I am very disenchanted and incensed. I returned after a year and a half to Hawaii and made arrangements to connect my telephone. The enclosed bill for $81.42 was paid. However, I am concerned about the validity. I called Hawaiian Telephone and they indicated it was correct. I am 70 years old, on a pension. The telephone is not a luxury as I am in remission from cancer. Would you please explain this unreasonably high cost of connecting my phone? GTE itemizes various fees
to hook up new phone lineYou were charged $21.50 for a single-line network connection and $24 for a single-line service order. Both are standard charges, said GTE Hawaiian Tel spokesman Calvin Tadaki.
In the first instance, at least two people are involved: one making sure your line is properly hooked up and another person in the switching center to make the connection to a switch, he said. The time it takes varies, depending on whether you live in a single-family home or an apartment building, but "it does take some time," Tadaki said.
The service-order charge involves paperwork for initiating the order, then the billing, he said.
Tadaki also said your initial billing is high because it reflects prorated charges for new services.
If you look on Pages 7 and 8 of the telephone directory, however, you may qualify for a refund. Low-income customers may qualify for Link-Up Hawaii, which reduces your service connection by 50 percent. It's part of a national program to help people who otherwise might not be able to afford telephone service.
The other possibility is Lifeline, where customers age 60 and older, or who are mentally or physically disabled and whose annual household income is less than $10,000 are charged a reduced monthly fee.
Call 643-3456 to get more information.
What do I do with empty helium tanks to fill up balloons? Kmart said they don't take them anymore so I'm stuck with two. If they're small and empty -- not the large ones for commercial use -- you can put it out with your trash for pickup by city refuse collectors, said a spokeswoman for the city household hazardous waste hotline, 523-4774.
But call the refuse yard in your district first to find out what the procedure is, she said. Some yards will pick up the containers, others may direct you to bulky item pickup, she said.)
For Manoa, where you live, call the Honolulu yard at 523-4424. (Other refuse yards are listed under the city Public Works Department in the phone directory.)
To nonprofit group: Almost new. Must pick up. Call 834-7777. Free treadmill
To the reckless Domino's pizza delivery driver who played a dangerous game of chicken with me on Sept. 14. As I was exiting the freeway, you merged onto Kalanianaole Highway after Kahala Mall. You then illegally crossed a double solid line just before Waikui Street into the oncoming path of an 18-wheeler. Pizza can't be worth more than a car accident or worse, a human life! (We sent your complaint with the license number to Domino's, which had already received your letter. The driver has been "counseled, put on probation and sent to a safe-driving class," said Kathy Agustin, director of marketing. "We take driving safely seriously," she said.) Auwe
To the man walking three kids to Kaala School Aug. 21 in the middle of the road. I stopped and waited while you ushered them off the roadway. You had NO right to hit my car. You'd better watch out whose car you hit next time, because they may hit you! Auwe
To the stores already starting to put up Christmas stuff. Hello? It's only September! -- D.C. Auwe
