Isles’ unemployment rate dipped to 6.6% last year
Hawaii ranks seventh lowest in the country; 6 percent joblessness forecast for this year
By Star-Advertiser staff
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell slightly in 2010 to 6.6 percent, the seventh lowest rate in the country.
Last year’s rate was down from 6.8 percent in 2009, but up from 4.1 percent in 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday.
Hawaii’s job market should continue to strengthen this year, knocking the rate down to 6 percent, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. The UHERO forecast released earlier this month calls for the rate to drop further to 5.3 percent in 2012 and 3.8 percent in 2013.
Hawaii’s rising unemployment rate from 2007 through 2010 was the result of the recession and a weak recovery that was not robust enough to “generate satisfactory job creation,” UHERO economists wrote in a report.
The economists said they expect the labor market to pick up, in part, because of the jobs that will be generated by the city’s rail project.
“The feeble job gains of the past year do not portend continuing labor market stagnation. Instead, more broadly based improvement will be seen in 2011 and 2012 as the Hawaii recovery strengthens and Oahu rail transit construction gets under way,” they wrote in the report.
The bureau report included revisions to the monthly unemployment data for 2010. Hawaii’s rate was higher in five months and lower in three months than originally reported. It was unrevised in four months.
One of the downward changes was for December, in which the bureau revised the rate to 6.3 percent from the 6.4 percent reported last month.
THE LOWDOWN
10 lowest unemployment rates in 2010
1. North Dakota 3.9%
2. Nebraska 4.7%
3. South Dakota 4.8%
4. Iowa 6.1%
5. New Hampshire 6.1%
6. Vermont 6.2%
7. Hawaii 6.6%
8. Virginia 6.9%
9. Kansas 7.0%
10. Wyoming 7.0%
U.S. average 9.6%
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Hawaii Visitor Spending and Arrivals Increased in January for the 11th Consecutive Month
Visitor arrivals up 12% in January, spending up 20%
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii achieved its eleventh consecutive month of increased visitor spending and arrivals in January, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
A high-single digit increase from the U.S. East and double-digit arrivals growth from the U.S. West, Japan, Canada and cruise ships helped boost visitor arrivals last month to 597,487, up 12.2 percent from a year ago. Likewise, visitor spending rose to $1.2 billion, a 19.8 percent gain from the prior year. January’s gain represented the 9th consecutive month of double-digit increases in overall spending.
The return of the Pro Bowl coupled with a slight pickup in meetings, convention and incentive traffic were behind the industry rebound, said Mike McCartney, HTA’s president and CEO. Stronger airplane passenger loads and increased flights also contributed, McCartney said.
“We look forward to taking advantage of rebounds in this market, as well as continued growth and interest in Hawaii as a global meetings destination as we draw closer to hosting the 2011 APEC Leaders Summit in November,” he said.
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii achieved its eleventh consecutive month of increased visitor spending and arrivals in January, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
A high-single digit increase from the U.S. East and double-digit arrivals growth from the U.S. West, Japan, Canada and cruise ships helped boost visitor arrivals last month to 597,487, up 12.2 percent from a year ago. Likewise, visitor spending rose to $1.2 billion, a 19.8 percent gain from the prior year. January’s gain represented the 9th consecutive month of double-digit increases in overall spending.
The return of the Pro Bowl coupled with a slight pickup in meetings, convention and incentive traffic were behind the industry rebound, said Mike McCartney, HTA’s president and CEO. Stronger airplane passenger loads and increased flights also contributed, McCartney said.
“We look forward to taking advantage of rebounds in this market, as well as continued growth and interest in Hawaii as a global meetings destination as we draw closer to hosting the 2011 APEC Leaders Summit in November,” he said.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Heavy Traffic From Thursday and Friday’s Elton John Concerts Anticipated
Heavy traffic from Elton John concert anticipated
Article from: The Maui News
February 23, 2011
KAHULUI – The Elton John concert is expected to generate heavy traffic Thursday and Friday when concert-goers converge on the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Gates to the concert area will open at 6 p.m. Thursday and 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Reserved parking passes for the center’s lot have been sold for $25 each. If extra spaces are available, those will be sold for $25 cash, according to the center.
Parking in the main lot at the University of Hawaii Maui College also has been pre-sold for $15. Parking also will be available on the day of the show for $15 cash at the college’s drive-in field parking lot off Wahinepio Avenue and at Keopuolani Park, which will be closed to the public.
Parking lots will be open at 3 p.m., and spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Article from: The Maui News
February 23, 2011
KAHULUI – The Elton John concert is expected to generate heavy traffic Thursday and Friday when concert-goers converge on the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Gates to the concert area will open at 6 p.m. Thursday and 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Reserved parking passes for the center’s lot have been sold for $25 each. If extra spaces are available, those will be sold for $25 cash, according to the center.
Parking in the main lot at the University of Hawaii Maui College also has been pre-sold for $15. Parking also will be available on the day of the show for $15 cash at the college’s drive-in field parking lot off Wahinepio Avenue and at Keopuolani Park, which will be closed to the public.
Parking lots will be open at 3 p.m., and spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Tourism in Hawaii Forecasted to Exceed 2006 Peak Level By 2013
Tourism in Hawaii Forecasted to Exceed 2006 Peak Level By 2013
Economy will grow 2% this year, state predicts
A Hawaii economist forecasts employment to rebound only after other sectors improve
By Kristen Consillio
STAR-ADVERTISER
The state expects visitor spending to jump 9.2 percent this year. “We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
Hawaii’s economy will grow slightly faster this year than previously expected, but job recovery won’t be realized until 2014, according to a state economist.
Boosted by a strong rebound in visitor spending and construction jobs, the state revised yesterday growth projections for overall gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity in Hawaii — to 2 percent this year, according to a quarterly report released yesterday by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. That’s up from the 1.8 percent increase predicted in November.
IMPROVED OUTLOOK
Percentage changes forecast through 2013:
2011 2012 2013
Visitor arrivals 4.0 2.5 2.5
Visitor spending 9.2 5.6 5.4
Honolulu inflation 2.2 2.3 2.3
Wage and salary jobs 1.3 1.5 1.8
Personal income* 1.0 1.7 1.9
Gross domestic product* 2.0 2.1 2.4
* Adjusted for inflation
Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
However, it will take three years for jobs to return to the 2007 peak level of about 631,000, Eugene Tian, acting state economist, said yesterday.
“Employment is still lagging the economic growth,” he said. “The job recovery will be coming later than the other indicators in the economy.”
The biggest upward revision among the various economic indicators was visitor spending, which DBEDT now predicts will grow 9.2 percent to $12.66 billion in 2011, as a result of a boost in tourists from higher-spending markets such as China and South Korea, as well as higher hotel room rates. DBEDT previously forecast an 8.4 percent increase.
Tourism will exceed the 2006 peak level of 7.6 million visitors by 2013, moving the economy from recovery to expansion, according to the report.
The job market also is improving, with the growth in payroll jobs revised upward to 1.3 percent this year from the 1.1 percent rise previously forecast, primarily due to new building projects.
The construction industry reversed 29 months of declines when it began to add jobs in October. The value of commercial and industrial building permits increased 32.5 percent last year, DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
“We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” he said.
Economy will grow 2% this year, state predicts
A Hawaii economist forecasts employment to rebound only after other sectors improve
By Kristen Consillio
STAR-ADVERTISER
The state expects visitor spending to jump 9.2 percent this year. “We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
Hawaii’s economy will grow slightly faster this year than previously expected, but job recovery won’t be realized until 2014, according to a state economist.
Boosted by a strong rebound in visitor spending and construction jobs, the state revised yesterday growth projections for overall gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity in Hawaii — to 2 percent this year, according to a quarterly report released yesterday by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. That’s up from the 1.8 percent increase predicted in November.
IMPROVED OUTLOOK
Percentage changes forecast through 2013:
2011 2012 2013
Visitor arrivals 4.0 2.5 2.5
Visitor spending 9.2 5.6 5.4
Honolulu inflation 2.2 2.3 2.3
Wage and salary jobs 1.3 1.5 1.8
Personal income* 1.0 1.7 1.9
Gross domestic product* 2.0 2.1 2.4
* Adjusted for inflation
Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
However, it will take three years for jobs to return to the 2007 peak level of about 631,000, Eugene Tian, acting state economist, said yesterday.
“Employment is still lagging the economic growth,” he said. “The job recovery will be coming later than the other indicators in the economy.”
The biggest upward revision among the various economic indicators was visitor spending, which DBEDT now predicts will grow 9.2 percent to $12.66 billion in 2011, as a result of a boost in tourists from higher-spending markets such as China and South Korea, as well as higher hotel room rates. DBEDT previously forecast an 8.4 percent increase.
Tourism will exceed the 2006 peak level of 7.6 million visitors by 2013, moving the economy from recovery to expansion, according to the report.
The job market also is improving, with the growth in payroll jobs revised upward to 1.3 percent this year from the 1.1 percent rise previously forecast, primarily due to new building projects.
The construction industry reversed 29 months of declines when it began to add jobs in October. The value of commercial and industrial building permits increased 32.5 percent last year, DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
“We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” he said.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Borders Bankruptcy Won’t Affect Maui Stores
Borders bankruptcy won’t affect Maui stores
Two branches on Big Island, Kauai will be shut down
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
KAHULUI – Maui shoppers are pleased that the two Borders bookstores on the island would not be closing despite Borders’ parent company filing for bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
The Borders Books Music Movies & Cafe at Maui Marketplace and the Borders Express store at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center will remain open and are not affected by the bankruptcy, store officials said Wednesday morning.
Kevin Tanaka, the service manager at the Maui Marketplace store, said it was “business as usual,” and customers were waiting outside the store’s door before it opened, which is a common occurrence.
Only two stores in Hawaii will be closed, one in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and the other in Lihue on Kauai, according to a bankruptcy filing.
The company said it will close about 200 of its 642 stores in the next few weeks. It cited cautious consumer spending, negotiations with vendors and a lack of liquidity as reasons for its troubles.
Kihei resident Stella Saadnia, who visits the Maui Marketplace Borders about once a week, said she likes the store’s variety of CDs, books and magazines and enjoys its cafe, where she can meet people and hang out.
“I like that it has a lot of different things,” she said outside the store Wednesday morning.
She also said it would be sad if the store were on the chopping block, noting that she still likes to read books despite the trend of people turning to electronics to read stories.
“I like the old-fashioned way,” she said.
Pukalani resident Robert Tomlinson said he feels the same way.
“I have a library at home,” he said outside the Maui Marketplace store. He added that he reads five books at a time and loves to give books away as gifts. Tomlinson said Borders has a good selection of Buddhist books as well as other religious books.
The Borders stores in Kahului and the Barnes & Nobles bookstore in Lahaina are the only two large major bookstore chains on the island.
Borders store officials said the Borders Express store at Piilani Village in Kihei closed about a month ago. Borders Express stores at the Whalers Village in Kaanapali and Lahaina Cannery Mall closed in January 2009.
Two branches on Big Island, Kauai will be shut down
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
KAHULUI – Maui shoppers are pleased that the two Borders bookstores on the island would not be closing despite Borders’ parent company filing for bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
The Borders Books Music Movies & Cafe at Maui Marketplace and the Borders Express store at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center will remain open and are not affected by the bankruptcy, store officials said Wednesday morning.
Kevin Tanaka, the service manager at the Maui Marketplace store, said it was “business as usual,” and customers were waiting outside the store’s door before it opened, which is a common occurrence.
Only two stores in Hawaii will be closed, one in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and the other in Lihue on Kauai, according to a bankruptcy filing.
The company said it will close about 200 of its 642 stores in the next few weeks. It cited cautious consumer spending, negotiations with vendors and a lack of liquidity as reasons for its troubles.
Kihei resident Stella Saadnia, who visits the Maui Marketplace Borders about once a week, said she likes the store’s variety of CDs, books and magazines and enjoys its cafe, where she can meet people and hang out.
“I like that it has a lot of different things,” she said outside the store Wednesday morning.
She also said it would be sad if the store were on the chopping block, noting that she still likes to read books despite the trend of people turning to electronics to read stories.
“I like the old-fashioned way,” she said.
Pukalani resident Robert Tomlinson said he feels the same way.
“I have a library at home,” he said outside the Maui Marketplace store. He added that he reads five books at a time and loves to give books away as gifts. Tomlinson said Borders has a good selection of Buddhist books as well as other religious books.
The Borders stores in Kahului and the Barnes & Nobles bookstore in Lahaina are the only two large major bookstore chains on the island.
Borders store officials said the Borders Express store at Piilani Village in Kihei closed about a month ago. Borders Express stores at the Whalers Village in Kaanapali and Lahaina Cannery Mall closed in January 2009.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Enjoying Maui Deagle Style
Some times I get so caught up working I forget to take a moment to slow down and enjoy Hawaii for what it has to offer. So for all of those who are trapped in poor weather and are over worked, take a deep breath and take a mini vacation with me.
In other news, and in an effort to enjoy my dog’s company more, Deagle and I will be blogging pet related information such as pet friendly complex reviews, top picks, and quarantine processes.
Aloha from Maui
In other news, and in an effort to enjoy my dog’s company more, Deagle and I will be blogging pet related information such as pet friendly complex reviews, top picks, and quarantine processes.
Aloha from Maui
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Government of Singapore Offers to Buy Grand Wailea and Four Other Elite Resorts
Government of Singapore offers to buy Grand Wailea
Proposal is for 5 elite resorts
February 15, 2011 – By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
According to Bloomberg News, the government of Singapore is offering to buy the Grand Wailea and four other resorts that the Paulson & Co. group put into bankruptcy Feb. 1.
The reported offer of $1.5 billion is close to what the five elite resorts have been valued at in a complicated change of ownership that resulted from Morgan Stanley’s takeover of CNL Resorts.
Bloomberg said the offer was revealed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Monday.
The bidder is the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a sovereign-wealth fund.
Sovereign-wealth funds are investment businesses run by governments that, like Singapore, enjoy large trade surpluses and need to find ways to use their foreign currency balances. The fund has $100 billion and, according to Bloomberg, is one of the creditors of the resorts.
An investment group led by the Paulson hedge fund managed to take over the Grand Wailea by foreclosing on the previous owner. But the five resorts were pledged as collateral for a billion-dollar loan, and while the new owners tried to work out a restructuring and extension of the debts, they did not do so by a Feb. 1 deadline.
Hence, the bankruptcy filing.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Sean Lane approved an order allowing the resorts to use the cash collateral of lenders until Feb. 28. “Without access to the cash, the resorts won’t be able to operate and the ‘entire restructuring may be jeopardized,’ lawyers said in court papers,” according to Bloomberg.
Proposal is for 5 elite resorts
February 15, 2011 – By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
According to Bloomberg News, the government of Singapore is offering to buy the Grand Wailea and four other resorts that the Paulson & Co. group put into bankruptcy Feb. 1.
The reported offer of $1.5 billion is close to what the five elite resorts have been valued at in a complicated change of ownership that resulted from Morgan Stanley’s takeover of CNL Resorts.
Bloomberg said the offer was revealed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Monday.
The bidder is the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a sovereign-wealth fund.
Sovereign-wealth funds are investment businesses run by governments that, like Singapore, enjoy large trade surpluses and need to find ways to use their foreign currency balances. The fund has $100 billion and, according to Bloomberg, is one of the creditors of the resorts.
An investment group led by the Paulson hedge fund managed to take over the Grand Wailea by foreclosing on the previous owner. But the five resorts were pledged as collateral for a billion-dollar loan, and while the new owners tried to work out a restructuring and extension of the debts, they did not do so by a Feb. 1 deadline.
Hence, the bankruptcy filing.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Sean Lane approved an order allowing the resorts to use the cash collateral of lenders until Feb. 28. “Without access to the cash, the resorts won’t be able to operate and the ‘entire restructuring may be jeopardized,’ lawyers said in court papers,” according to Bloomberg.
Friday, February 11, 2011
UHERO: The Number of Jobs Generated By Hawaii’s Economy is Poised to Grow
8,200 new jobs forecast for ’11
By Alan Yonan Jr.
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The number of jobs generated by Hawaii’s economy is poised to grow this year for the first time since 2007, helped by the launch of Oahu’s rail project and a modest acceleration of overall economic activity, a group of University of Hawaii researchers reported today.
Businesses are expected to add 8,200 positions this year, including 1,100 jobs related to the $5.5 billion mass transit line and other construction projects, according to a quarterly economic forecast from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. The increase in payroll jobs forecast by UHERO follows three years of declines in which job losses totaled more than 35,000.
UHERO had not included the impact of the rail project in previous economic forecasts because of an uncertain start date. That changed last month when the project got the green light from the Federal Transit Administration and Gov. Neil Abercrombie. The city said it expects to break ground on the project in March.
“Rail transit work will accelerate what would otherwise be a very anemic construction upturn, contributing to a gradual broadening and deepening of Hawaii’s economic recovery,” according to the report.
As a result of the rail project, UHERO revised its job growth estimate upward by 1,000 in 2011, 2,000 in 2012 and 3,500 in 2012, said Carl Bonham, the organization’s executive director.
“At the peak of rail spending in 2014 to 2015, the project brings down the unemployment rate by a half of a percentage point,” Bonham said.
In addition to the increase in construction jobs this year, UHERO is forecasting employment increases in the hospitality, health care and retail sectors. State and local government jobs are forecast to decline for the third year in a row, while federal positions are projected to shrink for the first time since the recession.
The broadest measure of Hawaii’s economic activity, state gross domestic product, is forecast to grow by 2.7 percent this year, up from 1 percent in 2010. State GDP had contracted by 0.1 percent in 2009 and 1.5 percent in 2008.
The strengthening of the broader economy will help take the pressure off the tourism industry, which carried much of the load in 2010, Bonham said. Visitor arrivals and spending will continue to grow this year but at a slower pace than last year, he added.
The forecast calls for visitor arrivals to grow by 3.8 percent this year after climbing by 8.2 percent in 2010. One of the reasons the increase appeared so pronounced last year was that arrivals in 2009 had been so weak.
“Visitor arrivals in 2011 will grow a bit slower. I wouldn’t be surprised if it even came in lower than our forecast. The wild card to some extent will be the impact from APEC,” Bonham said, referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting in November, which will bring heads of state from the 21 largest economies in the Asia-Pacific region to Hawaii.
Despite the acceleration of economic growth, inflation will remain subdued, according to the report. The consumer price index for Honolulu is forecast to fall slightly to 1.4 percent in 2011 from 1.7 percent in 2010.
Real personal income is forecast to grow to 2.2 percent this year from 0.2 percent in 2010.
By Alan Yonan Jr.
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The number of jobs generated by Hawaii’s economy is poised to grow this year for the first time since 2007, helped by the launch of Oahu’s rail project and a modest acceleration of overall economic activity, a group of University of Hawaii researchers reported today.
Businesses are expected to add 8,200 positions this year, including 1,100 jobs related to the $5.5 billion mass transit line and other construction projects, according to a quarterly economic forecast from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. The increase in payroll jobs forecast by UHERO follows three years of declines in which job losses totaled more than 35,000.
UHERO had not included the impact of the rail project in previous economic forecasts because of an uncertain start date. That changed last month when the project got the green light from the Federal Transit Administration and Gov. Neil Abercrombie. The city said it expects to break ground on the project in March.
“Rail transit work will accelerate what would otherwise be a very anemic construction upturn, contributing to a gradual broadening and deepening of Hawaii’s economic recovery,” according to the report.
As a result of the rail project, UHERO revised its job growth estimate upward by 1,000 in 2011, 2,000 in 2012 and 3,500 in 2012, said Carl Bonham, the organization’s executive director.
“At the peak of rail spending in 2014 to 2015, the project brings down the unemployment rate by a half of a percentage point,” Bonham said.
In addition to the increase in construction jobs this year, UHERO is forecasting employment increases in the hospitality, health care and retail sectors. State and local government jobs are forecast to decline for the third year in a row, while federal positions are projected to shrink for the first time since the recession.
The broadest measure of Hawaii’s economic activity, state gross domestic product, is forecast to grow by 2.7 percent this year, up from 1 percent in 2010. State GDP had contracted by 0.1 percent in 2009 and 1.5 percent in 2008.
The strengthening of the broader economy will help take the pressure off the tourism industry, which carried much of the load in 2010, Bonham said. Visitor arrivals and spending will continue to grow this year but at a slower pace than last year, he added.
The forecast calls for visitor arrivals to grow by 3.8 percent this year after climbing by 8.2 percent in 2010. One of the reasons the increase appeared so pronounced last year was that arrivals in 2009 had been so weak.
“Visitor arrivals in 2011 will grow a bit slower. I wouldn’t be surprised if it even came in lower than our forecast. The wild card to some extent will be the impact from APEC,” Bonham said, referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting in November, which will bring heads of state from the 21 largest economies in the Asia-Pacific region to Hawaii.
Despite the acceleration of economic growth, inflation will remain subdued, according to the report. The consumer price index for Honolulu is forecast to fall slightly to 1.4 percent in 2011 from 1.7 percent in 2010.
Real personal income is forecast to grow to 2.2 percent this year from 0.2 percent in 2010.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Business / In Brief • Feb. 9, 2011
* Hawaii
Excerpts from: Maui News
Oahu single-family home sales increase
HONOLULU – Oahu home sales increased in January while prices fell slightly compared to a year ago, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported Tuesday.
There were 199 single-family homes sold during the month, up 11.2 percent from January 2010. There were also 265 condo units sold during the month, an increase of 9.5 percent, the board said.
The median price of a single-family home dipped 4.2 percent from $595,000 to $570,000, while condos fell 2.7 percent to $291,000.
Brian Benton, immediate past president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said he’s seeing a shift in sales from condos to single-family homes, which is a good indicator of returning consumer confidence.
Single-family homes were listed for an average of 38 days, down from 43 days a year ago. However, condos are taking longer to sell, with an average listing period of 49 days, up considerably from 36 days in January 2010.
*****
Hawaii enrolls more kids for insurance
HONOLULU – The federal government is reporting that Hawaii has one of the sharpest increases in children enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Hawaii child enrollees rose nearly 15 percent between the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years, the fifth-highest increase in the nation.
That represents a jump of 18,000 additional children signed up for the CHIP and Medicaid programs.
In all, nearly 142,000 children were enrolled in either of the programs in 2010.
Only Alabama, Montana, Oregon and North Carolina had larger yearly increases.
The enrollment data were included in the annual report of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, which is designed to give states more opportunities to improve program access.
Excerpts from: Maui News
Oahu single-family home sales increase
HONOLULU – Oahu home sales increased in January while prices fell slightly compared to a year ago, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported Tuesday.
There were 199 single-family homes sold during the month, up 11.2 percent from January 2010. There were also 265 condo units sold during the month, an increase of 9.5 percent, the board said.
The median price of a single-family home dipped 4.2 percent from $595,000 to $570,000, while condos fell 2.7 percent to $291,000.
Brian Benton, immediate past president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said he’s seeing a shift in sales from condos to single-family homes, which is a good indicator of returning consumer confidence.
Single-family homes were listed for an average of 38 days, down from 43 days a year ago. However, condos are taking longer to sell, with an average listing period of 49 days, up considerably from 36 days in January 2010.
*****
Hawaii enrolls more kids for insurance
HONOLULU – The federal government is reporting that Hawaii has one of the sharpest increases in children enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Hawaii child enrollees rose nearly 15 percent between the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years, the fifth-highest increase in the nation.
That represents a jump of 18,000 additional children signed up for the CHIP and Medicaid programs.
In all, nearly 142,000 children were enrolled in either of the programs in 2010.
Only Alabama, Montana, Oregon and North Carolina had larger yearly increases.
The enrollment data were included in the annual report of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, which is designed to give states more opportunities to improve program access.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
This Just In...
New Lower Price! Dropped by $50k
NOW $900,000
3150 Wailea Alanui Drive, # 3801
Contact Clint Hansen, Realtor (S) @ 808.280.2764
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Twelfth Annual Maui Chinese New Year Festival Today at Maui Mall in Kahului
Chinese New Year festival on Maui!
Excerpt from: KHON2.com
The Twelfth Annual Maui Chinese New Year Festival, sponsored in part by the County of Maui, will be held this year on Saturday, February 05, 2011, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Maui Mall in Kahului.
There will be Chinese food booths, Chinese arts and crafts, local produce, calligraphy, and leather brush artistry. Mayor Alan Arakawa will open the festivities at 10:00 a.m. Lion Dancers and firecracker blessings will follow immediately thereafter, and be repeated at 1:30 p.m., weather permitting.
Event festivities include a Keiki Chinese Costume Contest for girls and boys twelve years and younger. There will be a Tai Chi demonstration, Kung Fu demonstration, Chinese cooking demonstration, and Chinese dancers. There will also be Good Luck photos for the kids, Rabbit crafts, and a Children’s Art Contest exhibit.
KUNG HEE FAT CHOY! TIM FOOK TIM SAU! MAN SAI PENG ON!
The Year of the RABBIT, also known as the Yin Metal Rabbit, 4709 on the Chinese Lunar calendar, begins with the new moon at midnight, between Wednesday, February 2, 2011, and Thursday, February 3, 2011. Other Rabbit Years are 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, and 1999.
XIANG NIAN KUAI LE! GONG XI FA CAI!
Excerpt from: KHON2.com
The Twelfth Annual Maui Chinese New Year Festival, sponsored in part by the County of Maui, will be held this year on Saturday, February 05, 2011, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Maui Mall in Kahului.
There will be Chinese food booths, Chinese arts and crafts, local produce, calligraphy, and leather brush artistry. Mayor Alan Arakawa will open the festivities at 10:00 a.m. Lion Dancers and firecracker blessings will follow immediately thereafter, and be repeated at 1:30 p.m., weather permitting.
Event festivities include a Keiki Chinese Costume Contest for girls and boys twelve years and younger. There will be a Tai Chi demonstration, Kung Fu demonstration, Chinese cooking demonstration, and Chinese dancers. There will also be Good Luck photos for the kids, Rabbit crafts, and a Children’s Art Contest exhibit.
KUNG HEE FAT CHOY! TIM FOOK TIM SAU! MAN SAI PENG ON!
The Year of the RABBIT, also known as the Yin Metal Rabbit, 4709 on the Chinese Lunar calendar, begins with the new moon at midnight, between Wednesday, February 2, 2011, and Thursday, February 3, 2011. Other Rabbit Years are 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, and 1999.
XIANG NIAN KUAI LE! GONG XI FA CAI!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Consumer Installed Solar Systems on Maui, the Big Island and Oahu More Than Doubled in 2010
Solar electric systems proliferate with much room to grow
Regional restrictions place a cap on the number of systems in any given area
By Erika Engle
Article from: STAR-ADVERTISER
Consumer-installed solar electric systems on Oahu, the Big Island and in Maui County more than doubled in 2010 with 3,967 systems added, compared with 1,916 in 2009.
“This will help all of us in Hawaii as we continue to make progress in cutting our dependence on imported oil,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric Co. executive vice president, in a statement.
The installations have increased the state’s electric generation capacity by 13 megawatts, enough to power 3,350 homes.
Alm commended the solar industry for “helping make Hawaii a solar leader.”
“Coordinating with them, we have worked to make solar power more accessible for our customers,” he said.
Some 17 new large-scale photovoltaic projects will sell electricity back to Hawaiian Electric. They will produce 3.2 megawatts.
However, all for the solar industry is not sunny, as regulations limit the number of customers that can easily install solar and integrate with their island’s utility.
» Oahu circuit map is.gd/HECOmap
» Big Island circuit map is.gd/HELCOmap
» Maui County circuit maps: is.gd/MECOmap
“The irony here is while we in the industry gratefully accept HECO’s congratulations for having a strong year in 2010, at the same time we in the industry are seeing more and more circuits being effectively closed to more PV,” said Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar Inc.
Once a residential area reaches a certain threshold of energy-generating customers, additional residents wanting to sell power to the utility have to pay for a reliability study, Mangelsdorf said. Those can cost $2,500 for an individual residential customer, while commercial customers can pay tens of thousands of dollars.
HECO has produced detailed maps customers can access online to determine whether their area is at or near the generation threshold.
Meanwhile, the government, utilities and solar industry continue working “to set some reliability standards,” said Darren Pai, HECO spokesman. The parties are examining “what can be done to increase the amount of these variable resources we have on the system and make sure we can integrate them all reliably and safely.”
Regional restrictions place a cap on the number of systems in any given area
By Erika Engle
Article from: STAR-ADVERTISER
Consumer-installed solar electric systems on Oahu, the Big Island and in Maui County more than doubled in 2010 with 3,967 systems added, compared with 1,916 in 2009.
“This will help all of us in Hawaii as we continue to make progress in cutting our dependence on imported oil,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric Co. executive vice president, in a statement.
The installations have increased the state’s electric generation capacity by 13 megawatts, enough to power 3,350 homes.
Alm commended the solar industry for “helping make Hawaii a solar leader.”
“Coordinating with them, we have worked to make solar power more accessible for our customers,” he said.
Some 17 new large-scale photovoltaic projects will sell electricity back to Hawaiian Electric. They will produce 3.2 megawatts.
However, all for the solar industry is not sunny, as regulations limit the number of customers that can easily install solar and integrate with their island’s utility.
» Oahu circuit map is.gd/HECOmap
» Big Island circuit map is.gd/HELCOmap
» Maui County circuit maps: is.gd/MECOmap
“The irony here is while we in the industry gratefully accept HECO’s congratulations for having a strong year in 2010, at the same time we in the industry are seeing more and more circuits being effectively closed to more PV,” said Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar Inc.
Once a residential area reaches a certain threshold of energy-generating customers, additional residents wanting to sell power to the utility have to pay for a reliability study, Mangelsdorf said. Those can cost $2,500 for an individual residential customer, while commercial customers can pay tens of thousands of dollars.
HECO has produced detailed maps customers can access online to determine whether their area is at or near the generation threshold.
Meanwhile, the government, utilities and solar industry continue working “to set some reliability standards,” said Darren Pai, HECO spokesman. The parties are examining “what can be done to increase the amount of these variable resources we have on the system and make sure we can integrate them all reliably and safely.”
Friday, February 4, 2011
Major Hawaiian Company~Alexander & Baldwin Doubles Yearly Earnings
Alexander & Baldwin doubles yearly earnings
A stagnant fourth quarter is outweighed by ocean cargo service, real estate sales and sugar operations
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. profit was flat in the last three months of 2010, but bigger gains earlier in the year enabled the diversified Honolulu-based company to more than double full-year earnings.
Fourth-quarter net $20.2 million
Year-earlier net $20.1 million
A&B reported 2010 net income of $92.1 million, up from $44.2 million the year before. The gain came on revenue of $1.6 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in the same comparable period.
Fourth-quarter net income was $20.2 million, barely up from $20.1 million in the 2009 fourth quarter. Revenue for the same period totaled $461.4 million, up from $362.9 million.
Profits for the quarter and year were principally driven by ocean cargo service from China by subsidiary Matson Navigation Co., real estate sales and a turnaround in Maui sugar cane operations.
Stan Kuriyama, A&B president and chief executive officer, characterized last year’s earnings as a rebound from 2009 and said he expects improved results this year as the economy strengthens.
“We begin 2011 with an improving economic environment in Hawaii and on the mainland,” he said in a statement. “Hawaii has been led by major gains in the visitor industry, which contributed to higher employment levels and real personal income. These emerging signs of economic recovery are encouraging and provide us with greater confidence for continued improvement in 2011.”
The biggest chunk of operating profit for A&B in the fourth quarter came from real estate sales that included an industrial complex in California and unimproved land on Maui.
Operating profit from property sales totaled $17.8 million, down from $20.4 million a year earlier when the company sold the Honolulu office building Pacific Guardian Tower, a California retail center and several unimproved parcels on Maui.
In A&B’s real estate leasing division, fourth-quarter operating profit was lower than a year earlier — $8.4 million compared with $10 million — because of lower tenant rents and changes in the property portfolio from sales and acquisitions.
Average occupancy at A&B Hawaii properties in the quarter was 91 percent, down from 95 percent a year earlier. The decline was due in part to A&B’s acquisition last year of a Kapolei industrial complex that is 74 percent occupied. Occupancy for A&B’s mainland property portfolio was 86 percent, up from 83 percent.
At Matson, fourth-quarter operating profit was $11.6 million, down from $13.5 million a year earlier. The decrease was largely due to $19 million in start-up losses for a new China-California cargo service using leased vessels. Higher fuel costs also contributed to the reduced operating profit, A&B said.
Matson container volume to Hawaii was up 8 percent to 37,100 in the fourth quarter from 34,200 a year earlier, but the gain reflected an extra week in Matson’s 2010 fiscal year.
Hawaii automobile shipments slipped in the quarter to 19,800 from 20,600 a year earlier, which A&B said was principally due to the timing of rental car replacements.
A potential big expense for Matson this year could be replacing two interisland barges, though A&B said it hasn’t made a decision. The company has budgeted $45 million as a potential partial payment for the barges this year should it make the move.
A&B expects its China service to be the main driver of better Matson returns this year given that Hawaii’s economy and construction industry are forecast to modestly improve.
The only A&B division to increase operating profit in the fourth quarter was agribusiness, with a $4.6 million return that compared with an $800,000 loss a year earlier. The reversal was primarily due to subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. achieving higher production, sales and prices.
A&B projects sustained profitability from its sugar operations this year. The company also expects improved financial results to come from a deal announced in December to turn over its Kauai Coffee Co. to global premium coffee seller Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group of Italy.
The deal, which involves Massimo Zanetti buying the Kauai Coffee brand, leasing A&B’s plantation and retaining all employees, is expected to close in March.
A stagnant fourth quarter is outweighed by ocean cargo service, real estate sales and sugar operations
By Andrew Gomes
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. profit was flat in the last three months of 2010, but bigger gains earlier in the year enabled the diversified Honolulu-based company to more than double full-year earnings.
Fourth-quarter net $20.2 million
Year-earlier net $20.1 million
A&B reported 2010 net income of $92.1 million, up from $44.2 million the year before. The gain came on revenue of $1.6 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in the same comparable period.
Fourth-quarter net income was $20.2 million, barely up from $20.1 million in the 2009 fourth quarter. Revenue for the same period totaled $461.4 million, up from $362.9 million.
Profits for the quarter and year were principally driven by ocean cargo service from China by subsidiary Matson Navigation Co., real estate sales and a turnaround in Maui sugar cane operations.
Stan Kuriyama, A&B president and chief executive officer, characterized last year’s earnings as a rebound from 2009 and said he expects improved results this year as the economy strengthens.
“We begin 2011 with an improving economic environment in Hawaii and on the mainland,” he said in a statement. “Hawaii has been led by major gains in the visitor industry, which contributed to higher employment levels and real personal income. These emerging signs of economic recovery are encouraging and provide us with greater confidence for continued improvement in 2011.”
The biggest chunk of operating profit for A&B in the fourth quarter came from real estate sales that included an industrial complex in California and unimproved land on Maui.
Operating profit from property sales totaled $17.8 million, down from $20.4 million a year earlier when the company sold the Honolulu office building Pacific Guardian Tower, a California retail center and several unimproved parcels on Maui.
In A&B’s real estate leasing division, fourth-quarter operating profit was lower than a year earlier — $8.4 million compared with $10 million — because of lower tenant rents and changes in the property portfolio from sales and acquisitions.
Average occupancy at A&B Hawaii properties in the quarter was 91 percent, down from 95 percent a year earlier. The decline was due in part to A&B’s acquisition last year of a Kapolei industrial complex that is 74 percent occupied. Occupancy for A&B’s mainland property portfolio was 86 percent, up from 83 percent.
At Matson, fourth-quarter operating profit was $11.6 million, down from $13.5 million a year earlier. The decrease was largely due to $19 million in start-up losses for a new China-California cargo service using leased vessels. Higher fuel costs also contributed to the reduced operating profit, A&B said.
Matson container volume to Hawaii was up 8 percent to 37,100 in the fourth quarter from 34,200 a year earlier, but the gain reflected an extra week in Matson’s 2010 fiscal year.
Hawaii automobile shipments slipped in the quarter to 19,800 from 20,600 a year earlier, which A&B said was principally due to the timing of rental car replacements.
A potential big expense for Matson this year could be replacing two interisland barges, though A&B said it hasn’t made a decision. The company has budgeted $45 million as a potential partial payment for the barges this year should it make the move.
A&B expects its China service to be the main driver of better Matson returns this year given that Hawaii’s economy and construction industry are forecast to modestly improve.
The only A&B division to increase operating profit in the fourth quarter was agribusiness, with a $4.6 million return that compared with an $800,000 loss a year earlier. The reversal was primarily due to subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. achieving higher production, sales and prices.
A&B projects sustained profitability from its sugar operations this year. The company also expects improved financial results to come from a deal announced in December to turn over its Kauai Coffee Co. to global premium coffee seller Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group of Italy.
The deal, which involves Massimo Zanetti buying the Kauai Coffee brand, leasing A&B’s plantation and retaining all employees, is expected to close in March.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
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5 bedroom, 4 bath
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$1.180.000
Call for your private viewing today.
Bob Hansen, BROKER, 808.283.9456 or Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S), 808.280.1650
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
China’s First Direct Flight to the Islands ~ Another Tourism Positive
China’s First Direct Flight to the Islands ~ Another Tourism Positive
Visitors from China arrive ready to spend
By Dan Nakaso
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The first chartered direct flight full of high-spending Chinese tourists touched down at Honolulu Airport yesterday with 263 passengers eager to shop and see the islands through the Chinese New Year over the next six days.
Chinese visitors are expected to spend an average of $368 per person per day this year, compared to just $275 per day for every Japanese tourist, said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, who welcomed the Chinese guests at a special airport reception that included hula dancers, live Hawaiian music, lei, soft drinks and plenty of picture-taking.
By comparison, spending for all Hawaii tourists averages just $178 per day, according to the HTA.
So yesterday’s arrival of high-spending Chinese visitors from a specially chartered flight is “significant,” Uchiyama said. “This is going to have a big impact on the state.”
Last year, Hawaii saw the arrival of 66,048 Chinese visitors, who each spent an average of $357 per day. This year the HTA expects to see 82,146 Chinese tourists, a 24 percent increase.
Li Xiu Ying, a retired teacher from Szechuan province, and her husband, factory manager Quing Shi Luo, deplaned from the chartered Airbus 340 yesterday full of smiles.
Their flight originated in Beijing, picked up more passengers in Shanghai Pudong International Airport east of Shanghai, and then took seven hours and 10 minutes to land in Hono-lulu — a time Li said through a translator was “very fast.”
When asked how she plans to spend six days in the islands, Li rattled off a response.
“Shopping,” the translator said. “She wants to go shopping.”
Li is particularly eager to buy high-end, designer goods in Honolulu that she can trust to be authentic.
“She’s happy to come to this place that everybody in the world wants to see,” said the translator.
Yesterday’s flight was the first of three chartered by China CYTS Tours and expected to arrive in the first four months of the year, according to the HTA.
It follows the 2007 signing of a U.S.-China memorandum of understanding that helped make it easier for Chinese visitors to obtain travel visas to come to Hawaii.
Ted Liu, former director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, flew in economy class aboard yesterday’s flight, which, he said, represented the culmination of 18 months of work by the administration of former Gov. Linda Lingle.
Liu estimated that one-fourth of the passengers have been to Hawaii before by flying through Narita, Japan, or through South Korea. The majority of yesterday’s passengers were families that included grandchildren and the elderly, Liu said.
“There was a lot of excitement on board, a lot of happy people,” Liu said. “People were very excited about Hawaii.”
However, there was no Hawaii literature onboard the Airbus 340 or any Hawaii-themed in-flight videos to get passengers excited about what they will see in the islands, which needs to be corrected, Liu said.
And once on the ground, some passengers spent 30 to 45 minutes filling out customs forms that could have easily been completed in advance in the air, Liu said.
But he was pleased that so many arriving Chinese passengers seemed eager to start their Hawaii vacations, which Liu expects will include plenty of shopping for luxury goods.
“They can get better value here, as well as the assurance that it’s authentic,” Liu said.
Many of the Chinese visitors planned to follow China CYTS Tours of major Oahu attractions while others designed individual itineraries.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said the Chinese visitors will stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Aston Hotels and Resorts, Ocean Resorts Waikiki and the Hyatt Regency.
“The series of Hawaii package products have been promoted in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shanxi Province and are designed to meet the different demands of Chinese travelers,” Zhang Lijun, president of CYTS, said in a statement. “The tour package for this first group is specifically for individuals who wanted to travel during the Chinese New Year.”
Visitors from China arrive ready to spend
By Dan Nakaso
Article from: Star-Advertiser
The first chartered direct flight full of high-spending Chinese tourists touched down at Honolulu Airport yesterday with 263 passengers eager to shop and see the islands through the Chinese New Year over the next six days.
Chinese visitors are expected to spend an average of $368 per person per day this year, compared to just $275 per day for every Japanese tourist, said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, who welcomed the Chinese guests at a special airport reception that included hula dancers, live Hawaiian music, lei, soft drinks and plenty of picture-taking.
By comparison, spending for all Hawaii tourists averages just $178 per day, according to the HTA.
So yesterday’s arrival of high-spending Chinese visitors from a specially chartered flight is “significant,” Uchiyama said. “This is going to have a big impact on the state.”
Last year, Hawaii saw the arrival of 66,048 Chinese visitors, who each spent an average of $357 per day. This year the HTA expects to see 82,146 Chinese tourists, a 24 percent increase.
Li Xiu Ying, a retired teacher from Szechuan province, and her husband, factory manager Quing Shi Luo, deplaned from the chartered Airbus 340 yesterday full of smiles.
Their flight originated in Beijing, picked up more passengers in Shanghai Pudong International Airport east of Shanghai, and then took seven hours and 10 minutes to land in Hono-lulu — a time Li said through a translator was “very fast.”
When asked how she plans to spend six days in the islands, Li rattled off a response.
“Shopping,” the translator said. “She wants to go shopping.”
Li is particularly eager to buy high-end, designer goods in Honolulu that she can trust to be authentic.
“She’s happy to come to this place that everybody in the world wants to see,” said the translator.
Yesterday’s flight was the first of three chartered by China CYTS Tours and expected to arrive in the first four months of the year, according to the HTA.
It follows the 2007 signing of a U.S.-China memorandum of understanding that helped make it easier for Chinese visitors to obtain travel visas to come to Hawaii.
Ted Liu, former director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, flew in economy class aboard yesterday’s flight, which, he said, represented the culmination of 18 months of work by the administration of former Gov. Linda Lingle.
Liu estimated that one-fourth of the passengers have been to Hawaii before by flying through Narita, Japan, or through South Korea. The majority of yesterday’s passengers were families that included grandchildren and the elderly, Liu said.
“There was a lot of excitement on board, a lot of happy people,” Liu said. “People were very excited about Hawaii.”
However, there was no Hawaii literature onboard the Airbus 340 or any Hawaii-themed in-flight videos to get passengers excited about what they will see in the islands, which needs to be corrected, Liu said.
And once on the ground, some passengers spent 30 to 45 minutes filling out customs forms that could have easily been completed in advance in the air, Liu said.
But he was pleased that so many arriving Chinese passengers seemed eager to start their Hawaii vacations, which Liu expects will include plenty of shopping for luxury goods.
“They can get better value here, as well as the assurance that it’s authentic,” Liu said.
Many of the Chinese visitors planned to follow China CYTS Tours of major Oahu attractions while others designed individual itineraries.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said the Chinese visitors will stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Aston Hotels and Resorts, Ocean Resorts Waikiki and the Hyatt Regency.
“The series of Hawaii package products have been promoted in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shanxi Province and are designed to meet the different demands of Chinese travelers,” Zhang Lijun, president of CYTS, said in a statement. “The tour package for this first group is specifically for individuals who wanted to travel during the Chinese New Year.”
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Great Golf & Exciting Finish at the Kaanapali Champions Skins Game
Nicklaus, Watson defend Skins title
Tandem collects $310,000 to edge O’Meara, Langer
By MATTHEW CARROLL
Article from: The Maui News
KAANAPALI – Practice makes perfect, even for Jack Nicklaus.
Fresh off a two-month stretch of what he called “awful” golf, Nicklaus fired a 6-iron from 137 yards to within 12 feet on the par-3 17th hole and Tom Watson converted the $250,000 birdie putt Sunday as the legendary duo pocketed $310,000 en route to becoming the first tandem to successfully defend its title at the Kaanapali Champions Skins Game.
The pair of Hall of Famers captured the opening two skins on Saturday at the Royal Kaanapali Course and waited patiently over the ensuing 14 holes before the Golden Bear picked the perfect time to pounce, nearly duplicating his best shot of the opening round and locking up the team’s third crown together with seven skins.
“Skins game is a funny game. After birdieing the second hole yesterday, we were hanging in there, we really didn’t do much,” said Nicklaus, owner of a record 18 major championships. “Today we were just sort of hanging around, not really competing. All of sudden, 17, boom! That’s what the game is.
“I’m glad I picked the right hole to make the right shot and I’m glad Tom took the right hole to make the right putt.”
First-round leaders Bernhard Langer and Mark O’Meara were left with $300,000 and seven skins, including the $100,000 “superskin” on the second playoff hole, after Langer’s 15-footer lipped out on the 17th. Fred Couples and Nick Price won two skins and $80,000, as did Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but Jack hit an amazing shot off the 17th hole after I hit a pretty good one, and the hole was playing pretty tough,” O’Meara said. “He hit a world-class shot and Tom made a world-class putt.”
That’s a far cry from where Nicklaus deemed his game to be recently.
The 71-year old doesn’t hit the links that much anymore – “If I play 10 rounds of golf between now and the time I get back here next year I’ll be just absolutely amazed,” he said – but managed to sneak in a handful of holes during a two-month stretch in Florida prior to his arrival on the Valley Isle.
The greatest golfer of all time is one of few who can call three 78s, a 76 and a 72 “just terrible.”
“I even came out and practiced for the first time in five years,” Nicklaus said. “I hadn’t practiced in five years, where I actually went out to try and practice.
“I was on the verge of hitting the ball decently when I came out here, and actually I really started hitting the ball here.”
It showed Saturday, when he landed a 5-iron from 185 yards within three feet for two skins, and it was evident Sunday, too, never more so than on the final par 3.
“It may be surprising to some, it may be surprising to him, but it’s typical Jack in the way that he looks at his golf game,” said Watson, an eight-time major champion who also won with Nicklaus in 2007. “He looks at it very pragmatically, as I do. That’s why we like each other, ’cause we look at the game very pragmatically.
“He said, ‘When I first came here I was hitting it not very well. Then I found something that worked and then I found another thing that was working I added on top of that, and then I found a third thing that worked and added it on top of that and actually was playing pretty well.’ ”
During Nicklaus’ early-morning practice rounds, the picturesque shot over the fountain-dotted pond played as a 7- or 8-iron. Around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, however, a stiff wind forced him to alter his approach, and teeing off last allowed him to do so.
“I saw the guys try to hit 7-irons and they were hitting the ball, they were spinning it and they were going all over the place,” Nicklaus said. “So I said I’m going to take my 6-iron, choke it down a couple inches and just pick it, and try to make sure I didn’t put any spin on the ball. Which is what I did. It turned out to be a pretty darn good shot.
“Sometimes you have to go back and look in your memory bank and see if you can find something.”
Watson instantly recognized it was the best of the bunch.
“When the ball left his club, it was just boring right through the air, it wasn’t ballooning,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a heck of a shot.”
The stakes just added to the flair of the moment.
After Langer sank a seven-foot birdie worth $80,000 on No. 12, multiple players missed opportunities.
Price – who tapped in for birdie on the 10th for his team’s skins -missed a short birdie try on the 13th, curling the putt around the right side of the cup, and Couples missed a 10-footer for $100,000 on the 14th. After the 15th was halved, Couples again faltered with a big prize on the line, barely missing a downhill 15-footer for birdie on the 16th and carrying the pot over for a fourth straight hole.
“We needed a putt, but you know, today no one really made a putt,” Couples said. “We were in the same ballgame.”
As were Nicklaus and Watson, biding their time before seizing the day.
“Just lurking. We were just dodging bullets out there. We were dodging bullet after bullet after bullet,” Watson said. “We weren’t helping ourselves very much. When Jack hit that shot at 17, I knew it was time to convert.”
They landed in the rough more times than they care to remember, played out of a bunker or two and missed some key putts, yet always remained in the hunt.
Not quite the blueprint for success. But then again, with 26 major championships between the two, coming through in the clutch is nothing new.
“As I said to a lot of people yesterday, I said how would you like to step up on the first tee, and people say, ‘Well who’s your partner?’ ‘Well, my partner is Jack Nicklaus,’ ” Watson said emphatically. “How would you feel like having Jack Nicklaus as your partner?
“That’s the way I feel, always have.”
Couples probably wouldn’t mind the opportunity, either.
“Into the wind here, he hit a beautiful shot. That made the week, really, for me to watch that,” he said. “To see Jack hit that shot, the toughest shot of the day and he was the one who hit it, it was kind of fun to watch.”
Tandem collects $310,000 to edge O’Meara, Langer
By MATTHEW CARROLL
Article from: The Maui News
KAANAPALI – Practice makes perfect, even for Jack Nicklaus.
Fresh off a two-month stretch of what he called “awful” golf, Nicklaus fired a 6-iron from 137 yards to within 12 feet on the par-3 17th hole and Tom Watson converted the $250,000 birdie putt Sunday as the legendary duo pocketed $310,000 en route to becoming the first tandem to successfully defend its title at the Kaanapali Champions Skins Game.
The pair of Hall of Famers captured the opening two skins on Saturday at the Royal Kaanapali Course and waited patiently over the ensuing 14 holes before the Golden Bear picked the perfect time to pounce, nearly duplicating his best shot of the opening round and locking up the team’s third crown together with seven skins.
“Skins game is a funny game. After birdieing the second hole yesterday, we were hanging in there, we really didn’t do much,” said Nicklaus, owner of a record 18 major championships. “Today we were just sort of hanging around, not really competing. All of sudden, 17, boom! That’s what the game is.
“I’m glad I picked the right hole to make the right shot and I’m glad Tom took the right hole to make the right putt.”
First-round leaders Bernhard Langer and Mark O’Meara were left with $300,000 and seven skins, including the $100,000 “superskin” on the second playoff hole, after Langer’s 15-footer lipped out on the 17th. Fred Couples and Nick Price won two skins and $80,000, as did Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but Jack hit an amazing shot off the 17th hole after I hit a pretty good one, and the hole was playing pretty tough,” O’Meara said. “He hit a world-class shot and Tom made a world-class putt.”
That’s a far cry from where Nicklaus deemed his game to be recently.
The 71-year old doesn’t hit the links that much anymore – “If I play 10 rounds of golf between now and the time I get back here next year I’ll be just absolutely amazed,” he said – but managed to sneak in a handful of holes during a two-month stretch in Florida prior to his arrival on the Valley Isle.
The greatest golfer of all time is one of few who can call three 78s, a 76 and a 72 “just terrible.”
“I even came out and practiced for the first time in five years,” Nicklaus said. “I hadn’t practiced in five years, where I actually went out to try and practice.
“I was on the verge of hitting the ball decently when I came out here, and actually I really started hitting the ball here.”
It showed Saturday, when he landed a 5-iron from 185 yards within three feet for two skins, and it was evident Sunday, too, never more so than on the final par 3.
“It may be surprising to some, it may be surprising to him, but it’s typical Jack in the way that he looks at his golf game,” said Watson, an eight-time major champion who also won with Nicklaus in 2007. “He looks at it very pragmatically, as I do. That’s why we like each other, ’cause we look at the game very pragmatically.
“He said, ‘When I first came here I was hitting it not very well. Then I found something that worked and then I found another thing that was working I added on top of that, and then I found a third thing that worked and added it on top of that and actually was playing pretty well.’ ”
During Nicklaus’ early-morning practice rounds, the picturesque shot over the fountain-dotted pond played as a 7- or 8-iron. Around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, however, a stiff wind forced him to alter his approach, and teeing off last allowed him to do so.
“I saw the guys try to hit 7-irons and they were hitting the ball, they were spinning it and they were going all over the place,” Nicklaus said. “So I said I’m going to take my 6-iron, choke it down a couple inches and just pick it, and try to make sure I didn’t put any spin on the ball. Which is what I did. It turned out to be a pretty darn good shot.
“Sometimes you have to go back and look in your memory bank and see if you can find something.”
Watson instantly recognized it was the best of the bunch.
“When the ball left his club, it was just boring right through the air, it wasn’t ballooning,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a heck of a shot.”
The stakes just added to the flair of the moment.
After Langer sank a seven-foot birdie worth $80,000 on No. 12, multiple players missed opportunities.
Price – who tapped in for birdie on the 10th for his team’s skins -missed a short birdie try on the 13th, curling the putt around the right side of the cup, and Couples missed a 10-footer for $100,000 on the 14th. After the 15th was halved, Couples again faltered with a big prize on the line, barely missing a downhill 15-footer for birdie on the 16th and carrying the pot over for a fourth straight hole.
“We needed a putt, but you know, today no one really made a putt,” Couples said. “We were in the same ballgame.”
As were Nicklaus and Watson, biding their time before seizing the day.
“Just lurking. We were just dodging bullets out there. We were dodging bullet after bullet after bullet,” Watson said. “We weren’t helping ourselves very much. When Jack hit that shot at 17, I knew it was time to convert.”
They landed in the rough more times than they care to remember, played out of a bunker or two and missed some key putts, yet always remained in the hunt.
Not quite the blueprint for success. But then again, with 26 major championships between the two, coming through in the clutch is nothing new.
“As I said to a lot of people yesterday, I said how would you like to step up on the first tee, and people say, ‘Well who’s your partner?’ ‘Well, my partner is Jack Nicklaus,’ ” Watson said emphatically. “How would you feel like having Jack Nicklaus as your partner?
“That’s the way I feel, always have.”
Couples probably wouldn’t mind the opportunity, either.
“Into the wind here, he hit a beautiful shot. That made the week, really, for me to watch that,” he said. “To see Jack hit that shot, the toughest shot of the day and he was the one who hit it, it was kind of fun to watch.”
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