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| Collect and submit ants during October to help the state and county identify ant species invading Hawai'i, including aggressive Little Fire Ants. That's the call from the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, the Ant Lab and the Invasive Species Committees. It's Stop the Ant Month. Photo from Hawai'i Invasive Species Committee |
A CAMPAIGN TO GET RID OF FIRE ANTS IS LAUNCHED FOR OCTOBER. This is Stop the Ant Month in Hawaiʻi, and residents are encouraged to collect and submit ants to help detect and control the spread of invasive ants. Every year, new Little Fire Ant infestations are detected by people participating in this statewide program, which prevents millions of dollars in impacts and costs for entire communities.
Everyone can request a free ant-collection kit or can make their own using household supplies. Homeowners can collect ants on their properties by using a thin smear of peanut butter on several chopsticks and leaving the sticks out for about one hour to attract ants. Sticks should then be carefully
collected and sealed in a zip-top bag and frozen overnight, then submitted to any island Invasive Species Committee or the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab for identification.
Hawai‘i has no native ants and has prioritized the detection of new, harmful ant species, and the management of particularly harmful ant species including LFA. LFA was first detected on Hawai`i Island in 1999. The ants were already widely disbursed on the island and, at the time, no treatment protocol existed. The Hawaiʻi Ant Lab was subsequently established to research and develop methods for the eradication and control of LFA. Now, several treatments are available and populations of ants can be managed or even completely removed from homes if caught early enough.
LFA is considered among the world’s worst invasive species. LFA are tiny, measuring 1/16th inch long, and pale orange in color. They move slowly, unlike the tropical fire ant, which is established in Hawai`i and is much larger. LFA can produce painful stings and large red welts and may cause blindness in pets. They can build up very large colonies on the ground, in trees and other vegetation, and inside buildings and homes and completely overrun a property. "There are hundreds of other harmful ant species that are not present in Hawai‘i, but that could arrive with imported goods. Detecting and responding to new harmful ant species is critical to keeping Hawaiʻi a safe place to live, work, and grow food," says a statement on Stop the Ants Month from state Department of Land & Natural Resources.
For on-site and virutual presentations for community groups and school classes and more help with fighting Little Fire Ants and other ant species, see Big Island Invasive Species Committee at https://www.biisc.org/.
Everyone can request a free ant-collection kit or can make their own using household supplies. Homeowners can collect ants on their properties by using a thin smear of peanut butter on several chopsticks and leaving the sticks out for about one hour to attract ants. Sticks should then be carefully
collected and sealed in a zip-top bag and frozen overnight, then submitted to any island Invasive Species Committee or the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab for identification.
Hawai‘i has no native ants and has prioritized the detection of new, harmful ant species, and the management of particularly harmful ant species including LFA. LFA was first detected on Hawai`i Island in 1999. The ants were already widely disbursed on the island and, at the time, no treatment protocol existed. The Hawaiʻi Ant Lab was subsequently established to research and develop methods for the eradication and control of LFA. Now, several treatments are available and populations of ants can be managed or even completely removed from homes if caught early enough.
LFA is considered among the world’s worst invasive species. LFA are tiny, measuring 1/16th inch long, and pale orange in color. They move slowly, unlike the tropical fire ant, which is established in Hawai`i and is much larger. LFA can produce painful stings and large red welts and may cause blindness in pets. They can build up very large colonies on the ground, in trees and other vegetation, and inside buildings and homes and completely overrun a property.For on-site and virutual presentations for community groups and school classes and more help with fighting Little Fire Ants and other ant species, see Big Island Invasive Species Committee at https://www.biisc.org/.
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In Varsity Ka'u took down Parker 25-17, 25-0 and 25-8. Jazmun Navarro made 9 Kills, Kyia Hashimoto scored 8 Kills and 5 Aces. Kamalyn Jara nailed 12 Kills and 1 Ace. Tehani-Mae Espejo-Navarro had 3 Kills and 9 Aces. Jessa Mae Tamayo made 1 ACE and Shylie Martinez came up with 1 Kill and 1 Ace.
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So far this year, there have been 746 DUI arrests compared with 805 during the same period last year, a decrease of 7.3 percent. There have been 619 major accidents so far this year compared with 600 during the same period last year, an increase of 3.2 percent. To date, there were 26 fatal crashes (one fatal crash reclassified on 05/30/22 due to a medical condition) resulting in 28 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one reclassified due to a medical condition), compared with 18 fatal crashes, resulting in 18 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 44.4 percent for fatal crashes, and 55.6 percent for fatalities.
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From July 1, 2021, to June 30, this year, the Hele-On transit system (buses, paratransit, demand response, taxi, and vanpool) collectively transported 588,416 passenger trips. In the same period last fiscal year, Hele-On recorded 325,049 passenger trips. In addition, HIBIKE, the bike-share system operating islandwide, carried 23,466 bicycle trips so far this year.
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| Roberts Hawai'i is one of the contractors that supplements the County of Hawai'i's own Hele On fleet. Photo from County of Hawai'i |
John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator, and General Manager, said that about 473,083 passenger trips were made on the Hele-On bus alone, and significant ridership gains were made after the transit system went fare-free in March of 2022.
The free fares program costs the MTA roughly $560,000, of which $4.5 million from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and $1.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding from the FTA will continue to cover each year through December 31, 2025, with no local match required. The Hawaiʻi County Council approved the program in February of 2022.
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| John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator for Hawai'i County |
Hele-On receives grants to cover implementation of the new transit service network as planned in the 2018 Transit & Multi-Modal Transportation Master Plan, which increased public transit access in the Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Waimea, Puna, and Kaʻū areas of the island with later service, more frequent service, and added Sunday and Holiday services.
"The Master Plan is helping the County restore creditability in its public transit system and allows it to be an integral part in connecting people to jobs, education, social service, and a better quality of life while driving economic development. With that, transit access to underserved communities has much better transit access," according to the county statement. "Continued higher ridership translates into increased Federal and State formula funding and creates a positive feedback loop for Hele-On to improve and grow the island's mobility network," stated John C. Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator & General Manager.
Hele-On provides countywide public transit services on 24 fixed and flex routes countywide Hele-On Kako'o for ADA complementary paratransit service in Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Puna, a shared ride taxi program with three taxi companies in Hilo, countywide senior and persons with disabilities transportation service in partnership with Hawaii County Economic Opportunities Council (HCEOC), a vanpool program in partnership with Commute with Enterprise and 10 HIBike bike-share stations in Hilo and Kailua-Kona in partnership with PATH. Hele-On transports approximately 588,000 passenger trips annually on a fleet of more than 30 buses, vans, and a trolley. Transit services are contracted with Roberts Hawai'i, taxicab companies, Enterprise Holdings, Transdev, HCEOC, and PATH.
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A LOWERING OF COVID CASES IS SHOWN THROUGH TESTING WASTEWATER. State Department of Health's Sept. 29 COVID-19 Wastewater Report shows COVID-19 cases have declined since early June and that Omicron subvariant BA.5 is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i.
“Data from wastewater testing aligns with other data sets,” said State Laboratories Division Administrator Edward Desmond, Ph.D, D (ABMM). “Results from COVID-19 tests taken by individuals show case counts have dropped since June. This is consistent with data in the Wastewater Report which shows concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 have declined since June. Genome sequencing shows BA.5 is the most common subvariant in Hawai‘i. The Wastewater Report also supports that finding,” Desmond said.
Wastewater surveillance is one of the tools to monitor COVID-19 levels and can alert health officials to a shift in trends any any presence of new variants. The Wastewater Report provides a summary of surveillance done as part of the National Wastewater Surveillance System. DOH coordinates collection of samples from 15 wastewater treatment plants across the state. The samples are analyzed by Biobot Analytics as part of the NWSS at no cost to Hawai‘i. Biobot Analytics now provides test results about a week after samples are collected.
“The State Laboratories Division continues to develop its own COVID-19 wastewater surveillance capabilities. Our staff is performing longitudinal validation of our own protocols by comparing results of our wastewater analysis with results of Biobot’s analysis. The fast, cost-free analysis provided by Biobot gives us desired information and affords our staff time to work toward wastewater testing for other pathogens,” Desmond said.
SLD will publish a Wastewater Report every two weeks on the DOH COVID-19 Data Reports page where the Variant Report is currently posted.
“Data from wastewater testing aligns with other data sets,” said State Laboratories Division Administrator Edward Desmond, Ph.D, D (ABMM). “Results from COVID-19 tests taken by individuals show case counts have dropped since June. This is consistent with data in the Wastewater Report which shows concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 have declined since June. Genome sequencing shows BA.5 is the most common subvariant in Hawai‘i. The Wastewater Report also supports that finding,” Desmond said.
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| Wastewater reveals the amount of Covid-19 in a community, the results released by state Department of Health. |
“The State Laboratories Division continues to develop its own COVID-19 wastewater surveillance capabilities. Our staff is performing longitudinal validation of our own protocols by comparing results of our wastewater analysis with results of Biobot’s analysis. The fast, cost-free analysis provided by Biobot gives us desired information and affords our staff time to work toward wastewater testing for other pathogens,” Desmond said.
SLD will publish a Wastewater Report every two weeks on the DOH COVID-19 Data Reports page where the Variant Report is currently posted.
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