High Court backs Turtle Bay verdict

The state Supreme Court has affirmed an earlier ruling saying the owners of Turtle Bay Resort must complete a new environmental study if they want to build thousands more hotel rooms on Oahu’s North Shore.

Four justices ruled yesterday against reconsidering the earlier decision. Justice Simeon Acoba dissented.

In the court’s original April ruling, Chief Justice Ronald Moon said circumstances have changed since 1985 when the resort’s previous owners prepared an environmental impact statement to expand the development.

Moon said allowing an outdated environmental study to remain valid forever would undermine the law’s purpose.

Turtle Bay Resort has one hotel with 500 rooms. The expansion plan would add 3,500 rooms at several new hotels.

A&B buys industrial park in Kapolei

A&B Properties Inc. has acquired Komohana Industrial Park in Kapolei for $38 million.

The 35-acre, fee-simple property includes five single and multi-tenant warehouse buildings totaling 238,300 square feet of leasable space, as well as 24 acres of industrial land leased to two national and local manufacturing and construction tenants.

"The purchase of Komohana furthers our real estate investment strategy of acquiring quality assets in Hawaii," said Norbert M. Buelsing, president of A&B Properties. "Komohana also represents a continuation of our strategy to tax-effectively reinvest real estate sales proceeds into the acquisition of commercial properties with excellent potential for appreciation and growth."

Komohana Industrial Park, developed over nearly 20 years beginning in 1974, is part of the 1,000-acre Campbell Industrial Park, a primary industrial market in West Oahu.

The acquisition brings the commercial property portfolio of A&B Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., to 8.4 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space in Hawaii and on the mainland.

England-Oahu trips would be nonstop

Thomson Airways, the British leisure airline that is exploring charter flights from England to Honolulu, as well as new service to seven other countries, clarified yesterday that all flights would be nonstop and that specific routes will be announced later this year. Thomson previously said that all flights would be "direct," meaning there could be a layover with the same flight number.

Travel time for nonstop flights to Honolulu from England likely would be reduced to just more than 14 hours from the 21-hours-plus times, which include at least one layover, that is needed today for such flights.

Thomson spokeswoman Kate Lomax said Honolulu "is certainly under consideration" and that frequency of flights to the routes it is considering have not been determined.

Luton, England-based Thomson, which is expecting delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner beginning in January 2012, said Honolulu was rated as the most popular new long-haul destination by 75 percent of respondents in a recent survey conducted by the airline.

Honda plans electric vehicle in 2012

WAKO, Japan » Honda will start selling an electric vehicle as well as a plug-in hybrid in 2012 in the U.S. and Japan, joining the race to manufacture green cars in which rivals have already taken slight leads.

The plans were disclosed by Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito at the Japanese automaker’s facility in a Tokyo suburb yesterday.

"Honda has no future unless we achieve significant reduction in CO2 emissions," he told reporters. "The next 10 years will be a true test for Honda’s survival."

On the Move

The directors of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii have elected the following to the board of directors for a three year term: Helen Chang, director of corporate tax for Hawaiian Airlines, and Deneen Nakashima, partner for Grant Thornton. Re-elected were: Ronald I. Heller, an attorney with Torkildson Katz Moore Hetherington & Harris, and Manoj Samaranyake, vice president and corporate tax director for Bank of Hawaii.

Kahi Mohala Behavioral Health has received $10,000 from ABC Stores. The funds will go towards the renovation and expansion of Lokelani Child and Adolescent Unit, which will improve the common areas of the inpatient unit for acute and residential children and adolescents.

Helping Hands Hawaii has appointed Jan Harada as president and chief executive officer of the agency. Her experience includes executive director of Palama Settlement as well as holding positions at the state of Hawaii Department of Health’s Bioterrorism Response, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program and DOH Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division.

McInerny Foundation, Bank of Hawaii trustee, awarded a grant of $7,500, and Atherton Family Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to Diamond Head Theatre. The two grants were used to repair and replace cushioning on the theater seats.