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Question: Can you take the road test without a permit? I am over 18. I’ve never had a license but I know how to drive.
Answer: No. You must have at least an instruction permit before you can apply for a road test. Adults may request a road test as soon as the instruction permit is issued, according to the city Department of Customer Services. Find more information at honolulu.gov/csd.
State law prohibits anyone from driving on a public roadway without a permit or license, regardless of age.
Q: Thank you for the information about reporting unidentified cats. If I do rent the traps and bring the cats to the Humane Society, what happens after that?
A: A cat without visible identification that is brought to the Hawaiian Humane Society will be scanned for a microchip, a tiny device implanted under the animal’s skin as a secondary means of identification. If the cat is microchipped, the Humane Society will try to contact the registered owner and tell them to come pick up the cat. If the owner cannot be found or is contacted but fails to collect the cat within a certain time period, the cat may be put up for adoption or euthanized.
A microchip is not a substitute for a collar and ID on a pet cat; it should supplement — not replace — the visible form of identification, which is required by law on Oahu for house cats allowed to roam outside. While animal control officers and shelters generally have scanners needed to read microchips, your neighbors and other private citizens probably don’t. Your pet needs to wear an ID tag that anyone who finds the animal can read.
Q: You recently mentioned mediation for neighbor disputes. What if you don’t live on Oahu?
A: There also are community mediation centers on the islands of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai, according to the Hawaii State Judiciary website, which lists the locations and other information at 808ne.ws/adr.
Here are the basics:
>> Maui: Maui Mediation Services, 244-5744, maui mediation.org
>> Hawaii island:
Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center (Hilo): 935-7844, hawaiimediation.org
West Hawaii Mediation Center (Kamuela): 885-5525, whmediation.org
>> Kauai: Kauai Economic Opportunity Inc., Mediation Program (Lihue): 245-4077, ext. 234, or email mediation@keoinc.org
And, to repeat the Oahu information:
Mediation Center of the Pacific: 521-6767, mediatehawaii.org.
Also known as alternative dispute resolution (ADR), mediation is a “voluntary, confidential process in which trained neutral mediators help parties discuss, define, and resolve their disputes. In mediation, mediators do not make the decisions for the parties. Instead, they guide the process so parties can reach their own solutions. Mediation can save significant time and money versus going through the court system, and relationships can improve,” explains a brochure issued by the Kauai program.
Auwe
There’s also this news about banning plastic bags and plastic plates and plastic forks and so forth, and meanwhile people are still buying case after case of bottled water and drinking one and throwing away the plastic bottle! Auwe! Honolulu has good tap water and we’re already paying for it; no need to buy bottled water to drink at home. Keep some for emergencies, but that’s it! — Frustrated reader
Mahalo
The team of Utah officers and FBI agents who worked relentlessly to track down the alleged extreme cyberstalker deserve a gigantic mahalo! That they managed to locate him here in Honolulu — in a supermarket — was amazing! It’s great knowing that we have such brilliant law enforcers protecting the public. — Grateful citizen
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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