BUSINESS BRIEFS
Tourism authority begins search
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The Hawai'i Tourism Authority has formed a search committee to find a permanent president and CEO to lead the agency.
Former chief Rex Johnson was forced to resign after he forwarded X-rated e-mails and sexist and racist jokes from his state laptop computer.
Lloyd Unebasami, the agency's chief administrative officer, is serving as interim chief executive officer while the search for a permanent replacement goes on.
The search committee includes:
Three additional HTA board members also are being recommended for appointment to the committee: Vernon Char, Cha Thompson and Marsha Wienert.
ECONOMIC INDEX FALLS FOR 6TH MONTH
The coincident index of economic activity for Hawai'i fell in September for the sixth consecutive month.
Hawai'i was one of 28 states where the index fell. The index, which measures economic indicators thought to closely coincide with the overall economy, is compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. An increase in the index indicates economic expansion, while a decrease indicates contraction.
Hawai'i's coincident index hit a high of 121.17 in March and has declined every month since then. Its September level was 119.20.
Jobs, inflation-adjusted income, unemployment and average hours worked in manufacturing are used to calculate the index.
REGIONAL CLEAN-ENERGY SUMMIT SET
The inaugural Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo is scheduled next year as part of the Seventh Annual Korea-Pacific U.S. States Joint Conference that will be held in Honolulu.
The expo will provide an opportunity for countries to share renewable-energy policies, best practices and new technologies.
The conference is being hosted by the state and takes place Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, 2009. Besides Korean officials, representatives from Alaska, California, Hawai'i, Oregon, Washington and Idaho are part of the joint conference that was created to foster trade, investment and economic cooperation.
T&T TINTING MOVING NEAR AIRPORT
T&T Tinting Specialists Inc. is moving from its location in Salt Lake to a larger space near Honolulu International Airport, the company announced yesterday.
Owner Tommy Silva said the company has signed a long-term lease for a 14,200-square-foot showroom and warehouse at the site of the former Far Eastern Furnishings building on Koapaka Street. The Salt Lake location, behind a planned Target store, covered 3,000 square feet.
The company, which began tinting automobile windows 20 years ago, has expanded to tinting windows on homes, commercial buildings, and installing security films for hurricane, burglary and bomb blast protection, Silva said.
Besides needing more space, T&T also was unable to reach terms on a new lease at the Target site, Silva said. He said the lease rent would have almost tripled at the Salt Lake location. T&T Tinting will occupy the front half of the new space in mid-November, shortly before vacating the Salt lake location. Silva said he is looking for a complementary business to occupy the back half of the building, which he will sublease.
