Local Industry for Sunday — September 18, 2005

NEWS & NOTES

My back pages

• I once heard an industry analyst say there is very little difference between regular and premium gasoline. The analyst likened the difference to that of a $7 bottle of wine to a $10 bottle of wine. I did not know wine was made from gasoline. That explains a lot.

• The philosopher/bicycle-store owner John Tanner put forth the valid concept that the invention of the bicycle essentially rid the world of the “village-idiot” syndrome, meaning idiots were then free to leave their local burghs and explore new territories of idiocy. Perhaps this explains what happened to Maui, which hosts “Village Idiot” conventions daily.

• A real estate company in Kapa’a has been sold to a local businessman. Details to follow. In an unrelated matter Masami Fujii Partners recently purchased both land and a building at 4366 Kukui Grove Street from Wilcox Health for $6.9

million.

Cruise ships calling on Nawiliwili

• Tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 19, the Pride of Aloha, 850 feet long, calls on Nawiliwili Harbor, arriving at 7 a.m. and remaining overnight, leaving Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m. This Wednesday, Sept. 21, Norwegian Wind, 754 feet long , arrives at 8 a.m. and leaves the same day at 5 p.m. This Thursday, Sept. 22, the Pride of America, 965 feet long, arrives at 8 a.m., remains overnight, and departs Friday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m.

Kaua’i unemployment rate remains low

• Kaua’i’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 2.5 percent, the second lowest in the state. Kaua’i’s rate for July was 2.9 percent. Only Maui at 2.4 percent was lower, according to information provided by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for August was 2.6 percent. The national rate for the same month was 4.9 percent.

One year ago, Hawai’i’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.1 percent, while the U.S. seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 5.4 percent.

Rice Report looking for Web home

• Martin Rice, who compiles the weekly Rice Report, a survey of gasoline prices on Kaua’i which appears weekly in The Garden Island, is looking for a Website host. According to Rice, “in an effort to keep Kaua’i’s people up-to-date as to the best gas prices available, it is requested that someone donate some Web space so that a page can be generated where gas prices can be posted and updated by concerned citizens,” he said. HawaiiGasPrices.com posts statewide prices, but does not have a complete listing for Kaua’i. Rice said he had been in contact with people at HawaiiGasPrices.com, and they seemed unwilling to generate a Kaua’i-specific page, as their current statewide page is not of any significant value to Kauaians. Rice requested anyone with Web space and Webdesign capabilities to contact him at 822-7171 or via e-mail at lambda@aloha.net.

Pasha has no plans to raise fuel rates

• Pasha Hawaii leaders announced last week they have no immediate plans to raise fuel surcharges for customers using their Hawai’i shipping service. “Pasha Hawaii has elected not to modify its fuel surcharge at this time,” said George Pasha IV, president of Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines. Pasha Hawaii’s 579-foot transport ship, the MV Jean Anne, is a pure car and truck carrier that operates between Southern California and Hawai’i, sometimes calling on Nawiliwili Harbor. Jean Anne calls every two weeks in Hilo on the Big Island, Kahului, Maui, and Honolulu, with an additional stop in Nawiliwili every four weeks, or when necessary. Her main cargo includes new and personally-owned vehicles, household goods, construction equipment, busses, trucks, and other oversized cargo.

Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines is a joint venture between leaders of The Pasha Group, a Corte Madera, Calif.-based global transportation and logistics provider, and Strong Vessel Operators LLC, a Stamford, Conn. based ship owner and operator. The Pasha Group is a 58-year-old, diversified logistics- and transportation-services company whose employees provide specialized services in marine-terminal management, processing and total-supply-chain logistics for finished and privately-owned vehicles, relocation services for the U.S. government and private corporations, domestic and international logistics management for general commodity and project cargoes, and vessel stevedoring of vehicles, steel products, general cargoes and containers.

It’s lu’au time, and Delta put Hawai’i on sale

• Summer is over, but Delta Air Lines’ (NYSE: DAL) customers should keep those straw hats and flip flops handy, for the carrier’s newest winter destinations are in Hawai’i, a company spokesperson said. Beginning Dec. 1, Delta officials will start daily, non-stop service between Salt Lake City and Kona on the Big Island. On Dec. 16, Delta leaders will begin daily, nonstop service between Atlanta and Kahului, Maui, a company spokesperson announced.

To celebrate the new service to these Hawai’i destinations, for a limited time Delta officials are offering special introductory fares ranging from $274 to $284 for low-season travel, and from $299 to $309 for high-season travel. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. Fares shown are available for purchase only on delta.com, or from a travel agent.

Delta filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week.

Catalani named vice president at Young Brothers

• Young Brothers, Ltd. leaders have appointed Roy Catalani as vice president of strategic planning and government affairs. In this position, Catalani is responsible for providing integrated-strategic-planning and regulatory and governmental-affairs guidance in the development of core programs and initiatives for Young Brothers, Ltd., that will allow for growth while maintaining and improving the company’s critical interisland cargo services, according to a company spokesperson.

“Roy’s 20 years as an attorney, and extensive experience in governmental, regulatory, planning, and budgetary matters, will be an asset to our company,” said Glenn Hong, president of Hawaiian Tug & Barge/Young Brothers, Ltd. “His strong leadership ability, as well as his knowledge of diverse community needs, regulatory issues and the governmental process, will help us maintain and improve Young Brothers’ lifeline services to Hawai’i’s Neighbor Island communities,” Hong continued.

For the past two years, Catalani has been a partner in the law firm, Rush Moore LLP. Until June of this year, he also served as chair of the state Land Use Commission, in which he presided over numerous land-use reclassification and special-use-permit cases. He served as deputy director of the state Office of State Planning in 1995 and 1996, where his responsibilities included managing the state’s Coastal Zone Management Program, Land Use Division, and Geographic Information System.

His legal background also includes being a partner in the law firms of Catalani Nakanishi & Caliboso and Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, where he has represented business interests in regulatory matters and government affairs, and appeared before boards of numerous federal, state, and county agencies.

Catalani is a member of the Hawai’i and Oregon state bar associations, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He is a resident of Kane’ohe.

He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oregon (Phi Beta Kappa) and his doctorate law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law.

Young Brothers, Limited provides interisland cargo service throughout Hawai’i, with ports in Honolulu, Maui, Moloka’i, Lana’i, Hilo, Kawaihae and Nawiliwili. Visit YB at www.youngbrothershawaii.com for more information.

15th annual fruit conference

• The 15th Annual International Tropical Fruit Conference will be presented by leaders of the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG), at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, in Hilo on the Big Island, from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 21 to 23, according to HTFG Executive Director Lily Armstrong.

HTFG is a membership-based, nonprofit organization with the primary purpose of promoting the interests of any and all aspects of tropical fruit in the state. HTFG members are dedicated to expanding and improving the tropical-fruit industry in Hawai’i which will, in turn, benefit farmers, suppliers and processors supporting this industry, she explained. This will subsequently increase the sustainable agriculture and economic base of the islands, making life better for all, she said.

Each fall, tropical-fruit enthusiasts from across Hawai’i, the Mainland and around the globe, gather together at this conference, which serves as the focal point of information dissemination and training for the industry. The far-reaching and timely topics highlight new research, industry news, and trends, she said. Featured speakers are tropical-fruit experts from around the world.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Surmsuk Salakpetch, director of the Chanthaburi Horticultural Research Center in Thailand, will give three different presentations. They include “An Overview of Tropical Fruit in Thailand,” “Post-Harvest Technology,” and “Mangosteen Juvenility and Pruning; Durian Flowering /Fruit Set and Pruning.”

Other presenters will cover topics including tropical-fruit diseases, the newest information on quarantine tr rnatives to the use of potassium chloride in longan flowering. In addition, two speakers will address marketing issues.

Included in the program is a chance to taste exotic tropical fruits, dine at the Restaurant Kaikodo in Hilo, and participate in the annual auction on Saturday night. Proceeds from the auction support HTFG promotion and education programs.

On Sunday, Oct. 23, the conference program is a fun, informative day touring two commercial and exotic tropical fruit orchards. Participants will visit a 15-year-old, mature orchard with a wide variety of bearing fruit trees including mangosteen, and a 3-year-old, “young” orchard just starting to bear fruit. The day will include demonstrations and information on mowing, pruning, spraying and safety equipment, as well as examples of ways to improve rambutan productivity by increasing the amount of pollen in the orchard.

The conference is sponsored in part by a grant from leaders of the County of Hawai’i Department of Research and Development. Officials with the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel are offering special rates for conference participants staying at the hotel. In addition, conference-attendance fees are reduced for those who preregister by Friday, Oct. 14.

To donate items to the fund-raising auction, to find out more, or to register for this event, please contact Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers, P.O. Box 1582, Hilo, HI 96721-1582; phone 1-808-966-6444; e-mail htfghawaii@verizon.net, or see www.htfghawaii.org.