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At the Dept. of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch in Kalihi Kai, a variety of pests have been found in incoming shipments of Christmas tree. The trees are unloaded, treated and put back into containers and released to stores for sale to consumers. Workers load trees treated by shaking into a container.
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On Labor Day, shoppers at some big-box stores were already perusing clearance bins for this season’s Halloween items. That’s a signal that decked-out Christmas trees will soon appear on sales floors. And by Thanksgiving, trees from the mainland will be for sale in outdoor lots.
For shoppers willing to buy sight unseen, there’s also an online yuletide option. Amazon now plans to ship fresh, full-size trees within 10 days of being cut down — in the usual box, without water. That may work just fine for mainland addresses. Hawaii, though? There’d likely be a risk of ending up with a pile of pine needles as incoming plants can be tagged for “hitch-hiking” contaminants inspection.
Uber offers evacuation-center discount
Is it a good-neighbor gesture? A branding opportunity?
Probably both: Uber has put out an offer to knock $50 off the fare for anyone going to or from an evacuation shelter during Tropical Storm Olivia and the aftermath, through Sunday.
Details are here: uber.com/blog/hawaii/tropical-storm-olivia/.
Of course, if you’re there by now, you probably have your car at hand, too. But who knows if the thing will be running after the downpour? Nice to have a backup plan — especially if your house is within range of a $50 ride. Here’s hoping there aren’t too many landslides blocking the way.