BUSINESS BRIEFS
High-speed Net lines at 294,612
Advertiser Staff and News Services
There were 294,612 high-speed Internet lines in Hawai'i as of June 30, according to a Federal Communications Commission report released Wednesday.
Hawai'i ranked 34th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of total high-speed Internet lines. The FCC did not disclose the number of high-speed Internet lines in Hawai'i in the prior-year period.
BILL TO BAN GMO TARO TESTING GAINS
State lawmakers this week advanced a bill that would ban testing and growing of genetically modified taro for a period of 10 years.
Senate Bill 958 was passed Monday by the Water, Land, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee by a 3-1 vote. State lawmakers debated similar legislation last year but failed to pass any law banning such research.
Concern about taro stems from research by the University of Hawai'i into genetically modified taro — or kalo, in the Hawaiian language. The university has since voluntarily suspended work on genetically engineered Hawaiian taro.
However, UH continues to conduct research on genetically modified Chinese Bun Long taro. That project involves inserting genes from grapevine and wheat into Chinese taro to improve fungal disease resistance.
TECH COMPANIES TO WOO INVESTORS
Nanopoint Inc. and Sopogy Inc., two Hawai'i-based technology companies, will be among the companies making presentations to investors at next week's Investors Choice Venture Capital Conference in Utah.
The conference is billed as a way for companies to meet with venture capitalists as they seek funds to build their companies. Nanopoint is a biotechnology company developing cellular imaging systems for the life sciences market. Sopogy is working on increasing renewable energy production through its concentrated solar power technologies.
