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The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Kokua Line columnNov 13, 2012 (The Honolulu Star-Advertiser - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Question: When those yellow voter polling place cards were sent out months ago, my son received one. I called the number on the card and asked how to remove my son's name from the voting roster as he moved out of state in 2000. I was told to notate that on the card and send it back. There would be a follow-up questionnaire in a few weeks. That never came. When I went to vote, my son's name was still there. What does it take to correct the register Answer: Your son should send a letter to the Honolulu Elections Division (since he was registered to vote in Honolulu) stating that he has moved, at what address he was registered and his date of birth. His name can then be removed immediately, said Honolulu Election Administrator Glen Takahashi. The letter should be sent to Elections Division, Office of the City Clerk, 530 S. King St., Room 100, Honolulu, HI 96813. As we explained previously -- is.gd/PJ7iT1 -- Congress passed a law in 1993 to prevent names from being removed from voter rolls solely on the basis of non-activity. However, names will be removed if there is evidence that an address has changed, plus two election cycles of non-activity. Social Security New Hours The Social Security Administration says it will have to reduce office hours for the public nationwide because of "significantly reduced funding provided by Congress." Beginning Monday, Social Security offices will close a half-hour early. The new hours for the public in Hawaii will be from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Note that Thursday, Nov. 22, is Thanksgiving, so offices will be closed both that day as well as the day after. "As we did last year, employees working (Nov. 23) will focus on reducing backlogged workloads," the agency said in a news release. Beginning Jan. 2 the offices will close at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. The agency said that its employees will continue to work their regular hours, but the shorter "public window" will allow them to complete interviews and process claims without incurring overtime costs. It also says most Social Security services do not require a visit to an office. Many services can be done online at www.socialsecurity.gov or by calling toll-free 800-772-1213. Auwe To the owner of a missing dog who awakened us before 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, with an automated phone call. You must have engaged a mainland firm that thinks all the world operates in its time zone. My husband and I both have elderly parents on the mainland, so any call that awakens us from a sound sleep is scary. Show some kokua to your friends and neighbors -- those who sleep in on weekends and those who dread bad news coming by phone. -- Concerned Daughter/Daughter-in-law We went online and found several websites advertising automated phone calls as a way to locate lost pets. And, yes, all apparently are based on the mainland so probably don't realize the time difference. Star-Advertiser reporter Gregg Kakesako reported on Oct. 20 -- is.gd/Aaqk5E -- how a Manoa couple had paid one such company to call 1,200 homes in their neighborhood in hopes of finding their missing cat. An update: Jessika Lawrence told Kakesako on Saturday that her cat, Siren, remains missing. She said people have warned her and her husband that some people will kill cats with BB guns and others trap cats and release them in areas far away, instead of taking them to the Hawaiian Humane Society. "I'm sincerely hoping neither of those possibilities happened to Siren," she said. "She is missed immensely. I had no idea how much I could love a cat." ---- Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email [email protected]. ___ (c)2012 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |