Question:

Every day for the past eight years, North Shore residents have been driving past an "Under Construction" sign dated Jan. 6, 2003. Recently, I took a photo in order to document this never-ending construction story. The photo was taken just past Kahana Bay traveling toward Kaneohe. The construction is done, the sign has been defaced with graffiti and it seems to be time to move on. Would you kindly look into this problem and see whether the responsible authorities might be able to remove this unsightly sign before my neighbor’s 5-year-old son graduates from high school?

Answer:

It might seem hard to believe, but the 8-year-old highway construction sign was not really outdated, according to the state Department of Transportation.

However, we were told yesterday the sign would be removed in the next few days, or as early as yesterday, because it really is no longer needed.

"Technically, the project is still considered active if all the contracted items have not yet been completed," a Transportation Department spokesman said.

In this case, which involved pavement resurfacing, traffic was contra-flowed through one lane, creating a significant traffic impact, he said.

The resurfacing work in the area has been completed; however, one final item is still pending: design modifications to several roadside guardrails required because of their proximity to underground utilities.

But unlike the resurfacing, the guardrail work should entail only short-term lane closures, if any.

"The remaining work will be scheduled in a few months, and, as it should not significantly impact traffic, the sign will soon be removed" by the contractor, the spokesman said.

Question:

What are the guidelines in Hawaii for electric razor use in salons and barbershops? I recently got "nicked" by an electric razor and noticed that the beautician just placed it back into the charging cradle even though she knew what had happened. A search on the Internet showed that health departments in some states ban the use of electric razors entirely as there is no way to easily sanitize them.

Answer:

The state Department of Health allows the use of electric razors.

However, razors, shears, scissors, clippers, tweezers, finger bowls, combs "or any like article" shouldn’t be used on any customer "unless they have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized since last used," an official with the Health Department’s Sanitation Branch said.

The sanitation rules also require that the instruments, after being sanitized, "be stored in a manner to prevent contamination, or be sanitized again immediately before reuse."

Suspected violations can be reported to the Sanitation Branch. On Oahu, call 586-8000.

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