BUSINESS BRIEFS
Rivers named to Isle Disney post
Advertiser Staff
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Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has named company veteran Djuan Rivers vice president of Disney's planned Vacation Club and Resort in Hawai'i.
Rivers, who moved to Hawai'i from Los Angeles, will work closely with community, business and government leaders as the company proceeds with its 21-acre oceanfront property at Ko Olina Resort, Disney said in a news release.
Rivers, a 20-year Disney veteran, most recently held the position of vice president of new business development for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Before that he served as vice president of Downtown Disney Operations at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
He started his Disney career as a manager on the opening team of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in 1988. Since then, he has assisted with the opening of six resorts in Florida and three resorts at Disneyland Resort Paris.
He has held the positions of general manager of Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Disney's All-Star Resorts and hotel director on both Disney Cruise Line vessels.
2007 GUAVA PRODUCTION DOWN 81%
The state's guava production plunged 81 percent in 2007, largely due to the closure of a 400-acre guava farm on Kaua'i.
Farms statewide produced 1.4 million pounds of guava in 2007, down from 7.4 million pounds the year before, according to a report from the local office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Kilauea Agronomics, the guava plantation established by C. Brewer on its old Kilauea Sugar Co. lands on Kaua'i's north shore, closed over several months in late 2006 and early 2007. The plantation was suffering financial losses due to cheaper, imported guava.
Statewide acreage devoted to guava production totaled 395 acres in 2007, down 31 percent from the previous year.
The average farm price for guava was 15 cents a pound, up 6 percent from 2006. The total value of the guava crop was $210,000 in 2007, down 80 percent from the prior year.
CEMENT SHIPMENTS TO ISLES FALL 4.8%
Shipments of finished portland cement to Hawai'i fell 4.8 percent in April compared with a year earlier, indicating a slowing of the state's construction industry.
That's less than an average 6.3 percent drop for the nation as a whole, according to data cited by Bloomberg News.
Shipments to Hawai'i totaled 38,405 metric tons in April, or 0.4 percent of the nation's total.
Cement is the basic ingredient in concrete, mortar and stucco.
ISLAND INSURANCE GETS TOP RATINGS
Island Insurance, Hawai'i's largest locally owned and managed property and casualty insurance carrier, has received an "A" (excellent) financial strength rating and "A+" Issuer Credit Rating from A.M. Best Company.
A.M. Best's Ratings are the benchmark for assessing the financial strength of insurance related organizations and the credit quality of their obligations.
An "A" rating reflects the company's capitalization, favorable operating performance and extensive local market knowledge, according to A.M. Best. The Issuer Credit Rating reflects an insurer's ability to meet its senior financial obligations.
"Our successful ratings are a reflection of the operational excellence throughout our company and with our agency partners," said John Schapperle, president and chief operating officer of Island Insurance.
