Question: My mother-in-law received a reminder card to renew her driver’s license, which she tried to do recently only to be turned away due to not having the proper documents. But she did have all the documents stated on the card. We found out the card was not updated with all the changes. Now she needs to go back and do this all over again. Why can’t the city update these cards before sending them out to avoid situations like this?
Answer: Reminder cards were updated in June with information about the new requirement to provide two documents showing principal residence in Hawaii.
However, the notices are mailed six months before a license expiration, so many drivers received the cards before they could be updated. (Licenses may be renewed up to six months before the expiration date.)
The requirement to now include two forms of proof of principal residence was announced by the state Department of Transportation effective May 1, explained Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services.
The state delegated the task of producing these reminder mailers to the city.
Once the residence requirement took effect, the mailer was revised. It went through all four counties for concurrence, then to the state for the required approval, Kajiwara said.
"The cards were printed in June and distributed statewide," she said. "The new cards have been mailed out since July 1st."
Because the reminder notices are mailed six months in advance of license expiration, she said, the DOT tried to inform the public through a media campaign. "We apologize if the word did not get to everyone."
Kajiwara also reminded drivers that if they renewed their licenses after the federal law requiring specific documents proving legal presence and identity took effect — but before showing proof of principal residence became a requirement in May — they will need to bring in two documents showing principal residence on their next renewal.
If you have any questions, call your county driver’s licensing office. For Honolulu, call 532-7730.
County Responsibility
Motor vehicle licensing and permitting programs are under the state DOT, but the counties are responsible for their operations.
That includes the state ID program, motor vehicle registration, driver licensing, commercial driver licensing and safety checks.
"Much of the decision-making, rules and procedures for these programs are dictated by the state to ensure uniform operation across all counties,"Kajiwara said.
Question: I read an article that said the French government was giving medals to seven Japanese-American members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Battalion for helping to liberate France from the Nazis in World War II. It said if we knew of anybody else to submit the name to the French Consulate in San Francisco.
I wrote a letter saying my brother-in-law was qualified, but the letter was returned, saying "unable to forward." Who can I contact to get my brother-in-law on the list?
Answer: The address you sent the letter to does not match the address of the "Consulat general de France a San Francisco," which is 88 Kearny St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94108.
Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Gregg Kakesako, who wrote about the seven honorees, points out that the recipient has to be living — the award cannot be made posthumously.
Mahalo
To the two men and one woman in Lihue who stopped to help six women when we had a flat tire on our rented SUV back in June. The woman volunteered her husband’s help to change the tire and the other man said he was "part Boy Scout." Thanks also to a Kauai friend and her husband who came right after we called them and took us to the airport in time to make our flight back to Honolulu. — Adele Chong and Friends from the Hawaii School Office Services Association
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.
