Bankoh to reopen Manoa branch Tuesday

Bank of Hawaii’s Manoa branch will reopen Tuesday — a year and a day after being closed due to water damage.

The 3,058-square-foot branch in Manoa Marketplace, 2752 Woodlawn Drive, sustained extensive roof and water damage after a fire in a business upstairs on Oct. 14, 2012, destroyed more than 80 percent of the facilities. Bank of Hawaii’s Manoa branch team was deployed to neighboring branches to assist customers during the renovation period. Ten employees will return to the renovated branch.

In addition to restoring the branch, upgrades were incorporated into the renovation to enhance service and operational efficiency. These upgrades include a new and private manager’s office for client meetings, more open lobby space, and self-service hand scanning access to safe deposit boxes.

The branch’s hours will be Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a traditional Hawaiian blessing at 8 a.m. Tuesday followed by brief remarks and refreshments before the bank opens.

Martin & MacArthur CEO wins honor

Retail Merchants of Hawaii will present the Retailer of the Year Ho‘okela Award to Michael Tam, CEO & president of koa furniture maker Martin & MacArthur, on Oct. 24 at the organization’s annual conference.

The award was established in 1985 to recognize individual leaders and innovators who have contributed to the success and vitality of the retail industry in Hawaii.

Tam, the majority owner of Martin & MacArthur, and Chairman Simon McKenzie are responsible for leading the company’s team to achieve sustainable, profitable and long-term growth and making the company more relevant to today’s lifestyles.

The Martin & MacArthur team created personal accessories and fine home furnishings that reinvent the way people think about koa. The company introduced the first-ever solid koa watches, koa iPhone and iPad cases, koa sunglasses, and an exclusive line of koa eternity rings and jewelry made with its own koa and tungsten, for a shine that lasts forever.

Martin & MacArthur now represents nearly 200 local Hawaii craftsmen in its stores, making it the largest supporter of fine craftsmanship in Hawaii. The company also is at the forefront of koa reforestation working with private landowners on Hawaii island and Hawaii Legacy Hardwoods. For every piece of furniture sold, Martin & MacArthur plants a new koa tree in honor of the customer.

During the past five years, Martin & MacArthur doubled the number of craftsmen it employs, now totaling more than 30. It opened nine new stores, including its first stores on Hawaii island and Kauai.

CPB offers furlough assistance programs

Central Pacific Bank is offering two programs and additional temporary waivers of certain fees to help Hawaii residents affected by the federal government shutdown.

Under the "Emergency Furlough Loan," which is available to both customers and noncustomers of CPB, furloughed Hawaii residents can be automatically approved for a low-interest consumer term loan equal to one month of the furloughed employee’s net pay, to be repaid over 36 months, with the first payment due 30 days after loan closing.

The "Loan Payment Deferral" enables furloughed borrowers to defer a payment for either the month of October or November. The deferred payment will be added to the end of the loan with the loan’s maturity date being extended for one additional month. This program is available to all CPB customers with the following types of loans: auto, consumer, residential mortgage (certain restrictions may apply), home equity loan and nonrevolving home equity lines.

For its furloughed deposit account holders, CPB also will waive the penalties for early withdrawals from time deposits as permitted by regulation, as well as waive any service charges for minimum balance requirements on checking accounts, until the end of the current government shutdown.

For more information on Central Pacific Bank’s furlough loan programs, call 544-0500 or visit any CPB branch.

Traveling pet photo sought by AAA PetBook

Pets that travel with their people have a chance to be featured in the 2014 AAA PetBook in the annual AAA PetBook Photo Contest.

Travelers can enter a picture of their traveling pet for a chance to appear either on the cover or inside the travel guide of more than 14,000 hotels and campgrounds worldwide that accommodate pets.

First- and second-place winners are featured on the back cover and spine of the soft-cover edition and in the opening pages of the digital edition. About 40 finalists appear in a photo insert, and all are featured in the AAA.com/PetBook photo gallery. Additional prizes include cash, pet treats, copies of the book, and for the first-place winner, a $150 Best Western Travel Card.

The deadline to enter the contest online at www.aaa.com/petbook is Nov. 30.

ON THE MOVE

Prince Resorts Hawaii has announced the promotion of Kisan Jo to vice president of finance and administration. Jo was previously the director of finance and joined the resort in 2010. Before Prince Resorts Hawaii, he served as treasury analyst for the Queen’s Health Systems and senior auditor of Deloitte & Touche.

McAllister & Quinn has appointed Melissa Unemori Hampe chief operating officer. She has 17 years of public policy experience working on Capitol Hill as well as in nonprofit and private sectors, including serving as director of government relations at MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership. Hampe also served as a legislative director to former U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and legislative and press staffer for the late Congresswoman Patsy Mink.

Bank of Hawaii has announced the following promotions:

» Robert M. "Bo" Wheeler to executive vice president and credit risk support manager of the corporate risk department.

» Glen S. Aoki to senior vice president in the controllers department.

» Terrance L. "Terry" Andreski to senior vice president and chief fiduciary officer in the investment services group.

» Vera Wright to senior vice president in the income tax department.

» John McKenna rejoins the bank as senior vice president and primary relationship officer in the corporate banking department.

SHIFTING GEARS

7 cars rate high on features for tech safety

NEW YORK » Seven midsize vehicles earned the top rating in a new insurance industry test of high-tech safety features designed to prevent front-end collisions.

The Cadillac ATS and SRX, Subaru Legacy and Outback, Mercedes C-Class and Volvo S60 and XC60 won "superior" ratings in tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The institute tested 74 midsize cars and SUVs from the model years 2013 and 2014. Those equipped with front collision-warning and automatic braking systems generally scored better. The systems can either warn the driver or automatically stop the car if they sense a potential collision.

Toyota drops price on Prius after slow sales

DETROIT » Toyota is lowering the price of the Prius plug-in hybrid. The 2014 plug-in Prius will start at $30,800. That’s $2,100 less than the 2013 model. Prices include an $810 shipping fee.

The 2014 model also will have standard heated cloth seats.

The new pricing makes the plug-in Prius about $4,000 less than a Chevrolet Volt. Ford hasn’t released pricing on the 2014 C-Max Energi, a competitor of the Prius plug-in.

Plug-in cars can go farther on an electric charge and get better gas mileage than regular hybrids. But sales have been sluggish because of stable gas prices and the vehicles’ higher prices. A plug-in Prius costs about $5,000 more than a regular one.