Blog: www.kgmb9.com/howard

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Hotel Occupancy Report
State 74.8-1.6. $221+0.7%.
Kauai 76.4-3.4. $230-2%.
Oahu 79.8+4.7. $192+7.6%.
Maui 70.4-11.3. $301+3.4%.
BIsle 63.9-5.9. $188-15.2%

Other Business Headlines:

The Bishop Museum is down at least 14 positions, both management and non-management. A sixth of the staff has been laid off. And both the CFO and the general counsel have resigned. Bishop Museum still employs more than 200.

Hawaii has become the first state in the nation to require that all new single-family homes be equipped with solar water heaters. The requirement takes effect in 2010. There are exceptions, including for homes in forested areas with little sunlight.

Hawaiian Airlines has cancelled plans to acquire another Boeing 767 wide-body jet. CEO Mark Dunkerley says, with a delay in the date the plane could fly, and the recent run-up in fuel prices, it was a fairly straightforward decision.

Matson responds to the fuel surcharge lawsuit. It says it will vigorously defend itself against a charge that it has been overcharging customers. But a Matson executive said yesterday the company has not actually been served with the papers yet.

American Savings Bank has sold more than a billion dollars worth of securities and is taking a 36-million-dollar charge against earnings. Bank president Tim Schools says it improves the bank's capital efficiency.

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