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Chamber of Commerce works on diverse projects

When many think of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, they think of a business organization dedicated to improving the economy, helping businesses, providing legislative advocacy for the business sector, offering networking opportunities, providing education and training, delivering cost-effective advertising and promotional avenues, and hosting a lot of events each year. While we do and are known for these things, we also work on numerous other projects to benefit the Maui community that some may not know about.One of these activities is the Maui Quarantine Fund's efforts to help address the ...

Kauai bill would tax crop-research land separately

LIHUE (AP) - Large agriculture companies and landowners on Kauai could pay higher property taxes under a bill that would create a new tax class for lands used to research and develop crops.County Councilman Tim Bynum introduced the legislation, The Garden Island reported Thursday.The current tax law was never meant for large agriculture, Bynum said. The companies "should never have been eligible" for the tax incentives they are currently receiving, he said."This is simply a bill that asks the question, 'Is this ag activity that we want to incentivize with tax benefits that impact the ...

Business/In Brief • June 12, 2014

Hawaii Gas pays $155K for violationsKAPOLEI, Hawaii - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has settled with Hawaii Gas on a penalty of $155,000 for risk management violations and not notifying federal authorities about a chemical release.The EPA said Wednesday an inspection in 2012 of the utility's Kapolei facility found it violated risk management plan regulations. Authorities say the company fixed the violations and agreed to pay $136,000.The rest of the fine of $19,000 is for a 2010 spill of sodium hydroxide that was reported only to state and local authorities. No health ...

Business/In Brief • June 11, 2014

Clean energy financing approval soughtHONOLULU - The state is asking the Public Utilities Commission to approve Gov. Neil Abercrombie's plan for clean energy financing.The state Energy Office said Monday that the administration wants to make low-cost financing for solar panels and other clean energy technologies available to utility customers.The plan calls for the state to issue up to $150 million in Green Infrastructure Bonds.Local financial institutions, solar finance companies and other lenders would use the bond proceeds to make loans. Consumers could repay the loans over time with ...

Business/In Brief • June 6, 2014

LIHUE - Kauai's electric utility will issue refunds to its members this month.The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative said Wednesday that the money comes from funds the cooperative has left over after paying all its expenses and meeting lender expectations for financial stability.The cooperative is returning $1.4 million to members this year. The average amount will be about $16.Active member accounts will receive bill credits during the June billing period.Members with inactive accounts and a refund amount of $10 or more will receive a check. If the amount is less than $10, the refund will ...

Names & Faces

* Architectural Design & Construction Inc. recently appointed Mika Yamaguchi as one of the firm's project designers.Yamaguchi graduated with a Master of Architecture degree from John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2012.She will join the firm's residential master planning team and serve as a project designer for architectural projects.Tanner Morrin, another project designer for ADC recently, earned certified LEED Green Associate credentials. The designation identifies him as an architectural professional with the skills for incorporating ...