Hawaii gets failing economic grades
The state received an F for the manufacturing, logistics, global reach and productivity and innovation sectors of the economy, in a report by Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research.
Those grades were unchanged from last year, but Hawaii’s expected fiscal liability gap improved to a D-minus from an F, reported CBER Director Michael Hicks, "moving the state out of the extremely dangerous future tax liability rankings. Overall, manufacturing in Hawaii will remain modest."
Another silver lining in the economic report cloud was the improvement of Hawaii’s tax climate grade, to a C-plus from a C in 2013. The full study by the Indiana college can be found online at www.bsu.edu/cber.
Honolulu no longer priciest summer stay
San Francisco has become the nation’s costliest summer destination for tourists, according to the annual TripAdvisor.com TripIndex Cities cost-comparison study.
Honolulu was the costliest destination last summer but has dropped four places from a year ago.
The average daily cost for two to visit San Francisco is $508, versus $431 for Honolulu, which is now ranked fifth.
Between the City by the Bay and Honolulu are New York, with a $501 average daily cost; Boston at $491 (both unchanged from a year ago); and Seattle at $484, four spots ahead of last summer. The least expensive U.S. destination is Las Vegas at $276 per day for two people.
Haleiwa is eighth-happiest seaside town
Chincoteague, Va., is the nation’s happiest seaside town for 2014, according to readers and editors of Coastal Living magazine, but Haleiwa, on Oahu’s North Shore, was voted No. 8 among the top 10.
Magazine editors collected readers’ nominations for dream towns and reviewed how the towns stack up in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Editors also considered each town’s "coastal vibe."
Winning towns from the previous two years were not eligible for consideration this year.
Coverage will appear in the July-August issue of Coastal Living magazine and at CoastalLiving.com.
Palace launches exclusive bottled water
Iolani Palace has launched its own line of bottled water, which is sold exclusively at its gift shop. Mauliola Hawaiian Premium Deep Ocean Water is bottled for the palace by Honolulu-based Deep Ocean Enterprises LLC.
"We wanted to provide our guests with a unique souvenir of Iolani Palace that was not only beautiful, but also good for you," Kippen de Alba Chu, palace executive director, said in a statement. "That’s why we chose to use mineral-rich Hawaiian deep ocean water and named it in honor of the Goddess of Health."
The water is harvested from a depth of 500 meters, where it is believed the water is nutrient-rich and void of natural pathogens, hormones or chemical contamination.
ON THE MOVE
Aloha Natural Health, a leading provider of primary and complementary naturopathic health care on Hawaii island, announced Jenni Lund as a licensed acupuncturist. Lund has 13 years of acupuncture experience, including specializing in pain management and relief for arthritis, stress and tension, migraines and injuries as well as preventive medicine, fertility issues and cancer support.
Hawaii Public Radio announced the appointment of Phyllis S.K. Look to director of marketing. She has more than 15 years of experience, including positions as a marketing and communications manager at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Campus Services division.
