Posted on: Sunday, October 3, 2004

AFTER DEADLINE

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bureaucracy Buster helps people solve problems.

The column that runs Thursdays in the Advertiser gives readers a chance to write, call or e-mail to ask for help dealing with the sometimes mind-numbing problems out there. And while the column by its nature draws out frustrations, it also offers the satisfaction of finding answers for our readers.

Sometimes, solutions can be found by tracking down the right agency, the right number to call. Often, our readers raise interesting questions that require longer, more in-depth story follow-ups.

Take the case of Conrad and Elsie Palafox of 'Aiea, who donated a used car to charity four years ago only to find out this summer that they were being held responsible for nine parking tickets that could have cost them $495. They had given the car away two years before the parking violations took place.

The Palafoxes' complaint ended with the charity, city and state officials apologizing, and a series of tips that people can use to avoid similar problems if they donate cars. Their record was cleared.

But the confusion left Elsie Palafox feeling people should be wary of such donations. "They still haven't really solved the problem," she said.

Some problems keep coming back no matter how many times we answer them. For example, abandoned vehicles show up daily on streets across the state, vexing neighbors and taking up parking spaces.

What else irks readers? Illegal parking, government agencies that send people into endless voicemail, and traffic.

But some resolutions are quick and happy. Take the man who wrote in about a streetlight that had burned out in Manoa and was left dark for weeks. When we called, the light was fixed, and we printed the telephone number for others to call.

Since then, other readers have said they used that information to get quick action on other lights. At a family gathering, one of my aunties told me that she called the number because she saw that a light had been out in her Kailua neighborhood. That evening, she glanced out the window out of habit and was startled — happily — to see the light had been fixed within 24 hours of her call.

Then there are those seemingly simple questions that turn complicated. One Waikiki resident complained that police ticketed a car for parking too close to a fire hydrant. She thought the driver had left plenty of room for any fire truck.

I checked with police and city officials and found the Honolulu ordinance says parking is prohibited within 10 feet of a hydrant.

I explained in the column that's why the driver's license test requires people to know such things. A kind woman reader explained that such information no longer is on the test, which had changed in recent years. (It was there when I last took the test.)

After several more calls, the state transportation officials who prepare the test study booklet agreed that the guide doesn't adequately warn drivers of the existence of county ordinances. Now, state officials are looking at ways to inform people about those county ordinances, so they won't be surprised later.

It's further proof that even right answers aren't always simple.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at 535-2429 or rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.