The next scheduled mail collection time after your visit that day was 5 p.m.
How could the box have become completely filled in a relatively short time?
“On occasion a postal customer will deposit a very large volume of mail into the mail box during a single visit,” Gonzales explained. “When this occurs the box can get completely filled up until our clerk has an opportunity to run outside to empty it.”
The box also can appear to be full when it isn’t, he said. In those situations, mail will fall in such a manner that it “stacks up right in front of and out of the box opening, rather than falling randomly and evenly throughout the box,” he said.
“In any case, we advise postal customers not to simply leave their mail on top of our collection mailboxes under any circumstances,” Gonzales said.
He said customers encountering a full mailbox should do what you did, which is to seek another mail receptacle into which mail can be completely deposited.
Mahalo
To an angel. I had a doctor’s appointment at Pearlridge, lunch with a friend, then an appointment at Pali Momi Medical Center one day. While at Pali Momi, I realized I had dropped my card holder, which contained my credit cards, senior bus pass and driver’s license. I was so relieved when I got home and found a phone message that someone had turned my cards in to Straub. May that person be blessed. — Grateful Senior
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.
