Legal Aid gets fair-housing program grant
The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii plans to increase its work protecting against housing discrimination through a $325,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The grant announced by HUD on Friday is part of $41 million distributed to 99 fair-housing organizations and other nonprofits in 35 states and the District of Columbia.
In Hawaii, Legal Aid Society will use its grant to increase fair-housing programs including testing for sex and gender discrimination, recruiting and training testers on the neighbor islands, and providing fair-housing information to agencies serving people with disabilities.
HUD and its fair-housing partners nationwide investigate more than 9,300 housing discrimination complaints annually. The agency encourages people who believe they are victims of housing discrimination to contact HUD toll-free at 800-669-9777.
Teach for America Hawaii is awarded $25K
Teach for America Hawaii has been given a grant of $25,000 by the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation.
The Teach for America national program recruits outstanding college graduates to commit to two years to teach in low-income urban and rural public schools. Since 2006, teachers from Teach for America Hawaii have been helping to improve the quality of education in underperforming public schools and achieve education equality for Hawaii’s children.
The program has inspired many of these young leaders to pursue careers in education.
First Hawaiian Bank Foundation is the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank. In 2011 the foundation and bank contributed to more than 400 nonprofit organizations in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. The foundation funds educational opportunities, access to health care, services for children and youth, and human services needs, as well as culture and the arts.
Horizon Lines narrows loss to $32.5 million
Horizon Lines Inc., the second-biggest ocean transportation company serving Hawaii, trimmed its loss in the first quarter in part with help from improved business in the state.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based company reported a loss of $32.5 million in the January-March period, an improvement from a $34.1 million loss in the same quarter last year.
Horizon’s revenue totaled $263.4 million in the quarter, up from $240.7 million a year earlier.
Stephen H. Fraser, Horizon’s interim president and chief executive officer, said business in Hawaii improved "significantly" in part due to the improving local economy. The company did not quantify the increase by a number or percentage of containers shipped.
Operations in Alaska also improved for Horizon, but results declined in Puerto Rico because of slow business conditions and vessel service disruptions, the company said. Overall, Horizon container volume inched up 0.4 percent in the quarter.
FDA reviews first take-home test for HIV
WASHINGTON » The Food and Drug Administration is considering approval of the first over-the-counter HIV test that would allow consumers to quickly test themselves for the virus at home, without medical supervision.
FDA reviewers said Friday the OraQuick In-Home HIV test could play a significant role in slowing the spread of HIV, according to briefing documents posted online.
But they also raised concerns about the accuracy of the test, a mouth swab that returns results in about 20 minutes.
The review comes one day after an FDA advisory panel endorsed the HIV pill Truvada for preventive use.
If the FDA follows the panel’s advice, the daily medication would become the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
Post office won’t ship laptops, iPads abroad
WASHINGTON » The U.S. Postal Service is banning international shipments of electronics using lithium batteries — such as smartphones, laptops and iPads — citing the risk of fire.
Beginning Wednesday, consumers may no longer make the shipments, including to Army and diplomatic post offices.
That means friends and family will have to use more expensive private companies such as UPS and FedEx to ship electronics to U.S. troops based abroad.
The Postal Service cited discussion by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Universal Postal Union. They issue semibinding guidelines for global trade.
ON THE MOVE
The Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club has announced the appointment of Eriko Tsuchida Ngo as account executive of Asia-Pacific sales. She was previously a Japanese guest concierge at Outrigger Reef on the Beach.
Bank of Hawaii has announced the following promotions:
» David Oyadomari to executive vice president and Alternative Channels Division manager.
» Dana-Ann Takushi to executive vice president and manager of the Hawaii Commercial Banking Division.
» Matthew Emerson to senior vice president and Internet department manager.
» Pamela Moy to senior vice president and compliance manager and chief compliance officer in Bankoh Investment Services.
» Sonia I. Topenio to senior vice president as well as island manager for Kauai.
The William S. Richardson School of Law has named Eric K. Yamamoto to a newly established professorship called The Fred T. Korematsu Professor of Law and Social Justice." Yamamoto is a University of Hawaii-Manoa law professor.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded Elite Pacific Construction the 2012 DHS Small Business Achievement Award. This is the second time in three years that Elite Pacific Construction received recognition from DHS.
