Question: I thought they had to give you a warning before they could cite you for loitering on school grounds.
Answer: No, not if you were loitering on campus between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., according to state law. Offenses outside those hours do first require a warning or request to leave the premises.
Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 708-813(c) states that a person commits the offense of first-degree criminal trespass if “that person enters or remains unlawfully in or upon the premises of any public school … or any private school, after reasonable warning or request to leave by school authorities or a police officer; provided however, such warning or request to leave shall be unnecessary between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.”
The misdemeanor offense carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a fine of $2,000, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
Q: I see many people driving around with dogs in their laps — not even on the passenger side or the back seat, but in the driver’s seat. Isn’t this against the law?
A: Yes, if it interferes with the driver’s control of the vehicle.
Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 291C-124(b) states that “while operating a motor vehicle, no person shall hold in the person’s lap, or allow to be in the driver’s immediate area, any person, animal, or object which interferes with the driver’s control over the driving mechanism of the vehicle.”
Q: How much is school lunch at the public schools still requiring students to pay for it?
A: School lunch costs $2.50 for Hawaii public-school students in kindergarten through grade eight and $2.75 for those in high school, according to the state Department of Education’s website. Those are the prices charged a regular-paying student, not the actual costs of preparing and serving the meal, which are higher.
The public schools also serve breakfast, charging $1.10 for students in kindergarten through grade eight and $1.20 for those in grades nine to 12.
Lower-income children may qualify for free or reduced-price breakfast (30 cents) and lunch (40 cents). And, as your question noted, some public schools offer free meals to all students, regardless of family income, as long as at least 40 percent of the school’s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. See a list of Hawaii schools offering free meals to all students next school year at 808ne.ws/808meals.
Auwe
Every day on King Street I see drivers inching through the crosswalk the second a pedestrian is past their car. This is so dangerous! Wait until the person crosses the street. Even if this is not illegal, it is unsafe. Children are unpredictable.
They might turn around to grab something they dropped. And even when there are no children crossing, this is dangerous because cars in the next lane might not stop because the car next to them is not fully stopping for the pedestrians, but just slowly rolling through. … Whether or not something is legal should not be the only marker for whether it is right and good. Please, stop and let pedestrians get across the street in one piece. — Slow walker
Mahalo
A big mahalo to the two men on the bulky-trash pickup truck Monday in Kailua. I got the day of the pickup wrong, and when I heard the truck I was struggling to haul my bulky trash to the street.
The two men, with big smiles, came back to where my bulky trash was and carried it into the truck. They drove away with more smiles and a “Have a good day.”
These hardworking folks do an essential job with much aloha. They have my utmost respect, gratitude and appreciation! Lucky I live Hawaii! — Barbara Mathews
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
