Waves bring flooding on Maui, damage in Kailua-Kona
By Michael Tsai
Article from: Star-Advertiser
On the Neighbor Islands, damage was reported in Kailua-Kona and flooding was reported in Kahului, where the surge reached a third of a mile inland.
Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi’s office confirmed that “damaging waves” hit Kailua-Kona around 5:30 a.m., roughly two hours after the first surge was expected. The waves caused relatively minor but widespread damage in the area.
According to Hawaii County Civil Defense official John Drummond, a foot of water rushed into the lobby of the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel; the water also destroyed several canoes stored in front of the hotel.
Water also entered the interior of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and several other businesses fronting Kailua Bay. While wave heights have not yet been determined, Kenoi’s office received reports that some of the surges reached the tops of portable toilet booths in the area.
The damage was discovered this morning when police officers and other county workers returned to the inundation zone.
County spokesperson Hunter Bishop said that surges were still being reported as of 8 a.m. this morning. He stressed that the Big Island is still observing tsunami warning precautions and that residents should continue to stay away from coastal areas until the county makes an “all clear” declaration.
Big Island Civil Defense is also looking into reports that a house in Kealakekua was swept away by the rising waters.
According to multiple reports out of Maui, waves crossed Kaahumanu Street in Kahului, reaching six to eight inches on the roadway at one point.
Unconfirmed reports also indicated water climbing the seawall and cross Front Street in Lahaina.
Waves reached as high as 9 feet in Kahului, according to Maui civil defense.
Maui County spokesperson Rod Antone said county officials tracked the progress of the waves overnight from atop a nearby building.
This morning, Mayor Alan Arakawa joined directors from Public Works, Wastewater Management and the Department of Water Supply in a helicopter fly-over of the island to assess the damage.
Two initial surges of six to seven feet hit Kahului in the first hours of the tsunami. A third, more powerful surge, which included waves estimated at 9 feet, followed just before daybreak and advanced as much as a block inland.
Gerard Fryer, scientist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said the water reached a third of mile inland.
South Kihei Road was also reported to be flooded.
Arakawa confirmed that some low-lying areas had been flooded and that businesses near Kahului Harbor were damaged by water.
While most roads and streets in the inundation zone remain closed, Maui police did reopen two high-traffic intersections: Hana and Haleakala Highways and Hana Highway and Baldwin Avenue.
Antone said the island’s 14 evacuation centers were filled, with as many as 500 people in some facilities.
There were no immediate reports of damage on Kauai, which was the first island to have the tsunami warning lifted at about 7:30 a.m.
On the Big Island, an estimate 1,000 people took shelter in 15 evacuation centers set up around the island, according to Kenoi’s office.
About 100 guests from the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, on Banyan Drive next to Hilo Bay, accepted an invitation from Prince Kuhio Plaza mall manager Kimberley Shimabuku to spend the night at the mall. Other guests of the hotel were relocated to hotels and residences located further from the bay.
Neighbor Island civil defense departments reacted swiftly once yesterday’s tsunami watch was upgraded to a warning.
Big Island, Maui and Kauai officials all initiated evacuations of low-lying areas around 10 p.m. and posted warnings and advice via their websites and phone message lines.
The warning center provided continually updated predictions on when different coastal areas could expect to be hit, starting with Nawiliwili on Kauai and continuing through Honolulu, Kahului and Hilo.
“We had good leeway time,” said Big Island civil defense officer Duane Hosaka.
By 2 a.m. all neighbor island airports had been closed in anticipation of the tidal wave. Lihue Airport on Kauai was open by 7:45 a.m.
At 2:30 a.m., inundation zones along the north shore of Kauai from Hanalei to Kee had been cleared by police, according to resident Tom Finnegan. County officials had announced they were concentrating on securing the Poipu and North Shore resort communities. Traffic into those areas was shut down at 2:15 a.m., he said.
“It’s eerily quiet,” Finnegan said. “Everybody panicked between 10 and 12, and now people have hunkered down in front of their TVs.”
The parking lot at the Princeville Shopping Center was full, even though no stores were open. Finnegan said about 150 vehicles were parked there with people asleep inside. “It looks like the middle of the day in a busy shopping center except not one store is open,” he said.
Although Kauai is still under a tsunami warning, the County of Kauai plans to proceed with business as usual. Employees are advised to monitor the media for road closures and other information, and to report to work as they are able.
The County’s Ocean Safety Bureau advises all persons to stay out of the ocean for the remainder of the day today, even after the tsunami warning is lifted.
———
Rod Thompson on the Big Island contributed to this report.
Showing posts with label grand wailea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grand wailea. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Unemployment Rate Lower in Maui County
Unemployment rate lower in county
March 8, 2011
Article from: The Maui News
The unemployment rate for Maui County fell one percentage point in January from the same month a year ago to 7.9 percent, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Monday.
That jobless rate for January was higher than the state’s 6.4 percent (not seasonally adjusted) but the best for the Neighbor Islands. Kauai logged an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent and the Big Island 9.3 percent. Oahu’s jobless rate was 5.4 percent.
The national unemployment rate for January (not seasonally adjusted) was 9.8 percent.
By island in the county, Lanai had the lowest rate of joblessness, at 5.3 percent, down from 8.7 percent in January 2010, followed by Maui island at 7.9 percent, down from 8.6 percent, and Molokai at 12 percent, down from 15.5 percent.
Unemployment rates in December were higher on Lanai (6 percent) and Molokai (12.7 percent) but lower on Maui island (7.3 percent). The Maui increase was likely due to an end in holiday employment, said Kevin Kimizuka, Maui County branch manager of the labor department’s Workforce Development Division, on Monday morning.
Anecdotally, Kimizuka said that his division has seen more jobs for part-time work and at the entry level, such as salesclerks, receptionists and warehouse laborers. However, the more career-oriented and managerial-level jobs are not opening up. Most opportunities are temporary in this sector, he said.
He added that his division is seeing fewer people seeking unemployment claims.
Looking at the different sectors statewide, the biggest gain came in trade, transportation and utilities, which was up 2,100 jobs, the Labor Department reported. This comes on the heels of two straight months of declines. Retail trade posted a 2,300-job gain in the month.
Government (1,500) and leisure and hospitality (1,300) sectors also showed gains in the labor department report.
On the other side of the ledger, construction shed 1,000 jobs in January, after seeing three months of growth. All sectors fell, including residential construction and work for trade and framing contractors. From January 2010 to this January, 1,700 jobs were lost in construction.
There were 590,800 employed and 39,650 unemployed people in January, for a seasonally adjusted labor force of 630,450, the report said. Last January, the seasonally adjusted work force was 628,650.
March 8, 2011
Article from: The Maui News
The unemployment rate for Maui County fell one percentage point in January from the same month a year ago to 7.9 percent, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Monday.
That jobless rate for January was higher than the state’s 6.4 percent (not seasonally adjusted) but the best for the Neighbor Islands. Kauai logged an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent and the Big Island 9.3 percent. Oahu’s jobless rate was 5.4 percent.
The national unemployment rate for January (not seasonally adjusted) was 9.8 percent.
By island in the county, Lanai had the lowest rate of joblessness, at 5.3 percent, down from 8.7 percent in January 2010, followed by Maui island at 7.9 percent, down from 8.6 percent, and Molokai at 12 percent, down from 15.5 percent.
Unemployment rates in December were higher on Lanai (6 percent) and Molokai (12.7 percent) but lower on Maui island (7.3 percent). The Maui increase was likely due to an end in holiday employment, said Kevin Kimizuka, Maui County branch manager of the labor department’s Workforce Development Division, on Monday morning.
Anecdotally, Kimizuka said that his division has seen more jobs for part-time work and at the entry level, such as salesclerks, receptionists and warehouse laborers. However, the more career-oriented and managerial-level jobs are not opening up. Most opportunities are temporary in this sector, he said.
He added that his division is seeing fewer people seeking unemployment claims.
Looking at the different sectors statewide, the biggest gain came in trade, transportation and utilities, which was up 2,100 jobs, the Labor Department reported. This comes on the heels of two straight months of declines. Retail trade posted a 2,300-job gain in the month.
Government (1,500) and leisure and hospitality (1,300) sectors also showed gains in the labor department report.
On the other side of the ledger, construction shed 1,000 jobs in January, after seeing three months of growth. All sectors fell, including residential construction and work for trade and framing contractors. From January 2010 to this January, 1,700 jobs were lost in construction.
There were 590,800 employed and 39,650 unemployed people in January, for a seasonally adjusted labor force of 630,450, the report said. Last January, the seasonally adjusted work force was 628,650.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Hawaii Hotel Occupancy Continues to Rise
State hotel occupancy continues to rise
Article from: Maui Weekly
Pacific Business News – According to a weekly report by Smith Travel Research and Hospitality Advisors, eight out of 10 hotel rooms in Hawai‘i were occupied during the week ending Saturday, Feb. 12, and most islands’ average room rates were higher than during the same week last year. The weekly report is based on a daily hotel survey of about 100 properties, representing 40,744 rooms, which represent 71.5 percent of the state’s total hotel rooms for properties with 20 units or more.
The average statewide hotel occupancy rate was 81 percent, a 2.7 percent increase from the same week a year ago. O‘ahu recorded the state’s top occupancy rate at 87 percent—4.2 percentage points higher than the same week in 2010. Maui’s occupancy rate of 82.9 percent was 1.7 percentage points higher than last year, and Hawai‘i Island’s 67.9 percent occupancy rate was 3.7 percentage points higher than the same week last year. Kaua‘i’s occupancy rate of 63.5 percent was 4.9 percentage points lower than the same week last year.
Room rates averaged in at $187.12 across the state, which is a 3.9 percent increase compared to the same week a year ago. O‘ahu saw the largest increase with an average room rate of $162.38—7.7 percent higher than the same week a year ago. Maui’s average rate was $236.68—0.7 percent lower than the same week in 2010.
Article from: Maui Weekly
Pacific Business News – According to a weekly report by Smith Travel Research and Hospitality Advisors, eight out of 10 hotel rooms in Hawai‘i were occupied during the week ending Saturday, Feb. 12, and most islands’ average room rates were higher than during the same week last year. The weekly report is based on a daily hotel survey of about 100 properties, representing 40,744 rooms, which represent 71.5 percent of the state’s total hotel rooms for properties with 20 units or more.
The average statewide hotel occupancy rate was 81 percent, a 2.7 percent increase from the same week a year ago. O‘ahu recorded the state’s top occupancy rate at 87 percent—4.2 percentage points higher than the same week in 2010. Maui’s occupancy rate of 82.9 percent was 1.7 percentage points higher than last year, and Hawai‘i Island’s 67.9 percent occupancy rate was 3.7 percentage points higher than the same week last year. Kaua‘i’s occupancy rate of 63.5 percent was 4.9 percentage points lower than the same week last year.
Room rates averaged in at $187.12 across the state, which is a 3.9 percent increase compared to the same week a year ago. O‘ahu saw the largest increase with an average room rate of $162.38—7.7 percent higher than the same week a year ago. Maui’s average rate was $236.68—0.7 percent lower than the same week in 2010.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Volunteers and Researchers on Maui Tallied 1,607 Humpback Whale Sightings on Saturday
1,607 whales sighted
Article from: The Maui News
MAALAEA – Volunteers and researchers on Maui tallied 1,607 sightings of humpback whales Saturday, a 33 percent increase from last year, the Pacific Whale Foundation reported.
Last year’s total was 1,208 humpbacks. There were 12 counting stations in the Great Maui Whale Count.
Greg Kaufman, founder and president of PWF, which organized the count, said the sighting conditions were “fantastic,” with calm seas and light winds.
“Because we have conducted the count systematically at the same time each year, it provides a valuable look at Hawaii’s winter whale population. In general, we are seeing evidence of a growing number of whale sightings in recent years,” Kaufman said in a news release.
He said the increase in sightings correlates to research that shows the humpback whale population in the North Pacific increasing at a rate of 7 percent or 8 percent each year.
An estimated 20,000 humpback whales live in the North Pacific, and about 60 percent of that population is believed to come to Hawaii each year to mate, give birth and care for their young, a release said.
The counting stations were positioned along Maui’s south and western shores, in an area extending from Makena to Kapalua. There also was a station at Hookipa Beach Park on Maui’s north shore.
Last year’s count took place a week later than usual because of a tsunami warning on the originally scheduled day. In 2009, 1,010 whale sightings were recorded. In 2008, 1,726 were tallied on a day with ideal conditions such as Saturday’s.
Of Saturday’s sightings, 154 were calves, compared to 149 sighted last year.
Puu Olai in Makena recorded the most whale sightings with 311 during the counting window, which was open from 8:30 to 11:55 a.m.
The count was conducted by 100 volunteers who worked alongside Pacific Whale Foundation researchers and staff and was done along lookout posts from the shorelines.
The count is part of the Maui Whale Festival, a series of whale-related events taking place from November through mid-May.
Article from: The Maui News
MAALAEA – Volunteers and researchers on Maui tallied 1,607 sightings of humpback whales Saturday, a 33 percent increase from last year, the Pacific Whale Foundation reported.
Last year’s total was 1,208 humpbacks. There were 12 counting stations in the Great Maui Whale Count.
Greg Kaufman, founder and president of PWF, which organized the count, said the sighting conditions were “fantastic,” with calm seas and light winds.
“Because we have conducted the count systematically at the same time each year, it provides a valuable look at Hawaii’s winter whale population. In general, we are seeing evidence of a growing number of whale sightings in recent years,” Kaufman said in a news release.
He said the increase in sightings correlates to research that shows the humpback whale population in the North Pacific increasing at a rate of 7 percent or 8 percent each year.
An estimated 20,000 humpback whales live in the North Pacific, and about 60 percent of that population is believed to come to Hawaii each year to mate, give birth and care for their young, a release said.
The counting stations were positioned along Maui’s south and western shores, in an area extending from Makena to Kapalua. There also was a station at Hookipa Beach Park on Maui’s north shore.
Last year’s count took place a week later than usual because of a tsunami warning on the originally scheduled day. In 2009, 1,010 whale sightings were recorded. In 2008, 1,726 were tallied on a day with ideal conditions such as Saturday’s.
Of Saturday’s sightings, 154 were calves, compared to 149 sighted last year.
Puu Olai in Makena recorded the most whale sightings with 311 during the counting window, which was open from 8:30 to 11:55 a.m.
The count was conducted by 100 volunteers who worked alongside Pacific Whale Foundation researchers and staff and was done along lookout posts from the shorelines.
The count is part of the Maui Whale Festival, a series of whale-related events taking place from November through mid-May.
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.
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.
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.
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