Online travel recommendation and booking site TripAdvisor has recognized Charley’s Taxi with a certificate of excellence.

TripAdvisor began recognizing business achievements with certificates of excellence seven years ago. Awards are based on the quantity and quality of TripAdvisor reviews over a 12-month period. Charley’s Taxi is Hawaii’s only taxicab company to earn the recognition.

“We’re deeply honored to receive this recognition,” said Dale Evans, president and CEO of Charley’s Taxi. “At Charley’s, we pride ourselves on upholding the highest standards in our industry. It’s gratifying to know that travelers across the world have recognized our efforts to provide the best quality and value for their transportation needs.”

Heather Leisman, TripAdvisor vice president of industry marketing, said Charley’s Taxi has “consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers.”

“This recognition allows us to publicly honor businesses that are actively engaging with customers and using feedback to help travelers identify and confidently book the perfect trip,” Leisman said.

Number of Facebook users hits 2 billion

MENLO PARK, Calif. >> Facebook is reaching another milestone, announcing that it now has more than 2 billion users.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the new marker was reached early Tuesday, and in a Facebook post said that he’s proud of the role his company is playing in connecting people around the world.

Facebook says more than 175 million people declare they “love” something on the site daily and that an average of more than 800 million people hit Facebook’s “like” button.

Facebook users will likely see a personalized video celebrating the milestone in the next few days.

The Menlo Park, Calif., company is putting more emphasis on creating virtual communities within the site while it also works to reduce violent, hateful and misleading content on the service.

U.S. home price gains ebb slightly in April

WASHINGTON >> U.S. home prices rose at a healthy clip in April, though the increase slowed a bit from the previous two months.

The Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, which does not include Honolulu, climbed 5.7 percent in April, after increases of 5.9 percent in March and February. Those gains were the highest in nearly three years.

Home prices are rising roughly twice as fast as average wages, a dynamic that could eventually stifle sales by thwarting would-be homeowners.

ON THE MOVE

Wet’n’Wild Hawaii has hired Elena Balidio as westbound tourism sales and marketing manager­. Her more than 15 years of sales, marketing and customer development experience includes serving as site manager for Hawaii Self Storage, administrative specialist for Serco Inc. at Schofield Barracks, and Heart Walk director for the American Heart Association.

Central Pacific Financial Corp. has elected Paul K. Yonamine to the boards of directors of both Central Pacific Financial Corp. and Central Pacific Bank. Yonamine is an executive adviser and board member of IBM Japan, where he also had previously served as country general manager and president.

Island Insurance has named Beverly Ament executive vice president, underwriting services division, and she will continue to serve in her current position as chief underwriting officer and division manager. She has nearly 40 years of experience in the insurance industry and is the first woman in the company’s history to be appointed executive vice president.