Question: Does the city or state use a collection agency called Municipal Services Bureau to collect so-called unpaid parking tickets? My daughter doesn’t recall getting a ticket for an expired meter back in 2016. It seems unusual to get a notice two years later, so I am wondering if the notice is a scam. … I’ve never heard of this before and want to be safe.
Answer: Yes, unpaid traffic fines are referred to the collection agency MSB after either 90 or 180 days, depending on the cost of the ticket, according to the state Judiciary.
That said, you should verify that the notice you received is legitimate before paying. One way to do so is by calling MSB at 800-616-0166; press 3 once the recorded greeting begins. You can find additional information on the Judiciary website, at 808ne.ws/jtkt.
There was a parking ticket scam circulating a year ago via email, a red flag because court correspondence generally isn’t sent that way. Your notice came via U.S. mail, the standard delivery method. Still, it’s safest to double-check.
Greetings from the cat wrangler
Monday’s question about feral cats prompted the following email from Tana-Lee Rebhan-Kang of Aiea:
“I’m the woman who feeds the ‘herd’ of cats at Pearl Ridge Elementary School.
“If the writer/caller had stopped to speak to me, as some people do, s/he would have learned that I am registered with the Hawaiian Humane Society as a feral cat caregiver, and that:
“13 years ago, there were 25 to 30 cats at the school when I took over feeding. Thanks to help from HI CatFriends and Malama Popoki, all of them were spay/neutered and microchipped.
“I still have three of the original cats at the school. If people would stop abandoning their cats there, that’s all I would have.
“People like to blame the feeders rather than the irresponsible, heartless owners who never got their animals spayed/neutered, and who dump them in parks and on roadsides.
“My question to people who complain about cat feeders is this: Would you also like us to stop getting them spayed/neutered?”
We followed up by phone with Rebhan-Kang, who said that only a few people have complained to her over the years as she carries out her nightly duty, which includes leaving four cans’ worth of food for felines lacking teeth and dry food for the rest.
SHE used to feed the cats farther away from the road, but said the less visible spot was more dangerous; people who drank nightly near the location threw beer bottles at the cats, she said.
Rebhan-Kang provided photos of some of the “herd” — a description she found inaccurate but amusing — including the one published with this column. Two cats at front left are older than 13, and the one drinking water in the back is close to that age, she said.
You can read more about HI CatFriends, one of the helpful nonprofit organizations she mentioned, at hicatfriends.org.
For the record, a group of cats is called a clowder or glaring, according to Oxford Dictionaries. Rebhan-Kang hadn’t heard those terms either, saying, “I just call them a bunch.”
Mahalo
A big mahalo to the beautiful staff of Waianae High School for being the best first responders. On Feb. 16 I was the middle car of a three-car accident. Like angels, they quickly came off campus, helped us safely off the highway, helped get my grandson, then left huge hugs of comfort and aloha! Mahalo nui loa with greater blessings upon them for their many acts of kindness! — Grateful grandma
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.
