Question: Is the U.S. Postal Service discontinuing the use of flat-rate boxes? I can’t find them anywhere. I’ve looked at the Ala Moana Post Office for the past three weeks, and they haven’t had any. When I asked one of the workers there, he indicated that he didn’t have any idea whether they would be restocked. They were really a godsend at Christmastime.
Answer: No, although they have been harder to find lately. You are one of many readers asking, and not just about Ala Moana. Before Christmas and since then, Oahu readers have been on the lookout for the mailing boxes they used to easily find stacked at their neighborhood post offices. These outlets will be restocked, or you can order the boxes online now — they would still be free, said Duke Gonzales, a spokesperson for the Postal Service in the Hawaii and San Diego regions. Here’s his emailed response:
The USPS Hawaii management team “confirmed that some offices are currently experiencing a shortage of USPS Flat Rate Boxes. Any office that is currently out of such boxes should receive them soon. In the meantime, customers may want to seek those boxes at other post offices or, better still, to bypass their local post offices and have Flat Rate Boxes be delivered directly to their homes. Boxes ordered directly from our USPS Postal Store are free and are usually received by customers within a few days. Our popular medium and large Flat Rate Boxes are available in packs of 10 or 25. Free, and delivered right to your door.”
To order, go to usps.com and choose “shipping supplies” from the pull-down menu under the “shop” tab at the top of the page.
Q: Is there a website we can write to get free COVID-19 test kits? The ones we got in 2023 are all expired! We bought some and they’re expensive.
A: Yes. If an order has not been placed for your address since the federal government’s program reopened Sept. 25, you can order four free rapid at-home COVID-19 tests at special.usps.com/testkits. Or go to covid.gov and follow the links. Shipping also is free.
As for your “expired” tests, don’t throw them away if you still have them — check first to see whether the expiration dates were extended. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration dates of many brands of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, based on data from manufacturers showing that the shelf life is longer than was known when the test was first authorized. Check at 808ne.ws/shelflife or go to the FDA homepage, fda.gov, and follow the links to COVID-19 information.
Tests that the federal government are mailing out now might show expired dates on the box, but the FDA has extended those dates, the online order form says.
Auwe
On Tuesday a Maile Amber Alert was issued before 12:30 p.m. Very shortly thereafter it was dropped because the kids were found. Yet when I turned on my TV at 5 p.m. for the local news, the alert started blaring and then scrolled across the top of the screen three times for a total of four minutes during which I couldn’t hear the news. At 9 p.m. I turned on my other TV for the first time and heard the alert all over again (three times). I get it when an alert is active. But once an alert is deactivated, we shouldn’t be hearing it hours later and separately on each TV. — A reader
Mahalo
On Wednesday at the Pearl Highlands Center parking deck, my car would not start. A complete stranger offered to help. His name was Jeff, originally from Texas, and a disabled veteran with 21 years of service. He checked the battery and jump-started my car with his truck, but he said I probably needed a new battery. He went with me to Sam’s Club to find the right battery; then he installed it for me. Jeff said it was no coincidence that he was at the right place at the right time; he said he enjoys helping people and offers his help anytime he can. He refused any tip or monetary gift. I deeply appreciated his help, and it saved me much anguish since I am not a car expert. — Grateful senior
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.
