Question: Is there a version of the Hokule‘a license plate for EVs? Also, do you have to make an appointment to get the new plate?
Answer: No to both questions. The long-awaited Polynesian Voyaging Society speciality Hawaii license plates became available Monday. Motorists can purchase them at any Oahu satellite city hall without an appointment. “A speciality license plate identifying a vehicle as electric is not available,” according to an FAQ by Honolulu County’s Department of Customer Services.
The new plates, which cost $35.50, show the double-hulled voyaging canoe Hokule‘a anchored off Oahu’s Windward coast. Of the purchase price, $20 will go to the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the nonprofit group that perpetuates Hawaiian voyaging traditions and culture. After initial purchase the annual renewal fee will be $25, the city said.
To purchase a speciality plate, the vehicle’s registered owner must complete the application (808ne.ws/LPapp) and present it, the vehicle’s certificate of registration and payment at a satellite city hall. Two plates per vehicle will be issued; Hawaii law requires front and back plates.
To answer other readers’ questions, the Polynesian Voyaging Society license plate is not available for motorcycles or as a disability license plate. If a person with disability license plates chooses to replace them with any speciality license plate, they would have to obtain a disability parking placard (such as the type that hangs from a rearview mirror) to legally park in spaces reserved for the disabled, according to the FAQ.
Readers have been asking for months how to get license plates showing the Hokule‘a and supporting PVS. The license plates were authorized last summer and were well publicized at the time.
Hawaii also issues speciality plates commemorating Haleakala National Park and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
Q: Last year Hawaii had a special entry process for people from Canada. Do they still have that? We’ll be flying direct in March.
A: No, since you plan to fly directly from Canada to Hawaii, you’ll be an international arrival and follow the federal rules posted at cdc.gov; click on “Travel Guidance” near the top of the home page.
Hawaii’s Safe Travels entry program now applies only to trans-Pacific, domestic flights, as far as air travel is concerned.
Q: In cleaning out the garage, I found a few small, old tanks. Maybe they were for filling up balloons at a kids’ party? I did not purchase them; they were left by a previous tenant. How do I get rid of them?
A: If these are party-balloon helium tanks, as you suspect, do not throw them in the garbage. If you can verify that they are helium tanks, you can drop them off at one of Honolulu County’s refuse convenience centers or at the Kapaa or Kawailoa transfer stations, according to the Department of Environmental Services. If you’re not certain, it would be safer to check with the department’s Household Hazardous Waste experts. Call 808-768-3201 or email householdhazardouswa@honolulu.gov.
Q: There are commercials on TV about free PCR tests. Can anybody get those?
A: No, the community COVID-19 testing to which you refer is for U.S. residents only, according to aloha clear.com. As of Dec. 18, people have been asked at the testing sites to show proof of U.S. residence, it says.
Mahalo
A huge thank you to the good Samaritan who found and turned in my credit card to customer service at Marukai on Jan. 8. Your honesty is appreciated beyond words and solidifies why it’s so lucky to live in Hawaii with people like you! — F.L.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
