BUSINESS BRIEFS
Aloha employees to rally at Capitol
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Aloha Airlines employees and supporters have scheduled a rally at the state Capitol today.
Unionized workers at Aloha, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week, organized the 3 p.m. rally to demonstrate to government officials that "Aloha is worth saving."
State lawmakers are considering a financial rescue for Aloha that could include loan guarantees, landing fee waivers and the elimination of the excise tax on jet fuel.
A second rally is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. in front of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
ISLAND POWER PRESIDENT FINED
The president of Island Power Hawaii was ordered by a District Court judge to pay $131,267 in restitution and fined $8,000 for failing to report $3.2 million in income from 2001 through 2005, according to the state Department of Taxation.
Donald Naruse and his corporation were each granted deferred acceptance of no contest pleas and ordered to remain in compliance with all tax laws.
The case was divided into two parts. Naruse failed to report $1.5 million in gross income his corporation received from 2004 to 2005.
Prior to incorporating his business, Naruse operated as a sole proprietor doing business as Island Power Hawaii from 2001 through part of 2004. He failed to report $1.7 million in income during that time, officials said.
SHIDLER GIVES $1 MILLION MORE TO UH
Real estate entrepreneur Jay Shidler donated an additional $1 million to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Shidler College of Business to complete renovations at the school.
Of Shidler's initial $25 million gift to the school in 2006, $1 million was set aside for the first phase of renovations, including landscaping, painting and resurfacing. Then, last summer the college received an additional $526,000 for classroom renovations. The latest gift toward renovations and new projects places the total at $2.5 million.
UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said Shidler's support "has truly transformed the physical and intellectual environment for our students and made this college a 'destination of choice.' "
KONA BREWING TO SELL BEER IN FLORIDA
Kona Brewing Co. has begun distributing its ales and lagers in Florida.
"Kona beers have been extremely popular in test cities across Florida," said Mattson Davis, president and chief executive officer of the company, based in Kailua, Kona.
"We are eager to make them available to craft beer lovers seeking new flavor experiences across the state," he told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
Kona Brewing Co. produces about 190,000 gallons of beer each year at its Kona facility.
AMERON REPORTS INCOME UP $9.7M
Ameron International Corp. said its net income rose to $9.7 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, in the first quarter ended March 2, helped by its ready-mix concrete and gravel and rock business in Hawai'i.
The Pasadena, Calif.-based company said the results compared with net income of $8.5 million, or 94 cents per diluted share, a year earlier. It said the profits were also helped by continued growth of its fiberglass-composite pipe group.
Sales totaled $149.8 million in the first quarter of 2008, compared with $120.4 million in 2007, an increase of 24 percent.
