Question: Will Ala Moana Center be putting on Fourth of July fireworks again, now that the U.S. pandemic emergency is officially over?
Answer: No, not this year. “In lieu of the fireworks show, Ala Moana Center will be hosting a Fourth of July concert series featuring some of Hawaii’s top musicians, which will take place throughout the holiday weekend. More details about Ala Moana Center’s 2023 Fourth of July Celebration, including entertainment lineup and promotions, will be announced soon,” Jaymes Bell, the mall’s general manager, said in an email.
Once known as among the best in the state, Ala Moana Center’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular hasn’t been staged since 2019, when aerial pyrotechnics were launched from three platforms off Ala Moana Regional Park, across the street from the Honolulu mall, according to news reports at the time. Thousands of people gathered at the beach park and the mall to enjoy the colorful display.
The rise of COVID-19 disrupted the event. The fireworks were canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, which had been declared that March and curtailed large gatherings, and were not launched in 2021 or 2022 either.
We checked with Honolulu’s Department of Parks of Recreation to ask if any other entity might fill this gap, but spokesperson Nathan Serota said “we haven’t heard anything about a Fourth of July fireworks show for Ala Moana Regional Park.”
The federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency officially ended May 11, 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although everyday life had returned to pre-pandemic routines long before that for many Americans.
Q: Regarding the TurboTax settlement, I know I am eligible but I didn’t get an email or a check. What do I do?
A: Wait until mid-June, according to the settlement administrator.
“Payments are being mailed to eligible class members throughout the month of May 2023. We are in the process of sending payments and will not be processing any address updates or reissue requests until all payments have been mailed and have allowed sufficient time for delivery,” the administrator said in an email Tuesday.
If you have moved since filing the tax return that made you eligible for this settlement, and you filed a change of address card with the U.S. Postal Service, “we either already have the updated address on file, or it is likely the payment will be forwarded automatically,” the administrator said.
Emails were sent as a heads up to class members that checks were to be mailed. “Email address updates are not necessary,” the administrator said.
If you still have not received your payment by mid-June, check the settlement website, AGTurboTaxSettle ment.com, for updated information about requesting that a payment be issued.
More than 15,000 Hawaii residents are among some 4.4 million consumers nationwide sharing in a $141 million settlement compensating Intuit TurboTax customers who paid for tax preparation services that should have been free. Most eligible consumers will receive about $30 each.
Automatic payments will be made to consumers who paid Intuit to file their federal tax returns through TurboTax for tax years 2016, 2017 or 2018 but were eligible to file for free through the IRS Free File Program. Eligible consumers do not need to file a claim, pay a fee or provide account information to receive an automatic payment — demands to do so signal a scam.
Auwe
Auwe to the motorcyclist who speeds between vehicles on Kalanianaole Highway and onto the H-1, where he speeds out of view. This person is not in a lane, he’s between the lanes. What he’s doing is illegal and dangerous. … I see him doing this practically every weekday. — Safe driver
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.
