QUESTION: Re: the Feb. 20 “;Kokua Line”; column: I always enjoy the rare articles about license plates. My complaint is that you seem to be perpetuating the myth that plates may not start with the letters H, K, L and M but that these letters may occur in other positions. In fact, no plate may contain the letters H, I, K, L, M ,O or Q in ANY position: first, second or third. Of course, this is strange. NBM does not start any plate, while a Big Island license could be HKM. Are there 20 people in the world who care about this? Probably not.

ANSWER: We don't know how many people might care about this, but you are correct.

Not only are the letters H, K, L and M not used in the beginning of a letter sequence for Honolulu license plates, they are not used, period, confirmed Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division. H, K, L and M are reserved for the neighbor island counties, while O, I and Q are not used because they are too similar to the numerals 1 and 0.

As to why H, K, L and M are not used at all, Kamimura said it was an administrative decision made in 1979 or 1980 to help police identify vehicles.

At that time all the counties were discussing the three-letter/three-numeral license plate decision, he said. The thinking was that if a witness was able to say that the license plate of a suspect vehicle contained the letter H, K, M or L, regardless of whether the letter was in the first, second or third position, the search for the vehicle could be limited to those license plates beginning with those letters, Kamimura said.

Q: Earlier this month the Star-Bulletin had an article about Nicholas Iwamoto and how he knits beanies, scarves and potholders for sale to help defray medical expenses. Where can we purchase these items? It was a very touching story. Our prayers go out to him for a speedy recovery.

A: You can order the items by e-mailing iwamoto86@ gmail.com, calling 372-4189 or sending a letter to P.O. Box 241076, Honolulu 96824.

As reported previously, Iwamoto has been left with a chronic disability after being stabbed 18 times by Benjamin Davis while hiking at Koko Crater last year.

Davis, 20, was charged with two counts of attempted murder for the attack on Iwamoto and California resident Guy Tanaka but was acquitted by reason of insanity last week by Circuit Judge Michael Town.

Iwamoto, 23, faces a lifetime of medical care. Contributions also can be sent to Friends of Nicholas Iwamoto at the address given above.

Q: Can you help me get rid of some red dirt stain on my vinyl tile floor in the bathroom? I'm sure there are many local people in Hawaii who have had success in getting the stain out. I've tried using Quick 'n Brite, Zap, TRR, Ajax, Stainarator, MX-7 Plus, Clorox, Ultra Ivory dishwashing liquid, Titan Green, Krud Kutter, Acid Magic, Goof Off and even pure ammonia. The last thing I tried was Pumie Scouring Stick, which took the top off the piece of tile. I'll have to get it replaced later. Does anyone know of any product that can take the rest of the red dirt stain off?

A: Any readers have any suggestions?

If so, please call “;Kokua Line”; at 529-4773 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and leave a message.