Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Police can help
with unwanted guests

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Question: A traffic signal was recently installed near our home, and ever since, numerous vehicles are constantly driving onto our property to turn around. The drivers are very inconsiderate and still enter our property if we're standing right in the driveway. This is causing wear and tear on our driveway and also leaving oil stains. What can we do to resolve this problem? We don't think posting "private property" signs will deter these people. Can we report them for trespassing?

Answer: Your complaint is much too vague to respond to, said Capt. Jose Gaytan, of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division.

You did not give an address or even indicate the neighborhood you live in, so he couldn't refer you to a specific district police station.

Regarding trespassing, unless you tell someone to leave and he or she refuses to leave, it's difficult to cite or arrest someone for trespassing, Gaytan said.

His advice is to call 911, say it's a nonemergency and ask to meet with a beat officer from your district. The officer can better advise you on what you can and cannot do, Gaytan said.

"The important thing is to contact the police and work with them" to resolve the problem. Your situation is a "beat condition" that police in your area can help you with, Gaytan said.

Q: Is there a law that states employers in Hawaii must pay employees a gas mileage allowance if they use their own cars in performance of their duties? I have had at least two potential employers tell me that I would have to use my car with no reimbursement for gas.

A: There is no state law that requires employers to pay employees a mileage allowance for using their own vehicles, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations.

Auwe

To drivers who flagrantly abuse use of the handicapped parking stalls at Circuit City in Pearl City. The parking lot is packed with cars circling, looking for a stall, so some people will park in the handicapped stalls and remain in the car while a passenger runs into the store. It's not fair that the handicapped have to park at the far end of the lot (toward the exit by Pearl Ridge) and walk back, while these morons think nothing of taking the stall for their own convenience. Give the abusers a ticket and hopefully they'll learn their lesson. This is not a "be back in a minute" type of stall; this is parking for those who have a physical handicap and cannot walk far. I'd like to see stepped-up enforcement of the handicapped parking laws not just here, but all over the island. -- No Name

We passed your complaint on to Sgt. Bart Canada, the Honolulu Police Department's coordinator for disabled parking, who said he would alert volunteers who enforce the disabled parking laws in that area.

As we reported previously, businesses do not have enforcement powers, but Canada said, "The volunteers can pay closer attention to problem areas to reduce problems for those requiring accessible parking at various businesses."

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Useful phone numbers

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See the Columnists section for some past articles.

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