Question: Regarding the big cruise ship that was in Honolulu Harbor, isn’t the CDC saying nobody should be cruising right now?
Answer: No, the federal health agency Tuesday lowered the COVID-19 Travel Health Notice for cruise ships to Level 3 from Level 4. At Level 3, it says, people who are not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines should avoid cruise travel. At Level 4, it said, everyone should avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status.
Being up to date “means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, cdc.gov.
Level 4 means COVID- 19 levels are very high, while Level 3 means they are high. Read more at 808ne.ws/cdccruise.
The ship you referred to is the Ruby Princess, which arrived Tuesday at Honolulu Harbor after a five-day voyage from San Francisco and was scheduled to visit Kauai, Maui, the Big Island and Mexico before docking back in San Francisco on Feb. 25, according to cruisemapper.com.
Q: Did they catch whoever dumped all that trash in the Ala Wai?
A: No, no one had been apprehended as of Thursday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Hundreds of large black bags of stinking garbage have ended up in the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor since October. The source is a mystery, other than that the bags originated upstream from the harbor. It could be residential rubbish, commercial garbage or a mixture of both.
Anyone who knows who is dumping this garbage can report the information by calling the DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement hotline at 808-643-3567 (DLNR), using the DLNRTip app or calling 911. Those are the same methods to report anyone dumping trash into streams, lakes or the ocean anywhere in Hawaii, according to the DLNR.
Q: Can I renew my passport if it’s expired?
A: Yes, if the passport was issued within the past 15 years. “In addition, you must have the passport in your possession, it cannot be damaged, you must have been age 16 or older when the passport was issued, and it must have been issued in your current name or you must show legal proof of your name change,” according to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs’ website.
Q: How much does it cost to renew your passport?
A: $130 for the passport book, plus $60 if you want to expedite processing, according to travel.state.gov.
Auwe
People are acting like the pandemic is over because they want it to be over. Wishful thinking doesn’t make it so! — Kupuna
Mahalo
On Feb. 10 I went on a solo soul-searching hike along the Kuliouou Trail. I got lost and ended up hanging off a tree branch off the steepest part of a hill. I made a video in case I died.
I was blessed to have cell service, and the Honolulu Fire Department rescued me by helicopter. I just want to say thank you so much to HFD and the Oahu 911 for saving my life. — Melanie, Santa Monica, Calif.
(In a follow-up conversation with Kokua Line, Melanie described the experience as a “huge wake-up call not to hike alone on unknown lands and to start small.” She said the app she used described the hike as intermediate, “but an intermediate hike in L.A. is not the same as it is on the island.” Melanie also said she had followed up with HFD and learned that Rescue 1 was the team that saved her, and she expressed profound gratitude to the whole team. For information on hiking in Hawaii, check hawaiitrails.hawaii.gov, the Na Ala Hele Trail and Access program administered by the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife.)
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.
