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POSTED: Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Kahala completes $52M renovation

The 338-room Kahala Hotel & Resort has finished the $52 million renovation begun in March 2007.

“;The resort has never looked better and will continue to evolve, but we have completely remade the hotel in time for the Kahala's 45th anniversary,”; said General Manager Thomas Pauly.

Guest rooms, suites, meeting spaces and the porte-cochere have been redone and redecorated, while the Kahala Spa has been expanded with five new treatment rooms.

The hotel is marking its 45th anniversary this year, having opened in 1964.

 

Mokulele takes flight with Travelocity

Mokulele Airlines' published fares, schedules and inventory are now available at online travel site Travelocity.com.

“;Our alliance with Travelocity offers another easy way to book travel with us,”; said Scott Durgin, chief executive officer of Mokulele.

Hawaii is an “;important destination for us,”; said Ross Mantione, Travelocity vice president for partner marketing. “;We're happy to now make flights on Mokulele Airlines available to our customers.”;

Mokulele, which has a fleet of three 70-seat Embraer 170 jets and four 208B Cessna Grand Caravans, operates 64 daily departures to six cities in Hawaii.

 

Macy's Hawaii makes EPA 'green' list

Macy's Hawaii stores were recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as among 20 top retail companies generating the most green electricity.

The California and Hawaii Macy's stores together generate more than 10 million kilowatt-hours of solar power annually, which is about 3 percent of their total use. Macy's ranks No. 19 on EPA's Top 20 list of green power purchasers.

According to the EPA, Macy's solar power saves the same amount of carbon emissions required to power more than 1,000 average American homes a year.

Other retailers on the Top 20 list include Whole Foods Market (for its Austin, Texas, store), Wal-Mart Stores (for its California and Texas stores), Starbucks, Lowe's, Safeway, FedEx and Office Depot.

 

Panda founder to speak tomorrow

Panda Restaurant Group Inc. founder and Chairman Andrew Cherng will speak tomorrow at a special event hosted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Hawaii Mainland Chinese Overseas Association.

Cherng, whose California-based restaurant empire includes Panda Inn, Panda Express and Hibachi-San, will deliver an address titled “;1,250 Pandas & Growing — Experience Pandamonium.”;

The event begins at 6 p.m. at the Chinese Chamber offices at 8 S. King St. Admission is free, and a “;simple dinner”; will be provided. Reservations must be made by noon today at 979-3320 or by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

 

ON THE MOVE

;  Whole Foods Market has announced Ray Stockton as store team leader for the company's first Maui location at Maui Mall. He has more than three decades of retail and store operations experience as well as having worked at Gelsons Market in California.

The Na Kilohana o Wahine Chapter of the American Business Women's Association has named its 2009-2010 officers: Iris Yafuso, president; Yvonne Ako, vice president; Vendy Goroza and Leilani Alcover, co-secretaries; and Donna Miyashiro, treasurer.

PacRim Marketing Group Inc. and PRTech LLC have promoted Jennifer Erwin to general manager from business manager at PacRim Marketing Group.