NEWS&NOTES Kaua‘i ranks high up Kaua‘i was voted the number two island in the world by Condé Nast Traveler readers in the publication’s 17th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards Poll. Maui was voted “Best Island in the World” for the 11th
NEWS&NOTES
Kaua‘i ranks high up
Kaua‘i was voted the number two island in the world by Condé Nast Traveler readers in the publication’s 17th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards Poll. Maui was voted “Best Island in the World” for the 11th consecutive year. Maui also earned the top “Pacific Rim Island,” as well as the “Best of the Best Crown,” scoring higher than Bali, Vancouver Island, Bermuda, and Mykonos and the Cyclades in Greece. Maui also scored higher than many other top vacation destinations in the world, including San Francisco, Florence, Italy, and Sydney, Australia. Other Hawaiian Islands in the top ten were the Big Island (#4), Lanai (#6) and Oahu (#7).
Poipu development secures financing
Regency Development LLC secured a $11.75-million land and predevelopment loan for its 320-unit condominium project in Po‘ipu. The county Planning Commission deferred action on the project permits last week. The purchase price of the 24-acre parcel was $13.5 million. The $11.7 million loan funds 68 percent of total costs, which include the land, $2.1 million for predevelopment costs, full interest reserve and all loan fees. Steve Bram, president of George Smith Partners, Inc., who arranged financing, said that, when completed, the secluded condominium project will provide luxury lodging for the area’s growing upscale tourism industry. George Smith Partners was founded in 1992. Since 1997, the firm has arranged financing in excess of $11 billion. In 2003, George Smith Partners posted a record year arranging financing totaling more than $2.3 billion. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif.
Lee comes to Coconut Beach Resort
Michael Lee has been appointed director of sales and marketing at the Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort, where a $24 million renovation is currently ongoing. When completed, the resort will be re-branded as Courtyard by Marriott Kaua‘i at Waipouli Beach, making the 311-room resort the first Courtyard by Marriott brand in Hawaii. Lee brings 30 years of hotel sales experience in Hawaii and Las Vegas. Lee will be responsible for leisure and group sales in both North America and the Far East. Lee was the sales and marketing director of the Westin Maui from 1998 to 2001. In Las Vegas, he held various positions as director of sales at the Primadonna Casino and Resort and The Desert Inn, and director of marketing at the Flamingo Hilton. He began his career in hotel hospitality with Sheraton Hotels in Hawaii in 1981.
Hinazumi comes to Grove Farm
Grove Farm Company, Inc. hired David Hinazumi as Planner and Property Manager. Hinazumi will handle development projects and licensing of agricultural lands. Hinazumi is a native of Kaua‘i and attended Kaua‘i High School and the University of Colorado, where he earned a BS degree in accounting. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver College of Law. Before returning to Kaua‘i, he served in the Office of the Public Defender for the State of Colorado. David, and his wife Novelyn, reside in Lihu‘e. Grove Farm Company and its sister company, Lihue Land Company, together own about 40,000 acres of land in southeast Kaua‘i. Their holdings include two development projects, the Lihue-Puhi master plan, also known as Puakea, and the Lihue- Hanamaulu master plan. Grove Farm Company also owns the Kukui Grove Shopping Center and the Puakea Golf Course.
$927k PMRF project
The Pacific Missile Firing Range, in an effort to develop more high-speed voice and data bandwidth, is upgrading its “outside” communication facility. They’ll be laying some five miles of underground conduit, eight miles of fiber optic cable, and about three miles of copper communication cables. The $927,000, three-month project was awarded to Chenega Advanced Solutions and Engineering, LLC., an Alaskan Native Coporation. Partnering with them is Honolulu-based Ohana Telcom/Construction, Inc., which will act as the on-site contractor. Four new employees are expected to be hired from Kaua‘i and another four from O‘ahu. Both companies are 8(a) companies, a category that identifies them as “native” companies and gives them advantages in securing government contracts.
Brownsfield grants
The County of Kaua‘i and the Anahola Homesteaders Council are getting Browsfield grants from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The county was awarded a grant of $200,000 and the Anahola Homesteaders Council got two grants totaling $296,344. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Deputy Administrator Steve Johnson and Pacific Southwest Regional Administra tor Wayne Nastri will award the grants at a presentation Tuesday,
Oct. 19, from 12 to 2:30 p.m. at the Anahola Homesteaders Council’s Charter School Site just north of Kapa‘a town on Kuhio Highway.
Matson, Horizon raise rates
Matson Navigation Co. yesterday raised its fuel surcharge to 9.2 percent for shipments to Hawaii, Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. Horizon Lines said it would do the same. Both shipping lines cited sustained high fuel costs. Both raised their fuel surcharges in March from 7.5 percent to 8 percent and again in June to 8.8 percent.
Hawaiian Telcom chief
The Carlyle Group named Michael Ruley as CEO of Hawaiian Telcom. Hawaiian Telcom is the new name for Verizon Hawai‘i, which is being purchased by Carlyle for $1.65 billion if approved by the state Public Utilities Commission and U.S. Department of Justice. The 44-year-old Ruley served as CEO of NextiraOne, a North American voice and data solutions company with 3,500 employees. He also served in executive positions at XO Communications and Teleport Communications Group, a competitive local exchange carrier now part of AT&T.
