QUESTION: I saw a Honolulu Police Department car in an all dark-blue color scheme (no blue and white) make a traffic stop at Farrington Highway and Kualakai Parkway in Kapolei. Is this color scheme new, or did I see a special-purpose vehicle?
ANSWER: You’ve spotted one of HPD’s latest traffic enforcement tools. The new vehicle is a dark blue Ford Police Interceptor with a roof-mounted light bar, one of several used by the Traffic Division. Maj. Darren Izumo, Traffic Division commander, says the different color scheme can help with enforcement because “drivers are used to looking out for the white police cars, and they don’t expect our officers to be in dark-colored vehicles.”
Q: I understand that all Hawaii driver’s licenses have been Real ID compliant since 2013. I recently moved to Nevada and applied for a Nevada Real ID license, and presented my Hawaii license as proof of identity; it was renewed in late 2014. Nevada refused to accept it, saying that it was not Real ID compliant because it lacked the gold star that other Real ID-compliant states place on their licenses. Are all Hawaii driver’s licenses issued since 2013 actually Real ID compliant, and, if so, how can one tell? Is there a marking that is approved by Homeland Security?
A: Yes, all IDs issued by the state of Hawaii, including driver’s licenses, meet federal Real ID requirements. This can be confirmed by checking dhs.gov/real-id-enforcement-brief, which is the list the U.S. Department of Homeland Security maintains showing which states and territories comply with the 2005 U.S. law and which do not. Hawaii is listed as compliant, as it has been since September 2013.
The law, intended to improve the accuracy of IDs issued throughout the United States, arose from a 9/11 Commission recommendation seeking to prevent terrorists from obtaining fake IDs. The commission urged the federal government to set standards for issuance of sources of identification such as driver’s licenses, rules that Hawaii follows.
As Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services, explains, “Compliant cards are associated with compliant states, not by a marking on the individual card.” In others words, Hawaii’s presence on Homeland Security’s approved list confirms that IDs issued by the state are compliant.
As for markings, each state integrates security elements into its card design, which must be approved by the federal government, but there is no single designating mark, Kajiwara said. Some states use the gold star, but it is not required. “Hawaii places the Hawaiian Islands on the lower portion of the photo,” she said, an approved security measure.
Given all this, it could be that the Nevada employee simply misspoke as to the reason your Hawaii license was rejected. You said that you presented it as proof of identity, but Kajiwara notes that a driver’s license is not acceptable for that task. Only an original copy of your birth certificate or a valid U.S. passport (for adults) fulfills that requirement. A valid driver’s license may be accepted as one of two documents required to prove permanent residence, as in Hawaii.
Moreover, said Kajiwara, “I do not believe that any state, Hawaii included, will issue an ID by trading in another state’s issued ID card or license, whether or not it is from a compliant state. You will still need to produce the required documents.”
Oahu’s municipal government has developed a simple online tool that guides people through the federal document requirements; use it before heading down to apply for a driver’s license or state ID. Find it at 808ne.ws/1IO201l.
Auwe
Auwe to the two ladies, one middle-age and one younger, who helped themselves to the small money purse that was dropped in front of my booth at the Saturday KCC Farmers Market. Instead of delivering it to the market’s lost-and-found tent as you promised, you took off with the purse and the money inside.
You stranded a young visiting couple from Japan and ruined their honeymoon. I wish you could have seen their sad faces when they found out you had not turned in their purse.
You looked like decent people. Hope you make better choices in the future. What goes around comes around. — A disappointed reader
Mahalo
Mahalo to the person who found my credit card in the Longs Hawaii Kai parking lot and turned it in to the Aina Haina First Hawaiian Bank. Thank you and God bless you. — J.A.
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.
