The Left Lane
E-mail partly true
It turns out that the Hawai'i Hanta virus e-mail described as a hoax in this column last week contains at least a grain of truth.
The e-mail says that an unnamed Hawai'i grocery clerk died from handling cans contaminated with rat waste products. The Centers for Disease Control had said it was untrue.
However, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, some time in the past two years there was a suspected Hanta virus death involving a worker who cleaned out a Maui storeroom and came in contact with rodent droppings.
"But it was ruled out as the cause of death," DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo said of the Hanta virus that can be carried in rodent droppings. "There were other factors that contributed to that person's death."
— Beverly Creamer
A Palm on paper
Does the term "beam" make you cringe? Do you roll your eyes when your co-workers pull out their hand-held PDAs to jot down simple phone numbers they could just commit to memory? You're not alone. And you're in luck. PaperPalm is the easy way to keep track of appointments, phone numbers and random thoughts. This spiral-bound paper pad that looks like a PalmPilot even comes with a pencil.
In stores soon, or order online at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Borders.com
— Catherine E. Toth
