Councilmember Stanley Chang

A fundraiser for the benefit of the Local Community by the

Rotary Club of Hawaii Kai

The inagural Hawaii Kai Ducky Dash will be held on Thursday, July 4, 2013, in the Marina at the Hawaii Kai Towne Center.  Funds raised will be used for scholarships, schools, and service projects.  Ducks can be adopted now until June 30th for $5 each, weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm at Pacific International Realty at Koko Marina or on weekends at Hawaii Kai Shipping Center, Hawaii Kai Towne Center, Koko Marina Shopping Center, and Aina Haina Shopping Center.

http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/SitePages/SitePage.aspx?accountid=7721&pid=87140

Dignity Village: Portland, OR

Starting out as “Camp Dignity” 2000, Dignity Village has grown into an encampment with semi-permanent wooden structures.  Incorporated as a nonprofit, the village is run by its residents.  Dignity Village provides residents with support, privacy, etc., all for 2/5 the cost of shelters and 1/14 the cost of transitional housing.

King County Tent City: Seattle, WA

Tent City 3 as it is also known, is a mobile encampment that serves up to 100 homeless at a given location for 90 days.  By working with officials at the Seattle City Council and King County Government on camping laws, Tent City 3 has been able to assist homeless while spreading out the burden of hosting a camp among different communities.

Pinellas Hope: Clearwater, FL

Pinellas Hope is a tent city founded and managed by Catholic Charities in 2007.  It is located on 20 acres of isolated, industrial area.  Pinellas can house up to 300 homeless in uniform Coleman tents and 20 wooden sheds.  Pinellas Hope provides GED classes, AA meetings, bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities.

Starting May 1, the City Department of Environmental Services (ENV) will be taking steps to increase enforcement of bulky item violations.  City ordinance prohibits the premature set out of refuse and repeat offenses may result in a citation issued to the property owners with a fine up to $250 per offense.

Bulky items should be placed at the curb fronting your own property and not obstructing the sidewalk by 6 am on the specified day of collection and no earlier that the evening before.  Collection crews service each area over a 3-4 day period, but items must be set out on the first day to ensure pick up.  Bulky items include furniture, mattresses, bed frames, box springs, rolled and fastened carpet, appliances (doors removed or secured), and minor repair/remodeling material not greater than one cubic yard.

ENV’s bulky item pick up schedule is as follows:

• Waikiki  Every Saturday (one day collection period)
• Kapahulu, Kaimuki, and the Ewa side of Diamond Head 3^rd Monday
• Maunalani Heights and Wilhelmina Rise 3^rd Wednesday
• Kahala to Hawaii Loa 4^th Monday
• Hawaii Loa to Kalama Valley 4^th Wednesday

For more information on bulky items or refuse-related questions, log on to www.opala.org or call (808) 768-3300.

In ancient Hawaii, a pu‘uhonua was a city of refuge.  If those who violated the kapu could physically run to the pu‘uhonua before any pursuers, they were safe.

Today, homelessness has reached crisis levels in Honolulu.  According to the most recent survey, Oahu has 4,353 homeless individuals, of which 1,318 are unsheltered on any given night, and 96 percent of Honolulu residents consider homelessness a major or moderate issue.  Homelessness is overwhelmingly the top issue of the tourism industry on which Hawaii’s economy depends.  Despite recent initiatives, complaints have not declined, increasing recent months.

With the sale of the City’s affordable housing projects, a record total of $77 million will become available in new and existing funds to address homelessness.  Additional enforcement measures, which are needed, will only move the homeless around from neighborhood to neighborhood unless they have a place to go.  That’s why the step with the greatest immediate impact is establishing a pu‘uhonua for the homeless with security, mental health and substance abuse treatment, case management, and other services to transition the homeless into permanent housing.  The funds can also support construction of new affordable housing and other ongoing programs for the long term.

Councilmember Chang has co-introduced Resolution 13-55 for a comprehensive action plan to house the unsheltered homeless with concrete deadlines and benchmarks for the best use of these funds.

Earth Hour will take place March 23, 2012 at 8:30 pm Hawaii standard time.

Earth Hour is the single, largest, symbolic mass participation event in the world.   Born out of a hope that we could mobilize people to take action on climate change, Earth Hour now inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off for an hour as a massive show of concern for the environment.  To learn more visit www.earthhour.org.

Dare the World to Save the Planet.

Councilmember Chang was one of over 250,000 people from all across the Country who joined in efforts as part of President Obama’s National Day of Service.  He attended the UNITE for America in Service event, where he wrote letters to and helped pack 100,000 care kits of toiletries for deployed service members, veterans, Wounded Warriors, and first responders.

Simple words of thanks in a letter or household items we may take for granted leave soldiers “more than thankful” and with a “good feeling to know that someone’s thinking about (them).”

Even though the service men and women were recognized one day last month their commitment to serving our Country and us is a year-round job.  A great way to show your support for the troops is to take part in Operation Gratitude, a program that coordinates the writing of letters and sending of care packages to soldiers currently deployed.  To learn more and get involved visit www.operationgratitude.com.