Tesoro to restart isle refinery in mid-August
Tesoro Corp. plans to restart the Kapolei refinery in mid-August following maintenance and will then transfer control to Par Petroleum Corp., a person with knowledge of the schedule said. Work has begun at the 94,000-barrel-a-day refinery that was shut for at least three months as Tesoro searched for a buyer, the person said. It’ll take about three weeks to restore operations, the person said.
Par Petroleum agreed in June to buy the plant for $75 million and said the transaction will be completed in the third quarter. Chevron Corp.’s 54,000-barrel-a-day Kapolei complex remains the only refinery running in the state.
HECO alerts customers to phone scam
Hawaiian Electric Co. is warning its customers about a telephone scam in which the caller impersonates a utility employee in an attempt to obtain an electric bill payment.
The caller begins by saying the customer’s electric bill is delinquent and that they may be disconnected, according to a news release from HECO. Some of the customers were directed to pay their electric bill using a service called "Money Pak," according to the release. The customers also were directed not to make payments at the utility’s customer service office.
HECO encourages customers to call its Customer Service Center at 548-7311 if they receive a suspicious call from someone claiming to represent the company.
Go to www.hawaiianelectric.com and click on "Billing & Payment" for a list of locations at which bills can be paid.
Aston to manage Florida resort
Honolulu-based Aston Hotels & Resorts, which celebrates 65 years in Hawaii this year, is expanding into Orlando, Fla., another iconic tourist destination.
The company, which got its start in hospitality in 1948 at the Royal Grove Hotel — a 14-room walk-up in Waikiki — will now manage Tuscana Resort Orlando in Davenport, Fla.
Picking up the new management contract expands the company’s portfolio to 28 hotels and condominium resorts. Aston, which is an operating business of Interval Leisure Group Inc., now manages approximately 4,300 lodging units throughout the four major Hawaiian Islands; South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; Las Vegas; and Orlando.
Islands Hospice gets OK for Maui services
Islands Hospice, one of Hawaii’s largest nonprofit providers of hospice care, has received a Certificate of Need from the state Health Planning and Development Agency to begin operations on Maui.
Oahu and Hawaii island have several inpatient hospice beds, but Maui has no such option, Islands Hospice said.
For more information, contact Michelle Bowerman at 550-2552 or mbowerman@islandshospice.com.
Pier 1 to join America’s Mattress on Kauai
Pier 1 Imports and America’s Mattress have signed leases to open at the Kukui Grove Center on Kauai.
Pier 1, which sells a range of items including indoor and outdoor furniture, is scheduled to open on Kauai in fall 2014. America’s Mattress already has opened there.
HTA seeks product enrichment proposals
The Hawaii Tourism Authority began soliciting proposals Thursday for its Product Enrichment Programs, including the Community-Based Natural Resources Program, Kukulu Ola — Living Hawaiian Culture Program and County Product Enrichment Program.
Application instructions are available on HTA’s website, www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/about-hta/rfps.
Japan golf tourney to benefit kids’ project
Acura of Honolulu, the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Hawaii’s KIKU-TV are putting on the third annual Ai on Japan golf tournament and banquet to benefit the Kid’s Heart Project, which provides trauma care to Japanese children who were affected by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
The golf fundraiser will take place Sept. 6 at the Honolulu County Club. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with the shotgun start at 11 a.m. For more information, call 792-9110 or visit golf@acurahawaii.com.
2 new restaurants open in Honolulu
Canton Dim Sum restaurant has opened in Market City Shopping Center, serving classic dim sum choices as well as familiar sweets.
The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 2919 Kapiolani Blvd., next to T-Mobile in the space formerly occupied by G. Sushi.
Also, the Park Restaurant opened Thursday night in a 3,600-square-foot space on the second floor of the Lotus Honolulu hotel at 2885 Kalakaua Ave.
The restaurant’s Mediterranean-influenced menu was created by Executive Chef Michael Collantes. The restaurant’s hours are from 5 to 10 p.m., while the main bar is open until midnight.
ON THE MOVE
Aston Hotels & Resorts has named Kim Asuncion an area reservations manager for Waikiki. She has 20 years of hospitality experience, including as reservations manager for Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel and guest services manager for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
Central Pacific Bank has appointed Catherine Fujisaki to vice president and personal trust department manager. She has more than 20 years of experience in finance and investment management, corporate accounting and trusts, and estate planning law.
The Hawaii Foodbank Board has appointed two new board members:
» Pastor Timothy Mason, senior pastor for Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church. Mason previously served as senior pastor at Meito Christ International Lutheran Church in Nagoya, Japan.
» Jeffrey Moken, general manager of United Airlines, Hawaii. He was previously general manager of Continental Airlines Honolulu before the merger with United and has been in the commercial airline industry for 20 years.
