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HAWAII
Maui developer gets county OK

WAILUKU » The Canadian-based development firm Intrawest Corp. has received shoreline approval to move forward with the development of its 700-unit resort project at North Beach in Kaanapali, Maui.

Intrawest plans to build 76 townhouses and 624 resort units on 34.8 acres of land mauka and south of the Mahana resort.

Intrawest officials estimate the sales price per unit will range from $500,000 to $2 million.

As part of the special management area permit approved by the Maui Planning Commission Tuesday, the firm is allowed to build up to two 10-story buildings.

In negotiations with various opposing interests, the firm agreed to add 17,000 square feet to its donation of a 4.7-acre park and donate $500,000 to the Lahainaluna High School Foundation.

The firm has made commitments to lessen the impact of the development, such as paying $2.75 million in traffic impact fees.

Intrawest has paid $1.4 million to the West Maui Resource Center for its affordable housing requirement.

Hawaiian to stop accepting coupons

Hawaiian Airlines said it will no longer accept flight coupons, once popular among interisland travelers, after June 15.

Hawaiian announced two years ago that it would get rid of coupons and convert to electronic flight ticketing to save money. The company now says that nearly 90 percent of ticketing is done electronically.

The carrier will not accept coupons beyond their expiration date, but a coupon without an expiration date can be exchanged for a one-way e-ticket, Hawaiian said. More information is available at www.hawaiianairlines.com/coupons.

Luxury homes sell big in Hawaii

Among the top 30 states for Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.'s luxury home sales last year, Hawaii ranked No. 9 with $646.1 million in property sold.

The company ranked sales of homes worth $1 million or more, which Coldwell said rose to a record $35.5 billion nationwide in 2004, topping the previous record of $23.3 billion in 2003.

Coldwell said it had its largest volume in California, with nearly $20 billion in sales, led by activity in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and San Francisco.

NATION
Ebbers may testify in own trial

NEW YORK » In a dramatic move by the defense, Bernard J. Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom accused of fraud, conspiracy and filing false financial reports, has indicated that he may testify in his own defense next week.

One of Ebbers' lawyers, Brian Heberlig, told Judge Barbara Jones of U.S. District Court in Manhattan about the defense team's "good faith" intention in a hearing yesterday. Heberlig said "there is a very high probability" that Ebbers will take the stand on Monday, according to a court transcript.

Many legal experts had not expected Ebbers to take the stand and, indeed, the defense's decision is a risky one.