Question: Does my 93-year-old mother have to be present when applying for a handicap parking placard for the first time? It would be contrary if she is required to be present, when the very reason we are applying for a handicap parking placard is that she has limited mobility, especially during this pandemic.

Answer: No, she can obtain a Disability Parking Permit by mail, an option that was added due to the pandemic. Find instructions for each county on the website of the state Department of Health’s Disability and Communication Access Board. Go to the main page at health.hawaii.gov/dcab and then click on the header “Disability Parking Permits.”

In Honolulu County, applicants seeking a long-term permit for the first time may apply in person at a satellite city hall (by appointment only) or submit the paperwork by mail.

Your mom and her physician or advanced-practice registered nurse would need to complete Form PA-1 (808ne.ws/FormPA1). Then she would mail the completed form (make a copy for her records) and a copy of her valid picture ID to Motor Vehicle Licensing & Permits, ATTN: Special Services Section, P.O. Box 30310, Honolulu, HI 96820.

Instructions on the form indicate that it must be submitted in person, but that’s not the case during the pandemic.

There is no fee for the first-time issuance of a long-term placard, which will be good for six years.

To be clear, this process is for the initial issuance of a long-term placard. If your mom had been renewing a long-term placard, she would use a different form and mail it to DCAB, not the county. Renewals are handled solely by mail, a process that predates the pandemic.

Q: I was looking for clarification on the pre-travel requirements. It looks to me that there are three requirements to meet the standard for the 72-hour negative COVID-19 test: 1) Must be a NAAT test; 2) must be a CLIA-certified lab; and 3) must be done by a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner. My question is, If I go to a local clinic in my hometown in North Dakota that is CLIA- certified and will put their certification number on my results, do I also have to fulfill requirement No. 3? Does that mean that only those places listed on the website are where I can get a CLIA-certified test, not any CLIA-certified lab?

A: Yes. Your negative test result must be of the type required (No. 1) and from a CLIA-certified lab (No. 2) that is one of Hawaii’s designated Trusted Testing and Travel Partners (No. 3). Find the list of TTTPs at hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners.

If you are having trouble finding a TTTP in your area, check with your airline for recommendations.

Auwe

Auwe! Panhandlers should not be allowed to block traffic! It’s dangerous for them and also dangerous for the drivers who swerve out of their lanes to avoid hitting them. There’s a guy at University Avenue and South King Street who needs checking up on. I can’t believe I’m the first to complain. — Worried driver

Mahalo

We helped a family member navigate the Hawaii Safe Travels requirements and website for a trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu this week. There were a couple of glitches. The site asks for a return flight reservation, but he is on a temporary work assignment for an open-ended period and only had a one-way ticket; the site wouldn’t allow him to proceed with check-in. Also, the site says to upload only one page of the preflight negative COVID-19 test, but his Trusted Partner testing company had the required information on three separate pages. This is a huge mahalo to Ninia and Leanne at the Safe Travels hotline for working out the bugs so he could make the flight. Kokua much appreciated! — J.M., Kailua

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.