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Hot line takes
complaints on
phone book

Verizon has set up "a better number" for Hawaii customers to call to register concerns about the size and format of its new 7-pound telephone directory.

This is after a Kokua Line reader pointed out that the 800 number given twice by Verizon still was not accepting such comments or concerns.

Instead of an 800 mainland number, you can now directly contact Verizon's sales office in Honolulu at 593-8300, a spokeswoman said.

"That number is only for that purpose," she said.

All other issues regarding incorrectly printed residential or commercial customer information, or yellow page ads, can be directed to (800) 222-7398, which Verizon initially said would also serve as the complaint line.

Auwe

Obtaining a building permit is already a cumbersome process, despite recent claims by the newspapers to the contrary. The latest security regulations turn it into a nightmare. At 5 a.m. Oct. 27, I arrived at the Honolulu Municipal Building to be ahead of the line that forms every day for the daily sign-in at 6 a.m. The security guard said I was not allowed to wait there, nor on the benches provided a few yards away, not even in the parking garage, nor on the entire grounds. He produced a written copy of his regulations and explained in no uncertain terms that I shall be considered a vagrant before the 6 a.m. magic hour, rolls of drawings under my arm notwithstanding. An hour later, there were 10 "vagrants" in the parking structure. This abuse of the public patience makes a mockery of Homeland Security and is a harbinger of things to come. The overworked clerks can process about four permits an hour. So if you sign in at 6 a.m. and wait for the doors to open at 7:45 a.m., you'll be lucky to do business before 10 a.m. -- Fabrizio Medosi

City officials say the policy against allowing people to line up before 6 a.m. is not new.

Carol Costa, director of the Department of Customer Services, said this has been "a standard timeline" for entering the parking garage and Honolulu Municipal Building since her office previously issued camping permits at the building.

(Those permits are now handled by the parks department and satellite city halls.)

Neither the Department of Planning and Permitting nor the Department of Facility Maintenance have revised the policy nor plan to make a change, she said.

The basic problem, as you indicated, is that the Permits Section is short-staffed.

"Finally, the Council allowed (the office) to fill 22 positions, but they are having trouble finding applicants that will work for the money offered," Costa said. "The hot economy is what's causing the long lines due to more homes being built or renovated."

However, the new "3PR" (Third-Party Review) program will allow outside professionals, instead of the city, to review major projects. That should help take some of the larger projects out of line, so smaller projects will be served faster, Costa said.

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