$1.2 million to end vote machine dispute
HONOLULU - The Hawaii Attorney General's Office is requesting $1.2 million to settle a 2008 protest filed over a contract for electronic voting machines.
Attorney General David Louie's office says former Chief Election Officer Kevin Cronin violated state procurement code when he awarded a multi-term contract for voting equipment without conducting the required analysis of the proposals.
Cronin abruptly resigned at the end of 2009.
Hart InterCivic Inc. was awarded a $43.3 million contract for new electronic voting machines through the 2016 elections, with an option to extend to 2018. Another vendor submitted a competing bid of $18 million.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Thursday that the settlement with competing vendor, Electric Systems & Software, was reached in February. The settlement sets aside $1.05 million to ES&S and $150,000 to Hart InterCivic.
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Hawaii's female-owned businesses grew
HONOLULU - A national study shows the number of female-owned businesses in Hawaii has grown by 55 percent over the past 15 years.
The report released Wednesday by American Express Open ranks Hawaii 18th highest in the creation of new female-owned businesses and eighth highest in job growth. The 39,000 Hawaii businesses owned by women account for $5.34 billion in annual sales. The study is based on U.S. Census data and finds that nationally the number of businesses owned by women grew by 54 percent between 1997 and 2012. Nationally, there are an estimated 8.3 million female-owned businesses.
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Contract awarded for Vietnam pavilions
HONOLULU - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is awarding an Aiea company a $4 million contract to build two Vietnam War pavilions at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Innovative-Mira Joint Venture will build two pavilions next to two existing flagpoles flanking the processional stairs of the Honolulu Memorial. One pavilion will include Vietnam War battle maps complementing existing World War II and Korean War battle maps. The other pavilion will be an orientation center.
The corps said Wednesday that the architectural style of the new structures will be consistent with existing map gallery pavilions. Fung Associates Inc. of Honolulu is the lead architect and designer for the project. Construction is expected to be finished by November.
