Hickam FCU breaks ground on headquarters

Hickam Federal Credit Union broke ground March 30 on its new 32,000-square-foot, full-service branch facility and corporate headquarters.

The new two-story building will sit on the corner of Kuala and Kaakepa streets in a busy, retail commercial area of Pearl City and is being constructed by NewGround, an architectural design-and-build firm that has more than 100 years’ experience in crafting financial, corporate, retail and health care buildings.

The architectural design features will include floor-to-ceiling glass windows, “green” terraces and an outdoor plaza that will help the credit union stand out from the surrounding community. The interior will include an open-air floor plan and a 2,700-square-foot technology-driven retail branch with self-service, in-lobby tellers; a technology bar; and digital information stations. Additionally, the credit union has designed a drive-thru teller station.

NewGround is anticipating that the project will be completed by mid-2017.

Established in 1936, Hickam FCU has five branches on Oahu and, as of Dec. 31, more than 45,900 members and over $543 million in assets.

Urgent Care Hawaii acquires 3 Oahu clinics

Urgent Care Hawaii LLC (formerly US Med Urgent Care) announced Monday that it has acquired three Medical Corner facilities across Oahu.

The deal includes clinics at 660 Kailua Road in Kailua; 890 Kamokila Blvd. in Kapolei; and 1860 Ala Moana Blvd. The Medical Corner was established more than 20 years ago by Dr. Robert Sussman, who will continue to provide primary care and occupational health services at the Airport Trade Center clinic under his ownership.

The new centers were closed from Monday for refurbishing and will reopen May 16. The facilities’ hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

Urgent Care Hawaii opened its first clinic in Pearl City in 2011.

Gannett bids for L.A. Times publisher

NEW YORK >> Gannett wants to buy Tribune Publishing for more than $388 million in a deal that would give the owner of USA Today control of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers. But Gannett said Monday that Tribune has refused to start “constructive discussions” since it first offered to buy its rival earlier this month.

Gannett wants Tribune so that it can expand its USA Today Network, which helps the company share stories more easily between USA Today and its smaller papers.

Mideast oil exporters could lose $500 billion

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates >> Oil exporting countries in the Middle East lost a staggering $390 billion in revenue due to lower oil prices last year, and should brace for even deeper losses of around $500 billion this year, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

The fund had earlier predicted a smaller loss, but oil prices took a tumble and the drop in revenue amounted to a $30 billion larger loss.

The IMF said Monday that these countries will see revenues from oil exports drop even more in 2016.

U.S. ends Honda probe over accidents

DETROIT >> The U.S. government has closed an investigation into Honda’s failure to report deaths and injuries, saying that the company has met all of its obligations.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that Honda paid a $70 million fine and took steps needed to make sure similar failures don’t happen again. The government fined Honda in December 2014 in what then was the largest civil penalty levied against an automaker.

The company admitted in a consent order that it didn’t report 1,729 complaints that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries, and that it didn’t report warranty claims.

Dubai pushes ahead on driverless cars

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates >> Already home to the world’s biggest skyscraper, Dubai has another tall order to fill: By 2030 its leader wants 25 percent of all trips on its roads to be done by driverless vehicles.

Monday’s announcement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum came without warning and with few details, as is sometimes the case with the many aspirations of the leadership of the United Arab Emirates. The car-crazed city-state has over 1.5 million registered vehicles.

On the Move

Ron Mobley is the first Hawaii recipient from among more than 1,300 Toastmasters members in the state to be chosen for the District 49 Toastmasters 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been a member of Toastmasters for 32 years: He started with Bankoh Toastmasters, then moved to Paradise Toastmasters when he retired from Bank of Hawaii after serving for 21 years. He has held various titles during his tenure with Toastmasters, including parliamentarian, mentor, area governor, district webmaster, lieutenant governor of membership and district governor. The award will be given to Mobley at an awards banquet from 5:30 to 9 p.m. May 13 at the Pagoda Hotel, International Ballroom.

JLL, a professional services and investment management firm, has announced that Kelly O’Sullivan has been named manager, retail marketing, for Windward Mall and Hawaii Kai Towne Center. She has more than 20 years of promotional experience in the hospitality industry in Hawaii, including serving in public relations and marketing for companies such as Pleasant Holidays, Hilton Hawaiian Village and Planet Hollywood Honolulu.