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Business/In Brief • Aug. 13, 2014

Plans outlined to demolish Big Island hotelKAILUA-KONA - A major Hawaii landowner has proposed demolishing a shuttered Big Island hotel to create an educational center for cultural resources.Demolition plans are outlined in a draft environmental assessment for Kamehameha Schools' plans for the Keauhou Beach Hotel.Kamehameha officials say that restoring the hotel wouldn't be profitable. It would cost $50 million to restore a hotel that hadn't been profitable for at least six years before it closed."Outdated facilities on the property contributed to the resort's operational losses, and it ...

Make business-friendly candidates your choice when voting at the polls

The primary election is today, and it is important that all eligible voters get out and vote.Each election season, the Chamber of Maui Political Action Committee endorses candidates for the general election. However, with three state races where current Maui representatives who are Democrats had a challenger who is also a Democrat, the committee elected to review these races early this year to make a recommendation in the primary election.These races are: House District 9, House District 11 and House District 13.All those running were invited to an interview with the committee, and they ...

Aerial advertising case continues in August

HONOLULU (AP) - A pilot arrested for flying an advertising banner over Oahu has been scheduled for a court hearing near the end of August.Matthew Radeck was arrested in July under a city ordinance that bans aerial advertising. Officials of the company he works for, Aerial Banners Inc., say they do not need to follow city ordinances because the company has a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, The Star-Advertiser reported.An FAA administrator, however, has since told city officials that the waiver does not allow the company to bypass local ordinances.City officials say ...

Business/In Brief – Aug. 6, 2014

HONOLULU - Taxpayers who paid double their balances because of a mistaken notice will automatically receive refunds in the next two to three weeks, Hawaii tax officials said.The Honolulu Star-Advertiser said Monday that the Tax Department says taxpayers will automatically be paid by check without needing to do anything further.Officials say the confusion came because letters were sent to taxpayers who mailed paper checks close to an April 20 deadline.Arikka Johnson, a resident hall director at Chaminade University, said she assumed she had made an error when she paid her balance twice."I ...

Proposed polystyrene ban needs more study

A bill to ban polystyrene (Styrofoam) in Maui County was first introduced back in 2009 byCounty Council Member Mike Victorino. It was discussed at the same time as the plastic bag ban, which passed, but the polystyrene bill did not have the same level of support and was held. However, this week, it was heard again in the council's Infrastructure and Environmental Management Committee, chaired by Elle Cochran.When the bill was first put forward, there was no real understanding of the impact on businesses, and to date no surveying by the county on the matter has occurred. That may be ...

Event showcases manufacturing in Hawaii and locally made products

The Maui Chamber of Commerce was in our nation's capital for the first-ever "Hawaii On The Hill" to showcase manufacturing in Hawaii and feature locally made products. It came about when U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono reached out to the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii to help put on a "Taste of Hawaii" event as other states had done similar things and Hawaii had never been represented in this way. Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii CEO Sherry Menor-McNamara and her team reached out to the Neighbor Island chambers and other statewide partners to join in the effort and take Hawaii to our nation's ...