Q. I got a traffic ticket last month and read on the ticket that I can now pay tickets online or by telephone — not just by mail or in person. So, I decided to save a tree and pay online about a week later. I tried and tried to enter the information, but the computer wouldn't let me. Do you know why?

A. Yes, I got a ticket for an expired safety check after I was stopped for a minor accident (thanks, officer). And I tried to do the same thing. Ryan in the state Judiciary's public affairs office kindly explained that sometimes it takes a while for that information to go from that dreaded little yellow piece of paper into the system.

"It may take up to 13 days or longer for the citation to appear in the eTraffic citation payment system because police officers have 10 working days from the date the citation is issued to submit the citation to the court," he said.

Court staff usually enter these citations into the system within three days. So, wait a few days — but not 21 — because then the court can enter a default judgment against you and charge you even more.

Here are a couple of other tips for navigating that site: You can pay only with Visa or Mastercard credit cards. And you need to be precise in following instructions: Enter the citation number exactly as it appears on the citation using upper-case letters and dashes where appropriate. And DO NOT fill out the "Last Name," "First Name" and "Violation Date" fields. Don't ask me why they include fields that they DON'T want you to fill out. But they do.

Q. On H-1, 'ewa-bound, between the School Street on-ramp and the Liliha overpass, I noticed that the retaining wall is cracking and substantially tilted. Is the state looking into this?

Also, there's been water at the exit off H-1 to School Street and it has gotten worst. Can you find out if it's state or county so it can get fixed?

A. State Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa said both the questions relate to the same issue.

The good news? "We are aware of the problem and in the process of designing a new retaining wall near the School Street on-ramp," he said. The design work is being done in-house, and when it is completed, the state can budget for the construction portion of the retaining wall project. The not-as-good news? He could not pinpoint an exact date of construction or an estimated cost.

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