Safeway opened its new 58,000-square-foot store in Lihue on Friday at 4454 Nuhou St. in the Hokulei Village Shopping Center.
The store will be managed by Lesah Merritt, who was born and raised on Kauai and attended Holy Cross School in Kalaheo and graduated from Waimea High School. Lesah most recently managed Safeway’s Kapaa location. This is the second Safeway store on Kauai and the 22nd store in Hawaii.
To celebrate the opening, customers who shop using their club card this weekend will be randomly selected at checkout to win a $50 gift card. One hundred gift cards will be given away over the weekend.
The Safeway Foundation also will make special presentations and donations totaling $7,500, or $2,500 each, to three Kauai nonprofit organizations: Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, Kauai Junior Lifeguard Association and Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i, which provides residential and community programs for education, prevention, diversion and treatment for youth and families.
Barnwell completes oil and gas sale
Barnwell Industries Inc., a Honolulu-based oil, gas and real estate company, has completed a previously announced sale of some oil and natural gas production operations in Canada for $14.8 million.
The company announced the closing Friday and said it will use $6.3 million of $14.2 million in net proceeds to repay debt.
The gas operations sold represent the company’s largest natural gas property. The company said the sale was made because gas and revenue production from the properties in the Dunvegan and Belloy areas of Alberta dropped off after more than 40 years in use, though wells in the Dunvegan area represented 70 percent of Barnwell’s natural gas production last year, according to the company’s 2014 fiscal year report.
Airlines say Middle Eastern rivals unfair
The CEOs of American Airlines and Delta Air Lines met with Secretary of State John Kerry as they stepped up their fight against what they say is unfair competition from the three biggest Middle Eastern airlines.
It remains unclear, however, whether the Obama administration will accept the CEOs’ argument that the Middle Eastern carriers are heavily subsidized by their governments. The U.S. airlines first lodged their complaints early this year.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and Delta CEO Richard Anderson met with Kerry in Washington on Thursday. The State Department said Kerry indicated that the administration is still reviewing the CEOs’ complaints.
Household wealth climbs to $85.7 trillion
WASHINGTON >> Rising home values drove a modest increase in Americans’ household wealth to a new high of $85.7 trillion in the April-June quarter.
The Federal Reserve said Friday that Americans’ stock portfolios climbed $61 billion in value, while housing wealth increased $499 billion. Total household wealth is up from $85 trillion in the first quarter.
Rising household wealth can help boost growth by making consumers feel wealthier and more likely to spend. Economists estimate that consumer spending rises 3 to 5 cents for every dollar increase in wealth. Household spending drives about two-thirds of the economy.
Economic index rose 0.1% in August
WASHINGTON >> An index of future U.S. economic health edged up slightly in August after a flat reading in July. The outcome in both months signaled economic growth could be moderating.
The Conference Board said Friday that its index of leading indicators rose 0.1 percent in August following no change in July and a 0.6 percent jump in June. The July reading had initially been reported as a decline of 0.2 percent.
ON THE MOVE
Servco Automotive has named Pam Wong variable operations manager for Servco Scion Honolulu in Mapunapuna. She joined the company in 1999 and was previously floor manager for Servco Toyota Windward.
Kuakini Health System has named Brian Nagamine manager of development for its Kuakini Foundation subsidiary. He joined in 1991 as therapeutic recreation assistant in the Adult Day Services Department and later as volunteer services coordinator in 2000 and manager of volunteer services in 2005.
The Honolulu Community Action Program, a nonprofit agency assisting low-income residents on Oahu to achieve self-reliance, has announced that Jocelyn Banks is its new human resources generalist. She was previously HCAP’s Head Start family advocate since 2012.
