• 200 attend Kaua‘i Chamber quarterly meeting • Hawaiian, Aloha raise Mainland fares • Hawaiian Airlines capacity down • Tools for starting and running small businesses 200 attend Kaua‘i Chamber quarterly meeting More than 200 members of the business community
• 200 attend Kaua‘i Chamber quarterly meeting
• Hawaiian, Aloha raise Mainland fares
• Hawaiian Airlines capacity down
• Tools for starting and running small businesses
200 attend Kaua‘i Chamber quarterly meeting
More than 200 members of the business community attended the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly meeting Thursday at the Sheraton Kauai Resort.
Keynote speaker Dr. Sarah Styan, a research scientist with Pioneer Hi-Bred International’s center in Waimea, talked to the group about stability through change. She stressed that Pioneer has been successful throughout its 82-year history by trying to develop the best products through research, change and innovation.
She said the goal of the talk was to help people understand that Pioneer is a business and its customers are farmers around the world. Key to Pioneer’s continued success is its ability to continue to develop new seeds through year-round research here in the Hawaiian Islands.
“Hawai‘i is really critical to the process,” Styan said.
Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a DuPont business, is the a developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide.
Since Pioneer first introduced hybrid corn in 1926, it has been at the forefront of its industry, helping farmers increase their yields through technology, she said.
For more information on upcoming chamber events, visit www.kauaichamber.org.
Hawaiian, Aloha raise Mainland fares
HONOLULU — Both Hawaiian and Aloha airlines are raising their fares between Hawai‘i and the Mainland.
Both airlines blame rising fuel costs on the need to boost round-trip fares by $30. The increases are taking effect now for any flights beginning May 1 or later.
Other major airlines have been raising fares as much as $10 over the last two weeks as oil prices top $100 a barrel.
The airlines say increased fuel prices are costing them millions of dollars.
Hawaiian Airlines says every time jet fuel goes up by a penny, it costs the company another $1.3 million in annual fuel costs.
For Aloha, the cost per penny increase is about $520,000 a year.
Jet fuel is now at $3.13 a gallon. That’s 41 cents higher than the price on Jan. 1.
Hawai‘i unemployment unchanged
Hawai‘i’s January seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged from December 2007 at 3.1 percent, according to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
The December rate, initially reported at 3.2 percent, was revised downward by 0.1 percent.
The state’s labor force was comprised of 633,300 employed and 20,350 unemployed, both of which were up from the previous month.
The unemployment rate for Kaua‘i County was the same as the state as a whole at 3.1 percent.
In contrast, the national unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percent in December 2007 to 4.9 percent in January.
Hawaiian Airlines capacity down
Hawaiian Airlines released its February traffic statistics, which showed an increase in total operations and a 3 percent decline in seating capacity compared to the same month in 2007.
The airline did not offer any charter operations in February this year.
Hawaiian offers nonstop daily service between Honolulu and Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle and Las Vegas, as well as nonstop service between Kahului, Maui and Seattle, Portland and San Diego.
Tools for starting and running small businesses
The Women In Business Roundtable organization will host its first-quarter event on March 18 for female entrepreneurs.
“Business Planning for Women of Kaua’i” is designed for women who want to start their own business or are already in business for themselves.
Diana Shaw, director of the Kaua‘i Small Business Development Center, will give an overview of business planning; attorney Nancy J. Budd will cover legal issues, including how to legitimize a new business; and accountant Judy Arrigo will talk about understanding the numbers.
On the subject of marketing, the speakers will include Beth Tokioka, director of the county Office of Economic Development, and Jenny Fujita of Fujita & Miura Public Relations as well as Kaua‘i Made Products.
The seminar will begin at 5:30 p.m. with registration and networking and continue with the presentations until 7:30 p.m. on March 18 at the Kaua‘i Community College Elections Room.
The event is sponsored by the Kaua‘i Small Business Development Center and the Kaua‘i Community College Office of Continuing Education and Training.
The cost to attend is $25 per person. For more information, call 855-2742 or e-mail WIBRKauai@gmail.com
— Staff and Associated Press reports
