3 Hawaii health centers get $10M in funds
Three Hawaii health centers have won more than $10 million to expand and renovate facilities to accommodate an estimated 9,000 new patients.
The federal funds, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are part of a series of capital investments granted to community health centers under the Affordable Care Act, which will distribute $9.5 billion to expand services over five years and $1.5 billion for community health center building projects, according to a joint statement issued by U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka and U.S. Reps. Mazie Hirono and Colleen Hanabusa.
West Hawaii Community Health Center on Hawaii island will receive $5 million, Maui’s Malama I Ke Ola Health Center $4.6 million and Hilo Bay Clinic $498,051.
The Affordable Care Act was designed to ensure Americans have access to affordable health care.
Foodland chef wins national award
Foodland chef Keoni Chang has won his division in the national Supermarket Chef Showdown in Dallas.
He smiled graciously as the event emcee introduced him as Keoni "Chung."
Chang’s dish, winning the "Indulgent" category, was a Deconstructed Ahi California Roll.
He wins $1,000 and will again represent Hawaii in the finals today, doing battle against other winning dishes in the ethnic, family meals and healthy alternatives categories, for the "Supermarket Grand Chef" title and a two-day boot camp trip to the Culinary Institute of America for professional enrichment. The contest will be streamed live online beginning at 5 a.m., and the video will be available on demand after the contest at www.ustream.tv/channel/supermarket-chef-showdown-2012. The video of Chang’s heat No. 3 category-winning competition also is available online. He is named the winner at the 1-hour and 46-minute mark.
Ex-Waikiki Theatres site to get more retailers
Three new retailers will open adjacent to Ross Dress for Less at the former site of the Waikiki Theatres.
The tenants are Kuub Cosmetics, a beauty and cosmetics outlet featuring products primarily from Europe; Local Fever, sister company of Jeans Warehouse; and turquoise, a trendy clothing boutique based in Southern California. Negotiations are ongoing for a fourth retailer at the site, according to broker Colliers International.
The stores are slated to open in mid-June, filling the last spaces of the former theatres, which closed in 2002 due to declining business and was demolished years later.
EUTF switches pharmacy plan to CVS
The Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund changed on May 1 its pharmacy plan manager to CVS Caremark from informedRX for active and non-Medicare employees. The change is projected to save public employers and workers under the EUTF approximately $30 million a year.
Most EUTF members will be able to pick up mail-order prescriptions at Longs Drugs Stores. CVS also will operate a mail-order distribution center on Oahu. The pharmacy plan benefits for Medicare retirees will change to CVS on July 1.
The changes affect 130,000 public workers, retirees and their dependents. For additional information, go to www.caremark.com or eutf.hawaii.gov.
CVS Caremark earnings jump 9 percent
CVS Caremark Corp., the parent of Longs Drugs, gained millions of new prescriptions in the first quarter due to a contract impasse between two rivals, and now the drugstore chain wants to keep the growth going by ensuring that those customers stick around and use the rest of its store.
The company said Wednesday its first-quarter earnings rose 9 percent, and it raised its profit forecast for 2012 because the end of a contract between Walgreen and Express Scripts prompted Walgreen customers to migrate to CVS stores. Walgreen, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, stopped filling prescriptions for Express Scripts, the biggest pharmacy benefits manager, at the end of 2011, when a contract between the two companies ended.
Spirit Airlines ups carry-on bag fee to $100
NEW YORK » Putting a bag in the overhead bin will soon cost some Spirit Airlines passengers $100. That’s more than they may have paid for their tickets.
The Miramar, Fla., airline currently charges $45 for a carry-on bag. As of Nov. 6, customers who wait to pay the fee at the boarding gate will fork over $100. Any bag that needs to fit in the overhead bin is considered a carry-on. A small bag that fits under the seat is free.
The price for a carry-on paid for at an airport kiosk will increase to $50 from $40. Larger pieces of luggage checked at the airport will cost between $8 and $10 more, while the fee for bags checked online will rise by between $2 and $5.
Spirit also will increase a handful of other fees by between $2 and $10. Spirit is one of two airlines that charge for carry-ons. Allegiant is the other.
Target phasing out Amazon’s Kindle
NEW YORK » Target Corp. is phasing out Amazon.com Inc.’s e-reader Kindle at its more than 1,700 stores and its website. Target said Wednesday the decision to stop selling Kindles this spring came after an "ongoing review" of Target’s merchandise that evaluates quality and prices of the chain’s offerings. The move coincides with the discounter’s plan to create mini shops of Apple products in 25 of its stores this year.
ONE THE MOVE
The Gas Company has appointed the following:
» Annabel Chotzen to director of training and employee development. She was previously a professor at Chaminade University teaching marketing and professional development.
» Ed MacNaughton as director of its Oahu division. He joined Gaspro in 1975 and held various positions.
Central Pacific Bank has appointed Keith Wakamura to vice president and commercial real estate officer. He has more than 14 years of banking experience.
Lopaka Mattos, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui, was installed as the state’s Youth of the Year 2012. Mattos will represent Hawaii and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui at a regional event in July in Anaheim, Calif.
Halekulani has announced that Bonnie Bise as the new sales manager for its sales department. She was previously a senior sales consultant for Novartis Pharmaceuticals for the past five years.
SHIFTING GEARS
AAA Hawaii offers teen driving sessions
Teenage deaths in the U.S. are primarily caused by car crashes, which has led AAA Hawaii to stage "Dare to Prepare," free public educational workshops, from 6 to 8 p.m. May 15 and 16, at the Plumeria and Hibiscus rooms at Hilo Hattie, 700 N. Nimitz Highway.
The two-hour sessions will review elements of Hawaii’s Graduated Driver Licensing program; teenager-parent driving agreements; practical tips on teaching teenagers to drive; parents’ and teenagers’ roles and responsibilities, including insurance; and additional resources.
Space is limited. Teenagers must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver. For reservations, call Diane Beirne at 223-3138.
Pep Boys suffer biggest slump
Pep Boys’ stock fell the most in three years Wednesday after would-be buyer Gores Group LLC asked the auto parts chain to delay a shareholder vote on the deal because first-quarter results missed expectations.
Pep Boys, which agreed in January to be bought for $15 a share, said sales were as much as $526 million and net income may hit $2 million. Analyst David Schick of Stifel Nicolaus & Co., estimated revenue of $557.4 million and a profit of $13.8 million.
The vote is not being put off and will take place on May 30, Pep Boys said.
Pep Boys, which has more than 730 locations in the U.S., slumped 22 percent to $11.62 at the close in New York for the biggest decline since Dec. 9, 2008.
