QUESTION: I saw a car with the ">" symbol in its license plate. I checked on the city’s website for ordering special license plates — www4.honolulu.gov/specialplates — which says ">" is not a valid character. So it appears the license plate was modified. Should I report it? If so, whom do I contact?

ANSWER: You should contact the Honolulu Police Department.

We forwarded your question and photo of the license plate to Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services, which oversees motor vehicle registrations and license plates.

The plate in question "is not a valid plate," she said. "Only dashes are allowed on a vanity plate."

She said it appears someone painted in the ">" symbol after ordering a license plate with three letters, requesting spaces in the appropriate places.

"This is considered a defacement of a license plate and should be reported to HPD, who enforces this type of violation," Kajiwara said.

The application of a yellow sticker on the plate "is also considered a defacement," she said.

However, HPD says it will not issue a citation unless an officer actually sees the violation.

It’s possible that if HPD received a photo showing an alleged defaced license plate that it could send a letter to the registered owner, said spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

However, in a case like this, it would be better to report the vehicle if it is parked on a public street (not private property), so that an officer has time to respond, she said.

Calling 911 while the vehicle is traveling on the freeway is unlikely to result in an officer viewing the defaced license plate himself, she said.

MAIL CARRIER GIFTS

Because many customers like to show appreciation to their postal carriers during the holidays with monetary and other gifts, the U.S. Postal Service has issued guidelines to ensure that the gifts "are appropriate and received by the intended employee":

» Postal employees may accept a gift from outside sources if it is not cash and has a fair market value of $20 or less. Gift cards are acceptable. Gifts worth more than $20 will be returned, donated to a charity or destroyed.

» Because gift envelopes sometimes go unnoticed until after the mail is mixed together at a postal office or processing plant, clearly identify the intended recipient and write your name and address either on the outside or inside of the envelope. Gift envelopes with no identified recipient or giver will be donated to a charity.

» If you do not know the name of your carrier, writing "To My Mail Carrier" on the envelope should suffice, as long as you provide your name and address, so that the gift can be directed to the right carrier.

MAHALO

To two kind people. We attended last Saturday’s football game against Army and decided to take one of the football shuttles from Waikiki. The first "mahalo" is to TheBus driver on Route No. 8 who stopped his bus and got off to show us exactly where to go to get the shuttle. However, being tourists, we had no idea how long it would take to get to the pickup location.

As a result we arrived quite early. The second "mahalo" is to the woman with a smaller Polynesian Adventure Tours bus sitting near the shuttle pickup spot who kindly allowed us to sit on her bus out of the heat. We enjoyed the conversation as well.

— Brian and Dianne Dempsey, Saskatchewan

AUWE

To a selfish young bus rider. As an annual visitor to Honolulu. I have noticed that most often people who yield seats to seniors and the handicapped, or people carrying babies, are visitors from abroad — Japan or Europe. Recently, as I rode from Middle Street to Waikiki, an able-bodied young man, with his huge backpack on the seat next to him, sat unmoved for the 40-minute ride without budging an inch as seniors and women with babies filed pass him. I was curious as to how long he could sit there totally uncaring!

— L. Mark 

Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.