Question: Are the Christmas ship-by dates in the Postal Service mailer correct? I thought Hawaii was earlier.
Answer: You are referring to the fold-out card titled “Delivering infinite moments of joy all season long,” which was produced at U.S. Postal Service headquarters with mainland customers in mind but also mailed to Hawaii customers.
“In this case, the Priority Express Mail suggested mailing date is actually the same for mainland and Hawaii customers—Dec. 20. But our suggested mailing date for First-Class and Priority Mail for our Hawaii customers, which are the services that most local folks use, is Dec. 18 rather than the Dec. 19 date suggested in the mail piece,” Duke Gonzales, a postal service spokesperson, said Monday in an email.
The mail-by dates aren’t hard deadlines for shipping to the mainland, “just suggested dates to give Christmas mail and packages the best chances of reaching their destinations before Dec. 25,” he said.
Gonzales issued a news release Monday with other information about holiday shipping:
>> Self-service ship and mail centers: Customers can use these kiosks to ship packages, buy stamps and handle other tasks without seeing a mail clerk. They generally are open 24/7 at all locations except for Mililani and Waipahu. Kiosks are available at the Kapahulu Safeway and at these 16 Hawaii post offices: Aina Haina, Downtown, Hawaii Kai, Hilo Main, Honolulu Main/Airport, Kailua, Kailua-Kona, Kaneohe, Kihei, Lahaina, Makiki, Mililani, Waialae- Kahala, Waikiki, Wailuku and Waipahu.
>> Priority Mail flat-rate shipping: The box itself is free, while shipping up to 70 pounds to a domestic location costs $19.30 in a medium box and $22.80 in a large box. The large box holds 50% more (with the same 70-pound weight limit).
>> Overseas military: Up to 70 pounds can be shipped in the military large flat-rate box to most APO and FPO locations for $26.
>> Online service: Use usps.com, where you can create an online account to order free boxes, buy stamps, pay for and print shipping labels (Click-N-Ship) and participate in Operation Santa, the annual program that has donors fulfill children’s Christmas wishes. With Click-N-Ship you can have the post office come pick up your outgoing packages at no extra charge, or drop off the prepaid packages at a post office counter without standing in line.
>> Peak days: “We expect customer traffic at our post offices to accelerate beginning the week of Dec. 9, and that the week of Dec. 16 will be our busiest week of the season,” the news release said.
Q: How long is the new Leeward bike path?
A: The 3.5-mile Leeward Bikeway follows the previous Oahu Railway and Land Co. path and “extends the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail, connecting through the West Loch Community Shoreline Path, to create an 11-mile path that wraps around Pearl Harbor and into Ewa Beach, culminating at the Hawaiian Railway Society’s train yard,” according to the Hawaii Bicycling League.
Q: Regarding bird flu, can that spread to feral cats?
A: Yes, and to pet cats, too, and to many other mammals, wild, stray (feral) or domesticated. “Although bird flu viruses mainly infect and spread among wild migratory water birds and domestic poultry, some bird flu viruses can infect and spread to other animals as well. Bird flu viruses have in the past been known to sometimes infect mammals that eat (presumably infected) birds or poultry,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In North America, H5N1 bird flu viruses have been detected in cats, dogs, goat kids (juvenile goats) and dairy cows, the agency says.
It’s rare for people to catch bird flu from an infected animal, but it is possible, “especially if there is prolonged and unprotected exposure to the animal,” the CDC says.
Read more at 808ne.ws/3ZhX9X1 (on the CDC website) and 808ne.ws/4fS9k3u (on the state Department of Health website).
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
