Question: Is the city still following up on calls about abandoned vehicles? These dumpers are taking advantage of the current situation.

Answer: Yes, there are two ways to report an abandoned vehicle during the COVID-19 emergency, according to the city Department of Customer Services.

>> Report it on the city’s website at 808ne.ws/abveh.

>> Call 768-2530 during regular business hours.

By either method, you’ll need to provide the vehicle’s description (make, model, color, etc.) and license number, and the address or closest intersecting streets where the vehicle is abandoned.

Once a complaint is received, “an inspector will be assigned to the area to determine if it meets the requirements of an abandoned or derelict vehicle; if so, then it will be towed,” according to the Department of Customer Services.

To answer other readers’ questions, removal is complaint-driven, meaning that someone needs to report the vehicle for action to be taken.

The website explains that “an abandoned vehicle is a vehicle parked on public roadways that has not been attended to for more than 24 hours. A derelict vehicle is a vehicle parked on public roadways that is missing major components and (therefore) inoperable.”

Q: Regarding face masks, what about the baby when we are out for our stroller walk? I believe it’s unhealthy to stay in the apartment 24/7 for weeks on end, and we don’t have a yard.

A: “Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children younger than 2 years of age, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cover without assistance,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. See 808ne.ws/cdcmasks.

Answer ‘yes’

Last week, Hawaii’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said it didn’t matter whether a person trying to certify their unemployment claim online answered “yes” or “no” to a question about whether they were looking for work.

The requirement to seek employment has been waived during the COVID-19 emergency, so either response was fine, a spokesman said last week.

However, the DLIR now says on its Twitter feed, “Only answer yes, a no will hold up your claim.”

To be clear, you don’t actually have to be seeking work to answer yes. “When certifying your unemployment claim weekly you can answer yes when responding to whether you looked for three jobs even if you didn’t. It will not interfere with the processing of your claim,” the DLIR stated.

Spokesman Bill Kunstman confirmed Thursday that “it’s better to answer yes. ‘No’ won’t stop the claim, but it will slow the processing down.”

Countless readers have called or emailed Kokua Line saying that they have been unable to certify an unemployment claim because the department’s website was swamped.

“The volume of individuals filing certifications goes down as the week goes along; the week starts on Sunday to claim for the previous week. If they just wait until midweek they’ll have a better chance of getting through more quickly,” he said.

Auwe

Good thing the mayor declined those pay raises, but auwe that they even considered it. Are these people living on another planet? Here we are, so many on Oahu, unemployed, locked down, fighting to keep our heads above water. And some in the city government are wanting even more from us? Auwe! Get real. — A reader

(Note: Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is asking the Salary Commission to not recommend salary increases for department heads and other city officials after all, due to the pandemic. Previously, increases of 3% had been discussed. Read a summary of the commission’s April 3 meeting at 808ne.ws/sal.)

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.