Victoria’s Secret to open Pearlridge store
Victoria’s Secret will open its third Hawaii store Thursday at Pearlridge Center.
The national retailer best known for its lines of lingerie will open in 11,000 square feet on the second level of Uptown across from Body + Mind Spa.
"With the recent opening of TJMaxx and now Victoria’s Secret, we are redefining what we are offering our customers," Fred Paine, general manager of Pearlridge Center, said in a statement.
Long-term care home opens in Kaimuki
A 27-bed skilled nursing facility called Manoa Cottage Kaimuki opens today at 748 Olokele St. in the Kapahulu-Kaimuki area.
The care home was developed and is operated by SYS Land Corp.
Owner Sandra Shim said she spent $3.5 million to purchase the former apartment building and another $3.5 million to renovate it.
The Manoa Cottage Care Home on Kamehameha Avenue is a sister facility with 24 beds and has been in operation for 20 years.
"As a small community specializing in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, we are able to focus on individualized care and extensive programming and activities to address the behavior associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia," the company said in a news release.
Funding available to help avoid foreclosure
The state is making $7.9 million available to organizations helping Hawaii homeowners avoid foreclosure.
The money is part of $71 million flowing to Hawaii from a $25 billion multistate settlement announced in February with the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuse and fraud.
Organizations may apply for a share of the $7.9 million to provide services including financial counseling, mediation or dispute resolution, public education and enforcement of laws or agreements that protect homeowner rights.
The program is being administered by the state Department of the Attorney General.
Applications will be accepted until July 13.
More information including applications is available online at hawaii.gov/ag through a link titled "Foreclosure Assistance Program."
Starbucks purchases small bakery chain
NEW YORK » Starbucks Corp. is looking to expand its food business with a $100 million cash deal to buy a small bakery chain.
The Seattle-based coffee shop chain says baked goods from La Boulange will start replacing its current lineup early next year, starting with iconic French pastries such as the croissant.
Starbucks also says it plans to make the San Francisco-area bakery into a national presence in the years ahead.
U.S. carriers to sell new Samsung Galaxy
NEW YORK » Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III, will be launched by all of the Big 4 national U.S. wireless carriers this month, starting at $199, the phone maker said Monday.
The phone will be carried by Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA as well as regional carrier U.S. Cellular, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co. said.
T-Mobile and Sprint said they will start selling the phone June 21.
Sprint said the version with 16 gigabytes of memory will cost $200 with a two-year contract. T-Mobile did not say what it would charge. Samsung said the other phone companies will announce specific launch dates and prices later.
Walmart’s proxy vote shows dissent
NEW YORK » Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s final shareholder vote for its board of directors showed unprecedented dissent against key executives and board members, including CEO Mike Duke, in the wake of allegations of bribery in Mexico.
All of the company’s nominees were re-elected. But the rise in votes against key leaders underscores how the bribery case could distract the world’s largest retailer as it tries to continue its sales momentum in the U.S. and overseas.
According to results released Monday by Walmart, 13 percent of the 3.4 billion shares were voted against the re-election of Duke to the company’s board.
Nearly 13 percent were against Chairman Robson Walton, son of founder Sam Walton, and 15.6 percent went against former CEO Lee Scott. A little over 13 percent of the shares were cast against Christopher Williams, chairman and CEO of The Williams Capital Group, who serves as chairman of Walmart’s audit committee.
Kauai sees job growth
LIHUE >> The Kauai Office of Economic Development said the island’s job count in the first quarter was 28,100, up 500 from a year earlier, and predicted it will rise by another 700 jobs in the second quarter.
“The boom in tourism is restoring jobs that were lost during the recession,” said George Costa, OED director.
ON THE MOVE
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Eva Robello, who works at the firm’s Leeward office, has earned her broker’s license and will now have the (R) designation. In order to obtain a broker’s license, agents must complete an 80-hour Hawaii real estate broker pre-licensing course as well as pass the Hawaii real estate broker examination.
The chairman of the board of Oahu Transit Services, Anthony R. Guerrero Jr., has joined the board of directors of Move Oahu Forward, which is a nonpartisan coalition of Hawaii business and community leaders in support of rail.
The Hawaii Solar Energy Association has appointed
Leslie Cole-Brooks
as its executive director. She was previously an environmental and legal analyst for state Rep. Cynthia Thielen.
