Kokua Line: Can I modify car ownership by mail?

Question: As a widower, I wish to delete my late wife’s name off my car’s title and replace it with my son’s name. At age 89, it is very difficult for me to stand in line. Is there a way I might be able to do this by mail?

Answer: Yes, assuming that you are a registered owner of the vehicle, there’s no lienholder and the registration is not within 45 days of expiration, said Harold Nedd, spokesman for Honolulu County’s Department of Customer Services.

He explained what you and others in this situation would do to complete the task by mail.

>> You, as the surviving title holder, would complete Section A (Assignment of title by seller) on the front of the Certificate of Title by filling in the odometer reading and the date, and printing and signing your name.

>> To name yourself and your son as joint owners, you both would complete Section D (Application for transfer by new registered owners), which is on the back of the title. This section requires both your names and signatures, address and date.

>> Mail the Certificate of Title, a state-certified copy of your wife’s official death certificate (a photocopy is not acceptable), current vehicle registration certificate, current vehicle safety inspection certificate, and a check for $10 payable to the City and County of Honolulu, to the Department of Customer Services Division of Motor Vehicles, Licensing and Permits, P.O. Box 30330 Honolulu, HI 96820-0330.

>> Before mailing, make a copy of the Certificate of Title, vehicle registration and inspection certificate for your own records. It will take up to four weeks to process your transaction and have the documents mailed to you.

>> Related information, including how to transfer the title of a vehicle registered only to a person who has died, can be found at 808ne.ws/ vehtrans.

You and your son also could handle this task in person at a satellite city hall. You can reduce your wait by making a reservation via the AlohaQ system (alohaq.honolulu.gov/) and arriving shortly before your scheduled appointment.

Q: Where is the Music for Life Foundation instrument dropoff?

A: At the Blue Note Hawaii music venue in Waikiki. Gently used musical instruments will be accepted through March 31 for donation to the Music for Life Foundation, which will distribute them to schools to support music education. Donations will be accepted at the Blue Note gift shop from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and at the box office from 5 to 10 p.m. on show nights, a news release said.

Guitars, ukulele, trumpets, tubas, melodicas and other instruments will be accepted, but not upright pianos, which cannot be stored. Supplies such as instrument strings, amplifiers, microphones and stands, and sheet-music stands also will be accepted.

Blue Note Hawaii is inside the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, at 2335 Kalakaua Ave.

The Music for Life Foundation supports music education in Hawaii’s schools. See musicforlifefound.org/.

Q: Any reopening date for the Pearl City pool?

A: No, the swimming pool at Pearl City District Park remains closed until further notice, according to Honolulu County’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Public pools at Waialua and Waipahu district parks also are closed, although reopening is in sight at those locations. Waialua is expected to reopen by the end of March and Waipahu sometime this summer. There also are intermittent closures at the Palolo Valley District Park pool, due to construction.

Otherwise, “free swim” is resuming at city pools this month, after being suspended since early in the pandemic,” DPR said in a news release.

The department is recruiting lifeguards, who must be at least age 16 and certified by the American Red Cross. The part-time jobs start at $16.25 an hour. For more information, including about upcoming certification courses, see 808ne.ws/pools.

Portal closed

The application portal for the O‘ahu Homeowner Assistance Fund has closed because 1,000 applications have been submitted, the fund’s administrator said. If the money is not exhausted in the first round, the portal may reopen. See hawaiiancouncil.org/oahuhome.

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.