Kawamoto posts $5.1 million bail in cash
Japanese real estate tycoon Genshiro Kawamoto, who was arrested March 5 on suspicion of tax evasion, was released on March 29 after paying bail of 500 million yen ($5.1 million) in cash, the online newspaper Japan Today reported.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office special investigation squad accused Kawamoto of hiding 3.5 billion yen ($35.8 million) in earnings, the newspaper said.
Kawamoto, 81, who lives in a 5-star hotel in Tokyo, has denied the charges, the newspaper said.
About a decade ago, Kawamoto began buying up million-dollar estates on Oahu, spending close to $165 million for almost 30 homes on Kahala Avenue.
Kawamoto crudely broke down walls, leaving rubble lying about. He also filled in swimming pools, he said for liability reasons, and often let vegetation grow wild. Some of his homes fell into disrepair and racked up city fines. Several homes were demolished, some have been vandalized and some were sold.
He provided three Hawaiian families with free rent at three of the Kahala residences since 2007. On four other properties he has arranged dozens of statues, including life-size lions, nudes and towering pagodas.
Duo launches auto radio show
Auto Lunch Bunch founders and automotive industry broadcast personalities Bill Maloney and Ed Kemper will debut their “Ohana Road Radio” show Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon on NBC Sports Radio, KHKA-AM 1500.
Rebroadcasts of the show will air at 5 a.m. Sundays on KKEA-AM 1420.
Maloney is the producer of “Ohana Road TV” and Kemper hosts “Island Driver TV” on OC16. He is also the automotive writer for HI Luxury magazine.
The show will feature a “magazine” format with segments on new vehicle reviews, test-drive critiques, collector and car auction reports as well as listener calls. A “Milestones in Automotive History” segment will be hosted by Dale Payson.
Car winner to be named Friday
Five finalists in a sweepstakes by Aloha Petroleum Ltd. will find out which of them will win a Kia Soul from Aloha Kia at 10 a.m. Friday.
The finalists — Kaleo DeSantos and John Lozier from Oahu, Fatafehi Melekiola from Maui, Sasha Genovia from Hawaii island, and Nenita Saguid of Kauai — will gather at the Kahala Aloha Island Mart to find out which of the five keys they have been given will start the prize SUV.
Aloha Petroleum Sales and Marketing Director Larry Adams will lead the festivities that will include a “dancing hamster” popularized in local and national Kia Motors television commercials.
Medical lab opens on Fort Weaver Road
Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc. opened a new office at Queens West Physicians Office Building on Fort Weaver Road on April 1.
The office is open from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to noon.
"The hours are intended to make stopping for a blood draw or providing a specimen sample easier for people commuting to town in the morning," Richard Okazaki, DLS president, said in a news release.
DLS, which employs more than 500 people, has 36 satellite facilities on Oahu and 16 on the Neighbor Islands.
Island Slipper adds store in Waikiki
Island Slipper, which manufactures footwear in Hawaii, will open a store at the Royal Hawaiian Center on May 10, the company said Wednesday in a news release.
Its original store is at Ward Warehouse. Island Slipper was founded in 1946 and makes more than 100 styles of footwear.
Royal Hawaiian Center, which is owned by Kamehameha Schools, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
American Airlines resumes most flights
DALLAS >> American Airlines resumed most flights Wednesday, a day after a massive technology failure forced the nation’s third-largest carrier to ground all planes from coast to coast.
Some lingering problems remained. At midday, American and regional offshoot American Eagle had canceled more than 200 flights, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.com. But that was a huge improvement over Tuesday, when American and Eagle canceled nearly 1,000 flights and delayed another 1,100.
Some of Wednesday’s cancellations were because of bad weather in Chicago and a lack of crews and planes in the right places. The airline added five unscheduled flights to accommodate passengers stranded in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Amazon nears debut of original TV shows
SANTA MONICA, Calif. » Amazon is letting viewers help choose its new lineup of TV shows, scuttling a secretive, wasteful process once reserved for Hollywood taste-makers.
The online retailing giant will let visitors from the U.S., U.K. and Germany watch, rate and critique 14 pilot episodes the company has bankrolled. Viewer comments will help the company decide which shows — if any — get the green light.
Amazon’s foray into TV production is unique in the way it saves money. Every spring, traditional TV networks like ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox order dozens of pilots and show them to focus groups. Executives pick just a handful to make into series. Then, they commission 13 episodes of each promising show, with each one potentially costing a few million dollars. Many episodes won’t ever air if the first few don’t attract big audiences.
Bank of America faces another lawsuit
NEW YORK » As soon as Bank of America puts one mortgage-related lawsuit behind it, another always seems to rear its head.
The bank announced Wednesday that it would pay $500 million to settle a class-action lawsuit led by pension funds and other investors who say they were misled about $350 billion worth of mortgage-backed investments they bought from Countrywide, a mortgage lender Bank of America bought in 2008. The bank portrayed the settlement as good news because it resolved the bulk of securities claims related to residential mortgage-backed securities.
But financial analysts, in a conference call to discuss the bank’s first-quarter results, peppered bank executives with questions about another pending settlement. Bank of America is still waiting for court approval for a similar settlement it made with Bank of New York Mellon almost two years ago. If it doesn’t get the go-ahead, Bank of America could have to spend more to resolve the claims.
ON THE MOVE
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement has announced Robin Puanani Danner, founding president and chief executive officer of CNHA, will retire as president in 2013. She founded the organization in 2001. Twelve years later, the nonprofit has a 21-member board of directors as well a staff of 12. She will be succeeded by Michelle Kauhane, a former deputy director at the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Xerox Hawaii has appointed David Harper to federal account manager. Before joining Xerox Hawaii, he was a product applications specialist and sales representative for Jensen Precast as well as a branch manager and business development manager for Technology Integration Group.
