Question: How much is that statue in Thomas Square going to cost?
Answer: The total budget for the project is $250,000, including “artist’s fees, travel, fabrication, installation, documentation of artwork, signage, taxes and insurance,” according to a call for artist qualifications issued last year by the city’s Commission on Culture and the Arts.
As we said Tuesday (808ne.ws/523kline), Oregon sculptor Thomas Jay Warren was chosen to create the bronze statue of King Kamehameha III that is to be unveiled at Thomas Square on July 31, 2018, commemorating the 1843 restoration of the Hawaiian kingdom during the monarch’s reign.
Q: What’s with that radio station that keeps saying its name over and over? It seems like it’s been doing that for months. Are they ever going to put some music on?
A: We couldn’t find out much about future programming at 98.1 FM, KQHU-LP, other than it seems to be a noncommercial station aimed at a Chinese-immigrant audience. Our attempts to reach the station representative listed on Federal Communications Commission records were unsuccessful. No one responded to the email we sent to the listed address, and a woman who answered the listed phone number said she was not affiliated with the station.
We could tell from the FCC filings and other records that the station is owned by the New Dynasty Culture Center and is licensed in urban Honolulu as a low-power FM station.
New Dynasty Culture Center is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is “to promote the understanding of traditional Chinese culture in Hawaii, and help Chinese immigrants through cultural events and media.”
Another filing highlights a focus on community radio broadcasting serving the Chinese community in Hawaii, “especially around Honolulu where Chinese immigrants concentrate.”
As of Tuesday the station was repeating its station identification on a continuous loop, as it has since at least March, according to your query.
Q: Has the man charged in the albatross killings been sentenced? If so, what was the sentence?
A: No. Christian Gutierrez is due in court in Honolulu on June 1, where he will seek a deferred acceptance of his no-contest plea, according to a Judiciary database. If the judge grants the request, Gutierrez could ultimately have his record in the case expunged. If the judge rejects it, Gutierrez would be sentenced on that date.
Gutierrez, who was 18 at the time of the December 2015 albatross slaughter at Kaena Point, pleaded no contest in March to five misdemeanor counts, including animal cruelty, theft and property damage.
Two other males also were charged, but their cases were handled in Family Court (where records are sealed) because they were juveniles at the time of the attacks, which killed at least 15 Laysan albatrosses and destroyed 17 eggs and nests.
Mahalo
On May 5 my wife and I decided to attend the Craft and Food Expo at Neal Blaisdell Center. As I walked to the ticket booth, a kindhearted lady by the name of Joann, who was in line ahead of me, offered to purchase my ticket. I thanked her but told her that I would purchase my own ticket since I had to purchase two senior tickets, one for my wife. Joann made her purchase and gave me two tickets. I was so touched and grateful for her random act of kindness. This weekend we were at a restaurant, and as we entered we noticed there were a lot of customers in the waiting area with standing room only. Almost instantly, two young ladies stood up and offered their seats to us. We picked up their dinner tab in appreciation for their random act of kindness. We were happy we had the opportunity to pay it forward. Thank you, Joann, and the two young ladies, for the random acts of kindness. — Two grateful senior citizens
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.
