Question: Regarding the REAL ID deadline, is that for neighbor island flights, too? I have the gold star but I just renewed my license, so I have the paper temporary one. The DMV took my old license even though it still had time left on it.
Answer: Yes, enforcement begins May 7 for domestic flights nationwide, including interisland flights for which passengers pass through U.S. Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. You are correct that a temporary license is not an acceptable form of identification. “Passengers who present a state- issued identification that is not REAL ID compliant and who do not have another acceptable alternative (e.g., passport) can expect to face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint,” the TSA said earlier this month in a news release.
REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and state IDs issued by the state of Hawaii carry the “gold star” mark, as you mentioned, but it must be the permanent plastic card.
According to Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, it takes six to eight weeks for a person to receive their permanent license in the mail. Applicants receive a temporary paper license at their renewal appointment.
In answer to other readers’ questions, here are some reminders about the upcoming enforcement, from the TSA:
>> Airline passengers 18 years and older, including TSA PreCheck members, must present REAL ID-compliant identification or another acceptable ID at TSA security checkpoints starting May 7.
>> See the list of acceptable ID at 808ne.ws/4fbgU8B.
>> Passengers without a REAL ID may be able to pass through the security checkpoint if the TSA can verify their identity through additional screening; however, this will vary by circumstances. “You will not be allowed to enter the security checkpoint if you choose to not provide acceptable identification, you decline to cooperate with the identity verification process, or your identity cannot be confirmed,” the TSA says.
As of mid-April about 81% of travelers at TSA checkpoints showed an acceptable form of ID.
Q: The Go for Broke postage stamps that honor the sacrifices of Japanese American soldiers in WWII are no longer for sale on the USPS website. Is this the result of the anti-DEI policies from the White House?
A: No. The Go for Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of WWII commemorative Forever stamp had the limited sales cycle at post offices and usps.com that is standard for commemorative stamps; it’s now a collectible available from resellers. The U.S. Postal Service issued the stamp on June 3, 2021, and ended its direct sales on Dec. 31, 2024.
“It took a coalition of supporters to get the Go For Broke Stamp issued in 2021 after a fifteen-year campaign. After a 3-year sales run at USPS, postal policy requires that commemorative stamps be pulled from their sales to open room for new stamps to be issued and for new stories to be told,” says niseistamp.org, the website for the grassroots campaign.
As the USPS said in a news release when the stamp was issued, “this commemorative Forever stamp honors the second- generation Japanese Americans, also known as nisei, who formed one of the most distinguished American fighting units of World War II: the all- Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose motto was ‘Go for Broke.’”
Q: Regarding the SAVE Act, what is happening with it in the Senate, and how much would this cost dollar-wise if it passes?
A: HR 22, which would require people to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, was received in the U.S. Senate on April 10, after passing the House. There has been no further action as of Monday, according to congress.gov, which also shows that a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate for the measure has not been received.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
