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Kokua Line
Question: What I want to know is, how do the neighborhood boards communicate with the people they supposedly represent? It's been years and I've never been contacted by the Kahaluu Neighborhood Board. So how do they get our input in order for them to make decisions? Get in touch with
your neighborhood boardAnswer: Each board holds regular monthly meetings.
Elwin Spray, elections coordinator for the city Neighborhood Commission, explained that minutes and agendas of meetings are posted on the Internet, on the city's Web site: http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us; at public libraries (e.g., for the Kahaluu Neighborhood Board, they're posted outside the Kaneohe library near the book drop); or you can ask to have the minutes and agendas mailed to you.
The City Council provides the Neighborhood Commission with funds for communication purposes, such as mailings, Spray said.
Call the Neighborhood Commission, 527-5749, and ask to be put on the mailing list or email your request to nco@co.honolulu.hi.us
Spray noted that ballots for neighborhood board elections should be mailed to everyone by the middle of March. The deadline for returning the ballots is April 16.
"This is an opportunity for (people) to participate in selecting their neighborhood board members," he said.
Q: I tried calling the passport agency in Hawaii. You have to listen to a long recording, but with all the mess of information, they're not answering my question.
It's been a year since my passport expired so I just want to find out how much my renewal will be. Can you get the answer?
A: If you renew by mail, it will cost you $40. But if you have to renew in person, the charge is $60 for people older than 16 ($40 for those under 16).
To renew by mail, you have to have been over 16 years old when you obtained your most recent passport; the passport was issued within the past 15 years; and you have your undamaged old passport to submit with the renewal application.
If your name has changed, you need to submit a marriage certificate or court-ordered documentation of the name change, along with the old passport, two identical passport photos taken within the past six months and a special pink DSP-82 renewal form.
It is true that you have to stay on the line for five minutes or more to hear all the information on the recording when you call the Honolulu Passport Agency (522-8283).
You can call that number to have the mail renewal application sent to you or you can download an application form by going to the passport agency's Web site at travel.state.gov
Alternatively, if you want to speak to a live customer service representative, you can call the National Passport Information Center between 2:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Monday-Friday, Hawaii time, at 1-900-225-5674. But that will cost you $1.05 a minute.
If you just want to hear a recording, you can call that number, 24 hours a day, for a 35-cents-a-minute charge.
Applications also are available at many post offices and selected public libraries. As of Feb. 1, the libraries are Aiea, Ewa Beach, Waialua and Waimanalo on Oahu, and Keeau, Kealakekua, Laupahoehoe and Naalehu libraries on the Big Island.
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