Foodland to sell Aloha gas at Ewa Town Center
Foodland Super Market and Aloha Petroleum are partnering to build a Foodland Gas Station in front of the Foodland at Ewa Town Center, the companies said Tuesday. The gas station will sell regular, plus and super gasoline along with ethanol-free Aloha Classic Gas. The three-pump fueling station is scheduled to open in April.
This is the third joint venture for the companies. Aloha Petroleum and Foodland operate gas stations in Pahoa and Hilo on Hawaii island. A fourth station is planned for Maui at the new Kehalani Village Center near Wailuku, where Foodland plans to open its newest store, Foodland Kehalani, this fall.
National parks buoy economy, study finds
A National Park Service study released Tuesday says the 1.35 million visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in 2011 spent $96.99 million in communities within 60 miles of the park. The study said the spending supported 1,177 jobs.
The same study said 957,000 people visited Haleakala National Park on Maui and spent $68.7 million near the park, supporting 836 jobs.
In 2012 an estimated 1.48 million people visited Volcanoes National Park, up 9.7 percent from 2011.
The park service said the estimated economic impact was part of a peer-reviewed spending analysis of parks nationwide by Michigan State University.
Nationwide for 2011, the report showed, $13 billion was spent by 279 million visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park.
That visitor spending had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy and supported 252,000 jobs nationwide, the study said.
HECO partners with Hawaii Hires Heroes
Hawaiian Electric Co. reaffirmed its commitment to hire veterans Tuesday by signing a partnership agreement with the Hawaii Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Hawaii Hires Heroes program.
Hawaii Hires Heroes is a collaboration of businesses, government agencies, labor unions, community organizations, veteran service organizations and the military services partnering to provide employment resources for Hawaii’s veterans and service members.
More than 200 employees of Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co. have served in the military or are active members of the U.S. Guard and Reserve.
"We want to encourage other employers to support Hawaii Hires Heroes," said Pat Wong, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president, corporate services.
"Our veterans are valuable members of our community and deserve fair treatment while they are looking for work."
Tickets on sale for flights to Taiwan
Hawaiian Airlines began selling tickets Tuesday for its new nonstop service between Honolulu and Taipei, which launches July 9 with flights offered three days a week.
Round-trip fares for travel in July, which is high season, start at $1,369 for travel originating in Honolulu.
Hawaiian also announced the launch of a new traditional Chinese-language website for travelers in Taiwan to book tickets at www.HawaiianAirlines.com.tw.
Banks’ profits leaped in fourth quarter
WASHINGTON » Profits at U.S. banks jumped almost 37 percent for the October-December period, reaching the highest level for a fourth quarter in six years as banks continued to step up lending.
The figures are fresh evidence of the industry’s sustained recovery more than four years after the financial crisis.
Banks earned $34.7 billion in the last three months of 2012, up from $25.4 billion a year ago and the highest for a fourth quarter since 2006, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported Tuesday. Sixty percent of banks reported improved earnings from the fourth quarter of 2011, the agency said.
The FDIC, created during the Great Depression to ensure bank deposits, monitors and examines the financial condition of U.S. banks.
Best Buy laying off 400 at main office
NEW YORK » Electronics chain Best Buy Co. says it is cutting 400 jobs at its headquarters as part of a larger $725 million cost-cutting plan.
The cuts are part of a move to save $150 million in selling, general and administrative costs. Best Buy says they’re the first phase of the larger cost-cutting plan that new CEO Hubert Joly announced in November.
Best Buy has been trying to turn around results as it faces increased competition from online and discount retailers.
Record industry enjoys rare positive data
LONDON » More than a decade after online file-swapping pushed the music industry into turmoil, record executives may finally be getting a sliver of good news.
Industry revenue is up — a measly 0.3 percent, but it’s still up.
Since its 1999 peak the global music industry’s revenues have crashed more than 40 percent. Tuesday’s figures, which show a rise in global revenue from $16.4 billion in 2011 to $16.5 billion in 2012, are the first hint of growth in more than a decade.
ON THE MOVE
Sheraton Princess Kaiulani has named Malia Chung its online marketing and public relations coordinator. She was previously a public relations assistant account executive and online specialist at Becker Communications.
Central Pacific Bank has promoted Blane Asao to Kahala Branch manager. Asao has more than 25 years of banking experience and has served as a cash management officer and commercial deposit officer for CPB since 2009. Asao also was director of marketing at Hickam Federal Credit Union.
The Hawaii Meth Project has appointed David Earles executive director. His founded Capacity Plus and served as director of marketing and strategic planning for Castle Medical Center, director of development for Catholic Charities Hawai‘i and development associate for the Hawaii Community Foundation.