Pacific Business News articles from March 1992

Pacific Business News archives from March 1992

Council passes ban. (Honolulu, Hawaii's moratorium on mixed-use development)
March 30, 1992... On mixed-use development A nine-month building moratorium on industrial-commercial mixed-use development from Kaimuki to the airport was passed last week by the City Council. Mayor Frank Fasi has until April 9 to veto the moratorium or it...

Asian hui eyes Maui. (real estate developers)
March 30, 1992... Metro Horizon Inc., a firm owned by Indonesian and Hong Kong investors, is planning a $25 million, 95-unit housing development in Kihei. Welakahao Village, will be built on 20 acres acquired in 1990 for $2.4 million. The site, at Welakahao...

Bishop Food Court to replace Jake's. (Jake's Restaurant)(Oregon Building's new tenant)
March 30, 1992... Bishop Food Court, as well as the old Jake's Hideaway, will open this summer in the historic Oregon Building at the corner of Hotel and Bishop streets. Jake's Restaurant, however, will not reopen, said Jeffrey Stone, who has run the Jake's...

SBA names Big Islanders. (Small Business Administration)(1992 Hawaiian awardees)
March 30, 1992... The owners of two Big Island businesses were named winners of top U.S. Small Business Administration honors for 1992. Leonard and Suellen Tanaka, owners of T&T Electric Inc., a licensed contractor in several specialty areas, were chosen Small...

Tinian bets future on casinos: Island's government seeks applicants. (Tinian Island)
March 30, 1992... Tinian, a tiny island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is set to get five resorts which will support the development of gambling there. Seven applications to own, build and operate resorts have been submitted to the...

Star rocks dinner cruise market. (cruise ship of Paradise Cruise Ltd.)
March 30, 1992... A price skirmish in Oahu's dinner cruise industry is likely to break out as a result of the arrival of the new 1,600-passenger Star of Honolulu. The Star, owned and operated by Paradise Cruise Ltd., arrived in Honolulu on March 22 and is set...

AES plant ready to fire up. (AES of Barbers Point Inc.'s coal-burning cogeneration plant)
March 30, 1992... AES Barbers Point Inc. is ready to be stoked but not yet fired-up over its coal-burning cogeneration plant in Campbell Industrial Park. That's because the company's initial shipment of the black combustible will arrive Friday, weeks before...

Nawiliwili bids come in low. (Nawiliwili Harbor, Hawaii)
March 30, 1992... The depressed condition of Hawaii's building industry drove down bids submitted for the construction of Pier 3 at Nawiliwili Harbor by as much as $9 million, or one third of the projected cost. "We're pleased that (the bids) came in well...

Sewer stink could hinder housing.
March 30, 1992... A lawsuit filed in 1990 by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund against the city for violations at its Honouliuli wastewater treatment plant could delay development projects at Mililani, Kapolei, Soda Creek and West Loch. Wally Miyahira,...

Satellite Communication of the Pacific: dishing out good reception. (Profile) (Company Profile)
March 30, 1992... Setting up a satellite antenna dish is a grueling task for anyone short on technical expertise. Where in the blue sky do you aim the thing? Satellite Communication of the Pacific Inc., owned and operated by Gary Ilalaole and Richard Bischke,...

Mobile on-site unit speeds land-contamination testing. (PRC Environmental Management Inc.)
March 30, 1992... PRC Environmental Management Inc. has introduced a new mobile technology to Hawaii that allows for on-site collection and analysis of soil and ground water suspected of being contaminated. The Geoprobe arrived in Hawaii March 6 and is to stay...

Historic Hawai'i pans Winstedt remodeling. (historic building remodeled for public use)
March 30, 1992... Landmark house revamped by city for public use Work that was completed on the Winstedt house -- since renamed Paki Hale -- in Waikiki is not what Historic Hawai'i Foundation expected to see after working with the city on restoration plans for...

Promoting paradise: from boat days to jumbo jets, the Hawaii Visitors Bureau has marketed the Islands for 90 years. (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... The Hawaii Visitors Bureau is 90 years old this year, making it one of the oldest agencies of its kind in the world. Much has changed about the Hawaii visitor industry since May 14, 1902, when W.C. Weedon convinced a group of Honolulu...

Convention market remains strong. (Focus on Visitor Business) (Industry Overview)
March 30, 1992... Although last year's over-all volume of visitors to Hawaii was slightly down, conventions and related group movements proportionately held their own. Most conventioneers are still carrying out earlier decisions, made perhaps two or three...

Hawaii gets high marks in vacationer satisfaction.
March 30, 1992... But repeat-visitor trend means changing spending patterns Despite a bitter and lingering recession, and earlier, the Persian Gulf war, a bit of perspective shows Hawaii's visitor industry has done remarkably well compared with other competing...

Travel agents see rebound: but warn of Hawaii's need for broader visitor base.
March 30, 1992... Travel agents' worst fears came true last year when a war and recession combined to send tourism into the doldrums. But agents are now cautiously optimistic that their customers will return in 1992. "It is very early yet to tell, but there is...

Rental-car firms squeezed by U.S. auto industry woes.
March 30, 1992... Losses suffered by U.S. car manufacturers are being felt in Hawaii's rental car industry which is making the local business very competitive. Manufacturer programs have changed, resulting in higher costs for local rental agencies, said Alan...

Vacation time sharing resists tourism trends.
March 30, 1992... During the Persian Gulf war, while most visitor statistics were dwindling, vacation time-sharing units were usually booked for 100 percent occupancy, according to Jack R. Corteway, president of Royal Aloha Vacation Club. Royal Aloha Vacation...

Aston sees future in resort management. (Aston Hotels and Resort) (Company Profile)
March 30, 1992... Diverse owner demographics make consensus a challenge The difference between a hotel and a resort management company can be about 4,000 owners, said J.W. Ellsworth, chief operating officer for Aston Hotels & Resort. And for Aston, 4,000...

Destination Molokai: 'tourism, but on our own terms.' (Destination Molokai Association)(ecologically balanced tourism and business development)
March 30, 1992... Destination Molokai Association is banking on eco-tourism and cultural tourism being the wave of the future for Hawaii's visitor industry and not just the latest buzzwords, said chairman Kip Dunbar. He cited a recent airport survey by the...

Trade show scheduled to promote Isle yacht charters. (Hawaii-Pacific Charter Broker) (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... Set for September on the Big Island Yacht charters -- for years a thriving visitor draw in the Caribbean and Mediterranean -- could ferry a whole new segment of visitors to Hawaii's shores. "Yacht charters can help to diversify the tourist...

Global marketing helps hotels weather downturn. (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... Marketing focused on value and international marketing channels are helping Outrigger Hotels Hawaii through some tough times, said president and chief operating officer David Carey. With more people working, spending less money and staying...

Televised sports pack promotional punch. (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... There are few things better for Hawaii's visitor industry than sporting events being broadcast from sun-drenched shores while most of the Mainland is suffering through the depths of winter snow. The free publicity generated by televised...

Industry pushes hard to sell Oahu's charms. (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... As recession redefines leisure priorities, 'elective travel' market is softening Industry officials are predicting Hawaii's visitor business will be a repeat performance of 1991 -- borrowing a phrase from the entertainment industry -- in...

Travel association targets Europe. (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... The Pacific Asia Travel Association in March made Europe the focus of its campaigns to promote travel to Pacific rim nations. PATA, based in San Francisco, is a research center, consultant and marketer of the Pacific region and Asia. The...

The honeymoon's not over for Hawaii. (Hawaii is still the major destination for newly married couples) (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... Hawaii continues to be a popular place to honeymoon, as shown by a recent survey of Modern Bride magazine readers. That could be an important selling point for the state in good times and in bad. Of the 1.1 million Modern Bride readers in...

April ad blitz aimed at first-time visitors. (Hawaii Visitors Bureau advertising campaign) (Focus on Visitor Business)
March 30, 1992... A $1.07 million, one-month blitz to spur visitor travel to Hawaii kicks off early in April in 19 key midwestern and eastern cities. The HVB advertising campaign is designed to stimulate first-time visitor travel to Hawaii. First-timers, now...

Hawaii's top attractions. (Tabular data only) (Focus on Visitor Business) (Illustration)
March 30, 1992... Attraction 1989 Visitors National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Oahu 6,049,931 Thomas A. Jaggar Museum, Big Island 2,000,000 Kilauea Visitor Center, Hawaii Volcanoes Nat'l Park,...

Business reels from assessments. (real property tax assessments)
March 23, 1992... About 10,000 commercial, industrial and hotel/resort property owners on Oahu have been socked this year with substantially increased tax assessments. Oahu average real property tax assessments went up 10 percent for commercial, 8 percent for...

Pancake House files Ch. 11. (Pancakes of Hawaii Inc.)
March 23, 1992... As local bankruptcies soar Pancakes of Hawaii Inc., which does business as The Original Pancake House, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 16. The corporation is listed in the petition as having debts of $350,918 and assets of...

Leadership changes at Pacific Business News. (Stephen S. Lent is new publisher replacing George Mason)
March 23, 1992... This edition of Pacific Business News marks the start of its 30th year. For more than a dozen years it has been the oldest weekly business tabloid in the nation under the same name and management. The name will continue, but on April 1...

PBN starts 30th year: change of command next week at Pacific Business News. (includes related articles)
March 23, 1992... Crossroads Press Inc. was founded Feb. 6 1963, by four stockholders: George Mason, John D. Ramsey, Walter K. Collins and Woodson K. Woods. Its purpose: to publish a weekly business tabloid featuring information from the public record in...

In business for the thrill of the ride. (Chibroni Bros. Productions owner Rob Hearn) (Profile) (Company Profile)
March 23, 1992... A career of advertising and video production can be like life on a roller coaster, but that hasn't scared off Rob Hearn, founder of Chibroni Bros. Productions. He's stayed in the business for the thrill of the ride. He picked the company...

Library renovations complete. (Company Profile)
March 23, 1992... The recently completed $15.4 million construction and renovation project at the Hawaii State Library on King Street was a pleasure to work on, according to Gordon Scruton, president of G.W. Murphy Construction Co. Ltd., the general contractor....

Trade zone boosts business: reduction of customs duties and elimination of import quotas help cut costs.
March 23, 1992... Hawaii's foreign-trade zones in 1991 handled $2.69 billion worth of merchandise from 357 firms, and exported $425 million worth of products. Foreign-trade zones lower operating costs for businesses trading with domestic and foreign markets...

Residential action bucks construction downturn.
March 23, 1992... Building permits for residential construction in Hawaii experienced "a surge" last year, marked by a doubling in the value of multifamily home construction, according to Bank of Hawaii economists. The dollar value of completed multifamily...

Engineers want to drop Waikiki Beach project. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
March 23, 1992... The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to wash its hands of restoring the sand at Waikiki Beach. The Army Corps office in Hawaii has forwarded a study to its Washington headquarters recommending its withdrawal from the state's Waikiki beach...

Research changes ways of doing business. (SMS Research's research services)
March 23, 1992... The business of doing research is a barometer of economic conditions in general, according to Jim Dannemiller, president of SMS Research. Every project SMS Research performs "is about a product or service that needs to change," Dannemiller...

China cruise offered aboard SS Rotterdam: Grand Circle Orient Cruise part of itinerary expansion. (cruise ship of Holland America Line Westours Inc.)
March 23, 1992... Holland America Line Westours Inc. for the first time in many years will sail from Hawaii on a not-so-slow boat to China as part of an upcoming 13-port, 55-day cruise. Cruises to China had been popular in the mid-1980s, but interest died and...

NYK moves to Pier 1. (NYK Line North America Inc.)
March 23, 1992... Shipping activity at Pier 1 increased and available storage space decreased as NYK Line (North America) Inc. permanently moved its Hawaii operations there earlier this month. About six shipping companies now use the pier on the Fort Armstrong...

Competition heats up on LA-Isles cargo route: American International Cargo enters fray.
March 23, 1992... The air cargo war between Los Angeles and Honolulu is heating up with last week's entry of a Michigan-based carrier. American International Cargo, a subsidiary of American International Airways, began flying cargo here on March 19, said Tom...

DBED conference focuses on ESOPs. (Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism)(employee stock options participations)
March 23, 1992... The trend is growing nationally and locally for companies to institute employee ownership and worker participation in decision-making through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. That was the message Dan R. Bannister, president and chief...

Hawaii Real Estate Commission: industry watchdog.
March 23, 1992... One of the Hawaii Real Estate Commission's responsibilities is regulating the conduct of real estate licensees in their dealings with consumers. Both statutes and administrative rules have been enacted to uphold a high standard of conduct....

HVB's Hong laments Japan-bashing. (Hawaii Visitors Bureau president Stanley Hong)
March 23, 1992... Concern for the volume of tourism still weighs heavily on the mind of Stanley Hong, president of the Hawaii Visitors Bureau. His attention is not only on the number of people who visit the Islands, but also on the "rising tide of invective"...

Dealer wants lot back. (car dealer Rainbow Chevrolet Inc.)
March 16, 1992... Rainbow Chevrolet Inc., which was displaced last year for development of a "superblock project," wants its old lot back. It filed suit March 4 against superblock developers Asahi Jyuken (USA) Inc. and Asahi Jyuken Co. Ltd. in First Circuit...

Architects in legal battle. (CDS International; Stewart Consulting Inc.)
March 16, 1992... The architect of record for Asahi Jyuken Hawaii Inc.'s proposed superblock has sued the design architect. Chapman Desai Sakata Inc., which does business as CDS International, filed a complaint against Stewart Consulting Inc. CDS claims it is...

HVB ad blitz set for April. (Hawaii Visitors Bureau's print and television advertising campaign)
March 16, 1992... The State of Hawaii has agreed to give the Hawaii Visitors Bureau more than $1 million for a new print and television advertising campaign next month. Gov. John Waihee last week approved the bureau's request for $1,078,000 to promote...

Fletcher files lien on Nauru. (Fletcher Pacific Construction Company Ltd.; Nauru Phosphate Royalties Development Honolulu Inc.)
March 16, 1992... The general contractor for phase one of Nauru Tower, prompted by legal time constraints, has filed a $5.2 million mechanic's lien against the project developer. "One simply has to protect one's rights," said attorney Diane Hastert, who filed...

Name dispute hits Arby's. (fastfood restaurant franchisor)
March 16, 1992... Franchisor wants trademark back A fast-food restaurant by any similar name is still an Arby's, a claim that has created a beef between the national franchise and two former franchisees at Pearlridge Center and Windward Mall. Arby's Inc.,...

'Can do' air cargo carrier. (Genavco Corp.) (Profile) (Company Profile)
March 16, 1992... On the morning of the grand opening of a new Neighbor Island hotel, Genavco Corp., an interIsland air carrier, received a request to fly 200 chairs in for the event. The cargo arrived within two hours and Genavco president Harry J. Clark had...

Thomas Cook readies airport business center. (Thomas Cook Currency Services Inc.)
March 16, 1992... When renovations to the business center at Honolulu International Airport are completed next month, users will notice more than the new layout and design. Thomas Cook Currency Services Inc. is planning a full-service facility to aid business...

Evergreen International enters interIsland air cargo market. (Evergreen International Airlines Inc.)
March 16, 1992... Evergreen International Airlines Inc. has started doing business in Hawaii "to take up the slack" in the interIsland cargo market, according to Bryan G. Pearson, Evergreen's director of marketing and sales for Hawaii. Until now, Aloha Airlines...

Business basks at arid Barbers Point Harbor. (Marisco Ltd.'s ship repair services in Hawaii) (Company Profile)
March 9, 1992... Anyone in Hawaii who owns a vessel more than 60 feet long probably knows Fred Anawati and his ship repair company, Marisco Ltd. Marisco's primary operation is at Barbers Point Harbor, which has a dry dock that can handle repairs on vessels up...

Myers basing affordables on King St. cemetery swap. (Myers/Daiichi Midtown Partners' housing project) (Company Profile)
March 9, 1992... Local developer Jack Myers has completed plans for Kakaako's first privately developed affordable housing project, King Street Place, which will be built on a separate site from its related market-priced Symphony Park. The one-acre project...

HCDA preps Ilaniwai site. (Hawaiian Dredging and Construction Co.'s housing project contract)(includes related article)
March 9, 1992... A demolition crew began clearing the way for the state's planned $50 million Ilaniwai housing project last week. The 29-story, 71,614-square-foot building, with 268 affordable rental units and retail and commercial space, is being developed...

Young Bros. eyes expansion. (Young Brothers Ltd.)(includes related article)
March 9, 1992... The economic recession hampering business on the Mainland already has hit Hawaii if business at Young Bros. Ltd. is any guide. Nevertheless, the firm is moving ahead with plans for more prosperous times and expansion plans on the Neighbor...

Feds eye Kihei, Hilo as foreign trade zone sites. (US Foreign Trade Zones Board reviews planned trade areas)
March 9, 1992... Approval of applications for general purpose foreign-trade zones on Maui and the Big Island is expected by September. Foreign-Trade Zones Board in Washington, D.C., is presently reviewing plans for the sites at Maui Research & Technology Park...

Medicaid in critical condition.
March 9, 1992... In an attempt to bail out the state's deeply troubled Medicaid program, Gov. John Waihee recently signed an emergency appropriations bill for $64 million. The program was facing a $54.5 million shortfall before the bill was signed into law...

Living by design. (Richard Hillman Interior Designers and Design Resource Inc.) (Company Profile)
March 2, 1992... Richard Hillman Interior designers Richard Hillman, founder of Richard Hillman Interior Designers and Design Resource Inc., has built a business success on the premise that one need not be rich to afford an interior designer. Hillman, who...

Paradise Cruise expands, prepares for new vessel. (Star of Honolulu dinner cruise ship)
March 2, 1992... Paradise Cruise Ltd. is wrapping up a $40,000 renovation project that will nearly double its Ward Avenue headquarters to make room for personnel increases and expanded operations. The improvements, which are being done in-house, will increase...

First Hawaiian leads lenders. (First Hawaiian Bank)
March 2, 1992... With 4,393 in-state mortgages First Hawaiian Bank, the second largest financial institution in Hawaii, outpaced all competitors in in-state mortgage lending in 1991, according to data released in January by Title Guaranty of Hawaii Inc. It...

Isle franchisees face frustrations.
March 2, 1992... While the franchise business is booming on the Mainland, local franchise operators are running into problems probably unique to the Islands. Franchise growth outstripped the American economy by almost 10 times, according to a study by the...

AT&T deploys new cable ship. (Global Sentinel)(includes related article)
March 2, 1992... The Honolulu office of American Telephone & Telegraph is using a new, $65 million ship to maintain its underwater cables while the company's Hawaii-based vessel is in a Mainland dry dock. The 487-foot Global Sentinel -- the second of two...