Golf tournament will aid Japan

Haseko Hawaii Inc. and Hoakalei Charities will host a Friendship Golf Tournament on May 6 at the Ernie Els-designed golf course at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach to benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society.

All proceeds will go toward its disaster relief efforts.

Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at noon.

The format is a three-man scramble.

There will be a hosted lunch and drinks during play, an awards ceremony with door prizes and a banquet to follow.

Participation is $120 per player and $360 per team of three. The entry deadline is April 29.

For more information, call 853-4347 or go to www.hoakaleicountryclub.com.

UH’s Wong Room is going high-tech

Oceanic Time Warner Cable Business Class has partnered with the University of Hawaii athletics department and the Ed Wong family to transform the current Ed S.N. Wong Room at Stan Sheriff Center into a high-tech lounge that will serve as the centerpiece of the university.

The new lounge will be outfitted with an Oceanic Business Class phone, high-speed Internet service and MetroEthernet Fiber service.

Wong, a UH alumnus, former U.S. Army officer and Korean War veteran, was a strong supporter of UH athletics and instrumental in the creation of the university’s first football booster club, Na Koa.

Wong served as the club’s president for many years.

30-year mortgage rates rise to 4.87%

NEW YORK » Fixed mortgages were essentially unchanged this week, as the average rate on the 30-year fixed loan stayed below 5 percent.

Freddie Mac said yesterday the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.87 percent from 4.86 percent the previous week. It was at a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 4.10 percent from 4.09 percent. It dropped to 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.

Airline asks workers to take furloughs

Japan Airlines has asked employees to take a special unpaid leave of absence for a minimum of one month and up to two months due to a reduction in flights to the islands.

Spokesman Winston Lee said yesterday that the company hasn’t specified the numbers of employees it is seeking to take the furloughs, but said the leaves cover May and June. The positions sought for leave are administrative, maintenance, flight attendants and pilots.

Japan Airlines offers five daily flights to Hawaii from Japan — one each from Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, Osaka and Nagoya, and two from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.

JAL previously offered three daily flights from Narita to Honolulu but pared one beginning this past Wednesday through April 24.