$16M wedding venue planned
HONOLULU - A $16 million Mediterranean-style wedding venue planned for a Honolulu waterfront will be targeted to Japanese couples.
The Terrace by the Sea will be an 18,000-square-foot building with a nearly 200-seat Italian restaurant near the Kakaako water's edge. The venue will also feature two wedding chapels and six banquet rooms on the site of the former John Dominis Restaurant.
Japan-based Takami Corp. is marketing the location with its Diamond Head views on its website. It's scheduled to open Sept. 1.
The project is being built by Ocean Investments LLC, a local Takami affiliate.
The company pays the Office of Hawaiian Affairs $300,000 a year for the lease. The office took ownership of the site as part of a real estate settlement with the state.
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Regulators approve HECO rate increase
HONOLULU - State regulators have given final approval for Hawaiian Electric Co.'s rate increase.
The Oahu utility had been granted approval to begin collecting the 3.4 percent increase starting in July 2011 on an interim basis.
The company said earlier this week that the final decision on the rate comes with an adjustment that will give customers a small refund.
The estimated $800,000 refund including interest amounts to a typical residential customer using 600 kilowatt-hours per month to get back 85 cents.
Aside from the refund, the state Public Utilities Commission ruling will not affect current rates because the decision finalizes interim rates already reflected on customers' bills.
Hawaii households pay about $200 a month for electricity, three times the national average.
