Absentee ballots being mailed and are due by 6 p.m. Sept. 18

Q: When will we receive our absentee ballots? We haven't received them yet and are concerned.

Federal Building renovations prompt asbestos concerns

Is the Federal Building free of mold and asbestos? • Where can I get rid of my dead car battery without being charged a fee for disposal? • By law, do I have to have some kind of obituary printed in the newspaper when I die?

Posthumous tax refunds can be claimed by heirs

Q: Do people who die have to file tax returns for the year they die with the state or Internal Revenue Service? Is that responsibility passed on to living children or other family members like a brother or sister? Is there anything else that needs to be filed along with returns such as death certificate, etc.? What happens if the deceased is due a refund?

Buses tend to stack up when traffic gets heavy

Q: The buses in Waikiki are totally off schedule. There will be three or four of them following each other and then no more coming for a long time. What's the problem?

Changes in chlorine levels likely affecting taste of water

Why does my water taste different? Is it still safe? • Does Ala Moana mail have priority over the airport in going to the neighbor islands?

Party ballots used in some races, not others, in primary

Question: In the Sept. 18 primary election, can we vote for either the Democratic or Republican Party and still cast our vote in the special election for mayor? As an independent, I heard about crossover voting -- voting for another party's candidate. Is it legal if we take that ballot?

Officials pass off task of stopping tree-cutting man

Q: There is a man who is apparently homeless and possibly mentally challenged who is destroying the trees along the roadside around the bridge between Kaneohe and Heeia State Park and from the park to Heeia Kea Harbor. He's also built rails, structures and corrals and painted bridge abutments. I've complained to the Mayor's Office a dozen times, called police and talked to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and couple of other organizations and nobody seems concerned. Can you help?

DLNR investigating incident involving hunter injured in fall

Will the three men hunting in the Whitmore Village area be investigated for hunting at night? • Why can't the Ala Moana post office have drive-by mailboxes? • Are people 80-years-old and older exempt from jury duty?

Library began using e-mail last year to notify patrons

Q: Why is it that the state library spends so much on postage to let you know the book you requested is in? I use the library frequently, so I know just on my books alone it is costing them a lot per year. I realize everyone doesn't use e-mail, but the ones who do would save the library a lot of money. It would also lessen the time a book is out of circulation since the book wouldn't be on a shelf while the mail has to reach the person being notified. I was told they don't have the necessary software.

Partnership provides method to recycle certain caps and lids

Is there a place on Oahu where I can take plastic caps or plastic No. 3 or above containers for recycling? • What kind of plastic caps and lids are accepted? • Traffic signal at the Dole Street/St. Louis Drive