Victorino helps ‘Hawaii Five-0′ top ratings

For the fourth time in five episodes, the sun-splashed crime procedural "Hawaii Five-0" drew more viewers than its rivals.

"Five-0" drew 10.4 million viewers for an episode that featured Maui native and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino as well as Olympic speedskating medalist Apolo Ohno in guest roles, according to Nielsen ratings information released Wednesday by CBS. The audience was slightly higher than the show’s season low of 9.7 million viewers the week before.

The ABC show "Castle" drew 9.73 million viewers Monday while NBC’s Broadway drama "Smash" claimed 6.47 million viewers. "Smash" is the only show to have beaten "Five-0" in recent weeks, pulling in 11.44 million viewers when it premiered Feb. 6.

Among adults 18-49, a key demographic for "Five-0," the show topped its rivals Monday by drawing 2.9 percent of the total viewing audience and 8 percent of those watching TV at the time.

Hawaii chefs get James Beard nods

Hawaii chefs have again made the initial list of semifinalists for the James Beard Awards in the category Best Chef: Pacific.

Oft-nominated Beverly Gannon of Maui got the nod this time for Hali‘imaile General Store in Makawao. Her previous nominations have been for Joe’s restaurant, where she also is chef and owner.

Jim Moffat of Bar Acuda in Hanalei, Kauai, also is among semifinalists for this year’s awards to be presented by the James Beard Foundation.

No other isle food and beverage professionals or restaurants received nominations this year; in previous years several made the initial list.

Nominees will be whittled down to five finalists in March, from which the ultimate winners will be chosen in May.

Personal finance workshop set for students

SkillsUSA and Junior Achievement of Hawaii will present a personal finance program to high school students and "economics for success" to middle school students from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. today at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, Room 313 A&B. More than 200 students and advisers from across the state will receive instruction from 30 business community volunteers from 11 companies.

In the personal finance program, students will learn about budgeting, saving and investing, credit and insurance. Middle school students will learn about budgeting, credit and insurance in "JA Economics for Success."

Participating high schools include Baldwin, Campbell, Kapaa, Kapolei, Keaau, Lahaina, Maui, Mililani, Radford, Roosevelt, Waiakea, Waianae and Waipahu.

Participating middle schools include Kamakahelei, Kapolei, Lahaina and Waipahu.

Business volunteers are from American Savings Bank, Ameriprise Financial Services, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Chinen & Arinaga Financial Group, Farmers Insurance Hawaii, Financial Planning Association, First Hawaiian Bank, ING Direct, Leather Soul and State Farm Insurance.

Hawaii tourism’s future topic of talk today

Rick Egged of the Waikiki Improvement Association, Greg Dickhens of Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts and Rob Solomon of Outrigger Enterprise Group are three of the speakers at a luncheon panel today on the future of tourism in Hawaii.

The event at the Plaza Club from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. is hosted by ThinkTech Hawaii and the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. The cost for members is $29, for nonmembers is $39 and for students is $20. For more information, see hvca.org.

Lin files own claim to ‘Linsanity’ trademark

Jeremy Lin might soon own "Linsanity."

Lin, who has rejuvenated the New York Knicks over the past two weeks, moved to take control of the catchphrase that has encapsulated his meteoric rise, filing an application on Feb. 13 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to the agency’s website.

The filing came six days after Yenchin Chang, a 35-year-old Alhambra, Calif., resident with no ties to Lin, became the first to apply for a Linsanity trademark, according to the website. A second filing was made on Feb. 9 by Andrew W. Slayton of Los Altos, Calif., and on Feb. 14 there was another filing by Yoonsoo Stephen Kim of Duluth, Ga.

Trademark applications generally take about three months to be examined and published, according to Gary Krugman, a partner at the Washington-based firm of Sughrue Mion. As Lin, 23, is the subject of the phrase Linsanity, he would probably be successful in opposing an application filed earlier than his own, Krugman said.

ON THE MOVE

PKF Pacific Hawaii has announced the following new hires:

»Manoj Samaranayake as tax partner. He was vice president and tax-compliance director at Bank of Hawaii, and has held positions at public accounting firms including Accuity and Pricewaterhouse-Coopers’ Honolulu office.

»Cindy Fujii as senior tax manager. She was tax manager for Hawaiian Telcom and has also worked at Pricewaterhouse­Coopers’ Honolulu office.

» The Hawaii Employers Council has hired Ryan Sanada as assistant general counsel and senior HR consultant. His has been an associate attorney specializing in labor and employment law at Imanaka, Kudo and Fujimoto; a legal consultant to the House Labor Committee at the state Legislature; and a deputy prosecuting attorney for the City and County of Honolulu.