Honolulu Ambulances Have a Growing Bedbug Problem

By Jaime LutzApril 5, 2014 1:00 PM

Honolulu ambulances are frequently infested with bedbugs - and the problem is only getting worse.

To keep the pests under control in emergency vehicles, the city is expected to spend $25,200 over the next fiscal year, which begins July 1 - a nearly 50 percent increase from its bedbug budget over the current fiscal year.

"It is going to go into good use and it's going to keep ambulances in service, which will lead to lives saved," said EMS spokeswoman Shayne Enright to Hawaii's ABC affiliate KITV

 (http://www.kitv.com/news/paramedics-encountering-more-bed-bugs/25336868).

Ambulances that have bedbugs are taken out of commission for as long as three hours while the vehicle is cleaned. Replacement ambulances are brought in, but there still is a potential risk to patients, Enright said.

"That's taking one of our 20 ambulances out of the community," she said. "Somebody nearby could be having a heart attack and that does jeopardize their care."

Continued

Honolulu court screeners find pet duck in bag

HONOLULU (AP) — Security screeners at a Honolulu courthouse noticed something moving inside a defendant's bag as it passed through an X-ray machine earlier this week.

After initially refusing to open it, the bag's owner reluctantly revealed that his pet was inside. When he opened the bag, screeners found a live duck and a bottle of beer, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said.

Deputies told Michael Hubbard that his pet and beverage wouldn't be allowed inside Circuit Court, so he left. He returned a short while later and asked that deputies look after his belongings while he went inside for an appointment, Schwartz said, adding that visitors are allowed to leave their things outside at their own risk.

Hubbard went to his appointment, while the duck waited outside. Hawaii News Now reports Hubbard has two felony assault cases pending. He couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

Schwartz said Hubbard didn't appear intoxicated. "Everything was peaceful," she said.

"We recommend people not bring their pets to court," she said. "Believe it or not this is not an unusual occurrence. A lot of people try to bring their pets to court."

But those pets are usually dogs.

"A duck is unusual," she said. "I don't think we've come across that one before."

http://news.yahoo.com/honolulu-court-screeners-pet-duck-bag-232329451.html;_ylt=Agm3R6dJtrhlPyRGBxxHest4hMgF;_ylu=X3oDMTRhNGtqa3ZpBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YgQW5pbWFsUGV0c1NTRgRwa2cDYWFlMDYyZTUtZTVjMC0zZDE5LTliNzctZGU4NTAwOTk4MDcxBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2RiMGY3ZjMxLWE1ZDEtMTFlMi1iZTdjLWJmMGRiN2E5YzUxZQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTJvcjRwaXJzBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfGFuaW1hbHNhbmRwZXRzBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QDTjRVX2hvbWVydW5hcGk-;_ylv=3

Oahu Invasive Species Group Probes Coqui Reports – via Herp Digest

Sep 14, 2012, HONOLULU (AP) - The Oahu Invasive Species Committee is investigating 12 reports of coqui frogs submitted by people who participated in a "Go Out and Listen Night."

The committee said in a Facebook post Thursday 133 people participated in the coordinated effort to listen for the frogs.

The committee had asked Oahu residents to go outside and listen for the frog's nocturnal mating call on Wednesday between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The committee says what starts out as one mating call could quickly turn into "an earsplitting chorus" if the frogs aren't reported immediately.

Coqui frogs reproduce quickly in Hawaii because they don't have natural predators here.

The frogs are well established on the Big Island. Many have been showing up on Oahu after hitchhiking their way in plants and other cargo.

Piglet Found Running Around Hawaii Hotel Lobby: Hawaiian Humane Society Names Her Pukalani

HONOLULU — Guests at a hotel near Honolulu's airport found a suckling pig in the lobby, but it wasn't on the menu of the luau.

They called the Hawaiian Humane Society last week, when a 5-week-old female pig was found running around the lobby. It was unclear how the piglet ended up there.

Humane society spokeswoman Tasha Tanimoto says the pig is healthy and has been named Pukalani. She will be available for adoption once she's a little older. Tanimoto says the piglet is being bottle-fed by a volunteer.

Humane society officials aren't sure of the pig's breed, but a veterinarian suspects she will grow to be quite large.

Pukalani has been getting attention on the humane society's Facebook page, where a duck is also advertised for adoption.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/piglet-in-hotel-lobby_n_1328276.html