QUESTION: The post office in Mililani added a second parking lot to accommodate customers. Unfortunately, to get into the second lot, you must pass through the original lot with cars coming and going, which results in massive tie-ups on busy days in lot one. Letters to the postmaster asking them to just change the “;in”; and “;out”; of lot two have been ignored. It's a simple matter of just painting the “;in”; and “;out”; arrows in the opposite direction. Can you help get an answer?

ANSWER: Your letters have been received, and “;our customers' concerns are not ignored,”; said Lynne Moore, manager of consumer affairs for the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii.

It apparently is not just a simple matter of repainting the “;in”; and “;out”; arrows. The Mililani Post Office and the Postal Service's Facilities Department are working with the original architect to investigate options for the site, she said.

“;As always, the safety of both our customers and our employees are our first consideration.”;

However, no time frame was given as to when a change might be made.

QUESTION: I live in Niu Valley, and there has been ongoing construction at the drainage canal near the intersection of Halemaumau and Haleola streets for several weeks. The problem is they assemble at the site when it is still dark at 6 a.m., talking and laughing, and then they start with loud pounding and construction noise by 7 a.m. Isn't there a law that prohibits construction before 8 a.m.?

ANSWER: The city Department of Design and Construction has hired a contractor to upgrade its Halemaumau Street bridge.

According to city officials, the contractor's permit allows them to start work at 8:30 a.m.

The department told the contractor, Triton Marine Construction Corp., to have workers keep the noise down in the early morning hours and also to not start work before 8:30 a.m.

Work on the bridge is part of the city's project of seismic retrofitting of various bridges. It is expected to be completed next summer.

QUESTION: When your car is towed but you don't have the money to get it out of the towing company lot, are you allowed to retrieve what's in the car?

ANSWER: State law doesn't directly address that issue, but owners should be able to retrieve the contents of their cars, said Stephen Levins, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection.

While the towing company is entitled to payment of storage fees, under the law, “;the contents are a different matter.”;

There could be situations in which medications or important personal effects, such as computers, are in the vehicles, Levins pointed out.

“;The owner of the vehicle should be allowed to retrieve those personal items once they've established who they are,”; he said.

AUWE

To the cruel driver who hit a dog on North Road in Ewa Beach on Thanksgiving Day. You just left him there. Rusty did have a name tag with his owners' name and phone number on the back. He was seen by a passing driver, picked up and taken home to be buried. A family pet lost, tears shed, hearts broken. — No Name

———

Write to “;Kokua Line”; at Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).