Question: What happened to the Honolulu Police Department’s false-alarm tracking service? I did not get a bill in the mail for my burglar alarm permit renewal charge.

Answer: HPD’s alarm tracking and billing program is being updated and was temporarily suspended as of Dec. 22, according to a notice on the department’s website that says Honolulu police “will continue to respond to all alarm activations” during the suspension. “We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding,” the notice says. Read more at 808ne.ws/3vMZnmA.

The online bill payment portal and toll-free number for the vendor that formerly handled billing is no longer operable.

There have been several changes to this program over the past several years, in hopes of reducing the number of time-consuming false alarms that occurred at Oahu residential and commercial properties with burglar alarm systems registered with the program.

We emailed HPD late Thursday afternoon seeking more information about the program’s status and will follow up.

Q: Regarding the prescription disposal event, do you have to take the pills out of the plastic bottles, or can you leave it all in their containers?

A: You can leave the pills in their plastic containers. Learn more about the April 27 event at dea.gov/takebackday.

Q: Regarding the form for the disability parking pass (808ne.ws/418kline), what if I used the old form? Will they process it?

A: Yes, according to the Disability and Communication Access Board. The current disability parking permit application form is PA-3, but the older PA-1 or PA-2 forms are accepted, DCAB’s website says.

Contra-flow lanes

Kokua Line has received numerous questions and complaints this week about the lack of contra-flow lanes on Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue during peak morning and evening traffic. As we reported April 9 (808ne.ws/3xHx1dX), coning for the contra-flow lanes was suspended in early March for a roadwork project on Kapiolani Boulevard and should resume when the work is done, the city says, which at this point is scheduled to be in October. Lots of readers miss the contra-­flow lanes during rush-hour traffic.

Kolea exodus

Hawaii’s beloved winter visitors, the kolea, or Pacific golden plovers, are gathering for their annual mass migration to their Alaska nesting grounds, where they will breed before returning to Hawaii from late July to early November (summer chicks arrive the latest), according to koleacount.org, a project of the Hawaii Audubon Society. Most kolea depart Hawaii on their nonstop flight to Alaska in late April or early May, the website said; they fly for about 72 hours over the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii observers are urged to report kolea departure dates through the website, just as they are encouraged to report arrival dates, to document when, where and how many of the migratory shorebirds spend most of the year in Hawaii. As kolea watchers know, the birds often return to the same locations year after year, and their annual arrivals and departures are welcome milestones for families throughout the islands. The oldest recorded kolea in Hawaii lived more than 21 years. To learn more, read the Kolea Count website or go to 808ne.ws/49kodlnr, a Hawaii Forestry and Wildlife Division website where you can listen to a recording of the kolea’s song.

Mahalo

Many thanks to the patient shopper who helped me use the automated check-out line at Costco. I only had a few items (a rarity!), so I figured it was a good time to try self-checkout. Wrong! I had never used it before and won’t use it again! I do appreciate that this friendly fellow shopper kept me from complete embarrassment. — A reader

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.