HAWAII
Affordable housing loans available
The Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii said yesterday it will begin accepting applications this month for its rental housing trust fund low-interest loans as well as its grants to assist in developing affordable rental projects.Applications for Project Award Loans, which are used for the development and rehabilitation of rental housing, will be available Oct. 31 and will be due by Jan. 31.
Developers may apply for these funds, provided that at least 10 percent of their proposed unit mix will be affordable to persons making 30 percent or less of the area median income, and at least 50 percent of their unit mix will be affordable to persons making 60 percent or less of the median income.
The remaining balance of units must be affordable to persons making the median income or less.
In addition, Capacity Building Grants and Predevelopment Loans will be available to nonprofits. Applications for both will be available Feb. 28 and will be due by June 13.
The Capacity Building Grant program is available to help nonprofit organizations provide affordable rental housing. Funds awarded under the Predevelopment Loan Program are used for predevelopment activities such as acquisitions, feasibility studies, planning, design, engineering, soil studies, and environmental studies.
Fore more information, call Darrell Young, 587-0597.
Free showerheads from Hawaiian Electric
Hawaiian Electric Co. is offering its customers free energy-efficient showerheads to celebrate Energy Awareness Month.HECO sent its residential customers postcards that can be redeemed for the showerheads Oct. 1-15 at Home Depot, City Mill or Sears.
The showerheads can save a family of four about $45 a year on its electric bills and about $15 a year on its water bills, according to HECO.
City Bank to open branch on Kauai
City Bank said yesterday it has received state and federal approvals to open a bank branch in the Ben Franklin Crafts store on Rice Street in Lihue, Kauai.The branch, scheduled to open Nov. 16, will be City Bank's first bank branch on the island, though it has been operating a location in the Princeville Shopping Center that performs mortgage loans.
City Bank said both the state Division of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had given approvals for the site.
The location will be the bank's second inside a Ben Franklin store and the 21st branch overall.
City Bank is a subsidiary of CB Bancshares Inc., the state's third-largest bank holding company with $1.5 billion in assets.
MAINLAND
Ex-Enron CFO Fastow surrenders to FBI
HOUSTON >> The financial engineer behind the deals that helped cover up Enron Corp.'s massive debt was charged today with fraud, money laundering and conspiring to inflate the company's profits and enrich himself at the company's expense. Andrew Fastow, 40, surrendered to FBI agents and was formally charged in court. Under an agreement with Fastow's lawyers, federal prosecutors recommended he be released on $5 million bond.Fastow, the company's former financial officer, is the most prominent Enron figure targeted so far by the Justice Department. Prosecutors are expected to pressure him to talk about his former colleagues, including former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling.
Prosecutors say Fastow and others created a scheme to defraud Enron and its shareholders through transactions with off-the-books partnerships that made the company look more profitable than it was.
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[Hawaii Inc.]
NEW JOBS
>> Dr. Christopher Tortora is taking over ownership of Hawaiian Eye Center from founder Dr. John Corboy. The company has grown from two rooms in Wahiawa in 1975 to become a statewide eye care provider with six offices, three on Oahu, and one each on the Big Island, Maui and Molokai. Tortora is a specialist in "no-stitch" cataract surgery, as well as laser surgery. He joined Hawaiian Eye Center in 1991.>> Kevin Labang has joined the Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort as director of food and beverage. He is responsible for the overall operation of the resort's food and beverage outlets, which include the Kamaaina Terrace, Veranda Lounge and Kalanikai Bar & Grill, as well as banquet services. Labang has more than 20 years of experience in food and beverage and restaurant operations, most recently as banquet manager at the Orchid at Mauna Lani Hotel. The Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort is operated by a division of Outrigger Enterprises Inc., the largest locally owned lodging company in Hawaii.
PROMOTIONS
>> Neal Brum has been promoted to manager of information systems for Atlantis Adventures' Hawaii operations. He will oversee the company's computer and technology support systems for reservations, purchasing, administration and accounting services in Hawaii. He was most recently network administrator at the company and is a certified specialist in Microsoft Office User systems.>> First Hawaiian Bank has promoted three officers: Gayle L. Pingree to vice president and branch manager, Kahala Branch; Victoria M. Hasty to assistant vice president and team leader, Kona Branch; and Alethea A. Seto to assistant vice president, Main Banking Center. The bank has also appointed Cari N. G. Chock to financial analyst officer, First Investment Center; Annette Y. Higa to service manager, King-Liliha Branch; and Carl F. Kim to trust officer, Personal Trust Department.
RECOGNITION
>> L&L Drive Inn has donated $8,000 worth of scholarships to the University of Hawaii Foundation for high school students who attend schools in the University of Hawaii system. Recipients of this year's scholarships are Betsy Colman of Konawaena, Kenneth Sakata of Kalani, Travis Nishino of Kalani, Allan Garcia of St. Louis, Judy Relosimon of Farrington, Priscilla Navares of Farrington, Maria Rivera of Waipahu, Dennis Ke of McKinley, and Liane Wong of Radford.