Local Industry for Sunday – May 29, 2005

NEWS & NOTES

Hawaiian Telcom to offer Internet security service

• Leaders at Hawaiian Telcom, the state’s leading telecommunications provider, has partnered with officials of the Santa Clara, Calif. based McAfee, Inc., to provide a package of valuable Internet security features for its residential digital subscriber line (DSL) customers at no additional cost. According to Ann Nishida, Hawaiian Telcom’s media-relations manager, McAfee (www.mcafee.com) is the market leader in intrusion prevention for Internet security for homes, businesses and government.

All current and new Hawaiian Telcom residential DSL customers can opt to receive a suite of McAfee Internet security features, including antivirus protection, firewall, spam and popup protection, parental controls, and spyware software. This security enhancement, a $69.99 value, is available at no additional cost to customers. Existing Hawaiian Telcom DSL customers will be notified of this offer in the next few days via a letter, with instructions on how they can sign up online by July 15. Current customers who do not receive a letter by the end of the month should call Hawaiian Telcom’s customer-sales department at 643-3456 to receive their personal promotion code for the McAfee enhancement. To order DSL, customers may call 643-3456, or visit one of Hawaiian Telcom’s eight retail stores.

Cruise ship calling on Nawiliwili

• Tomorrow, Monday, May 30, the Pride of Aloha, 850 feet long, calls on Nawiliwili Harbor, arriving at 7 a.m. and remaining over-night, leaving Tuesday, May 31, at 1 p.m.

Hawai‘i maintains lowest unemployment rate in nation

• Officials in the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced that the seasonally-adjusted state unemployment rate for April was 2.9 percent. In comparison, the national seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. No other state had an unemployment rate below 3 percent.

Charter funding welcomes Vallantini and Stillman

• Leaders at the Kaua‘i branch of Charter Funding Hawaii’s Mortgage Banker recently welcomed two new loan officers aboard. Tom Vallantini and Alex Stillman both have significant backgrounds in financing and mortgage insurance, according to company officials. Vallantani is a longtime Kaua‘i resident and former branch manager of another Kaua‘i mortgage company. He has more than seven years experience in the field. Prior to joining Charter Funding, Stillman was a residential lending project manager in Hawai‘i, and has more than 10 years experience in the profession. Established in 1998, Charter Funding Hawaii is the largest privately-owned, mortgage-banking company in Hawai‘i.

HTA’s seeking ‘real’ nominees

• Members of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the state agency for tourism, announced the 14th Annual Keep It Hawaii Recognition Awards Program. According to HTA officials, the Keep It Hawaii program recognizes individuals and representatives of community organizations and businesses across the state, who offer an authentic portrayal of Hawaiian culture within an appropriate Hawaiian context, thus showcasing the true culture of Hawai‘i to visitors, and helping to perpetuate that culture for future generations. Numerous awards are available in many categories. There is no charge to submit nominations or entries. Entries must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, June 15, or received in HTA offices by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 17. The winners will be announced at a press conference and reception in mid-July. For full details, criteria and guidelines, the nomination and application process, please visit the HTA Web site at www.hawaii.gov/tourism, or contact program administrator Martin Schiller at 1-808-227-6002, or 1-808-539-5720, or via e-mail at mschiller@tsg-hawaii.com.

Deadline for KIUC internship program May 31

• Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) leaders will host a summer internship program to promote KIUC as a workplace for electrical and mechanical engineers who are currently in an engineering program in their junior or senior years in college. According to Shelley Paik, KIUC’s member-services coordinator, the program is intended to increase awareness of the need for engineers in the electric-utility business.

“While KIUC is not known for being a high-tech company per se, we are certainly a technology company in the business of the production, transmission and distribution of power,” said Michael Yamane, KIUC’s vice president of strategic planning and the internship project supervisor.

Applications for the internship program can be obtained online at www.kiuc.coop, or by calling 246-8217. The deadline for applying is this Tuesday, May 31. Students will be selected based on how well they meet the requirements, including knowledge, skills, college discipline and other stated qualifications of the job. The program will run six to eight weeks this summer.

DCCA hosts investor education program June 10

• Officials in the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) will be holding Neighbor Island outreach sessions to make sure Hawai‘i resident are well-informed when it comes to making investment decisions. The DCCA’s investor-education program will be held on Kaua‘i at Kukui Grove Center Friday and Saturday, June 10 and 11, and again in August.

“This program will help interested investors make wise choices, help improve their financial knowledge, and teach them how to protect themselves from fraudulent scams, said DCCA Director Mark Recktenwald. More information may be found at http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/sec/advice investors/.

Island Air to hire 50 new employees

• Island Air announced last week it would be hiring 50 new employees to fill customer service and maintenance positions at all airport locations.

Available positions include flight attendants, customer service agents, fuelers, cleaners and aircraft mechanics.

Effective May 4, starting pay for Island Air employees increased an average of 25 to 30 percent.