New state Data Book adds up life in Hawaii

Hawaii's population is flat, our incomes are above average, the visitor wedding business is booming and we really like our cell phones, according to the latest installment of the State of Hawaii Data Book 2000.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism has posted the book to its Web site, www.hawaii.gov/dbedt. The 33rd annual collection of statistics also is available in book and CD.

The new edition features 739 tables and information from last year's federal census. Among the tidbits are Hawaii's state population, 1,211,537, and the median income for a family of four, which was $66,402 in Hawaii in 1999, compared with a national average of $59,981.

Marriages taking place in the state totaled 23,067 in 1999, up 10 percent from the previous year; and in about 60 percent of those weddings, neither the bride nor the groom was a Hawaii resident.

The number of mobile wireless telephone subscribers grew to 524,291 by the end of last year, an increase of 81.8 percent from 1999.

Printed copies of the Data Book are available for $20 in Hawaii. Call 586-2466.

Nursery wins state exporter award

Big Island plant nursery Hawaii Foliage Exports Inc. was named the state's top exporter in the governor's Exporter of the Year awards for 2001.

Hawaii Foliage, which markets and distributes tropical plants for exports, is the state's leading plant nursery and has seen tremendous growth since it was founded in 1987, Gov. Ben Cayetano said.

Cayetano cited five additional exporters in the annual Exporter of the Year awards. They included Web site designer RevaComm Inc., which was named high-tech exporter of the year; Cyanotech Corp., which was the state's top exporter of manufactured goods; and precision instruments designer Mauna Kea Infrared LLC, which was the top exporter for professional services.

Quiet Store Records was cited as the state's top new exporter, and TM Pacific U.S.A., which produces high-end cosmetics, was named as the state's top export trading company.

[Taking Notice]

NEW JOBS

>> Dean Y. Uchida has been named director of operations at SSFM International Inc. He will be responsible for management of engineering and planning services as well as all administrative functions at the company. Uchida most recently served as administrator of the Land Division at the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

PROMOTIONS

>> Earl Inouye has been promoted to vice president and system controller at Kapiolani Health. Inouye, who joined Kapiolani in 1998, will continue his responsibilities as system controller. David Okabe was named vice president and treasurer at Kapiolani Health. He was previously involved in financial planning at the organization, which he joined in 1999. Kapiolani Health is the nonprofit holding company for Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, Kapiolani Women's Center, Kapiolani Health Foundation and Kapiolani Service Corp.