Question: Both sides and both tubes of the Pali tunnels are being covered over with graffiti. Is there anyone at the state Department of Transportation we can contact to paint over the tagging? They have done it in the past, and it needs to be done again.

Answer: Perfect timing on the question. Maintenance crews are scheduled to remove the graffiti tomorrow.

The work will require closing one lane in the Kailua-bound direction, then one lane in the town-bound direction, beginning about 9 a.m., said transportation spokeswoman Tammy Mori.

Meanwhile, the public is encouraged to report graffiti to the Department of Transportation's complaint line, 831-6714, “;so we can address this issue and get it on our maintenance calendar as soon as possible,”; Mori said.

Q: I am required to report any and all income during the period I am filing for unemployment benefits. When I file my state and federal income tax returns in February, I almost always receive a refund from both the state and federal entities. When I called the state Unemployment Office and asked if receiving a state and federal refund check would adversely affect my unemployment benefits, I received two different answers - one “;yes”; and one “;no.”; When I asked the person who answered “;no”; for a written confirmation, I was placed on an indefinite hold, then cut off. Can you help get me an official answer? Thousands of people who are receiving unemployment benefits will be asking the same question when tax time comes around.

A: The answer is no, said Ryan Markham, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Only wages earned for services rendered or work done would affect your unemployment benefits, he said.

Any type of tax refund or such things as certificates of deposit maturing wouldn't count.

“;It has to be wages from work,”; Markham said.

We don't know what happened in your case, but you should be able to get answers to questions like this by calling the Labor Department at 586-8844.

Q: How do we get our old telephone books into a trash bin designated for HPOWER? We want to assure that they get to them and are not dumped in a landfill. I tried e-mailing HPOWER but they haven't responded.

A: Dump it into your regular trash for curbside pickup by city crews.

All municipal solid waste is taken to HPOWER for processing, unless operators have to divert garbage trucks to the landfill because HPOWER has reached its capacity, said Suzanne Jones, the city's recycling coordinator.

Asked if the public is notified whenever trucks have to be diverted, she said that isn't “;doable.”;

Diversions to landfills are “;infrequent,”; may only be for partial days and may only involve some types of trucks, Jones explained.

She added that plans to expand HPOWER are already under way.

Meanwhile, you do have the option of recycling phone books for the next three weekends, until Feb. 8. See “;Kokua Line,”; Jan. 8.