Down to Earth will debut online store

Down to Earth is opening an online store on Friday, offering more than 100 local products.

The company said Wednesday that it will sell private-label items and locally made coffee, honey, cosmetics, and noni and spirulina products, as well as vegetarian supplements.

The virtual store at estore.downtoearth.org has been designed on an Amazon.com platform so customers can use their Amazon.com accounts when purchasing products. Delivery will be done by Amazon via customer’s choice, such as FedEx, U.S. Postal Service or UPS.

Down to Earth, known for its organic and natural foods, has five stores in the state — Honolulu, Kailua, Pearlridge and Kapolei on Oahu and Kahului on Maui.

The company opened its first shop in Wailuku on Maui in 1977. For more information, go to www.downtoearth.org.

Entertainers line up for Akane fundraiser

A growing who’s who of Hawaii entertainers will perform at a benefit for the family of late broadcaster and writer Ashton "Kimo Akane" Kaiuwailani.

Entertainers, radio and music industry figures and the general public are welcome at the Jan. 17 event at the Pomaika’i Ballrooms at Dole Cannery.

Confirmed entertainers so far include the Brothers Cazimero, Kalapana, Jake Shimabukuro, Jeff Rasmussen, Kupaoa, Maunalua, Ben Vegas & Maila Gibson, and the Gregg Hammer Band, though more are expected, according to co-organizer Wayne Maria.

Doors will open at 4 p.m. with the concert set to begin at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $35 at www.honoluluboxoffice.com or via charge-by-phone at 550-8457, and will be $45 at the door.

Kaiuwailani, lifelong broadcaster and author of MidWeek column "Kimo’s Vegas," died Dec. 30 after suffering apparent cardiac arrest earlier in the month.

Delta to add new seats, bins on 225 planes

ATLANTA » Delta Air Lines says it will install new seats and bigger overhead bins on many of the planes it flies within the U.S. It’s squeezing more seats onto many of those planes, too.

Delta said on Wednesday that the project will cover 225 planes. Passengers will have electrical power at every seat, and most of them are getting bigger overhead bins and new seats.

Delta will be able to fit more seats onto many of those planes, including about 19 more seats on its Boeing 757-200s, six more on its Airbus A319s and 10 more on its A320s.

It’s getting the extra space by using so-called "slim-line" seats that have a smaller, lighter-weight frame from front to back. And on the 757s, the new kitchens, called galleys, will take up less space.

Also, some of the 757s will have fewer business-class seats, making room for more coach seats.

Legroom on the planes will be about the same as now, Delta Air Lines Inc. spokesman Paul Skrbec said. Seats on the Airbus planes will be slightly wider.

U.S. consumers boost borrowing by $12.3B

WASHINGTON » Americans increased their borrowing in November, led by continued gains in auto and student loans.

The Federal Reserve said consumers increased their borrowing by $12.3 billion in November to a seasonally adjusted $3.09 trillion. That is a record level and follows an October increase of $17.9 billion.

Almost all of the November increase came from an $11.9 billion rise in borrowing for auto loans and student loans. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards ticked up only $457.8 million after surging in October.

Frozen food sickens hundreds in Japan

TOKYO » Hundreds of people fell sick across Japan after eating frozen food that may have been tainted with a pesticide. Food maker Maruha Nichiro Holdings used full-page ads in major newspapers Wednesday to apologize to consumers and warn them not to eat any of the tainted food, including pizza, croquettes and pancakes manufactured at a factory in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

The company began recalling 6.4 million packages of various frozen foods on Dec. 29, saying it found some were tainted by high levels of malathion, a pesticide.

The health ministry said it had confirmed 556 people suffering such symptoms after eating those products as of late Tuesday.

ON THE MOVE

Christopher Radovich has been appointed to director of IT operations and service management at Hawaiian Airlines. Before joining Hawaiian, he held IT and operations management and supervisory positions at First Insurance Co. of Hawaii and the state Department of Education.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii announced:

 >> Jolaine Hao as the new director for Medicaid/CHIP administration and case management. Before Kaiser, she worked for the Department of Human Services as a Medicaid program administrator for quality assurance and member and provider relations.

>> Tammi Bongoll as the director of Medicare sales and operations. She has Medicare health care experience and worked previously
for Aetna.

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