Question: Regarding the 2018 spike in driver’s license renewals (808ne.ws/910lic), when will it slow down? My license doesn’t expire until late January, and I am wondering whether I should wait to renew.
Answer: 2022, and even then the number of driver’s licenses expiring monthly will more than double 2017’s average, according to the city’s projections.
That said, some months are worse than others, and October (next month) is the peak, with more than 13,000 driver’s licenses set to expire, according to the city’s projections. We’d suggest that you try to make an appointment now for November, at license.honolulu.gov.
If you end up walking in, also go in November, and to a driver’s licensing center, not a satellite city hall. The five driver’s licensing centers have more staff devoted to driver’s license and state ID services, while the satellites handle a variety of tasks.
Either way, don’t wait until January.
Q: My license expires in the middle of October, but the earliest appointment date I could get is Nov. 5. Is there a grace period, or will I have to wait in line for four or five hours?
A: No, there isn’t a grace period, except for members of the U.S. military (or attached dependents) who were deployed on active duty outside the country when the license expired; their licenses remain valid for 90 days after they return to the United States, under state law.
When this question has come up in the past, city officials have emphasized that license and state ID holders may renew up to six months in advance of the expiration date.
Although your license won’t be valid for driving, there is a grace period of sorts regarding administrative penalties. You won’t have to pay a surcharge because you are renewing within 90 days of the expiration date; after that there’s a reactivation fee of $5 per 30 days or fraction thereof, according to the city.
Q: Our garbage bin didn’t get picked up. I left it at the curb, but my neighbor brought theirs in. Who’s right?
A: You are, with a caveat. If it’s the gray cart (general rubbish), leave it at the curb, and the city will try to pick it up the next day or as soon as possible. If it’s the green cart (yard clippings) or blue cart (mixed recyclables), leave it out until 7 p.m. the day after your scheduled collection date. If it hasn’t been emptied by then, return it to your property and set it out again the next scheduled collection day. The city’s Department of Environmental Services explains this and other rules on its website, opala.org.
Rail transit meeting
There’s a public meeting tonight to tell businesses and residents in Honolulu’s urban core about upcoming work to make way for the Honolulu Rail Transit project. Utilities must be relocated along the route in Iwilei, Chinatown, downtown and Kakaako, ahead of the system’s construction in those areas.
The meeting is to be held at the Aloha Tower Marketplace in Multi-Purpose Room 2, which is on the first floor. Registration begins at 6 p.m., followed by the meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Project staffers will be on hand to answer questions.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the kind lady and her son who lifted me up when I tripped and fell while crossing King Street. I was paying attention to the traffic, because the cars come so fast there, when I should have looked down at the road. Then I might have seen whatever it was I tripped over. Anyway, I was scared and humiliated but not hurt, and appreciate their quick action. I regret that I did not get their names, nor did I thank them properly at the time. — Senior pedestrian
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.
