Question: Is the public going to get to say anything about the federal plan to restrict viewing of spinner dolphins in the wild? It’s going to put people out of business!

Answer: Yes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will hold public meetings next month in Hawaii. Also, comments may be submitted by mail to NOAA or via electronic submission to the Federal Register, according to a news release from the agency. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. Oct. 23.

Here is the schedule for the public meetings, all of which begin at 5:30 p.m. and generally are set to last four hours:

>> Sept. 7, Konawaena High School cafeteria, Kealakekua

>> Sept. 8, Kealakehe High School cafeteria, Kona

>> Sept. 21, Kauai High School cafeteria, Lihue

>> Sept. 22, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, Kihei

>> Sept. 27, Roosevelt High School cafeteria, Honolulu

>> Sept. 28, Waianae High School cafeteria, Waianae

The proposed rule would prohibit anyone from getting within 50 yards of a Hawaiian spinner dolphin by any means (person, vessel or other object).

The prohibition, which includes exceptions for inadvertent encounters and certain other activities, would apply within 2 nautical miles of the main Hawaiian Islands and in designated waters between Maui, Lanai and Kahoolawe. A ban on swim-with-wild-dolphins operations is necessary to protect the marine mammals, according to NOAA. Hawaiian spinner dolphins feed offshore during the night and return to rest during the day in coastal waters, where they are found in sheltered bays.

“Dolphin-directed activities have grown dramatically in recent years, and the easily accessible Hawaiian spinner dolphins face heavy and increasing pressures from people seeking a dolphin experience. Chronic disturbance to resting activities can negatively affect the health and fitness of dolphins,” according to the NOAA news release announcing the proposed rule, which if approved would take effect in September 2017.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources supports the proposal but thinks it should extend 200 miles offshore, to the end of the Exclusive Economic Zone. DLNR prefers a 50-yard rule to closing off areas as essential daytime habitats. NOAA is still considering time-area closures for four bays on the Big Island and one on Maui, although not in the current rule-making.

Q: My state income tax refund was mailed to my tax preparer, rather than to me. My tax preparer was aware of other instances of this happening. Is this common practice?

A: No, state tax refunds are mailed directly to the taxpayer, whose name should be at the top of the tax return. Mallory C. Fujitani, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Taxation, said misrouted refunds are not a common problem, and suspects that your preparer may have listed his information where yours should have been.

Here is her full response:

“The situation the reader described is very unusual. Generally, when a tax return is filed — whether it’s filed via paper or electronically — our computer system will save/store the taxpayer name and mailing address located at the top of the tax return (along with other relevant tax data). Once a refund is authorized, the taxpayer information from the top of the tax return (i.e., mailing address) goes onto the list of taxpayers who will be issued a refund check. The list is then forwarded to the Department of Accounting and General Serv-ices for the actual issuance of the check.

“It’s possible that the tax preparer mistakenly put his/her information on the top of the return. It’s less likely that our computer system mistakenly did anything out of the ordinary because our system does not save any tax preparer information from the tax return — it only saves the taxpayer’s information. Without being able to look into the taxpayer’s account at his/her tax filings, however, we won’t know with certainty why the check was issued to the tax preparer.

“If your reader would like us to look at his/her tax account to see if anything unusual happened, even if for just peace of mind, please have him/her contact me directly.”

So, contact Fujitani or double-check your tax return to see whether your name is at the top.

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.