NextEra, HEI meetings on Oahu this week

NextEra Energy Inc. and Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. will host open-house informational meetings Wednesday and Thursday on Oahu to discuss the Florida company’s proposed $4.3 billion purchase of HEI.

Eric Gleason, president of NextEra Energy Hawaii LLC, said, "The meetings will provide us with the opportunity to receive valuable feedback while allowing residents to learn more about NextEra Energy."

Each meeting will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Dates and locations for the Oahu meetings are as follows:

Wednesday: West Oahu: Kapolei High School cafeteria; Leeward Oahu: Pearl City High School cafeteria

Thursday: Honolulu: Ward Warehouse, Kakaako Conference Room; Windward Oahu: Windward Community College, Hale Akoakoa

Hawaii Public Radio begins pledge drive

Hawaii Public Radio is lowering its pledge drive goal for the "Challenge 2015" spring fundraising effort. The goal of $998,000 is lower than the $1.03 million goal of the two 2014 fundraising events.

At the Wednesday start of the drive, station officials anticipated the amount to be raised would be approximately $754,000, due to early giving by station members and supporters.

Hawaii Public Radio stages on-air pledge drives twice a year to fund operations for the next six months.

Station officials have not set a duration of the spring fundraiser. Usually the drive goes for eight to 10 days. In October the planned 10-day pledge drive ended with a record shortfall of nearly $232,000. A "mini­cam­paign" the following week got the station over the original goal of $1.03 million. In April 2014 a planned eight-day drive with a goal of $1.03 million also had to be extended.

Kids’ mental health nonprofit gets $20K

The state Department of Health has created a new nonprofit to generate private funds to support roughly 2,000 youth in its Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division.

The nonprofit Friends of Children’s Mental Health received a $20,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Hawaii to serve and train youth and their families to live healthy, safe and productive lives.

The nonprofit organization also will use the funds to implement statewide workforce training programs to raise awareness about trauma and provide gender-specific trauma services.

Government programs such as Medicaid have limited resources and are unable to provide necessities such as tents for homeless families or shoes for children, DOH said. The group’s mission is to give families access to nontraditional, culture-based therapeutic activities and emergency funding to meet the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, health, safety and education. The grant allows families to receive services that Medicaid or other government programs might not cover.

Brokers face new retirement accounts rules

WASHINGTON » Brokers who manage Americans’ retirement accounts may soon be required to put investors’ interests first under new restrictions proposed by the U.S. government.

The Labor Department on Tuesday opened the rules to public comment for 75 days. The Obama administration has put its weight behind the move. Against a backdrop of intense opposition from the financial industry on an earlier proposal, administration officials took pains to reassure the industry that the new framework wouldn’t end the way brokers do business or prohibit them from receiving commissions or other fees.

The proposal would provide "guardrails but not straitjackets" for protecting Americans’ retirement investments, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in a conference call.

The changes would put brokers — who sell stocks, bonds, annuities and other investments — under stricter requirements for registered financial advisers.

ON THE MOVE

Pacxa has announced the following senior executive promotions:

» Gordon Bruce to chairman. He will also retain his position as chief executive officer.

» Kelly Ueoka to president from executive vice president. He succeeds Bruce’s role in overseeing daily operations and expansion of the company’s products and services.

Honolulu Property Management has hired Jeff Minster as property manager. He is a Realtor associate, previously serving as assistant property manager at Oishi’s Property Management for five years. He has also been a sales associate for First Team Real Estate and loan modification specialist for Safe Legal Network in Cali­for­nia. He is a 10-year veteran of the Navy.

Associa Hawaii has hired Angie Lamug as its new director of client accounting. She was previously working for Hawaiiana as an assistant controller while overseeing 20 project accountants. Lamug has 20 years’ experience in a supervising role, including serving in the property management accounting field.