Maui Divers to group brands at Ala Moana

Hawaii’s largest jewelry manufacturer and retailer, Maui Divers, is about to try something new.

The company, which operates about 30 stores statewide under three different brands, announced Tuesday that it will open a new store Sept. 1 at Ala Moana Center grouping the brands together.

Maui Divers stores include Island Pearls, Pick-a-Pearl and Maui Divers Jewelry. All three concepts will have a place in the new store, according to the company, which said the grouping is a first.

The new store on Ala Moana’s mall level near Macy’s will replace a smaller store at the mall. The new store will be the largest for Maui Divers at 1,550 square feet and allow the combination of brands. Maui Divers also operates a design center and showroom in Honolulu offering tours and merchandise.

Facebook nixes accounts tied to Russia, Iran

Facebook has identified and banned hundreds of accounts, groups and pages engaged in misleading political behavior, a far larger discovery than a “sophisticated” effort it reported three weeks ago with great fanfare.

The social network said Tuesday that it had removed 652 pages, groups and accounts linked to Russia and, unexpectedly, Iran for “coordinated inauthentic behavior” that included the sharing of political material.

Facebook has significantly stepped up policing of its platform since last year, when it acknowledged that Russian agents successfully ran political influence operations on its platform that were aimed at swaying the 2016 presidential election. Other social media networks have done likewise, and continue to turn up fresh evidence of political disinformation campaigns.

Facebook’s action in late July against 32 accounts possibly linked to Russia generally involved U.S. political activity ahead of the midterm elections in November. By contrast, the latest group of apparently fake accounts appeared more intent on influencing U.S. foreign policy and regional politics in the Middle East.

Shortly after Facebook’s announcement, Twitter revealed that it also had suspended 284 accounts for “coordinated manipulation,” many of them apparently originating from Iran. A day earlier Microsoft also reported a new Russian effort to impersonate conservative U.S. websites, potentially as part of an espionage campaign.

ON THE MOVE

Atlas Insurance Agency has promoted Tina Leger to assistant vice president of the Benefits Consulting Department. She started in the benefit consulting industry in 2004 and joined Atlas Insurance Agency as a benefit analyst in 2009. In 2012 Leger transitioned to servicing midsize to large clients and was then promoted to senior benefit analyst in 2017.

Susannah Wesley Community Center’s board of directors has announced that Joni Chun is the center’s newest executive director. Chun has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the social service sector, including having previously served as assistant vice president of programs and acting Youth Enrichment Services Division administrator at Catholic Charities Hawaii.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, has appointed Katherine Gioia as senior sales manager. Gioia has 10 years of luxury hospitality sales experience, including having previously served as a senior sales manager for groups at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown in Washington, D.C.