Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: My complaint is with a job not finished on the Pali Highway: A sensor was not put in the left-turn lane for cars turning from the Pali Highway onto Waokanaka Street. As a result, the light stays green when there are no cars turning, while town-bound traffic backs up, waiting for nothing. I've called the Department of Transportation but no one has called back. Can you help? Microwave sensor going
up at Pali intersectionAnswer: A microwave motion detector, in place of a "loop detector" placed in a grid on the road, should be installed there by tomorrow, said state highways administrator Pericles Manthos.
The lack of such a sensor had nothing to do with the Pali widening project, he said. Instead, a traffic accident damaged that intersection, including knocking down a pole.
The city repaired the damage and is responsible for installing a motion detector, Manthos said. "We're not planning on putting the grids back in because the road is going to be resurfaced."
The microwave sensor, placed atop a traffic pole, detects the approach of vehicles, much as motion sensors for house lights activate.
Loop detectors in the ground tend to be more reliable, Manthos said, but the microwave sensors are used as well. "It depends," he said. The loops can't be used in concrete roads, for example, because they can't be embedded in the concrete.
Q: I am a state employee working at the Kapolei State Office Building. We all know that smoking inside the building is against the law, but frequently, the ventilation system circulates the unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke. I suspect that someone is smoking in a custodian's room or in the restroom.
What can be done to enforce the no-smoking policy to ensure the health of employees?
A: State Comptroller Raymond Sato, head of the Department of Accounting and General Services, has asked his staff to look into your complaint.
But he said additional information would be helpful and asked you or anyone else with information to contact James Hisano, Central Services manager for DAGS, at 831-6734. He said any information received will be held in strict confidence.
"No Smoking" signs are posted at all entrances into the building and in other locations, such as the restrooms and stairwells, Sato said.
But, "unless an individual is actually discovered in the act of smoking, enforcement is difficult," he said.
However, since smoking is prohibited in most public areas in Hawaii, "It has been our experience that smokers are well aware of this prohibition and comply voluntarily," Sato said.
Vacation benefits clarified
Regarding an Aug. 4 item about vacation benefits, state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations spokesman Pat Stanley wanted to clarify his response.Vacation benefits are not required under state law, but "once it is offered, it becomes part of compensation," he said.
Thus, accumulated vacation time "has to be paid" and a wage claim can be filed. To file a claim, call the department's enforcement division, 587-8777.
Mahalo
To David S., who, on July 21, followed us with his emergency lights on to warn other cars until we got off the H-1 Freeway. He also changed our flat tire and refused any remuneration. We will remember his kindness for a long, long time. -- Wayne
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
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