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Online travel guide TripAdvisor honors four Maui businesses

The online travel guide TripAdvisor has awarded the Royal Lahaina Resort, Lahaina Divers, SEGWAY Maui and the Old Wailuku Inn at Ulupono with certificates of excellence, according to announcements.It is the second such award for the inn, which earned its first in 2011.The four businesses were recognized for being among the top 10 percent of businesses worldwide on TripAdvisor, which tracks travelers' ratings of businesses.The certificate "validates the hard work and aloha of our resort staff," said Tom Bell, president of Hawaiian Hotels & Resorts, which owns and operates the Royal ...

Drones incorporated to detect agriculture problems

HONOLULU (AP) - A Hawaii farmer says he's ready to incorporate high-tech flying into his agriculture operations.Richard Ha of Hamakua Springs says he has volunteered his 600-acre farm on the Big Island for a pilot project using cameras mounted in drones to look for problems in crops.KITV-TV reported that the small flying machines can detect plant diseases, weed density and nutrition levels in crops.Ha says information from unmanned aerial vehicles is relayed in real time and problems are detected more quickly.Researchers from Cal State Fullerton are in Kualoa Valley developing a program ...

Business / In Brief • June 14, 2013

Councilor: Shopping center plan on holdHONOLULU - A Honolulu city councilman said Kamehameha Schools will not proceed with development plans for a shopping center on preservation-zoned land in Hawaii Kai.Stanley Chang told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that plans were suspended indefinitely for the Kuapa Gateway Parcel.The shopping center was to have been anchored by a Foodland supermarket.The 4.5-acre parcel is across Kalanianaole Highway from Maunalua Bay.Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board Chairman Greg Knudsen said he's not surprised by the decision. He said community opposition has been ...

Names & Faces

* Eric Chang has been named general sales manager for Servco Lexus Maui. He will oversee all new and pre-owned automotive sales, as well as the Servco Lexus Maui financing and insurance departments.Most recently, he served as the floor manager at Servco Lexus Honolulu. He began his career at Servco Automotive through the management associate training program.Raised on Maui, he is a graduate of Baldwin High School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa Shidler College of Business, where he earned a master's in business administration. He also earned a bachelor of arts in Japanese language ...

Kauai promotes locally grown food, products

LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) - It's getting easier to buy food that's grown on Kauai."Kauai Grown" is an initiative by the county and the county's Farm Bureau that promotes locally grown agricultural products and recognizes the farmers, ranchers, retailers and restaurants that make them available.The county says four retailers last week unveiled Kauai Grown sections in their stores. Established in 2009, Kauai Grown now has more than 50 members representing agricultural producers, retailers and restaurants.Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. says the program will make big strides in the effort to become ...

Business / In Brief • June 12, 2013

Academy of the Pacific to closeHONOLULU - A private school with dwindling enrollment says it will close its doors for the next school year.The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the Academy of the Pacific will close after more than 50 years.A statement released by board Chairman Barron Guss says increased financial pressures on school families have led to a greater need for tuition assistance and the school can't financially sustain itself.Tuition at the campus in Alewa Heights is $17,700. The school's website says 32 percent of families received financial assistance for the 2012-13 ...