Fannie, Freddie pay up

WASHINGTON >> The U.S. government said Monday it has received $66.3 billion in dividend payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after both reported strong earnings. Fannie Mae has paid $59.4 billion to the Treasury, and Freddie Mac has paid $7 billion. The payments reflect a housing recovery that has made the mortgage giants profitable again.

Dempsey, Coldwell realty firms merge

Longtime independent Hawaii real estate agent Jim Dempsey has merged his firm, Aiea-based Dempsey West Realtors, with Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, one of the state’s two dominant residential real estate companies.

The merger involves Dempsey West’s five Realtors joining Coldwell Pacific’s Leeward Oahu office in Aiea, while Dempsey becomes a vice president with the firm. Five Dempsey West employees in property management did not join Coldwell Pacific, which doesn’t handle property management.

Dempsey started his firm in 1976. Coldwell Pacific has five offices on Oahu with more than 400 sales associates and employees.

Hawaiian Airlines joins PreCheck program

Hawaiian Airlines has joined a list of carriers at Hono­lulu Airport participating in a PreCheck program that allows certain passengers to avoid having to take off shoes and belts and pull laptop computers and liquids from carry-on bags when going through security.

The Transportation Security Administration is using the program to expedite the screening of passengers on domestic flights who volunteer added information about themselves before flying. Other airlines that have been participating in PreCheck are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways.

Airlines participating in the program can invite their top-tier frequent fliers to join the program at no cost. Those not invited can join via the U.S. Customs and Border Protection trusted-traveler program after paying an average $100 fee, providing added information and being interviewed. The PreCheck pass is good for five years. The information required includes address, employment status, driver’s license, passport and travel history. You also must have your picture and fingerprints taken.

Kakaako development public meetings set

The state agency regulating development in Kakaako has scheduled a second round of additional public comment sessions to collect input on three pending development permit applications.

The three projects are a condominium tower at 404 Ward Ave., The Collection condo tower at the former Comp­USA store site on South Street and a mostly retail and parking complex dubbed SALT at 660 Ala Moana Blvd.

Plans for the first two projects were presented during initial HCDA hearings at which public testimony was accepted. An initial hearing for SALT is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. in HCDA’s conference room at 461 Cooke St.

The additional sessions are scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. and July 9 at 5:30 p.m. at the same address.

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask HCDA staff questions about agency activities, including its transit-oriented development plan and other projects.

All comments will be recorded and made available to HCDA board members for consideration before decisions on the projects are made.

Decisions by HCDA’s board are scheduled for July 17 for 404 Ward Ave. and Aug. 7 for The Collection and SALT.

54th annual billfish tourney to start Aug. 3

This year’s Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, which will run Aug. 3-10, will be the 54th annual event.

The big-game fishing tournament, iconic to world-class fishermen around the globe, will be hosted as usual by the Courtyard King Kame­ha­meha’s Kona Beach Hotel.

Teams from across the U.S. and Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Vanu­atu will compete according to rules set by the International Game Fish Association. Teams will either catch or tag and release Pacific blue marlin.

Volunteers still are being sought to help the tournament run smoothly, and a meeting is set for interested volunteers at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the hotel. For more information, go to www.hibtfishing.com.

Zynga hires head of Microsoft Xbox unit

Zynga, the social games maker that has stumbled badly over the past year, said it has replaced its founder and chief executive, Mark Pincus, with the head of Microsoft’s Xbox video game business, Don Mattrick.

The change, announced Monday, came after a series of miscalculations and poor management decisions by Pincus threatened to transform Zynga from one of the hottest game startups ever into one of its most spectacular flameouts. After Pincus figured out before anyone else how games like "FarmVille" could get friends playing against one another on Facebook, he seemed unable to repeat the formula on today’s popular game devices, smartphones and tablets.

Zynga’s stock is down nearly 70 percent since it sold shares to the public in late 2011. Last month it laid off nearly a fifth of its workforce. Pincus will remain at Zynga as chairman and chief product officer.

On the Move

Turtle Bay Resort has hired Teri Prit­chard as a group sales manager. She will work with the company’s group sales team to coordinate meetings and events at the resort. Prit­chard has nearly 30 years of sales and guest services experience and was previously an account executive with Oakwood Worldwide temporary corporate housing in Los Angeles.

A&B Properties Inc. has promoted Lance K. Parker to senior vice president. He joined the company in October 2004 as project manager of acquisitions, and was named director of acquisitions in 2006 and vice president of acquisitions in 2007. Prior to joining A&B, Parker served as associate vice president at Grubb & Ellis Commercial Real Estate in Anaheim, Calif.

The Hawaii Bankers Association has elected the following officers for the new fiscal year: Russell J. Lau, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Finance Factors, is the new president; Peter S. Ho, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Bank of Hawaii, is the new vice president; Richard Wacker, president and chief executive officer of American Savings Bank, is the new secretary and treasurer; Edward Y.W. Pei, executive vice president of the Hawaii Bankers Association, is the new executive director.