Kokua Line: Is rainbow license plate running out?

Question: I have a quirky hobby of monitoring automobile license plate numbers. It appears to me that we will be coming to the end of our current sequence pattern in the next few years. Does the state have any plans for a new license plate design or a change in the numbering sequence when the current pattern runs out?

Answer: Your observation is correct. “The current license plate with the rainbow design is reaching the end of its lifespan. As a result, a coordinated effort is underway to select a new license plate design,” Harold Nedd, spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, said in an email Wednesday.

We also sought information from the state Department of Transportation, which referred questions to the City and County of Honolulu because it manages the contract for license plate issuance.

Nedd couldn’t provide details about what a new Hawaii license plate might look like or how soon it would be issued. More information will be forthcoming, he said.

Hawaii’s distinctive rainbow license plate was first issued in 1991, featuring a colorful arc on a white background, with the words “Hawaii” along the top and “Aloha State” along the bottom. For passenger vehicles, each plate features three letters followed by three numerals. The words, letters and numbers are embossed in black.

On Oahu, the series began with the letter E, and progressed through the alphabet, omitting certain first letters reserved for other islands or because they looked like numbers, according to a Kokua Line column published Feb. 20, 2010.

That column said that police like the rainbow design because it doesn’t interfere with the reada­bility of the license number.

State law (HRS 249-9) dictates certain elements of any license plate design, including that Hawaii appear on the upper portion and Aloha State at the bottom, and that there be a “distinct contrast” between the color of the plate and the color of the letters and numbers.

Q: Do I have to take the tinsel off my Christmas tree?

A: Yes, if it’s a live tree that you want to dispose of in your green cart. Here are instructions for Oahu residents from the city’s Department of Environmental Services about properly disposing of live Christmas trees:

>> Green carts: Residents on the city’s curbside recycling collection routes should remove all decorations from the tree and cut the tree and branches to fit inside the green cart with the lid closed. The cart’s contents must fall freely into the truck when lifted by the truck’s mechanized arm. Lengths of up to 3 feet are fine. By contrast, “trees with tinsel or flocking should be cut, bagged, and disposed of in the gray cart,” the department said in a news release.

>> Manual collection: Households on manual curbside collection routes should cut their live trees into lengths up to 3 feet, bundle, and place at the curb on their regular garbage collection day.

>> Whole trees: “Residents may drop off whole Christmas trees at the nearest Refuse Convenience Center (except for Wahiawa Convenience Center) or at the Kapaa Transfer Station in Kailua.”

>> Whole tree composting: “Residents may drop off trees with no flocking or tinsel at the composting facility in Wahiawa,” without paying a fee.

>> Large loads: Condominiums and commercial buildings may bring large loads of Christmas trees to the composting facility themselves; fees will be waived over the holidays. Call ENV’s Refuse Division at 768-3200 (option 7) to arrange large deliveries.

See honolulu.gov/opala for more information.

Mahalo

Flowers for my deceased parents were especially meaningful this holiday season because, without my knowledge, a very thoughtful person named Beverly paid for the flowers at the Manoa Safeway on Dec. 16. I am grateful and inspired by the good deeds of strangers. — F.M.M.

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.