Viewership lagging for ABC’s ‘Last Resort’

The cancellation of ABC’s "Last Resort" hasn’t softened the action or intensity of its final episodes, but viewers are still failing to tune in, according to another set of low Nielsen ratings released by the network.

"Last Resort," which shoots in Hawaii, drew 5.4 million viewers for Thursday’s episode, ABC said. That was a slightly larger audience than the 5.2 million viewers who tuned in the previous week.

Among adults 18-49 Thursday, "Last Resort" drew 1.2 percent of the total viewing audience and 4 percent of those watching TV at the time.

The ninth episode of a scheduled 13-episode season featured a deadly hostage situation aboard a transport ship that took three days to film, including one in the open ocean that left some cast and crew seasick.

UHERO shows optimism on Asia economy

Prospects for economic growth are better in Asia than for most of the rest of the world in the coming year, according to a report released Friday by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.

The optimism is based on the resiliency of the region’s developing countries, which are less suseptible to the slowdown in global trade than their more developed Asian neighbors, researchers reported.

The biggest drag on global economic growth is the ongoing debt crisis in Europe and the "stuttering U.S. recovery," according to the report.

"Higher-income Asian economies have suffered the most from the trade falloff," the researchers wrote. "At the same time, labor markets and fiscal conditions in East and Southeast Asian developing countries remain far stronger than the developed world. As a result, growth prospects for the region continue to look rosier than in much of the rest of the world … softer than we saw in the early post-crisis rebound."

The countries that are most trade dependent — including Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong — have seen the sharpest slowdowns over the past year, according to the report. Conditions have held up better in many of the emerging countries where domestic consumption and investment demand has largely offset the effects of lower export earnings, the report said.

HECO guide is available in other languages

To help Hawaii’s diverse community prepare for emergencies, Hawaiian Electric Co. is now offering its free Handbook for Emergency Preparedness in Korean, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Ilocano.

The handbook contains tips and checklists to help prepare for storms, hurricanes or other emergencies. Readers also will find information on electrical safety, statewide public emergency shelters and emergency contact numbers.

Among the many tips to be prepared, Hawaiian Electric reminds customers to:

» Check and restock your emergency supplies.

» Review evacuation plans ahead of time. Call your local emergency management agency for information on special assistance programs and/or evacuation assistance.

» Check backup facilities for any electric-powered life-sustaining equipment in advance. In the event that you need to evacuate, remember to take your medical equipment with you.

Call 543-7511 for a free copy. Or download the handbook and find more emergency preparedness tips at emergencypreparedness.heco.com.

Turtle Bay to hold open house on expansion

Turtle Bay Resort is holding a community open house Wednesday to comment on the draft supplemental environmental impact statement its owner filed with the city last month. It will be from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Kuilima Ballroom.

A consortium of lenders doing business as Turtle Bay Resort LLC hopes to start building new hotel rooms and residences in 2014. The environmental report took about a year to produce mainly because of an archaeological inventory survey for the 880-acre property on Oahu’s North Shore. The report also includes a traffic analysis, and assessments of impacts on monk seals and turtles.

The development would add two hotels with 625 units and 750 residences to the largely undeveloped coastal site.

The public may comment on the report until Jan. 18.

Comments can be submitted at www.turtlebayseis.com and clicking on "SEIS", then "Submitting an SEIS comment"; or, send an email to dgraves@tbrdevelopment.com or a letter to Turtle Bay Resort, Attention: Debbie Graves, 57-091 Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku, HI 96731.

ON THE MOVE

» Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel has hired Michaela DeLong to spearhead the firm’s marketing committee. Her responsibilities include coordinating business development activities as well as public relations and community involvement. DeLong has 12 years of experience in tactical and strategic marketing in the travel and publishing fields.

» ProService Hawaii has announced that Marcia Hakanson will lead its HR Strategy Team. She has more than 20 years of experience in designing, facilitating and leading organizational development initiatives for clients such as Silicon Valley startups, established Fortune 500 firms and government municipalities.

» Turtle Bay Resort has appointed Conrad Aquino as its executive chef. He was previously an executive sous-chef for the Maui Sheraton Hotel. Aquino’s experience also includes serving in culinary positions for the Royal Hawaiian, the Kahala Resort and Starwood Hotels.

SHIP AHOY!