Question: Several months ago the city Division of Motor Vehicles advised you that they were preparing to place online an "Application for Drivers License." Can you obtain a current status report for that project?
Answer: The forms are expected to be online sometime between mid- and late December.
Holding up the posting is the fact that the driver’s license form also contains an application for voter registration.
The "Motor Voter Affidavit on Application for Voter Registration" was placed on driver’s license applications by an act of Congress nearly 20 years ago to make voting easier.
The current paper application form is 8 1⁄2 by 11 inches, with the voter registration form printed on the second page.
The city sought input on the online form from all four county election administrators, said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division.
"The initial concern by the county election administrators is that the applicant may discard or not print the second page," he said.
He said the information technology staff was working on this issue.
Among the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also known as the Motor Voter Act), states must provide people the opportunity to register to vote when they apply for, or renew, a driver’s license.
For more information on the act, see www.justice. gov/crt/about/vot/nvra/ activ_nvra.php.
When ready, the driver’s license application form will be placed with all the other city forms now available online at www1.honolulu.gov/csd/forms.htm.
In addition to motor vehicle and bicycle/mo-ped forms, there are forms for curb ramp requests, employment applications, building permits, security alarms, disabled parking placards, real property, etc., as well as information on People’s Open Markets, Handi-Vans, TheBus and hurricane preparedness.
Question: I have household quantities of old gas for lawn mowers, small generators, weed whackers, etc. and no safe and environmentally correct way to dispose of it. What to do? In the past, for very small amounts, I bought cat litter and poured a little gas over it and left it out to mostly evaporate, then threw the material in the trash. But this seems neither really safe or environmentally correct. I have queried gas stations, auto part stores, friends and neighbors, and no answer.
Answer: You can dispose of old gasoline and other hazardous household products via drop-off days held every two months.
The next event is Dec. 15 at a hazardous handling facility contracted by the city.
But you have to call 768-3201 to schedule an appointment and itemize the materials you want to dispose of and their container sizes.
Materials that present "serious health and safety hazards," including pesticides and highly flammable substances like gasoline and kerosene, are required to have "special handling."
For more information, see opala.org/solid_waste/ Household_Hazardous_ Waste.html.
The drop-off days in 2013 are Feb. 2, April 6, June 15, Aug. 3, Oct. 5 and Nov. 30.
Mahalo
To all those who came to our aid when we overturned our sailing kayak Monday afternoon, Oct. 29, in Maunalua Bay beyond the blinker buoy, parallel to Spitting Caves. Warm thanks and our deepest appreciation to the awesomely strong paddler who sprinted inland to get help; to the paddler who stayed with us; and to Sea Breeze Watersports and their caring employees, Ogee and Brandon, who immediately came to assist us. The diverse water sports and activities of Maunalua Bay and the people who participate in them are truly a cooperative ohana, and we are lucky to be a part of it! — Rae and Greg Schmidt
———
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.
