July 31, 2006
HTA seeks environmental proposals
The Hawaii Tourism Authority is seeking bids for its 2007 Natural Resources Program, which will provide funding to protect Hawaii's environment. The application and information packages are available at www.hawaiitourismauthority.org. The deadline for proposals is Sept. 15.
Pacific Business News

July 31, 2006
Interisle airlines drop one-way fares to $29
Hawai'i's interisland airfare war is getting hotter.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 31, 2006
Delta Says Aloha to Low Fares
Delta Air Lines -- the world's largest airline in terms of destinations served -- is inviting customers to feel the rush of big waves on Oahu's North Shore, soak up the sun on Waikiki Beach or pay tribute to the USS Arizona with special sale fares to Honolulu this fall.
Yahoo! via Delta Air Lines, Inc.

July 27, 2006
Foam in surfboard blanks a fatal issue
The widow of a factory worker alleges in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Orange County, Calif., that her 36-year-old husband died from long-term exposure to a deadly chemical at the world's largest manufacturer of surfboard blanks.
Honolulul Advertiser

July 26, 2006
Schools reopening so drive carefully
State officials are asking drivers to use extra caution this week as public school students throughout the state return to the classroom.
Honolulul Advertiser

July 26, 2006
Hawai'i hurricane premiums soaring
Many Hawai'i homeowners are facing big increases in their hurricane insurance premiums because of rising costs for construction and other expenses.
Honolulul Advertiser

July 25, 2006
6 local farms seeking emergency aid today
Hawai'i farmers are seeking nearly $1.3 million in emergency loans as they continue to recover from record spring rains.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 24, 2006
Coffee growers elect Wayman
Jim Wayman, the new president of the Hawaii Coffee Association, has offered an olive branch to Kona growers concerned about the integrity of the Kona brand. The largest coffee association in the state concluded its annual meeting over the weekend at the Kauai Beach Hotel & Resort, north of Lihue airport after electing Wayman, a former president, for a return stint in the post.
Pacific Business News

July 20, 2006
Chamber gavel goes to Cayetano
Vicky Cayetano, CEO of United Laundry Services, is the new chairwoman of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Cayetano, whose husband is former Gov. Ben Cayetano, succeeds Harry Saunders, the president of Castle & Cooke Hawaii.
Pacific Business News

July 20, 2006
Chamber not done seeking payroll tax cut
Vicky Cayetano, in her first speech as the new chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, vowed that the chamber will again seek payroll tax relief. The CEO of United Laundry Services and former first lady of Hawaii, addressing the chamber's annual membership luncheon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, referred to the fact that funding for unemployment compensation, paid by businesses, has a surplus of more than $500 million.
Pacific Business News

July 20, 2006
Tourism boom benefits school
As tourism thrives in the Islands, so are professional opportunities for Hawai'i's college graduates.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 17, 2006
Hawaii milk production down sharply
As Hawaii dairy farms close and supermarkets import more milk from California, Hawaii milk production is down to 4.7 million pounds a month, down 24 percent from last year. The figures, released Friday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service Hawaii Field Office, cover the month of April. For the first four months of the year, production was 19.8 million pounds, down 17 percent.
Pacific Business News

July 17, 2006
Papaya production down
Hawaii fresh papaya utilization totaled 1.92 million pounds for June, down 26 percent from year-before levels. For the first half of the year, production topped 13 million pounds, but that was 16 percent less than in the first half of 2005, the National Agricultural Statistics Service Hawaii Field Office reported Friday.
Pacific Business News

July 17, 2006
Hawaii egg output falls to 8 million
Egg production across Hawaii is now at 8.3 million eggs per month, or 23,056 cases, according to the latest monthly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The figures, from April, were released Friday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service Hawaii Field Office. The total is down 12 percent from the same time last year. Average lay rate was 1,800 per 100 layers, down 3 percent from year-before levels.
Pacific Business News

July 17, 2006
Beef, pork output down in islands
Both beef and pork production in Hawaii continue to fall short of year-before levels, the National Agricultural Statistics Service Hawaii Field Office reports. Hawaii steer and heifer exports have fallen below 3,000 a month, and exports for the first four months of the year are down 18 percent from the same time in 2005.
Pacific Business News

July 17, 2006
Avocado production up 8%
Hawaii produced 800,000 pounds of avocados in 2005, up 8 percent from 2004, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The price per pound also went up -- from 63 cents in 2004 to 66 cents in 2005.
Pacific Business News

July 17, 2006
SBA gathers lenders, business borrowers
The Honolulu district office of the Small Business Administration will play matchmaker late this month -- with entrepreneurs and lenders. On July 27 at Kapolei Hale, eight banks will have representatives ready to talk about loans to small businesses starting up or looking to grow.
Pacific Business News

July 15, 2006
Guard called for border duty
Several hundred Hawai'i Army and Air National Guard members will be sent to Arizona this summer and next as part of a national campaign to beef up the border with Mexico, Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, head of the National Guard in Hawai'i, said yesterday.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 14, 2006
Hawaii gets agriculture marketing grant
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving Hawaii a $28,500 grant to improve the state's marketing of agricultural products. The money will go to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Hawaii Cooperative of Organic Farmers, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association, and the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center.
Pacific Business News

July 8, 2006
25th Infantry Division begins moving to Iraq
For the second time since the Vietnam War, the 25th Infantry Division yesterday cased its colors for a major war deployment.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 8, 2006
Hawai'i flower sales top $100 million
Sales of Hawai'i flower and nursery products rose nearly 6 percent to a record $100.6 million in 2005 as the state's farm sector continued to make a transition from plantation to niche plant products.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 5, 2006
Hawaii Coffee Association looks to Kauai 
The Hawaii Coffee Association, which customarily meets in Kona on the Big Island, is moving its annual meeting to Kauai this year. There are hundreds of coffee-growing farmers on the Big Island, but Kauai is home to the Alexander & Baldwin coffee plantation, the state's largest. No other state grows coffee.
Pacific Business News

July 4, 2006
Reports of sharks double on North Shore
Shark sightings on O'ahu's North Shore have hit a three-year high so far this year, with more than twice the number of shark encounters and sightings as the surfing mecca had in all of 2005.
Honolulu Advertiser

July 3, 2006
North Shore touts new road
Community leaders say a new inland route would help traffic and the famous, fragile coast. Half of all Oahu visitors go to the North Shore, and the first beach they come to is Laniakea, where traffic often slams to a stop at the sight of turquoise surf just yards away and pedestrians crossing the highway.
Honolulu Star Bulletin

July 2, 2006
Isle livestock sector shrinks as costs soar
Hawai'i's biggest milk producer, Pacific Dairy, will soon become the latest casualty of a livestock industry in steep decline.
Honolulul Advertiser