Here’s a bark out to Zorro and Rico

A couple of furry salutes go out to the canine heroes of the day.

Zorro and Rico were among the essential players in a crackdown by the U.S. Postal Service on contraband hidden in the mail going between Hawaii and Guam. The two dogs helped sniff out 66 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, as well as 501 pounds of marijuana and smaller amounts of cocaine, heroine and Ecstasy. The bust led to 36 arrests and the seizure of $1.8 million in currency. It was part of Operation Club Shabu — "shabu" being yet another slang term for crystal meth, also known as ice.

The investigation teams got letters of appreciation, but maybe Zorro and Rico would prefer a little meat. Shabu-shabu, perhaps?

Consumer prices glass is half full

There were two interesting aspects to the report about the Honolulu consumer price index increasing by 2.8 percent in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year.

The first is that the gain was lower than the national increase of 3.7 percent.

The second is that the increase in Honolulu for "alcoholic beverages" during that period was basically zero.

This second fact benefits mostly those who drink, who can celebrate both facts at the same price as a year earlier.

Or perhaps they could hoist a glass and bemoan that the prices of just about everything else in Honolulu increased during the period, led by electricity (16.8 percent), gasoline (7.6 percent) and food and beverages (4.5 percent).

Bottom’s up!