Question: Why does the Board of Water Supply require my driver’s license upon entering just to pay a simple bill? I went to their office to pay my bill and was told that I needed to show a photo ID.

Answer: Visitors to the BWS’ Beretania Street complex have long been required to produce "proper ID" to help ensure the safety of both employees and customers, said spokeswoman Tracy Burgo.

The ID requirement is part of long-standing security measures posted at the main entrance to the agency’s offices, which are consistent with security procedures followed by other agencies and facilities in the state and across the nation, she said.

Burgo said the safety measures are based on threat assessment information from government agencies. They include showing identification, signing the log and presenting bags for inspection.

"The BWS is applying these measures as a result of heightened security concerns at critical infrastructure facilities nationwide," Burgo said.

The security policy applies to anyone who enters the Beretania complex without an official BWS identification badge.

The agency recently examined its security policies and procedures as part of a general operations review.

"We continue to review our security requirements and may implement other procedures to ensure the safety of the BWS, its employees and visitors, if needed," Burgo said.

Question: One recent morning, around 6:30 a.m., after a complete stop, I turned left from Piikoi Street (a one-way street) onto Beretania Street (a one-way street) on a red light. A policeman in a blue-and-white car was behind me and stopped me a block and a half down Beretania in front of McDonald’s. He asked to see my driver’s license. I asked the officer what was wrong and he told me that I had made a left turn on a red light. He acknowledged that I had come to a complete stop at the red light but said Hawaii has "funky" left-turn laws, so the next time I should wait until the light turns green. Well, on another morning, I was behind a policeman in a patrol car who made a left turn on a red light at the very same intersection. Is it legal or not to make a left turn on a red light at this intersection or from any one-way street onto another one-way street? I have traveled this route every morning for the past 25 years and that is the first time I was told not to make the left turn on a red light.

Answer: After coming to a complete stop, drivers may legally turn left onto a one-way street during a red light unless there is a sign that prohibits this, is the word from the Honolulu Police Department.

As to why the police officer stopped you, "It sounds like the driver was issued a warning, so it’s possible that there was more going on with this traffic stop," said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu. "Without additional information, it’s hard to tell."

On page 39 of the Hawaii Driver’s Manual, it says a red light means you must stop at the stop line; or when there is no stop line, before entering any crosswalk; or when there is no stop line or crosswalk, before entering the intersection.

You must remain stopped until the signal changes to green.

But after stopping, you may turn right unless a sign prohibits it. You must yield to all pedestrians and all vehicles when turning right.

Regarding left turns: "After stopping you may also turn left on a red light from a one-way street into a one-way street where traffic is moving to the left, except when a sign prohibits such movement."

Find the driver’s manual on the website of the state Department of Transportation: 1.usa.gov/1kRIQNf.

Mahalo

To a kind young woman. Several weeks ago, I was shopping in Foodland Ala Moana and was in my usual confused state of mind. In the checkout line in front of me, noticing the situation, a cute young woman turned around, took what I was going to buy out of my hand, and paid for it. To no avail, I tried to reciprocate. May she be blessed in many ways. — The Little Grey Hen

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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.