Star-Advertiser achieves ‘likes’ milestone
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser passed 100,000 "likes" on Facebook Wednesday, solidifying its position among the top 10 American newspapers on the social networking site and becoming the first Hawaii news organization to reach the milestone.
The newspaper is the seventh-most liked U.S. newspaper in a list dominated by much larger publications in bigger markets. The Star-Advertiser’s popularity on Facebook puts it behind No. 6 USA Today, which has more than 160,000 likes, and ahead of the Chicago Tribune with more than 53,000 likes. The leads the list with more than 2.36 million.
The milestone was reached just over two years after the paper was created by the June 2010 merger of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and The Honolulu Advertiser.
Data point to progress in housing recovery
WASHINGTON » A jump in sales of previously occupied homes and further gains in home construction suggest the U.S. housing recovery is gaining momentum.
The pair of reports Wednesday follows other signs of steady progress in the housing market after years of stagnation.
New-home sales are up, builder confidence has reached its highest level in more than six years and increases in home prices appear to be sustainable.
Sales and construction rates are still below healthy levels, economists caution. But the improvement has been steady.
Macy’s N.Y. flagship gets $400M makeover
NEW YORK » A $400 million makeover is giving New York’s iconic Macy’s store a sleek, new 21st-century style.
And some preservationists aren’t happy about it. They see the overhaul of America’s biggest department store as scrapping classic Beaux Arts and Art Deco touches in favor of the latest trend in retail design — something like an Apple computer store.
Macy’s reconstruction, to be completed in 2015, will add 100,000 square feet to the 1.1 million square feet of existing retail space.
Floor-to-ceiling fabric shrouds areas under renovation. But some sections already have been finished, including the world’s largest women’s shoe department, which offers 280,000 pairs of shoes — several thousand displayed in white settings.
Medicare premiums will rise only slightly
WASHINGTON » Monthly premiums for popular private insurance plans through Medicare are only inching up next year, the Obama administration said Wednesday, trumpeting good news for skeptical older voters on a closely watched election-year issue.
Republican Mitt Romney has warned that cuts in President Barack Obama’s health care law would hobble programs such as Medicare Advantage, the private insurance option that’s a thriving part of Medicare. But deputy Medicare administrator Jonathan Blum said such dire predictions have not proved to be true.
Average monthly premiums for Medicare Advantage plans will rise by $1.47 in 2013 to $32.59, Blum said. When premiums and out-of-pocket costs such as copayments are combined, Medicare estimates that beneficiaries will actually spend less on average.
Drugmakers join forces to improve testing
TRENTON, N.J. » Pharmaceutical industry heavyweights are teaming up to address a challenge that’s long vexed drugmakers: how to improve the way experimental drugs are tested so they can get approved, and reach patients, faster.
Ten top U.S. and European drugmakers said Wednesday that they have started a nonprofit organization, called TransCelerate BioPharma, to collaborate on the problem.
Research productivity across the industry has been declining while costs have been rising over the past few decades.
About 5,000 to 10,000 potential drugs fail for every one approved, although all but about five of those compounds are scrapped by the time costly tests in people begin.
Groupon debuts mobile payment service
NEW YORK » Groupon launched a payment service Wednesday that allows businesses to accept credit cards using an iPhone or iPod Touch, becoming the latest company to enter the growing mobile payments market.
The announcement sent the online deals company’s stock up nearly 14 percent. Groupon shares climbed 65 cents to close at $5.34 Wednesday.
The Chicago-based company went public in November at a stock price of $20.
Groupon Payments is aimed mainly at businesses that offer deals through the company, though they can use the system to process any credit card transaction. A test program allows other merchants to use the service, but at higher rates.
FDA urged to set standards for arsenic in rice
WASHINGTON » The Food and Drug Administration may consider new standards for the levels of arsenic in rice as consumer groups are calling for federal guidance on how much of the carcinogen can be present in food.
So far, FDA officials say they have found no evidence that suggests rice is unsafe to eat. The agency has studied the issue for decades but is in the middle of conducting a new study of 1,200 samples of grocery-store rice products — short and long-grain rice, adult and baby cereals, drinks and even rice cakes — to measure arsenic levels. Rice is thought to have arsenic in higher levels than most other foods because it is grown in water on the ground, optimal conditions for the contaminant to be absorbed in the rice. There are no federal standards for how much arsenic is allowed in food.
ON THE MOVE
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has announced the appointment of Clyde Matsusaka as branch manager of its Honolulu office. He previously managed the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney office in Santa Cruz, Calif., and has been with the firm since 1994.
Central Pacific Bank has appointed Rene Chinen to senior vice president, director of compliance. She has 19 years of compliance experience and was previously a deputy general counsel, senior vice president and assistant secretary for First Hawaiian Bank.
Hula Grill Ka‘anapali has announced Ryan Luckey as its executive sous chef. His experience includes working in the Plantation House at Kapalua, the Kapalua Bay Hotel, the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa and the Westin Maui.
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
