Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Kokua Line
Question: I am disabled. There is no way I can get to the polls or to the absentee voting places. In the past, they have always mailed me my ballot. This time around, they have not. Therefore, they are cutting me out of being able to vote. What's going on? If you want
a mail-in ballot,
ask for oneAnswer: If you didn't get a mail-in ballot, it's because you didn't request one.
According to Alva Kaua, an elections hot-line operator, you have to request one every election.
It's too late for you to vote absentee for tomorrow's primary election, but there's still time for the general election.
Call the state elections office at 453-8683 for an application. Fill it out and return it. If you live on Oahu, it will be processed by the Honolulu city clerk's office. If everything is in order, you will then be mailed an absentee ballot for your voting district.
The deadline for voting absentee by mail for the primary was Sept. 16 (yesterday was the deadline for walk-in voting). You can vote absentee by mail for the Nov. 7 general election until Oct. 31.
The public can pick up absentee voting applications at any public library, U.S. Post Office, satellite city hall or at the city clerk's office at Honolulu Hale.
Q: I sometimes write to inmates concerning issues they had before going into prison. I have written to inmates for years with no problems. Recently, however, I received a letter from an inmate at the Women's Community Correctional Center asking me to put my name in the return address of future correspondence.
But I received a letter back from Halawa requiring my full name and address. Is this a new law? May I use my personal name and not my business name on the envelope? There are laws preventing me from using my company name on the envelope.
A: According to Ted Sakai, director of the state Department of Public Safety, the policy of requiring return addresses has been long-standing.
And the reason simply is it "will make it easier for us to return the letter to the sender if the inmate is no longer in our custody," he said.
Also, he said you shouldn't have any problem by putting your name instead of your company's name.
In the future, if you or any other reader has problems regarding correspondence with inmates, Sakai said to just write or call the mailroom of the prison facility in question.
Auwe
To the woman who pushes a shopping cart through Waikiki begging for money to feed her starving babies -- kittens in plastic cages crying for food and water.-- Barbara(If you see or suspect any animal abuse, call the Hawaiian Humane Society with details, 946-2187.)
Mahalo
To HPD's officer P. Sunada and a fellow officer (name unknown) of the Wahiawa Station for their help in responding to my car break-in and the theft of my belongings at Mokuleia Beach on Friday, Aug. 25. Their efforts in apprehending the criminals were most appreciated.I expected to simply fill out a police report with little or no professional support, but what I saw and how I was treated left me with good confidence in the HPD. Although I am another victim and another statistic for the record books, Officer Sunada's conduct made the experience more bearable and less enraging. Hawaii is the land of Aloha and should not be the home to criminals. -- C.T., Portland, Ore.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com