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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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City reserves right to mark up streets
Question: At the intersection of Thurston and Wilder avenues, just before the "No Parking Here to Corner" sign, someone has spray-painted "Reserved" in a rectangular border on the roadway, using a stencil so it looks official. A red, abandoned-looking vehicle is usually parked there. Is this legal, and if not, how do we get it removed or painted over, as residential parking in Makiki is harder and harder to find?
Answer: It is illegal to paint such markings on a public roadway or to reserve parking on a city street without city approval.
"It constitutes criminal property damage ... because (the road) is city property and nobody had permission to paint it there," said Honolulu Police Lt. Jerry Inouye.
He also said there is a law that says the city is the only entity that is allowed to put such a marking on a city street.
In the future, call HPD to report such actions.
In this case, police have notified the city Department of Facility Maintenance, which will paint over the illegal marking, Inouye said.
As for citing the person who painted the "reserved" sign, Inouye said the difficulty in pursuing something like this is that police need to catch the violator in the act of marking the street.
But regarding the red vehicle, Inouye said it was not parked in the "reserved" stall when HPD checked. However, it did look to be "abandoned," in which case it will be towed if it is not moved as required.
Meanwhile, Inouye also explained that there are instances in which the city itself will reserve parking spaces on city streets. Examples include for road taxi stands and for HPD, such as in front of the courthouse.
But it will do so with signs and not road markings, he said.
Q: I was looking to buy University of Hawaii football tickets online (uhathletics.hawaii.edu/tickets-menu.html) and saw senior citizen pricing. At what age is a person considered a "senior citizen"? Every outlet that states "senior citizen discount" should state the age at which one qualifies.
A: There is no universal agreement as to when one becomes a "senior citizen" for discount privileges, but for UH athletic tickets you have to be at least 65.
"In order to try to accommodate our fans, we will work towards including the senior citizen age on our ticket pricing documents, including e-ticket Hawaii," Lois Manin, spokeswoman for the UH Athletic Department, said last week.
We checked the Web site yesterday, and "65-over" is now posted.
Mahalo
Belatedly, to Kennedy S. at Longs Drugs Ala Moana for generously pulling money out of his own pocket to make up for a small shortage we experienced this past summer. We didn't bring all our money, intending to buy a couple items, but we went a little overboard. When we went back to repay him, he tried to refuse our money. What a wonderful lesson you taught our two girls, Kennedy. Aloha. -- The Mitchells from Vancouver Island
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
See also: Useful phone numbers