Fans of the former Bubbies Ice Cream & Desserts can trek back to University Avenue starting Tuesday to satisfy those ice-cold cravings, and a portion of what they spend will go toward programs supporting Native Hawaiian groups.
Island Scoops will take Bubbies’ place at Varsity Center, 1010 University Ave., Ivan Lui-Kwan, managing member of Hokukahu LLC, said Thursday. Island Scoops is a subsidiary of Hokukahu, a for-profit company owned by the nonprofit Hokupili Foundation, which supports educational, vocational, health and housing programs for Native Hawaiians.
Bubbies’ owner, Keith Robbins, closed the shop when its lease ended in October, after 30 years in business.
Lui-Kwan said Island Scoops has a three-year lease and will purchase ice cream and mochi ice cream from Robbins. The shop has been painted and spruced up with some new equipment and flooring, he said, and many former Bubbies employees will be back.
“We’re hoping the Bubbies customers will come back, too,” he said.
Most of Island Scoops’ profits will go to the Hokupili Foundation, which provides grants to a number of community groups with a focus on programs that serve residents of Hawaiian Homestead communities and those waiting for homesteads.
Big Island restaurant to pay back wages
Both locations of Hawaiian Style Cafe on Hawaii island will be paying back wages to workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the restaurants failed to pay workers time and a half for overtime hours worked. The investigation found that the restaurants paid workers in cash at the employees’ straight-time rates in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Hawaiian Style Cafe in Hilo will pay $43,596 in unpaid overtime wages and liquidated damages to 41 employees. Hawaiian Style Cafe in Waimea will pay $10,400 in unpaid overtime wages and damages to four employees.
“Employers who deny low-wage workers their legally required overtime earnings diminish the ability of those workers to care for themselves and their families,” said Terence Trotter, director of the division’s Honolulu District Office, in a statement. Employers who do not comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act also gain an unlawful economic advantage against competing businesses that do properly pay employees, he said.
“As the back wages and damages collected in this case demonstrate, we are serious about putting a stop to these violations. Other workers being paid in this manner should give us a call,” Trotter said.
The toll-free Wage and Hour Division help-line phone number is 866-487-9243.
Airbnb bill advances in Legislature
A version of a bill supported by Airbnb that would allow the online vacation rental giant and similar companies to collect and remit taxes on behalf of hosts will advance to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Versions of SB 2693, introduced by Sen. Rosalyn Baker, were approved Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Tourism and International Affairs and by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health.
The bill aims to ensure the state receives its fair share of taxes from transient accommodations. It would allow Airbnb and similar entities to register as tax collection agents, enabling them to collect general excise and transient accommodations taxes for hosts. Agents would remit taxes to the state but would not be required to disclose host names and addresses.
Airbnb estimates that it has 9,000 to 10,000 listings in Hawaii that might be available on any given day.
Kaiser opens first Kauai clinic
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii said it opened its first clinic on Kauai on Thursday.
The Lihue Clinic, at 4366 Kukui Grove St. on the ground floor of the Kukui Grove Health Center, will offer primary care, lab and pharmacy services for adults and children, as well as telehealth technology so that physicians can consult virtually with specialty care providers on Oahu.
Kaiser, which has 23 facilities statewide, said it will maintain existing contracts with Kauai physicians so the 2,400 members on the Garden Isle will be able to continue seeing their current providers. The clinic is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 246-5600.
Mortgage rate falls to 3.65 percent
WASHINGTON >> Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for the sixth straight week as markets around the globe continued the seesaw trading that has marked this year so far. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.65 percent this week, down from 3.72 percent last week and close to its low point last year of 3.59 percent.
On The Move
>> Hawaii Distribution Center has hired Jason Yotsuda as a sales account executive. He was previously working as a sales representative for Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions and served 30 years in radio broadcasting, including working as an on-air talent, program director and traffic reporter.
>> Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Sally Palafox has rejoined its Honolulu office as an independent agent and previews property specialist. Prior to rejoining Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, Palafox was a real estate agent for Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers.
