Posted on: Thursday, September 2, 2004

BUREAUCRACY BUSTER

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q. What's with the long closure of Aloha Tower? I heard that the ceiling needs repair but that the work is not being done and there is no announced date of completion. This is the focal point of the troubled marketplace and the reopening should be a high priority. This seems to be another example where the city and state are great at building new facilities but poor at maintaining existing ones.

A. State transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said repairs to the tower's observation deck ceiling got under way last month. "We hope to have it fixed and reopened to the public in mid-September," he said.

Ishikawa said the observation deck was closed in May as a safety precaution after small chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling. He said the repairs were needed because of damage caused by leaky water tanks that had been removed from the roof above the deck. In the early days of the tower, water was stored in tanks as a precaution against fires because the technology wasn't available to pump it to the top, he said.

Q. Are the city and state required to inform residents or businesses when roadwork is going to take place that affects them? I frequent one of the businesses on Nu'uanu Avenue (between Kukui Street and Vineyard Boulevard) where the city tore up the street and took away street parking for nearly a month a few weeks ago. I'm sure the businesses there took a beating and was told by one owner that no one from the city bothered to inform them what was happening.

A. City spokeswoman Carol Costa said notification varies by project. She said the Nu'uanu Avenue project was emergency resurfacing; it was one of several streets identified as being in such bad shape that they needed quick repair. The city sends out press releases on such projects to be published in the newspaper. More notice accompanies long-planned projects, which are announced in legal ads and sometimes roadside signs. For projects like sidewalk widening, the city notifies businesses along the route.

Q. Is it possible for a foreign visitor to get a driver's license?

A. Dennis Kamimura, city motor vehicle and licensing administrator, said yes. "We have no residency requirements in the state of Hawai'i. but if you're not a U.S. citizen then you first have to go to the Social Security Administration and get a card issued to you before a license can be processed.

Phone: 535-2454 and leave a message, your name and your daytime telephone number.