Question: Regarding storm damage, my neighbor said to sign up online for financial assistance from the county. How do I do that?
Answer: Sadly, we’ve heard from numerous people who’ve mistaken Honolulu City & County’s call to submit damage reports online as a guarantee of financial aid; it’s not. Your neighbor is correct that the Department of Emergency Management wants Oahu residents and businesses to report damage from this week’s storm, and has posted forms online to help them do so. However, as the department’s website explains, the city will use the information it collects to determine whether it can request federal assistance — the forms are not applications for direct aid to individuals.
“Reporting damage is a voluntary activity and is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance agency, nor does it guarantee disaster relief assistance,” the website states.
That said, the aid you seek may become available if federal relief is granted, so you may wish to complete and submit a storm-damage report. The form for storm damage to an Oahu residential property is at honolulu.gov/homedamage, and the one for damage to an Oahu business is at honolulu.gov/businessdamage.
As for physical help cleaning up storm debris, residents may call the Aloha United Way at 211 and request a hand from the Crisis Cleanup brigade, led by the group Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), the city says.
Q: Everyone in my family is fully vaccinated except for my kids (ages 4, 11 and 15). What are requirements for all of us going out to eat together once we get to Honolulu for Christmas?
A: Family members ages 12 and up who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may present their vaccination cards and personal IDs for entry to Honolulu County restaurants under the Safe Access Oahu program.
Depending on when your 11-year-old and 15-year-old received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, they may be fully vaccinated by the time you arrive. However, as far as the kids, Safe Access O‘ahu will apply only to the 15-year-old; the 11-year-old and the 4-year-old are exempt. If your 15-year-old is not fully vaccinated by then, they would present a negative COVID-19 test result and ID to join the family dinner.
Honolulu County no longer restricts the size of a dining party, but everyone 5 and up is still required to wear a face mask except while eating or drinking.
COVID-19 vaccination is now available to people ages 5 and up. As noted, Safe Access O‘ahu’s specific requirements kick in at age 12. Read details at oneoahu.org.
Q: Are postal workers exempt from any state or local emergency orders regarding mask-wearing?
A: No. “Our policy is that all USPS employees are required to wear face coverings when there is a local or state covering order in place, as is the case here in Hawaii,” said Duke Gonzales, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.
Hawaii’s statewide mandate requires people ages 5 and up to wear a face mask indoors in public settings, with some exceptions. Your complaint, and similar ones we’ve received from other readers, was about postal workers unmasked while working inside at a postal counter, not while outside delivering mail.
Mahalo
A heartfelt and big mahalo to all the dedicated and hard-working Board of Water Supply workers who diligently worked 24 hours to fix the water main leak by our house at the corner of Hoala and Hapaki streets in the Newtown neighborhood. Those workers even worked through the pouring rain storm we experienced to make sure our water was restored! They are truly our heroes! Mahalo nui loa! — Newtown neighbors
Mahalo
From the older gentleman to the kind woman just ahead of me in the drive-thru at McDonald’s: Mahalo for paying for my purchase as well as yours. Merry Christmas to you too. — F.L.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
