Bankoh offering assistance to lava victims
Bank of Hawaii has initiated four financial assistance programs to help those affected by the Kilauea Volcano lava flow.
The funds may be used to provide cash relief for emergency supplies and living essentials, finance relocation costs, obtain auto loans through dealers located on Hawaii island or receive extension on loans for existing Bank of Hawaii clients.
"We realize Puna residents and their families are battling uncertainties regarding their future,"said Peter Ho, chairman, CEO and president of Bank of Hawaii.
"While we hope for a positive outcome, we know how important it is to be ready. To assist area residents and customers we have implemented specially designed financial emergency relief programs to get financial aid to those who need it quickly. We have bank representatives available to help assess their needs."
A&B increases stock dividend by 1 cent
Local real estate investment and development firm Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is raising its stock dividend by a penny for the fourth quarter, the company announced.
Honolulu-based A&B said its board of directors approved raising the dividend to 5 cents from 4 cents. The new dividend will be payable Dec. 4 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 10.
A&B’s 4-cent-per-share dividend has been in place since last December, which was the first time the company offered a dividend since spinning off former ocean cargo transportation subsidiary Matson Inc. into a separate company in 2012.
A&B said paying dividends was made possible after it acquired local asphalt contractor Grace Pacific last year in a move intended to provide A&B with more steady income compared with real estate development, which is subject to swings.
A&B is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
Maui Weekly ceases publication
The Maui News shuttered the Maui Weekly on Monday, citing an inability to build an advertising base sufficient to make it a "viable operation," publisher Joe Bradley said.
The Maui Weekly website has been taken down, but former editor Debra Lordan announced on the paper’s Facebook page that the closure followed the publication going to press with its current issue.
The Maui Weekly employed three people, who were informed of the closure Monday. Meanwhile, publication of the Maui News, Lahaina News and Maui Bulletin will continue.
The Maui News bought the free, weekly publication from Joe Sugarman some nine or 10 years ago, Bradley recalled, but he was uncertain how long it had been in publication before its acquisition.
Neighborhood cleanup slated for Kaimuki
The Hawaii Conservation Alliance is hosting a neighborhood cleanup in Kaimuki. The "Adopt a Block" event will be on Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m.
Participants will remove trash from along city streets near Kaimuki District Park. The group is meeting at Harbor Church at 3538 Waialae Ave.
Those interested can contact Justin White for more information at 447-9269.
Judge denies order to stop Uber in Nevada
LAS VEGAS » A judge has denied a request from Nevada’s attorney general to temporarily shut down ride-sharing company Uber’s operations in the state.
Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon refused to issue the temporary order sought by the Nevada Transportation Authority on Wednesday, saying Uber doesn’t pose immediate risks to public safety.
Uber has faced fierce opposition from the state’s heavily regulated taxi industry, where cabs make 2 million to 3 million trips a month, largely in the popular Las Vegas Strip area and nearby airport. Cabs can line up at Strip casino-hotels, but they face steep fines if they pick up tourists on the side of the road who might want to hail a cab.
Uber has said its drivers wouldn’t pick up passengers at the airport or on the Strip but would drop them off at both places.
Nevada regulators have attempted to shut down Uber since it launched Friday and have impounded at least 15 cars. In some cases, transportation authority investigators have posed as riders to alert the agency’s enforcement officers, who arrive and search the driver and vehicle and issue citations. The company, though, has been defiant and continued to operate.
Judge keeps Harley-Davidson case in isles
A recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor in Hawaii could set a precedent in lawsuits between motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers across the country.
Gillmor ruled on Oct. 17 that the Hawaii Motor Vehicle Licensing Act is the controlling law in a contract dispute involving Hawaii-based Cycle City Ltd. and Wisconsin-based motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.
Harley-Davidson had sought to transfer the case to Wisconsin, which "could give Harley-Davidson an unfair advantage of fighting a case originating and factually developed in Hawaii," said Cycle City attorney Robert Zarco.
Keeping the case in the islands will ensure that it is heard in "a court that is familiar with Hawaii’s local economy, transportation system and particular public interests," Zarco said.
A Harley-Davidson spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on litigation.
Cycle City, at 600 Puuloa Road near Honolulu Airport, filed suit in March alleging that Harley-Davidson violated the Hawaii Motor Vehicle Licensing Act in its refusal to renew a long-standing distributorship agreement, a relationship dating back to 1966.
After a series of negotiations in 2013, Harley-Davidson told Cycle City it would not renew the deal under its original terms.
In the lawsuit, Cycle City alleges that Harley-Davidson then imposed "onerous" and "restrictive" financial terms including substantial inflation of prices for parts and supplies.
Cobras on display at lunchtime auto meet
Cobras will converge to create the Kars at the Kurb display for the monthly Auto Lunch Bunch gathering Tuesday.
The vehicular eye candy will include Kelvin Bloom’s 235 mph 2005 Ford GT, Alan Zane’s Ford-powered Daytona Cobra Coupe, and Don Johnson’s 2011 Shelby Cobra GT350.
Also to be displayed are 10-year-old Sarah Okazaki’s 4-horsepower go-kart, which she races at Sports Car Club of America autocross events. The 4-horsepower engine will provide some contrast to Bloom’s 1250 hp Ford GT.
Organizers estimate the combined horsepower of the four vehicles at about 2,204.
Bloom is tentatively scheduled to speak about his most recent efforts to take his street-legal Ford GT to 235 miles per hour from a dead stop.
The $16.25 credit-card-only price includes a meal, drink and tip. The event is staged the first Tuesday of each month at 1599 Ala Moana Blvd. and reservations can be made via email at billmaloney15@aol.com or Ed Kemper at 225-2965.
ON THE MOVE
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced the following new independent agents who have joined its Leeward office:
» Glad Bautista was previously a supervisor/technologist and practitioner at Hawaii Medical Center West.
» Donna M.Y. Bulseco was previously a Realtor-associate at Gentry Homes.
» Shereen Hino is also an office manager at a local snack shop and a volunteer instructor for the state’s Hunter Education Program.
» Mark Schaefer was previously a restaurant server at Berkeley, Calif.