Question: What gives McDonald’s at Waialae and Palolo the right to use Waialae Avenue as a loading lane for drivers waiting to enter its drive-thru and thus block a lane of Ewa-bound moving traffic on Waialae Avenue? This happens at certain times of day, not all day or all night.
Answer: It’s not a matter of claiming Waialae Avenue as part of its drive-thru area, and the restaurant has tried to minimize the traffic tie-up, McDonald’s officials said.
In a statement to Kokua Line, McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii said it has taken a number of steps to improve the drive-thru layout and configuration to address traffic issues.
"We also do our best to quickly move cars through the drive-thru and, if an order cannot be ready when the driver arrives at the pickup window, we ask the customer to wait in our side parking area so we can reduce any potential backup," the statement said. "We encourage customers who see a long line at the drive-thru to park and come inside to enjoy our restaurant. We are grateful that so many people in the Kaimuki community enjoy McDonald’s and we will continue to work very hard to reduce traffic issues related to our drive-thru."
Meanwhile, the Honolulu Police Department noted cars tend to line up for the drive-thru in the before-school and dinner hours.
In this case it would be the drivers, not the restaurant, who could face citations.
"Officers can monitor the area, and if traffic is especially heavy, drivers may be asked to keep moving and not block the lane," said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu. "Depending on the circumstances, drivers could also be cited for impeding traffic."
Question: The different classes of sexual assault — one, two, three and four — have been in the news lately. What does each one mean?
Answer: In 1986 the different degrees of sexual assault degrees replaced "rape," "sodomy" and other such terms used previously in charging sex crimes, according to the Honolulu prosecuting attorney’s office.
For a full description, go to the Hawaii Revised Statutes, available online at 1.usa.gov/1xd7i0T and click on Sections 707-730 to 707-733.
Generally, these are the definitions:
» First degree, Class A felony (maximum 20 years in prison): Sexual penetration of a person by "strong" compulsion; sexual penetration of a person under 14 years old, of a person at least 14 and under 16 years old by someone who is at least five years older and not married to the minor, or of a mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physical helpless person unknowingly subjected to a substance (such as drugs or alcohol).
» Second degree, Class B felony (10 years in prison): Sexual penetration of a person by compulsion; sexual penetration of a person who is mentally incapacitated or physically helpless or of an inmate or person in custody by a correctional worker or law enforcement officer.
» Third degree, Class C felony (five years in prison): Recklessly subjecting a person to sexual penetration by compulsion; subjecting sexual contact to someone who is less than 14 years old or who is at least 14 but less than 16 years old by someone at least five years older and not married to the minor, or with a person who is mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, or with a person in custody by a correctional worker or law enforcement officer; or subjecting another person to sexual contact by strong compulsion.
» Fourth degree, misdemeanor (one year in prison): Sexual contact with a person by compulsion; exposing genitals under circumstances "likely to alarm" or putting someone in "fear of bodily injury"; trespassing for "surreptitious surveillance for the sexual gratification" of the suspect.
Mahalo
To Shirley and Lee Costa, total strangers, who sat at a table next to me at the Mariposa restaurant, where I was treating myself to lunch one day as I had been "housebound" for quite some time. To my great surprise, they paid for my lunch, making my day extra special. May your blessings be a hundredfold-plus. — Grateful Alma
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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.
