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Question: Enough complaining from the illegal vacation-rental operators. Boo hoo. Now that the city says it’s finally going to be cracking down, how do we report them?
Answer: By calling the city Department of Planning Permitting’s complaint hotline at 768-8127 between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, except holidays. Or write a letter to the following address:
DPP, Memo: STR,
650 S. King St., 7th floor,
Honolulu, HI 96813
Provide the full address of the offending Oahu location, including the unit number if applicable, as well as any advertisement you’ve seen for a stay there of less than 30 days, DPP says.
It’s best to check the list of Oahu properties that have nonconforming use permits before reporting a potential violation. Find the searchable list at 808ne.ws/strleg. The short-term rentals listed there are legal.
Q: Auwe! We have a Capital One Mastercard and haven’t heard anything from them directly. How do we know if our information was exposed?
A: You should hear from Capital One Financial Corporation, which has said it will notify affected individuals “through a variety of channels” and make free credit monitoring and identity protection available to all of them. The data breach affects about 100 million customers in the United States and 6 million in Canada, it said.
Capital One is posting information about the unauthorized access at capitalone.com/facts2019/. Customers also may call 1-800-227-4825.
The company urged its banking customers to enroll in account alerts by text or email to keep track of account activity. Credit-card customers should monitor their accounts for suspicious activity and call the number on their card or statement if they spot anything unusual.
It’s also warning customers to avoid phishing emails and phone calls that may arise from this data breach. If you receive a suspicious email that claims to be from Capital One, don’t reply to the email and don’t click on links embedded in it. Forward the email to abuse@capitalone.com, then delete it from your inbox. If you receive a suspicious phone call, hang up.
Q: When will they have two-way traffic on the Pali again?
A: On Sept. 1. “Pali Highway access will be in both directions between 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Sept. 1. There will be night-work and single lane daytime closures necessary after both directions are opened,” said Shelly Kunishige, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
Meanwhile, starting today, one-way access will be expanded from 5 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for the Honolulu- bound contraflow and from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the Kailua/Kaneohe-bound traffic.
All of these access hours will be in effect Sundays through Fridays. The Pali remains closed on Saturdays and state holidays.
Q: Are we still supposed to report coqui frogs on Oahu or did they give up on that?
A: Yes, report the problem. The small, noisy tree frog remains a “rapid- response species” for Oahu and other islands, according to the Hawaii Invasive Species Council. Report the sighting to the 643-PEST (7378) telephone hotline, the 643pest.org website, or through the 643-PEST mobile app.
Q: Can I get a refund for Summer Fun? We had some transportation mix-ups in my family and my son never went after all.
A: It’s too late now, according to the city Department of Parks and Recreation. Refunds are issued for requests submitted with the original receipt no later than the first day of the Summer Fun session. The recreational program for Oahu youngsters began in June.
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.
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