Lahaina beats Honolulu as top romantic dining city

The former whaling port of Lahaina has been named the 10th-most romantic city for dining in the U.S., by users of online reservation site OpenTable.com. Neither Honolulu nor any other Hawaii town made the list.

Topped by Atlantic City, N.J., the list was created using three variables including the percentage of restaurants rated "romantic" according to OpenTable diner reviews; the percentage of tables seated for two; and the percentage of people who dined out for Valentine’s Day last year, according to an OpenTable statement.

Following Atlantic City, the rest of the top five of 25 cities includes San Antonio; Providence, R.I.; Key West, Fla. and Birmingham, Ala.

The rest of the cities’ rankings may be viewed online at http://www.opentable.com/m/most-romantic-cities-in-america/ .

Grocery store to anchor Kauai complex

The developer of a planned retail, office and residential complex in the historic town of Kilauea on Kauai has signed a lease with a locally owned grocery store to anchor the project.

Hunt Cos. said the owner of Foodland Super Market, The Sullivan Family of Cos., will open a 10,000-square-foot neighborhood grocery store called The Market at Kilauea at the complex called Kilauea Lighthouse Village.

The announcement made Wednesday marks an advancement for the project that Hunt previously expected would open in late 2013.

Kilauea Lighthouse Village is slated to be a 50,000-square-foot complex with shops, office space and residences on 6.2 acres along a road leading to the Kilauea Lighthouse.

Hunt said buildings in the complex will have an old Hawaii plantation town ambiance that complements surrounding historic structures.

The developer anticipates that it will begin construction on the complex this summer and finish next year.

Hawaii makes top 10 for green building

Hawaii ranked sixth in the nation for so-called green building among all states and the District of Columbia for 2014. The U.S. Green Building Council list ranks Illinois, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts from first to fifth, respectively.

The council also measured LEED-certified square feet in the top states, with California’s 517 projects topping that measurement at 69,762,936 square feet. Hawaii, the smallest state in the top 10, had 30 projects for a total of 2,657,808 square feet of LEED-certified space.

The council certifies construction projects according to LEED standards, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and among those, projects can earn levels of LEED certification including platinum, gold, silver, or simple certification.

One Hawaii project singled out by the council in its announcement is the Gold LEED rating awarded to the City Financial Tower in Honolulu.

HECO completes rooftop solar upgrade

Hawaiian Electric Co. has upgraded some 800,000 smart microinverters, which are part of solar rooftop systems, to better integrate the photovoltaic systems into the grid that connects HECO to consumers.

HECO and California-based Enphase Energy have completed the work as part of what the companies call ongoing collaboration.

The companies, in a statement, cited the cost savings of being able to complete the upgrade remotely using technology, without having to send workers into the field to update microinverter.

Online hack over movie cost Sony $15M

TOKYO » Sony Corp. trimmed its forecast of losses and gave a figure for damages from the Sony Pictures hack, but said it would suffer no significant harm from the cyberattack in the long run. The entertainment and electronics giant delayed the announcement of its earnings for the October-December quarter because the hack affected its ability to compile its complete results in time.

The hack, which became public in December when the Hollywood studio’s computers were crippled and sensitive documents were posted online, cost Sony about $15 million, it said.

Hackers attacked Sony Pictures over its movie "The Interview," which spoofs an assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and leaked tens of thousands of emails.

Sony issued new earnings forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March and said it was benefiting from strong sales of the PlayStation 4, other devices and network services.

The company is forecasting a loss of 170 billion yen ($1.4 billion) for the fiscal year, an improvement from a forecast made in October of a 230 billion yen loss.

The company reported a 40 billion yen loss last fiscal year, which was the latest in a succession of losses as its TV business lost ground to cheaper competitors.

Demand for F-150 has Ford hiring 1,550

DETROIT » Ford is adding 1,550 jobs at four plants to meet demand for the new 2015 F-150 pickup, and the influx of new entry-level workers will bump up the wages of as many as 500 lower-paid employees already on the automaker’s payroll.

The reason for all the hiring and pay bumps: Demand is high for the 2015 F-150, which is still ramping up to full production. Some customers are waiting months for their orders to be filled.

"It is important to get as many of the new vehicles on the road as possible," said Michael Robinet, managing director of IHS Automotive Consulting. "Ford needs to pull out all the stops. The vehicles at the beginning of the cycle are the most profitable. They have customers waiting for them and are highly contented."

The 1,550 jobs are at three plants in Michigan and one in Kansas City, Mo.

Each new hire boosts the number of employees who earn a lower wage. Under the Ford-United Automobile Workers collective agreement, Ford is allowed to hire 20 percent of its workforce at a second-tier wage, with exemptions for in-sourced work, temporary workers and those employed at two plants.

Retiring UAW note saps Fiat Chrysler profit

DETROIT » Fiat Chrysler Automobiles U.S., formerly Chrysler Group, saw its net profit fall 56 percent last year even though global sales and revenue both rose 15 percent.

The Auburn Hills, Mich., company blamed the profit drop on a $1.2 billion one-time cost linked to retiring a note held by a United Auto Workers union health care trust fund for retirees.

The company, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., made $2.8 billion in 2013. But that was aided by a $962 million gain on tax assets.

Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. unit still reports earnings separately from its parent company based in the Netherlands, even though the companies were merged into one last year.

On The Move

» Central Pacific Bank has appointed John Yanagihara to senior vice president and financial planning manager of the bank’s Central Pacific Investment Services Division. He has more than 35 years of financial services experience, including serving as managing partner of New England Financial and Metlife for more than 18 years.

» The Hawaii Employers Council Board of Governors has elected 12 Hawaii executives: Justin Ganaden, Matthew M. Bailey, Nelson N.S. Chun, Jason K. Fujita, Dean Kapoi, Polly Kauahi, Darlene-Inez Kaleolani Kekoolani, Barry W. Marr, Linda Nakaima, Kurt Matsumoto, Patricia Kawasaki and Toby B. Taniguchi.

» The Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters has named Leslie Isemoto as the 2015 Outstanding Union Builder of the Year. Isemoto is the president and chief operating officer of Isemoto Contracting Co. He is the third generation to lead the 88-year-old family business based on Hawaii island. Isemoto Contracting has built projects including facilities at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo International Airport, Wailuku Bridge and Edith Kanakaole Multi-Purpose Stadium.

Ship Ahoy!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures: