Kawaiaha’o wins ruling in 2009 burial suit

A state judge has ruled in favor of Kawaiaha’o Church in a 2009 lawsuit that attempted to force the church to conduct an archaeological survey and follow procedures of the state’s Native Hawaiian burial law before putting up a building on property that contained burials.

Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto ruled against plaintiff and Hawaiian cultural specialist Dana Naone Hall, who has relatives buried at Kawaiaha’o’s cemetery and opposes the $17.5 million multipurpose building project.

Naone Hall said she will appeal the case to the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals.

Sakamoto a year ago refused to hold up construction because of Naone Hall’s complaint. In his earlier decision the judge said the burial law isn’t applicable to Christian burials in a cemetery. Sakamoto made a final ruling on the case Friday.

After Naone Hall’s suit was filed, the state permitted the church to proceed with construction after it searched for and removed burials on the site. A*more recent lawsuit recently succeeded in enforcing that requirement.

Sagging stock puts Hoku on delisting edge

The Nasdaq Stock Market warned Honolulu-based Hoku Corp. that the company faces delisting because its stock continues to trade below $1 a share.

Hoku said Friday it received written notice from Nasdaq that it has until July 10 to regain compliance and maintain a minimum-bid closing price of at least $1 share for at least 10 consecutive business days.

"The company intends to actively monitor the bid price for its common stock between now and July 10, 2012, and will consider all available options to resolve the deficiency and regain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum-bid price requirement," Hoku said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hoku’s shares closed Friday up 3 cents, or 3.6 percent, at 73 cents a share.

Hawaii Tourism Japan opens new offices

The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s new contractor for Hawaii Tourism Japan, which promotes the islands to Japanese travelers, has opened its offices in Honolulu and Tokyo.

The state agency said Thursday a.Link LLC has opened its office on Kapiolani Boulevard and an office in central Tokyo.

Hawaii Tourism Japan is led by Managing Director Eric Takahata.

The number of Japanese visitors to Hawaii has recently rebounded after initially declining in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor crisis in northern Japan.

Hawaiian Air tops in U.S. for punctuality

Hawaiian Airlines was first among the nation’s carriers for punctuality in November with 92 percent of its flights arriving on time. The average for 16 airlines was 85.3 percent, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The carrier also ranked second overall for fewest flight cancellations with six out of 5,324 flights, or 0.1 percent; sixth for mishandled baggage reports with 1,766 reports, or 2.59 reports per 1,000 passengers; and eighth for consumer complaints with five, or 0.71 per 100,000 passengers.

Hilo rental complex gets $3M in upgrades

Rehabilitation of a low-income rental housing complex in Hilo that now has energy-efficient appliances and a rooftop photovoltaic system was celebrated earlier this week.

The 45-unit E Komo Mai Apartments, built in 1971, received $3 million in renovations that also included new interior and exterior finishes, landscaping, recreation facilities and a management office.

The project was financed with tax-credit financing provided by Hunt Capital Partners and money from the state’s rental housing trust fund administered by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. The developer was a partnership between California-based Urban Housing Communities and the Hilo-based Big Island Housing Foundation. Construction was performed by Hunt Building Co.

E Komo Mai apartments are reserved for tenants earning no more than 60 percent of Hawaii island’s median income, with some units reserved for tenants earning no more than 30 percent of the median income. Nine units are further subsidized by the Section 8 rental housing assistance program.

ON THE MOVE

Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel has announced two new partners:

» Anne T. Horiuchi practices in the areas of employment law, government relations and labor. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

» Kimberly J. Koide concentrates her practice in the areas of estates, trusts and civil litigation. She received her law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

RevoluSun has hired Steve Mazur as renewable energy developer. He first joined the company as an independent project developer in December 2010. Mazur’s experience includes working at Better Place Hawaii as well as Corcoran Group in Palm Beach, Fla.

The Hawaii Community Foundation has awarded the Queen’s Medical Center’s Cancer Center a grant of $150,000 within two years. The funds were made possible through the Hawaii Tobacco Prevention & Control Trust Fund.