Auto gathering to feature new Kia K900
The new Kia K900 luxury sedan and numerous award-winning, vintage Volkswagens will make up the Kars at the Kurb display for the monthly Auto Lunch Bunch gathering on Tuesday.
The venerable VW models will include Van Yoshikawa’s 1955 Oval Window Ragtop, Greg Campbell’s ’65 Karmann Ghia, Mark Vazquez’s ’69 Notchback and Piony Omoso’s ’55 Oval Window.
The luncheon speaker will be Don Johnston of the Aloha Mustang and Shelby Club. He will discuss the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang and celebration events in Hawaii and on the mainland.
The $16.25, credit- or debit-card only price includes the meal, drink and tip.
Reservations for the noon event at 1599 Ala Moana Blvd. can be made via billmaloney15@ aol.com or to Ed Kemper at 225-2965.
Honolulu ranked sixth for crummy parking
Finding parking is one hassle, but paying for parking in Honolulu costs $42 a day and $230 a month, making it the sixth-worst city in the nation for parking, according to NerdWallet.com.
The personal finance site ranked 10 U.S. markets as the worst based on high costs for parking and high rates of vehicle thefts.
Further, in its explanation for choosing Honolulu, NerdWallet noted that those who receive a ticket must respond within 21 days, either by paying it, or by contesting the ticket in writing or at a hearing.
NerdWallet said the city added 340 smart meters in 2012, allowing drivers to pay for parking via Visa or MasterCard, in addition to coins.
NerdWallet did not report that the smart meters reset to zero when a vehicle leaves a spot, so that the next person parking there cannot avail themselves of remaining time on the meter.
Five markets beat Honolulu as worse U.S. cities for parking. In order, they are Chicago; Oakland, Calif.; San Francisco; New York City; and Boston.
Mustang club event raises cash for pets
The 22nd annual Mustang Madness event staged Sunday raised $1,958 for the Hawaiian Humane Society.
The event honored the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang and the 35th anniversary of the Aloha Mustang & Shelby Club of Hawaii.
ON THE MOVE
Lite Hotels has announced the promotion of Greg Peros to general manager of Maui Beach Hotel. He has been with the hotel for 10 years. Peros’ experience includes serving as a housekeeping manager for Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa and property operations manager with Starwood Hotels.
American Savings Bank has promoted Christopher Abbott to vice president for community investments. He manages and originates the bank’s community development equity investments throughout Hawaii, which will also include low-income housing tax credit investments. Besides his new role, Abbott will also serve as the bank’s community reinvestment act officer.
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced its New Agent Training Office members:
» Jonni Adaniya was previously a Realtor associate with James Kometani Realtors.
» Alyona L. Martinez was previously a Realtor associate with Savvy Realty and Loans.
Las Vegas tops for room service expense
Las Vegas, not Honolulu, is the most expensive city for hotel room service in the U.S., according to research by TripAdvisor.com. Honolulu ranks as the fifth-most expensive.
The 2014 TripIndex Room Service study did a cost comparison of common items and services many travelers will experience, such as in-room amenities, in 62 popular cities around the world, including 15 in the U.S. The study showed no correlation between expensive hotel rooms and pricey room service in the U.S., but both attributes were commonly found together internationally.
The comparison includes the price of a club sandwich ordered through room service, the dry cleaning of one shirt, and minibar items including a bottle of water, peanuts, a mini bottle of vodka and a can of soda.
Las Vegas’ total room service cost of $68.01 was ahead of $67.83 in second-ranked New York City; No. 3 Washington, D.C., at $61.66; No. 4 Los Angeles at $60.67; and Honolulu at No. 5, with a total room service cost of $59.92, though it should be noted that some Waikiki hotels have discontinued room service operations.
Of the 15 measured, the three U.S. markets with the cheapest room service in the nation are Denver at $41.43, Seattle at $41.58 and Minneapolis at $45.72.
Delta adding N.Y.-Honolulu seasonal flights
Delta Air Lines is adding nonstop seasonal service between John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Honolulu for the year-end holidays.
The carrier will use a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft for flights from Dec. 18 through Jan 4. The service will operate mainly on a daily basis except for Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31.
Blimpie anniversary features 50-cent subs
Blimpie sub sandwich shops will mark the company’s 50th anniversary on April 4 by offering their Blimpie Best sub for 50 cents to the first 200 customers at each location.
The sub chain also will stage a contest from May 5 through June 29 that will offer numerous prizes and, as a grand prize, will send two people to Hawaii, which the chain notes is the 50th state — in keeping with its 50th anniversary theme, officials announced in a statement.
A publicist for Blimpie confirmed that the chain has three restaurants in Hawaii, all on Oahu. They are at 1000 Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City, 550 Paiea St. near Honolulu Airport, and at 111 Sand Island Access Road in Honolulu.
Fed blocks 5 banks from raising dividends
The Federal Reserve is barring Citigroup and four other big banks from increasing their dividends or buying back their own stock because they need better plans for coping with a severe recession.
The announcement Wednesday follows last week’s results of the Fed’s annual "stress tests." The central bank determined that the U.S. banking industry is better able to withstand a major economic downturn than at any time since the financial crisis struck in 2008.
Besides Citigroup, the Fed also ruled against dividend increases or share repurchases at HSBC North America Holdings Inc., RBS Citizens Financial Group Inc., Santander Holdings USA Inc. and Zions Bancorp.
‘Candy Crush’ maker’s stock falls in debut
Wall Street is giving King Digital, the company behind the popular mobile game "Candy Crush Saga," the cold shoulder in its public trading debut.
King’s stock priced at $22.50 on Tuesday, valuing the company at $7.1 billion. But it opened on Wednesday at $20.50, down almost 9 percent. Its shares lost more ground by the day’s close, falling 15.6 percent, or $3.50, to $19.
King Digital Entertainment PLC had $1.88 billion in revenue last year. That’s more than 10 times its 2012 revenue of $164.4 million. But some analysts have questioned whether King would be able to repeat the success of "Candy Crush," which has been far more successful than any of its other games. Its other top games include "Pet Rescue Saga" and "Farm Heroes Saga."
