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QUESTION: I saw a worker from the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki dump a huge bag of bird feed about 6:45 one morning, feeding hundreds of pigeons, then drive back to the hotel in a golf cart. I am assuming they are doing this daily. I am not sure if they are feeding them to trap them all at once later or so the tourists can take their picture or to feed them in a place where tourists aren’t lying out in the sun. Whatever their strategy is, the birds are always waiting around the Hilton for their daily meal, which may be good keeping the birds away from other hotels. However, there are signs in Waikiki saying don’t feed the birds. What’s going on with the Hilton?
ANSWER: Hilton Hawaiian Village acknowledges workers feed the pigeons daily, saying it’s meant to keep the birds away from its open-air restaurants.
"They are fed away from buildings and visitors in low-traffic areas," said HHV spokeswoman Cynthia Rankin.
However, "We are looking into birth control as a means to control the bird population near our hotel and may use it in the future," she said.
Another Waikiki property has been using birth control to curb the pigeon population since May 2011, with good results.
Since the pigeon-control product OvoControl has been used at the International Marketplace, the number of pigeons flocking to the open-air venue has dropped about 60 percent, according to a representative for Queen Emma Land Co., which owns the property.
The website for Innolytics — ovocontrol.com — says its product is a long-term solution and alternative to "exclusion or removal" of the nuisance birds, since "contraception interferes with bird reproduction and the underlying population, producing effective and predictable results."
QUESTION: I am interested in going to the e-recycling event and voting in the primary election, both scheduled for Saturday at Washington Middle School. Will both events be held at the school? Congestion might be an issue.
ANSWER: We called Pacific Corporate Solutions, which is sponsoring the free e-waste collection event, and was told that because the school is a polling place, its two trucks will not park in the parking lot that day.
Instead, they will be stationed on the street, with room between them so that cars can pull up without anyone needing to get out.
Call 488-8872 for information.
The event is open to the public and commercial businesses from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with no limit on quantity. Materials accepted are computers, monitors, laptops, backup batteries, printers, fax machines, servers, telecom equipment and miscellaneous e-waste. Not accepted: television sets, microwaves and alkaline batteries.
A similar e-waste event will take place at the same day and times at Koko Marina Center.
MAHALO
To the hardworking volunteers and employees at the Hawaiian Humane Society for making sure the animals are happy so they can find the perfect home. I visit the Hawaiian Humane Society at least once a week. The cages are spotless and the kennels always have fresh water and a toy. The animals appear safe, happy and healthy. I adopted my puppy and two rabbits from there. I never see an employee or volunteer sitting down. The only break they take is to use the bathroom. The volunteers can be doing something else, but they choose to donate their time to care for the animals. They include the elderly, middle-age adults, teens and children as young as 9. The volunteers and employees don’t only care for the animals. They wash towels and aprons, give the dogs a bath, and help people find their lost animals. To support the Hawaiian Humane Society, consider volunteering once a week. All you have to do is walk a dog, clean a cage or socialize with a cat. You can also support them by adopting your animals from them. — Nikki Wong, Manoa
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 kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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