Question: What happened to “Click It or Ticket”?
Answer: Seat belt enforcement is conducted year-round with a special emphasis during the “Click It or Ticket” safety campaign, a national initiative that this year is scheduled for May 15 to June 4, said Michelle Yu, spokesperson for the Honolulu Police Department.
Motorists who fail to wear their seat belt risk a costly citation.
The state Department of Transportation also has information about “Click It or Ticket” on its website, which says, “Hawaii’s universal seat belt law requires that all front and back seat motor vehicle occupants buckle up. Adults and children must use their seat belts and child restraints at all times.
The child passenger restraint law requires children from birth through the age of 10 years old to ride in an appropriate child safety seat or a booster seat when traveling in a motor vehicle. Violators could face fines of $100 or more, be required to attend a driver’s education class and pay additional surcharges.”
Q: I renewed my driver’s license Jan. 5, and I still haven’t received my permanent license. The temporary license they gave me is expiring. What do I do?
A: Oahu motorists who renewed their driver’s license more than eight weeks ago and have not received the permanent card in the mail should call 808-768-9100 for assistance, according to the city Department of Customer Services.
Q: How long does it take to get a passport? I submitted my application by mail in January, and I am still waiting. I need it for a cruise in June.
A: Routine processing takes eight to 11 weeks, not counting mailing time, according to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. After two weeks, people who applied in person or renewed by mail can call the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778 to check on the status of their application; expect an extended “hold” time before your call is answered.
Or you may check online, at passportstatus.state.gov Opens in a new tab. A technical malfunction might prevent online status checks for people who applied Feb. 6-13, but that shouldn’t affect you.
Q: The first section of Bill 19 says it exists to “codify the primary purpose of the City and County of Honolulu public parks, which is to serve the recreational needs of the public and preserve the natural, historic and cultural resources of public parks for future generations, and to establish the standards, limitations and procedures by which certain commercial activities may be permitted within the city’s public parks.” However, reading through the bill, it’s all about commercial activity — what, when and where. I see nothing about how this preserves parks for future generations. Who wrote this?
A: Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation drafted the measure at the request of the Blangiardi administration, which wants an islandwide approach to regulating commercial activity at Oahu’s city parks and beach parks, rather than park-by-park rules that apply now.
DPR says on its website that prior to submitting the bill, it conducted numerous internal discussions among staff, consulted with the Honolulu Police Department and city attorneys, and met with local businesses and the Hawaii Tourism Authority. A person who testified at a Honolulu City Council meeting March 15, where Bill 19 passed first reading, raised similar concerns, which Parks Director Laura Thielen acknowledged, noting unprompted later in the meeting that the bill should explain how rules on commercial activity support the parks’ primary public use, now and in the future. She described the bill as a starting point and looked forward to working with the City Council to improve it.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
