Eddie coverage drew 1.2 million live stream views

The World Surf League videos from Thursday’s Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational have been viewed more than 13 million times on Facebook, the live stream had 1.2 million views the day of the event and viewers watched 750,000 hours of live coverage, the WSL said Wednesday.

The Eddie “was the biggest single day in big-wave surfing history,” the WSL said in a news release.

More than 1,000 international broadcast and digital news outlets covered the event, the WSL said.

Jed Pearson, the league’s executive vice president for content and programming, said, “We are extremely fortunate that Mother Nature cooperated by producing waves with heights of 60 feet in some cases, and the competitors — including Eddie’s younger brother, Clyde — attacked the waves with incredible passion and fearlessness.”

The WSL said 25,000 spectators viewed the event in person at Waimea Bay.

Nine action cameras plus two slow-motion cameras were used in the coverage. More than 75 broadcast personnel, including in-the-water reporters, were involved in the coverage.

Barnwell cuts executives’ pay again

A Honolulu-based company involved in oil and gas production in Canada is taking more steps, including executive pay cuts, to counteract low oil and gas prices that have hurt the firm’s finances.

Barnwell Industries Inc. announced Wednesday that it is cutting executive pay and selling an office in New York.

The move comes less than a month after Barnwell reported a $1.4 million net loss in the last three months of 2015, which represents the company’s fiscal first quarter. The loss was three times as big as a $467,000 loss for the same quarter the year before.

Barnwell slashed pay for its top three executives twice last year — in March and June — for a 45 percent reduction. The new cut, which was effective Tuesday, will bring the reduction to more than 60 percent of their salaries compared with the beginning of last year.

Morton Kinzler, Barnwell’s chairman and CEO, had a salary of $568,000 last year, down from $775,000 the year before. The salary for Alexander Kinzler, Barnwell’s chief operating officer, was $527,000 last year, down from $650,000 the year before. The salary for Russell Gifford, the company’s chief financial officer, was $457,000 last year, down from $525,000 the year before.

Barnwell also said it expects to receive revenue from selling a home it developed on Hawaii island. The sale is in escrow and is expected to close within 60 days.

Shares of lightly traded Barnwell stock closed Wednesday at $1.33 after the announcement, which was 3 cents above a 52-week low of $1.30 on Monday.

HomeStreet Bank opens Kaimuki branch

HomeStreet Bank has opened its third branch on Oahu in Kaimuki and will hold a grand opening from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 12 to celebrate the event.

The branch, which opened Monday, is at 3660 Waialae Ave., Suite 108. It is being managed by Gloria Omandam, who recently joined HomeStreet Bank and has more than 20 years of financial-institution experience, most recently as the former CEO of a local credit union. She has held various positions, including branch manager, loan officer, marketing assistant and member service manager.

Seattle-based HomeStreet has four branches in the state, with locations in Honolulu, Pearl City and now Kaimuki, as well as Hilo. HomeStreet also operates Home Loan Centers in Pearl City, Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului and Waimea, Hawaii island.

“We are excited to be opening this new branch in Kaimuki to better serve our customers in eastern Oahu,” HomeStreet CEO Mark Mason said. “Kaimuki is a fantastic area, and we look forward to becoming part of the local community.”

Troon Golf buying Pineapple Grill Restaurant

Troon Golf Courses/TY Management is buying Pineapple Grill Restaurant at Kapalua Resort on Maui from David and Lesley Cohn of Cohn Restaurant Group.

Troon Golf Courses’ food and beverage division will assume management and operational oversight for the restaurant, which is in the clubhouse of The Bay Course at the resort, a Troon run golf course property. The restaurant will remain open as ownership changes over the next few months. Pineapple Grill staff will be retained.

Central Pacific launches joint venture

Central Pacific Bank has begun a joint venture with IProperties Hawaii to provide residential loan services in the state.

The entity, called One Hawaii HomeLoans, is located at 1585 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1533. It is CPB’s fifth residential mortgage joint venture, which also includes Gentry Homeloans, Haseko HomeLoans, Island Pacific HomeLoans, and Pacific Access Mortgage. One Hawaii HomeLoans is managed by Tommy Nguyen, who previously was a loan processor with Central Pacific HomeLoans.

CPB said the joint venture partnership will allow the bank to better support iProperties with financing homes locally for first-time homebuyers and buyers interested in middle-income neighborhoods.

Central Pacific Bank originated more than $759 million in residential mortgage loans in 2015.

Monday lunch to focus on auto show

Dave Rolf, head of the Hawaii Auto Dealers Association, will preview the First Hawaiian International Auto Show at noon Monday during the monthly “auto lunch bunch” at the Waikiki Yacht Club, 1599 Ala Moana Blvd. The auto show will be held March 18-20 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Cars featured at the lunch gathering will be Bob Bosley’s 1969 Shelby GT 500 with a 428-cubic-inch Ford V-8 and Robert Cowie’s superlight 1969 Lotus Elan with a twin-cam Ford 4-cylinder power plant.

To RSVP for the event, contact Ed Kemper at 225-2965 or email him at edracers@aol.com. The cost is $18, which includes lunch, iced tea, tax and tip. Only credit cards are accepted.

More car-buying limits unlikely in China

China probably will avoid extending restrictions on vehicle purchases to smaller cities as the government relies on the world’s largest auto market to sustain economic growth, according to a top industry association.

Seven cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, have capped the number of new license plates issued each year in an attempt to control growth in the vehicle population.

“Local governments are facing huge pressure to boost economic growth and they need robust vehicle sales at a time like this,” Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the trade group, said in an interview. “We don’t think there will be more cities limiting vehicle purchase during the next five years.”

While the vehicle restrictions were put in place as part of a government response to address worsening air pollution in its major cities, the weakest economic growth in a quarter-century prompted policymakers to take the contradictory step of cutting a car-purchase tax last year to encourage sales.

On The Move

>> The Pali Women’s Health Center in Kailua has announced that Dr. Tricia Song, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, has joined the center. She previously served at Kaiser Permanente in Waipio as well as at Veterans Memorial Hospital on Kauai.

>> MMI Realty Services, a commercial and property management as well as leasing company, has announced Esmeralda “Ezy” Paeste will be its new general manager for Kahala Mall, Kahala Office Tower, Kahala Office Building and Hunakai Office Building. She was previously general manager of Kamehameha Shopping Center and will continue to serve as property manager of King’s Village and Safeway Beretania within the MMI portfolio of commercial properties.

>> Hawaii State Federal Credit Union has hired Carol Higa as a senior vice president of business banking and credit administration. She has more than 30 years of banking industry experience, including serving as a senior vice president in commercial deposit services at Bank of Hawaii.

Ship Ahoy!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures: