QUESTION: I woke up at about 4:30 one morning to a horrible woodlike burning smell coming from a small apartment across the street. I suspect that people in that apartment were smoking illicit drugs. A couple of months earlier, my sister made an online report with the Honolulu Police Department’s Narcotics/ Vice Suspicious Activity Form because we were concerned about drug users there. Should I have called 911? Who should I contact regarding this situation?

ANSWER: If you believed there was any danger, you should have called 911.

Since your sister already reported suspicious activity at the apartment, you are encouraged to continue to submit information about the occupants and residence, even if you don’t see "enforcement activity," said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

HPD does not release any information about what it’s doing, even to tipsters, because doing so might jeopardize an investigation.

It’s possible that the public could provide the information that investigators need to break a case, she said. "By contrast, some ‘tips’ are so vague that investigators can’t even identify the location."

To report suspicious drug activity, call the Narcotics Vice Division at 529-3101 or go to www.honolulupd.org/nv/report.htm. Include dates, times, descriptions of persons and vehicles, license numbers, etc.

The Narcotics Vice Division has a Clandestine Laboratory Response Team, charged with investigating suspected illegal drug labs.

However, its activity has dropped drastically since 2000, when it investigated 97 complaints and identified eight clandestine laboratories.

There were 14 cases involving alleged drug labs in 2006, four in 2007 and since 2007 only one, in July, Yu said.

QUESTION: Regarding delays in obtaining an Army Installation Access Pass: Are these passes available to anyone who wants one? I golf at Hickam Air Force Base once in a while and catch a ride with someone who has a gate sticker pass. Can I apply for an access pass to get on base ?

ANSWER: Each branch of the military has its own policy and procedures regarding base passes.

Regarding entering Hickam, you must have a valid government-issued Department of Defense identification card to apply for access to the base, a spokesman said.

People without such authorized identification must have a sponsor to gain access.

That’s the short answer, the spokesman said, noting a 78-page document governs access to Hickam.

Documents showing membership to any organization on base, such as the Officers Club, Enlisted Club, golf course or bowling leagues, are not sufficient for entry.

Documents granting access to other installations on Oahu also are not sufficient to gain access to Hickam.

AUWE

To the political sign-wavers on Kalanianaole Highway in the mornings, in particular the elderly couple near Ainakoa who took up the WHOLE sidewalk last week, making it impossible for pedestrians to pass. Whoever they’re campaigning for, they are causing a hazard on Kalanianaole. I worry about all those kids who have to walk to Kalani High School every day. I also don’t think it’s appropriate for campaigners to be at both sides of the entrance to Kalani. This causes a major hazard with all the traffic going in and out. — Concerned Parent and Registered Voter