|
Kokua Line
June Watanabe
|
Residential dumping site being watched
Question: I am writing about a house on Kamoku Street that has large bulky items for pickup on the grass between the sidewalk and the street ALL the time, for years. It is not possible for one house to have so many bed frames, mattresses, broken toilets, junk furniture, broken tables, chairs, refrigerators, carpeting and much more. There is stuff there almost immediately after a pickup, and the grass is never cleaned. Neighbors say they see people from the Royal Iolani and Iolani Court Plaza also putting stuff there. Can the property owner be cited? There seems to be no end to the trash in front of this residence. Schoolchildren walk past this junk every day. Broken glass and all sorts of things could be tempting or dangerous to them. Who should I contact to complain? Can you help?
Answer: The address you cite is well known to city refuse collection officials.
"We are aware of the problem and have serviced this spot more than once per month," David Shiraishi, the city's refuse collection administrator, told us last week. "We will do more by trying to determine who is placing bulky items at the improper time."
Meanwhile, the resident managers of the buildings you cite were to be contacted and informed that residents should be placing their bulky items in front of their own buildings, he said.
For that neighborhood, the earliest bulky items should be out for pickup is the evening before the third Monday of each month, he said.
As for citing the property owner: If someone witnesses the owner placing an item out too early and "is willing to assist the police in identifying the person in a police lineup," a citation will be issued, Shiraishi said.
"It is too bad when people abuse their neighbors' rights and the city's services," he said.
Q: I was told by a local attorney that mainland debt settlement companies must be licensed in Hawaii to do business or to represent Hawaii residents. Is this true? I signed up with a company, which sets up an account to deposit my money every month. When I accumulate enough to settle an account, they will negotiate a lower payment. These companies charge a percentage of the total debt. Advertisements are mainly aired on radio.
A: You appear to be describing "debt adjusting" companies, said Stephen Levins, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection.
There is no licensing requirement for such companies, he said.
However, while there is no registration requirement under the state's debt-adjusting law, there are general business registration requirements for "foreign corporations" (meaning those out of state) doing business in Hawaii, he said.
Levins also pointed out that current Hawaii law generally requires debt-adjustment companies to be nonprofit.
There are exceptions, such as being an attorney licensed in Hawaii, but basically you have to be a nonprofit organization to do debt adjusting in the state.
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