KPD Warns Of Tax Collection Scam

Kaua’i police say scammers claiming to represent the County of Kaua’i Real Property Tax Collection office are trying to collect money from unsuspecting residents. Police are advising the public to be extremely cautious when releasing personal information or sending money to unknown individuals. According to a recent complaint, a female Kaua’i resident was contacted by an anonymous caller, who claimed to represent the county’s Real Property Tax Collection office. The caller claimed that the woman was delinquent in her taxes and proceeded to request payment along with the woman’s personal information, including her name, age, date of birth and Social Security number. Sensing that something wasn’t quite right, the woman hung up the phone and immediately contacted the county’s tax office. In looking up her file, the tax clerk informed the woman that not only was she current on her payments, but no one from the tax office had made any such call. Officials say there is no circumstance in which a tax clerk would call a property owner to solicit payment. Valid payments can be paid with a credit card online at kauai.gov. Walk-in customers can pay by cash or check, and those mailing in payments must pay by check or money order. Only checks made payable to the “Director of Finance” are accepted … To report a scam or suspicious activity, call KPD at 241-1711 …

Congratulations to the adult graduating class of 2013 for Leadership Kaua’i: Kathleen “Pua” Chin, John Jensen, Jonathan Kalk, Royce Kawabata, Jeremy Kalawai’a Lee, Gabriel Legacy, Melissa McFerrin, Dennis Rowley, Steve Tangalin and Sean Texeira, who graduated June 21 at Waimea Theatre. Ho’omaika’i’ana! …

What a turnout at the fifth annual Mayor-A-Thon! More than 1,000 people came out for the healthy endeavor June 22 from Lihi Park all the way to Kuna Bay for a walk, bike ride or jog. Organizer and Get Fit Kaua’i director Bev Brody says this year’s was a record turnout. Event highlights included dancers from Ho’ola Lahui Hawaii’s fitness class, “hula le’a.” For anyone interested in joining, Marla Silva teaches the class Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call 240-0100 …

Noriaki Fujimori of Waimea Higashi Hongwanji is looking for volunteers to help with an upcoming endeavor July 20-27. Fujimori says the hongwanji will invite three children and one adult from Fukushima, Japan, which was contaminated by nuclear disaster in March 2011. To help, call Fujimori at 645-0237 …

So glad to hear from Josie Pablo, director of the Recreational Therapy Department at Mahelona Memorial Hospital, that the annual swimming/picnic tradition for hospital residents continued June 25. Pablo has been coordinating the effort for the past 20 years, in which long-term patients and volunteers take a dip at Lydgate Beach Park. Mahelona is the only hospital in Hawaii that has this water activity program for long-term care patients. “It allows the residents to actually go in the water by placing them in a floater. It’s a big production that takes a lot of planning and ongoing support from different businesses in the community,” Pablo says. Thirty-five long-term residents participated, thanks to the help of volunteers and Kaua’i Community College nursing students. “Long-term care is not the end but another phase of a person’s life,” she adds. “Our goal is to maintain the highest ‘quality of life’ for these residents.” Mahalo, Josie! …

If you haven’t yet seen it, Miss Saigon is on stage Mondays, July 1-Oct. 28. Show starts at 7 p.m. at Kaua’i Community College Performing Arts Center in Puhi. The colorful musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr., is based on Giacomo Puccini‘s opera Madame Butterfly. It tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. It’s set in 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madame Butterfly‘s story of marriage between an American lieutenant and Japanese girl is replaced by a romance between an American GI and a Vietnamese bar girl. The musical represented Schönberg and Boublil’s second major success, following Les Misérables in 1985. Tickets cost $65, $55 for kamaaina, $40 for students and kamaaina seniors.

For more information, email info@misssaigonkauai.com …

Kudos to Jeffrey Delgado of Kalaheo, who was named to the dean’s list at Taylor University in Upland, Ind. It requires at least a 3.6 GPA and at least 12 hours of credit hours. Way to study! …

The Department of Water will conduct informational meetings over the next few weeks to discuss the scheduled 11.2 percent water rate increase that takes effect this month. The meetings will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. July 3 at Hanapepe Neighborhood Center, and July 5 at Waimea Neighborhood Center. For more information, call 245-5455.

agregg@midweekkauai.com