Question: Why is it taking so long for unemployment payments to go out? My daughter was laid off three months ago. She has been in compliance in reporting either in person or online and following all the requirements about looking for a job. But all she gets are reports that information is pending although she has over $12,000 in her unemployment bank. We have not been able to get in touch with anyone to get an answer. (One of two similar complaints.)

Answer: It’s difficult to say what’s holding up your daughter’s payments without knowing who she is (we could not get through on the phone number you provided).

Delays are "more of an individual thing — if there are problems on … particular claims," said Ellen Kai, program specialist with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Unemployment Insurance Division.

Otherwise, there shouldn’t be a two- or three-month wait. Generally, if everything is in order, payments will be made in three or four weeks, Kai said.

Call us with your daughter’s name and number and we’ll pass it on to the Unemployment Insurance Division.

Question: Last year, I complained about parking at the Mililani Post Office. To park in the "new" second lot, drivers must enter the "old" lot first. All that’s needed is to change the direction of the arrows on the pavement. The post office said it would look into the matter (Kokua Line, Dec. 4, 2009). Nothing has changed. How long does it take government to correct a stupid error?

Answer: It’s been determined that the traffic flow problem would not be resolved by changing the arrows. In addition, four or five parking stalls would be lost.

The Mililani Post Office manager, an engineer and a designer met late last year to study the problem, said Lynne Moore, consumer affairs manager for the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii.

The parking lot has diagonal parking stalls and the medians, sidewalks and grassy areas all have "complementary designs and direction."

The engineer said that by merely changing the arrows and repainting the stalls, there would be four or five fewer stalls, Moore said. "Even if the entire section were redesigned, the engineer felt it would not really resolve the problem."

Also, the lot design appears to be a problem only during busy periods, such as the holidays.

Customers tend to drive into the bottom lot, which is closer to the front of the post office, then wait for a stall to open rather than drive to the second lot.

"Redesign will not stop this from happening," Moore said. Also, if the arrows were changed, people would drive through to the top lot, then go to the bottom lot, find no parking, then either wait for a stall or have to drive back up, she said.

"All in all, it was determined that the redesign would not resolve the situation which happens mostly during the busy times of the year," Moore said.

Mahalo

To a kind man. I went to Don Quijote to pick up lunch recently. I have a handicap parking placard, but there was no handicap parking available, so just took a regular parking space. When I came out, a car was parked so close to my car I could not squeeze through. I decided to wait, but after a half-hour, the driver did not return. I was standing in the hot sun and not feeling too well. A tall, lanky Caucasian man walking his dog saw me and asked me what was wrong. He then offered to help me back my car out. I thanked him very much, but, not feeling well, I did not ask his name. — Grateful Senior Citizen

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