Question: Do tour buses have to use those backup beepers every time? It’s so annoying. I live in Waikiki and it’s beep, beep, beep all day long. I work nights and I need to sleep!
Answer: Tour buses, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles are required by law to use reverse signal alarms, commonly known as backup beepers, when the driver’s rear view is obstructed, according to Oahu’s Noise Reference Manual, which you can read on the Department of Health’s website at 808ne.ws/noiseman.
“When it comes to warning devices, there is not much that can be done to lower the noise levels due to safety factors involved. But if you see a vehicle abusing the use of a warning device, note the date, time and location. Then contact the appropriate company so the driver can be reprimanded,” the manual says.
Q: If we already have PV, do we have to get a permit to add battery storage?
A: Yes, and you can’t get the permit online, as you might have for your original system.
“Installation of battery storage for existing photovoltaic systems is not a permit that can be issued online,” states the fine print of the city Department of Planning and Permitting’s online building permit application.
Permits for new installation of solar photovoltaic systems, with or without battery storage, can be issued online, for single family dwellings, according to the application, which you can see at 808ne.ws/dpp.
Q: Regarding vital records, is that the same website people who aren’t from here but got married here should use if they “lost track” of their old marriage certificate? It’s not that uncommon for people to tear stuff like that up when they get divorced.
A: Yes, vitrec.ehawaii.gov is where anyone who got married in Hawaii since 1909 can order a certified copy of the marriage certificate, as long as it was registered with the government.
Your question raises a couple of good points. One, on an annual basis, most of the people who get married in Hawaii aren’t from the islands, according to the state Department of Health, reflecting the state’s popularity as a “destination wedding” site. The department gets requests from all over the world for certified copies of marriage certificates.
Two, no matter how much someone hates their ex, they should resist the urge to destroy an original or certified copy of an “identity document” that verifies a name change. Marriage certificates and divorce decrees would fall in that category. It sounds like it’s too late for you — you’ll have to order a new certified copy — but thanks for raising the topic.
Q: Does anybody pass the road test the first time?
A: About 46% of the drivers who took the road test last year on Oahu passed, while the rest were told to try again, a pass-fail rate in line with national averages, according to the city.
Auwe
Auwe to the construction companies that dig up small sections of the road and do not do a good job of repaving the portion that was just repaired. They leave it with a lump, a dip, or an uneven surface instead of a level surface. — R.K.
Mahalo
A heartfelt thanks to the gentleman who found my wallet on the stairs fronting the office of Young Family Dentistry, Kaimuki Shopping Plaza, on the morning of Oct. 26. You turned it in fully intact, to Shauna, who promptly called me as she recognized me as a patient by my driver’s license. Both of your actions caused me to avoid a very stressful situation, as I had not noticed my wallet was missing until Shauna called me. Such actions show the true meaning of the aloha spirit. Thank you both again. — A careless senior
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.
