By June Watanabe Regarding the new seat belt law requiring everyone to buckle up: My vehicle has only two seat belts in the back seat. Does this mean that the fifth member of my family would not be able to ride in that vehicle? Can you clarify the law? Are we supposed to go out and buy a new car?
By June Watanabe In January, the architect designing my new home submitted the plans to the city Department of Planning and Permitting. The plans were approved. There is an old home, built in 1938, on the same lot, adjacent to where the new home is to be built. It is scheduled to be renovated, but is not part of the new home.
By June Watanabe Is there any law that prohibits posting signs on utility poles? In Aiea and Pearl City, I counted four signs that say "We buy and sell houses."
By June Watanabe What’s the difference between “scattered showers” and “isolated showers?” I see both terms used on the National Weather Service website and repeated by local media, but it seems to be a distinction without a difference. As far as I can tell, both mean it may rain once in a while in some places.
By June Watanabe Question: Do you know if there are any state regulations regarding hospices being in residential areas?
By June Watanabe On Young Street, between Isenberg Street and Kalakaua Avenue, there recently was a graphic painted on the road: a bicycle with double upward-pointed arrows above it. I have never seen this before but assumed that it meant that a bicycle lane was beginning ahead.
By June Watanabe On my recent water bill, I noticed I paid the exact same amount for water for two billing cycles. To the penny. What are the chances of that happening, right? I called and found out the Board of Water Supply bills only by the 1,000 gallons used.
By June Watanabe Integrated Construction Inc. says it is "not true" that it was noncompliant when installing the tennis court fence poles and top rail at Kala­heo High School, as the Department of Education's Facilities Branch asserted in the April 23 "Kokua Line"
By June Watanabe I just renewed my driver's license and got a temporary license that looks like it came from my home printer. I was told it would take two to three weeks for my official license to be mailed, but I will be flying before then. Will I have any issues going through airport security?
By June Watanabe Question: I recently returned to my house in upper Kuli­ouou Valley after an eight-month absence. Now, whenever I work in my garden, I am attacked by very small, fast-moving mosquitoes that I usually fail to notice until they have bitten me.
By June Watanabe Q: We all hear about vehicle breakdowns on the H-1 freeway during the morning commute. Has anyone ever analyzed the causes?
By June Watanabe Question: A friend has rheumatoid arthritis that makes her miss work when it acts up. When she told her human resources department that her doctor was going to fill out FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) forms for her because of her condition, they told her not to.
By June Watanabe How many stalls are at the University of Hawaii at Manoa parking structure for student parking versus permits sold? The lot seems to always be full in the middle of the day.
By June Watanabe Question: Renovation of the tennis courts at Kala­heo High School was begun well more than a year ago and seems to have stalled several times. The Kala­heo tennis team hasn’t been able to use these courts in years. When is the renovation going to be completed?
By June Watanabe Question: I believe showing proof of principal residence is an additional requirement when renewing one’s driver’s license. Can you direct me to a list of acceptable documents for this?
By June Watanabe Q: Will the emergency roadside phones be replaced on the H-1 freeway, specifically, between the Kapolei end toward Pearl City? The emergency phones can be a lifesaver as not everyone has a cellphone.
By June Watanabe Around 6:15 a.m., Sunday, April 7, I noticed a city truck on Kahekili Highway in Kaneohe hauling a large boat with the driver and his passenger on their way to what appeared to be a fishing trip. Was this an official use of a city vehicle?
By June Watanabe I am a bus commuter. Recently, a fellow passenger was “smoking” an electronic cigarette, exhaling the smokelike vapor. I felt the driver should have stopped him. Does TheBus have a policy regarding e-cigarettes?
By June Watanabe One of my pleasures in life is to walk or jog through the Koko Crater Botanical Garden, which I have been doing for 15 years. Recently my wife and I bought a puppy, and we take her on walks to Sandy Beach and to the Maka­puu lighthouse.
By June Watanabe There’s still no target date for the launch of the state Department of Transportation’s statewide Electronic Periodic Vehicle Inspection Reporting Program, but there will be a trade-off for consumers once it’s implemented.
By June Watanabe Q: Two people are running businesses out of their houses in a residential neighborhood in Kaimuki. Aren't there laws restricting businesses being run in residential neighborhoods? • Mahalo: Highway cleanup from Hauula to Laie • Mahalo: Lost credit card recovered
By June Watanabe My truck was being towed from a private lot in Kapahulu, so I called the tow company’s office number and they said the truck was being taken to its facility in Campbell Industrial Park.
By June Watanabe Is there any requirement for telephone service providers to provide a dial tone to be able to access 911 service? I don't need regular phone service, but would like to be able to make a 911 call in an emergency. Hawaiian Telcom advises that I have to pay for phone service to get the dial tone to call 911.
By June Watanabe Question: On the H-1 freeway heading west, after the University onramp, there are two signs that say road closed when flashing on the left.
By June Watanabe Question: Is the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division backlogged in updating safety checks into the computer records, or are the safety check stations lax in transmitting that information?
By June Watanabe Q: I believe the camping fees instituted by Mayor Caldwell are illegal. Why are you aiding and abetting this lawlessness? • AARP Hawaii and AIM team up for free document shredding • Mahalo to honest City Mill customer
By June Watanabe On Monday, March 18, I was riding the No. 2 bus in the direction of Kalihi Transit Center. At a stop in Chinatown, a couple got on. From the moment he boarded, the guy kept up a loud, steady stream of profanity. At times he was in her face so close they touched. At one point she was crying.
By June Watanabe Question: The state Department of Health used to issue wallet-size, laminated, notarized birth certificates. I had one until recently, when my wallet was stolen. It is much more convenient to have that than the paper version.
By June Watanabe Are they going to reopen the driver’s license renewal office at the Windward City Satellite City Hall? They had it there before, then transferred it to the Koolau station at Temple Valley. I believe if they restored it at Windward City, the lines would be shorter at the other site.
By June Watanabe Question: I just received my water bill, which has a $7.02 billing charge. But it says the bill is an estimate.
By June Watanabe  Is Mayor Kirk Caldwell going to increase the days and hours of operation at the Koko Head Shooting Complex? Currently, weekday hours are only Wednesday to Friday from noon to 3 p.m. This is woefully inadequate.
By June Watanabe Question: Why aren't all the satellite city halls operated the same way? My 79-year-old mother went to the Wahiawa satellite to renew her state ID on Wednesday, March 20.
By June Watanabe My wife and I went to get a driver’s license renewed at about 10 a.m. March 21 at the Koo­lau station. We had received a postcard in the mail telling us what items we had to bring. Nowhere did it ask whether you are married or divorced or say to bring in your marriage or divorce papers.
By June Watanabe We have noticed a small boat anchored off Magic Island that has not moved for weeks (possibly longer). There seems to be no activity onboard and the boat has not moved even during the recent windy and rough ocean weather.
By June Watanabe Question: There is a beautiful shoreline walk between Ko Olina and Electric Beach, with lots of marine life and wonderful views. However, there is a large pole with six large speakers facing the ocean.
By June Watanabe Q: When are substitute teachers going to receive the back pay they won more than a year ago? • Mahalo: Police and county crew assist in removing road block
By June Watanabe Why is it that Hawaiian Airlines credit card department employees are allowed to solicit passengers waiting at the gate? I thought no solicitation is allowed at the airport.
By June Watanabe Several months ago the aging play structure at Koko Head Neighborhood Park was taken down. Although rusting, 98 percent of it was fine. The first mistake was instead of fixing what was broken, two workers spent hours boarding up one section.
By June Watanabe  Regarding your March 13 column about red flags being used at a Kaahele Street crosswalk in Aiea: My daughter lives in Salt Lake City and tells me that they have a flag-crossing system in place.
By June Watanabe QUESTION: I read your column about the old Maluhia Cemetery in Kalihi and was wondering who owns and maintains the small cemetery next to Maemae Elementary School in Nuuanu. My husband’s ancestors are buried there, but we do not know who maintains or has records of this cemetery.
By June Watanabe Q: The new concrete bus stop pads being installed on Waialae Avenue are mostly lower by several inches, like giant rectangular potholes. Is anything going to be done about this? • Q: Is use of handicap stalls by HPD patrol vehicles an acceptable practice? • Mahalo: For clean up help after a property fire
By June Watanabe What is the status of the city catching up on electrical inspections for newly installed photovoltaic systems? I had mine installed last June and still no inspection.
By June Watanabe You probably have already been notified of this idea that is being utilized near the Newtown Neighborhood Park where an elderly person (or for that matter anybody) using the crosswalk on Kaa­hele Street holds red flags attached to a wooden stick to signal oncoming cars of their crossing.
By June Watanabe
By June Watanabe Question: You get into a taxi, they drop the flag and your fare is determined by the number of miles traveled to your destination.
By June Watanabe I read in the Star-Advertiser that the city will start charging for camping. I do not have an objection to the charging of a daily fee, but am concerned with the required duration of three days or five days, depending on the campground.
By June Watanabe Why was Essex Road closed near the golf course and cars prevented from getting to White Plains Beach? That road was opened for years and provided people with an easy access to the beach.
By June Watanabe What are the requirements for repositioning a mailbox? • Is it true that organizations collect chopstick wrappers to get wheelchairs? • Mahalo
By June Watanabe Do you know who is behind the mailing of a postcard saying “2013 Medicare Update”? Are they crooks or legitimate people? We received the unsolicited postcard that requested our name, birth date and phone number on one side.
By June Watanabe Question: Crane Park in Kaimuki is a popular neighborhood park. Many clubs use it, especially at night.
By June Watanabe Q: Why did the state decide to allow only two or more people in a car to use the ZipperLane? • Q: Do you know of anyone offering free shredding of personal documents and papers? If so, where and when? • Mahalo: To HPD for enforcing proper HOV lane usage
By June Watanabe Question: In reference to Wednesday’s Kokua Line: How can one order birth certificates online if one does not have a credit card?
By June Watanabe Question: I went to the Department of Health’s vital records office on Punchbowl Street on Feb. 20 to get copies of my birth and marriage certificates because I was not able to request them online.
By June Watanabe We received a phone call to donate items to Big Brothers Big Sisters, and we put our items outside our home on a Saturday morning. About 30 minutes after we left out our bags of items clearly labeled for BBBS, a blue van stopped next to our donation.
By June Watanabe Question: Do you know why many of the trees at Kaahumanu Cemetery, at the corner of Kapalama Avenue and School Street in Kalihi, were cut down?
By June Watanabe
By June Watanabe I went to the IRS office in the federal building at the end of January to pick up some tax forms. But I was told the forms were not yet available and was given a number to call. I called the number, then received a notice that the form I had requested was not yet available.
By June Watanabe The lines for state IDs and driver’s licenses are terrible. What I suggest is making two lines: one for IDs and one for licenses. I don’t think anyone has thought of this.
By June Watanabe Question: What is the status now of renewing driver’s licenses? I read about how crowded it was, with people having to wait two or three hours. What is the average time now for processing licenses/state IDs? Does it depend on what time someone goes or the location?
By June Watanabe Question: There are few road sign untouched by graffiti in Windward Oahu. Many signs are so obscured by paint they’re becoming a matter of public safety.
By June Watanabe Needless to say, that discourages showers, which affects both comfort and safety, since pool rules require a shower before pool use. What is their timeline for getting these repairs done?
By June Watanabe Does Hawaii have a law permitting a person living alone in a condominium to have a companion pet even if the condo association has a no-pet rule?
By June Watanabe I am renting from a landlord who has multiple tenants on a single Hawaiian Electric Co. service meter but who separates the electricity bills among the tenants. When doing so, he charges an additional general excise tax on each of us.
By June Watanabe What is the law on whether a person who has Alz­hei­mer’s may drive?
By June Watanabe Question: We have registered our home phone number with the national Do Not Call registry, although we sporadically get telemarketing calls. Recently we have gotten calls from SMS Research, the first time, about 6:30 to 7 p.m.
By June Watanabe Following heavy rain the weekend of Jan. 26, on Monday, Jan. 28, our landline phones had “Check tel Line” on the screens.
By June Watanabe In January, I called to ask about using Kapiolani Park softball fields Sunday afternoons for a church league and was told that the fields are all taken by “regulars.”
By June Watanabe Question: My dog of 18 years died recently. Mourning her loss and wanting to do the right thing, I took her body to the Hawaiian Humane Society for disposal.
By June Watanabe Could you please help me understand why many times I have heard or seen an ambulance and firetruck respond to the same emergency call? • Could you please help us find out where mo-peds are taken after an accident and how to get them back?
By June Watanabe
By June Watanabe Why is it taking so long for the Refuse Division to get trash and recycling carts replaced? • What made the Board of Water Supply start up the nice water fountain in front of their Beretania Street headquarters again? • Mahalo
By June Watanabe Midweek had a recent article touting a service project by the Lions Club in which it collects old eyeglasses to be given to needy people in foreign nations. The article quoted someone as saying, “Used eyeglasses cannot be distributed in the U.S.” I believe that's false.
By June Watanabe Is hunting allowed at the Kea­iwa Heiau State Recreation Area? • A few months ago I read about a clinic that offers free dental work. Do you have a number that I can call? • Auwe • Mahalo
By June Watanabe Is there a website or agency we can contact to help us compare different medical insurance companies and their plans? • Wasn’t the site at the bottom of Makiki Heights Drive, near the Board of Water Supply pumping station, once used by the company for equipment storage?
By June Watanabe Question: If you’re heading Koko Head on Nimitz Highway, just after the Fort Street Mall intersection, there’s a brand-new sign that says to use the left lane to go “Downtown via Bishop St.” Shouldn’t that say Ala­kea Street, since Bishop Street is one-way makai toward Nimitz?
By June Watanabe I tried calling the Board of Water Supply’s customer service about a leak from my main waterline. I waited on the phone for 20 minutes, but no one picked up.
By June Watanabe Question: I have an electric car and have been able to park at city lots for free. But on a recent Saturday night, I was charged $3 for parking at Alii Place, with the parking attendant claiming that it was a private lot.
By June Watanabe Question: There was a U.S. Department of Transportation rule as of January 2012 that airlines cannot charge for airfare if you book at least two weeks in advance and cancel within 24 hours.
By June Watanabe Someone needs to be held responsible for the fiasco of the new streetlights lining Ala Moana Boulevard. The design is inappropriate and stylistic of an older era in a Disneyland way.
By June Watanabe Question: My doctor is out of the flu vaccine, and the Longs in the Mililani area is also out. Where can I get a shot?
By June Watanabe I notice all the construction equipment has been removed, and it appears the project is completed. But there are piles of fill beyond the gate that prevent getting to the path. When will the section that is closed reopen?
By June Watanabe What is the rationale behind Election Day being a state and city and county holiday?
By June Watanabe Question: Since the number of vehicle occupants required to use the Zipper Lane was decreased, it’s getting crowded and dangerous.
By June Watanabe Question: Is everyone required to obtain a state ID card? Will Hawaii residents be required to carry a driver's license and a state ID card? I thought you only obtained a state ID card if you didn't have a valid Hawaii driver's license.
By June Watanabe Question: I have noticed lately a variety of license plates on passenger vehicles which show Handicapped, U.S. Government, HI State, City & County, Consular, Honorary Consul and such. Are they exempt from paying at on-street parking meters and in city municipal parking lots?
By June Watanabe Can phone books be recycled in the blue curbside bins? How about at recycling containers at the schools? If not, where can they be taken? Do the covers need to be ripped off first? I saw the number to call to opt out of delivery next time. Is there a number for the other phone books?
By June Watanabe About 11:30 a.m. Dec. 4, I went to Pier 38 to pass some time until I picked up my wife in Chinatown. I visit Pier 38 frequently to have lunch at Nico’s or Uncle’s or just stroll the piers and enjoy the boats and sights.
By June Watanabe Question: When I went to purchase fireworks permits last month, I was asked how many permits I wanted. Is there a limit? They are $25 apiece. Each permit is good for “5,000 individual units.” So for five boxes of #5,000, I would have to purchase five permits?
By June Watanabe There isn't supposed to be commercial advertising on TheBus. So why are there AT&T posters advertising its cellphones and network and posters saying "Marriott is Unfair"?
By June Watanabe Question: I live in Mililani and saw a “police car” (no markings) with its blue lights flashing inside the front grille but with no siren go through a red light.
By June Watanabe Who to call regarding zoning laws for wedding facilities • What are the eligibility requirements for food stamps • Mahalo
By June Watanabe  I’ve been riding the bus to/from the same workplace, Monday-Friday, for 22 years. When I got to the bus stop at Olohana and Kalakaua avenues in Waikiki on Monday, Dec. 3, I was surprised to see a notice stating the Nos. 8, 19, 20, 23 and 42 buses did not stop there anymore and riders must go to a stop on Saratoga Avenue.
By June Watanabe Signal lights in conflict at the intersection of Ala Moana Boulevard and Atkinson Drive • Don’t you need to be licensed to legally marry a couple in Hawaii? • Mahalo • Auwe
By June Watanabe There are three coconut trees, full of coconuts, along Kamehameha Highway fronting the Pearl City post office. They appear to pose a potential hazard to life and property. Who is responsible for maintaining those trees?
By June Watanabe Why aren’t the multi­material recycling bins at various schools being maintained properly? Ever since the city’s service contract ended last summer, maintenance by Hono­lulu Disposal Service has gotten markedly worse.
By June Watanabe Question: Several months ago the city Division of Motor Vehicles advised you that they were preparing to place online an "Application for Drivers License." Can you obtain a current status report for that project?
By June Watanabe Question: I regularly use the bike path on the Ewa end of Pearl Harbor. Recently, “No Trespassing” signs appeared at the Hamana Street cul-de-sac entrance to the path.
By June Watanabe Who has the legal right to authorize a car to be towed from a city street marked with a tow-away sign? How large should the sign be? Sec. 15-13.9 of the Revised Ordinances of Hono­lulu authorizes police or employees of the Department of Customer Services to tow cars from tow zones.
By June Watanabe Who's responsible for maintaining the new municipal parking garage on South King Street where buses transfer? It's not being used, but the plants are dying or starting to die. Weeds are growing.
By June Watanabe Question: Once again, lights are out along Nim­itz Highway, this time under the freeway on the mauka side from Puu­loa Road to Camp Catlin.