New Nintendo

Nintendo revealed its new home console on Tuesday, dubbed the Wii U — a new high-definition video game system that will use a new touch-screen controller to play games both on and off the TV screen.

The Wii U’s white, plastic controller is about the size of some tablet computers and features a 6.2-inch touch screen as well as a standard array of gaming controller buttons. Nintendo said it will ship the Wii U sometime after April 1. The company did not offer a price for the new system.

The console is called Wii U, “for unique, unifying.” Nintendo hopes the new console will rev up sales for its products, which have fallen off a cliff after enjoying three years of double-digit growth.

Isle firm wins Marine Corps contract

Honolulu-based Dck Pacific Construction LLC and Tetra Tech EC Inc., based in New Jersey, have won a $63.6 million Navy contract as part of a larger $1 billion global multiple award to upgrade and build utilities and communications infrastructure at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Work includes removing an existing water storage tank and building two concrete potable water storage tanks, as well as replacing existing water distribution lines and relocating the existing sewer collection systems.The job, contracted by Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, in San Diego, is expected to be completed by July 2012.

Tesoro reviewing its isle refinery

Tesoro Corp. is "looking at alternatives" for its Hawaii refinery, Chief Financial Officer Scott Spendlove said at an RBC conference in New York Tuesday, according to Bloomberg News.

Spendlove jokingly asked Holly Corp. Chief Executive Officer Matt Clifton, who was also at the conference, if he’d be interested in owning a refinery in Hawaii, Bloomberg reported. Holly Corp. is an independent refiner based in Dallas.

San Antonio-based Tesoro said last year it hoped to dramatically improve the profitability of its underperforming Hawaii refinery this year through a combination of measures, including a plan to charge Hawaiian Electric Co. more for the fuel oil it buys from Tesoro.

Tesoro operates Hawaii’s largest refinery and a network of gasoline stations in the state.

Hawaiian Airlines clocks in on top

Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance in April for major U.S. airlines with 94.1 percent of flights arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, the U.S. Department of Transportation said in its monthly Air Travel Consumer Report.

Hawaiian also reported the fewest flight cancellations, with three out of 5,560 flights in April.

First Wind powers down turbines

First Wind LLC said it has temporarily idled the turbines at its Kahuku wind energy project while it works on the battery storage system.

The 12 wind turbines at the 575-acre facility were shut down on May 22 and are expected to be brought back online in stages starting later this week, company spokesman John Lamontagne said in an email from the company’s headquarters in Massachusetts.

The 30-megawatt project — Oahu’s only commercial-scale wind farm — began feeding electricity into Hawaiian Electric Co.’s grid in March.

On the Move

Hawaii National Bank has announced the following hire and promotions:
>> Kevin Matsuda as assistant vice president. He was previously with American Savings Bank.
>> Nikolaus Daubert of the information services department has been appointed electronic banking manager. He was previously a Web content administrator.
>> Mark Saiki has been promoted to loan officer from loan assistant at the Kapiolani Branch.  

Donations by Prince Resorts Hawaii associates and more than 300 guests attending the company’s Lokomaikai for Japan dinner combined to raise $31,000 in aid for Japanese victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Associates from the company’s three hotels and golf courses on Oahu and Hawaii island also raised funds. All the money will be donated to the Japan-American Society of Hawaii for donation to the Japanese Red Cross.

The American Psychiatric Association’s 164th annual meeting at the Hawai‘i Convention Center raised $7,158 in donations for Mental Health Kokua in Hawaii. The organization helps people with mental illness achieve optimum recovery and the ability to function in their community.