Volunteer painters sought for 2 homes
An affordable-housing developer is seeking volunteers March 30 to paint two new homes in Nanakuli that represent the initial piece of a planned 25-home subdivision called Green Homes at Lualualei near Maili Beach Park.
Painting shifts start at 9 a.m. and noon on the property at 87-1720 Farrington Highway.
R.J. Martin, a University of Hawaii graduate student developing the project with Gil Barden of Pacific Island Investments LLC, said the first two families will be there and are slated to move in next month.
Home designs range from three to five bedrooms and 1,000 to 2,300 square feet of living space.
Prices range from $249,950 to $455,950 and are limited to buyers who earn no more than 140 percent of the median annual income on Oahu, or $114,380 for a family of four.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided to volunteer painters.
To RSVP for a painting shift, email greenhomeshawaii@gmail.com or call 723-5541.
Hawaiian Dredging could get Navy contract
Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. is in the running for up to $95 million of construction work for the Navy in Hawaii in partnership with San Diego-based Sullivan International Group Inc.
Sullivan, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, was selected as one of eight qualified firms that may compete for multiple construction contracts totaling as much as $95 million, the company said Friday. Sullivan teamed up with Hawaiian Dredging to compete for the work from the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Hawaii.
The contract work has not yet been specified, but generally includes maintenance, restoration and construction.
Tiffany earnings exceed expectations
NEW YORK » Tiffany says fourth-quarter net income edged up less than 1 percent but still beat Wall Street predictions as strong customer demand in Asia for its pricey baubles offset weakness in the U.S.
The upscale jewelry company also offered an annual sales outlook that topped analysts’ estimates, and its shares rose nearly 2 percent Friday.
The results, which include the critical holiday season, show Tiffany’s resilience even as it faces challenges in the U.S. and a fiscal crisis in Europe.
Boeing remarks on batteries anger NTSB
Boeing’s comments about the smoldering batteries on its 787 have annoyed the National Transportation Safety Board.
Boeing gave its own account of two battery incidents, which included a fire, at a detailed press briefing in Tokyo last week. The problem is that the NTSB is still investigating the incidents. Boeing is a party to the investigation, meaning it provides technical experts and, in effect, gets a seat at the table as investigators try to sort out what happened.
Boeing’s "failure to inform the NTSB of the content off the recent technical briefing in Tokyo prior to its occurrence is inconsistent with our expectations for a party," the NTSB wrote.
The letter released late Thursday noted that on the day of the battery fire in Boston, someone from Boeing signed a certification committing it to the NTSB’s guidelines for participating in the investigation.
FCC chairman announces departure
NEW YORK » The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, said Friday that he’s stepping down in the "coming weeks," after a four-year tenure that’s garnered mixed reviews for him and tangible progress in the industries he oversees.
The country’s top telecommunications regulator told a staff meeting of his decision Friday morning. His impending departure was reported Thursday by several news outlets.
Genachowski, 50, was appointed in 2009 and has taken a middle line between the desires of public-interest groups and the telecom industry, which hasn’t enamored him to either side.
BP to buy back $8 billion of its shares
LONDON » Oil company BP said Friday it will buy back $8 billion of shares using money it earned by selling its stake in Russian producer TNK-BP.
The announcement came after BP completed the sale of its 50 percent interest in TNK-BP to Moscow-based Rosneft, in a deal that gave it $12.5 billion in cash and a stake in the state-owned oil company. The deal allowed Rosneft, the Russian oil giant, to tighten its grip on the country’s lucrative oil industry.
On the Move
Bank of Hawaii has announced Robert “Niels” Taylor as vice president and manager of IT Risk & Security. He was previously director of information security, compliance and quality assurance at AgFirst Farm Credit Bank
Aqua Hotels & Resorts has appointed Evelyn Shiroma to director of property sales and revenue for Aqua Waikiki Wave and Aqua Waikiki Pearl hotels. She was previously a sales manager for the Wave and Pearl teams at the Aqua Hotels & Resorts. Shiroma has more than 20 years of experience in management, supervision and customer relations.
Central Pacific Bank has promoted Jason Martinson to senior vice president and production manager of Central Pacific HomeLoans, a division of CPB. He was previously a senior vice president and mortgage operations manager, wholesale manager, commercial banking manager and loan officer.
