Maui Business

Fairmont Kea Lani’s Willow Stream Spa in Wailea earned the distinction of Top Hotel Spa in Hawai‘i by readers of Travel + Leisure for the second consecutive year.

Maui Economic Development Board announced today that their workshop, “Minding Your Own Business: Entrepreneurial Psychology Basics and You,” on Tuesday, Aug. 4, has sold out. Due to high demand, MEDB is now offering an identical seminar on Wednesday, Aug. 5, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Ste. 5 of the MEDB Malcolm Center in Kīhei.

Hawaiian Electric recently announced that rooftop PV approvals in Hawai‘i are continuing at record pace, with a total of nearly 70,000 rooftop solar photovoltaic net energy metering applications approved across O‘ahu, Maui County, and Hawaiʻi Island.

Hawaiian Airlines will add more flights between Los Angeles and Maui and Kauaʻi from December 2015 to January 2016, offering an increased schedule with more flexibility for holiday travelers.

Today, Friday, July 24, between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Uber will be delivering ice cream on demand on Maui and in over 250 cities in 56 countries.

The Maui Ocean Center in Māʻalaea has been named among the “Top 25 Best Aquariums in the US” by TripAdvisor as part of the publication’s Travelers’ Choice Best of 2015 list.

Tamura Enterprises will open a new Maui location in Kīhei later this year, with additional plans to expand over the next two years on the Valley Isle. The Kīhei location on East Līpoa Street, will be the fourth Maui establishment for the company.

Pono Grown Farm Center in Makawao will present “Planting for Your Future,” a four-part series on designing, planting and maintaining a diverse fruit tree orchard, taught by Evan Ryan one Saturday morning per month beginning Aug. 15 from 9 a.m to 12.30 p.m.

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company has launched the 2015 HC&S Community Initiative to support “Maui’s Keiki and Families” as follow-up to the community grant program initiated last year.

Hawai‘i State Sen. Roz Baker and Maui County Council Vice-Chair Don Guzman were among five legislators and community leaders honored by the Nutrition & Physical Activity Coalition of Maui County at the coalition’s annual meeting last month; three new board members were also named to the NPAC board of directors.

The University of Hawaiʻi Maui College will launch two new short-term certificate programs this fall for prospective students interested in community health.

Kaiser Permanente welcomed eight new care providers to the Hawai‘i Permanente Medical Group, where they will join more than 600 physicians and other healthcare providers O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island. On Maui, endocrinology specialist Mehtap Berkmen, MD, joins Wailuku Medical Office; William Shapiro, MD, will work in the after-hours care department at the Maui Lani Medical Office.

The Maui Accommodations Guide, the leading Maui-based online resource for book-direct accommodation, has discontinued its 18-year-old printed directory and rebranded to focus on its website, MauiAccommodations.com.

Water Resources Committee Chair Gladys Baisa introduced a bill that, under certain conditions, would exempt residents on the Upcountry water meter priority list from making costly infrastructure improvements.

During a press conference held this afternoon, Gov. David Ige expressed the state’s opposition to the proposed NextEra Energy Inc. purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries and is recommending the state Public Utilities Commission reject the deal as it is currently proposed.

After offering the package deal as a trail, the 5th Friday Lānaʻi Package will be available for all 5th Friday Town Parties in 2015. The cost for the package is $60 per adult and $50 per child.

Hawaiian Holdings Inc., parent of Hawaiian Airlines, plans to acquire three ATR 72 turboprop aircraft in an all-cargo configuration to expand its interisland shipping services. The new operation will launch in the first half of next year, starting with flights between Honolulu International Airport and Kona International Airport, Kahului Airport, Līhuʻe Airport and Hilo International Airport , with well-timed connections from Hawaiian Airlines’ Mainland and international network.

Hawai‘i Energy’s Aurora Winslade will receive the Rising Star of Energy Efficiency: Student award by the Alliance to Save Energy this fall at the nation’s capital.

Maui County’s unemployment rate of 4.4 % (not seasonally adjusted) saw a slight increase over last month’s rate of 3.9%, but is still well below the June 2014 rate of 5.1%, according to the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations

Maui County property tax bills will be going out later this month. To help taxpayers understand the process, the Real Property Assessment Division is featuring a new video on their webpage.