Local Industry for Sunday — January 22, 2006

NEWS & NOTES

Aloha Medical Center grows

• Dr. Constante J. “Paul” Flora, owner and operator of the Aloha Medical Center on Pahe’e Street in Kukui Grove Village West in Lihu’e, has welcomed Dr. Edward S. Lanson, and Family Nurse Practitioner Ellen F. Wright, to the Aloha Medical Center health care team, Flora said in a press release.

The center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For appointments and more information, please call 246-3800.

Computer security class set

• Matt Goodale of the SANS Institute, a computer-security training and educational organization, leads a computer and network security awareness class Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the National Tropical Botanical Garden headquarters education building at the end of Papalina Road in Kalaheo.

The class is recommended for anyone who surfs the Net, shops online, downloads e-mail attachments and installs software on their computers, he said in a press release.

Goodale will teach participants important security concepts and technology that every computer user on the Internet should know. Covered will be Internet security threats, antivirus programs, firewalls, anti-spyware, identity theft, phishing, passwords, command-line tools, and more.

The course fee is $50. For more information, e-mail Lynn at staysharp@sans.org.

Hawaiian Air ups frequent-flyer rewards

• Officials at Hawaiian Airlines in a press release announced additions to their HawaiianMiles frequent-flyer program that are both industry firsts, a three-tier award structure and one-way mileage awards. Under the three-tier program, customers may book one-way transpacific flights for 17,500 miles in the Super-Saver category, 25,000 miles in the Saver category, or 35,000 miles in the AnyTime class, at www.hawaiianairlines.com. Similar, three-tiered classes of frequent-flyer-mile redemption are available for one-way interisland flights.

State tax take on the rise

• State tax revenues are up for the first half of the current fiscal year (July 2005 to June 2006) compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year in overall general fund revenues (up 13.7 percent), transient accommodations tax (hotelroom tax, up 9.3 percent, general-excise and use taxes (up 12.6 percent), and individual income taxes (up 10.4 percent), according to a state Department of Taxation press release.

State general-fund revenues last month were $307.6 million, and over $2 billion for the first six months of the current fiscal year.

Female finances is seminar topic

• In a survey of women who attended a recent Kaua’i Women in Business Roundtable (WIBR) event, 66 percent of the respondents said they wanted a future session to cover the topic of financial planning. These women are seeking answers to questions such as “Am I creditworthy?” and “Can a single mom qualify to buy a home?” and “How do I balance personal and business finances?”

In an effort to respond, WIBR leaders are gathering a panel of local financial experts to cover a variety of related topics at their quarterly meeting, Tuesday. Entitled “Women’s Financial IQ: How High is Yours?” the panelists will explore:

• Creditworthiness: how do you know what your credit is? Can you improve your credit rating?

• Insurance and financial planning: What’s the difference between whole life and term life insurance?

Should you have an IRA or SEP? What is a SEP?

• Mortgages: Should you refinance your mortgage? Can you buy a home with less-than-perfect credit?

• Tax planning: Do you need a will? How can you be sure those you love get what you leave behind without tax consequences?

Attendees are encouraged to bring questions with them so panel members can address specific concerns in the time allowed, states a WIBR press release. The panel members will include moderator Susan Tai of the Small Business Development Center; Angela Agustin and Grace Galiza of Primerica Financial Service; Veronica Lovesy of Creative Capital Management; Jim Mayfield of Bank of Hawaii; and Stephen H. Reese, attorney at law.

“We were surprised to have so many attendees from our last event reply to our survey,” explained Debra Jason, WIBR committee chair and an owner of her own small business called The Write Direction. “Since they took the time to give us their feedback, WIBR wanted to be sure to react by offering expert speakers who can address the concerns of women in business.”

The event is at The Hukilau Lanai Restaurant in Waipouli, in the Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy, with registration and networking from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., and pupus and presentation from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The cost is $18 per person, that includes pupus, but not drinks.

For reservations and more information, call 822-7292, fax name, company name, phone number, total number in party and e-mail to 826-6496, or e-mail debra@writedirection.com.

The Women in Business Roundtable began four years ago, designed to be a flexible, informal organization that brings business women together to network, support and mentor one another. There are no membership fees. Guests pay per event. For those interested in getting involved on the WIBR planning committee, please contact Jason at 826-1846.

Business After Hours functions on

• The first Kaua’i Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours functions of the new year include one hosted by leaders of Lisnacolla on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Terrace Restaurant at Kauai Lagoons resort in Lihu’e. Leaders at the Regency at Puakea assisted-living elderly apartments in Puhi host a Business After Hours function at the facility on Feb. 2, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The charge at both functions is $10 per person for Chamber members, $20 per person for all others. To register or for more information, please call the Chamber office, 245-7363, fax 245-8815, e-mail info@kauaichamber.org, or see the Web site, www.kauaichamber.org.