• Workwise! hosts Chamber event • Bank of Hawaii has an income boost • Unemployment rate creeps up on Kaua’i • FHB foundation gives to community • Princess, Wind, Star to call on Nawiliwili Workwise! hosts Chamber event Workwise! is
• Workwise! hosts Chamber event • Bank of Hawaii has an income boost • Unemployment rate creeps up on Kaua’i • FHB foundation gives to community • Princess, Wind, Star to call on Nawiliwili
Workwise! hosts Chamber event
Workwise! is the island’s one-stop job center, operated by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and located along Kuhio Highway in the old Lihue Shopping Center Annex. The offices host the next Kaua’i Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours gathering, set for this Thursday, Feb. 6, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be food and refreshments served. The deadline to register is this Tuesday, Feb. 4, and the charge is $7 for Chamber members, $15 for all others. Registration may be accomplished, and more information obtained, by calling 245-7363, or faxing 245-8815.
Bank of Hawaii has an income boost
Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE: BOH) recently reported diluted earnings per share of $1.70 for 2002, compared to diluted earnings per share of $1.46 in 2001. The parent company of Bank of Hawaii also reported 2002 net income of $121.1 million, up 3 percent from 2001, and a dividend of 19 cents per share.
Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2002 were 44 cents, up 10 cents, or 29.4 percent, from 34 cents per diluted share for the same period in 2001. Net income in the fourth quarter was $28.9 million, up 9.9 percent from net income of $26.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2001.
Unemployment rate creeps up on Kaua’i
There were 1,500 jobless Kauaians in December, out of a civilian workforce of 28,700, causing an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent for the month. That was up from 5 percent in November of last year, but down from 6.5 percent in December 2001, according to information from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
The state’s unemployment rate dipped to 3.8 percent in December of last year, down from 4 percent in November 2002 and from 5 percent in December 2001. Kaua’i moved past the Big Island and back into first place with the highest unemployment rate in Hawai’i among the counties, as the Big Island came in at 5 percent for December 2002. Kaua’i’s rate is still below the U.S. rate of 5.7 percent in December 2002, unchanged from November of that year but up from 5.4 percent in December 2001. The gap between the state and national unemployment rates grew in December 2002.
FHB foundation gives to community
The First Hawaiian Foundation, the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank, last year gave nearly $2.2 million in grants to over 300 nonprofit organizations in the state, including Ready to Learn, Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, Kaua’i United Way, Wilcox Health Foundation, Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, and others.
Organizations that meet human-service needs, improve access to health care, provide educational opportunities, serve children and youth, and enrich lives through culture and the arts, are eligible for grant consideration by the foundation.
Princess, Wind, Star to call on Nawiliwili
The 857-foot-long cruise ship Sun Princess calls on Nawiliwili Harbor today, Sunday, Feb. 2, scheduled to arrive at 7 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m. the same day. The 754-foot-long cruise ship Norwegian Wind is scheduled to call on Nawiliwili Harbor next Sunday, Feb. 9, in at 7 a.m. and out at 5 p.m. the same day. The 965-foot-long Norwegian Star calls on Nawiliwili each Saturday, weather-permitting, scheduled to arrive at 7 a.m. and leave at 4 p.m. the same day. Volunteers are always welcome to greet cruise ships. Please call 245-2340.
