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HAWAII
Aloha Machine execs to attend SBA bash

The three principals of Aloha Machine & Welding Ltd., who as a team were named Hawaii's 2005 "Small Business Person of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration, say they intend to travel to Washington, D.C., in late April to see who wins the national title.

The three are Aloha Machine's president, Dennis M. Matsui, its vice president, Modesto Revilla Jr., and its secretary and treasurer, Robert R. Acasio.

Acasio said the three will be presented their state award on Wednesday at the state Capitol. There also will be an awards luncheon at the Sheraton Waikiki on April 19, he said.

On April 25, the three will join winners from the other states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam at the SBA Expo '05, at which the national Small Business Person of the Year will be announced.

The expo will take place during the last week of April, to coincide with National Small Business Week. Co-sponsored by SCORE, the expo will feature almost 200 exhibitors, a business matchmaking event, seminars, a town hall meeting and award ceremonies honoring top entrepreneurs

"I'm sure it's going to be fun," said Acasio.

Acasio said Aloha Machine would be paying for the travel expenses of the three owners, and each of them would be paying for any family that join them.

Maui golf course to be upgraded

Kaanaplai Golf Courses' Resort South Course will be closed for six-and-a-half months starting Friday while it undergoes renovations and upgrades.

Work on the Maui golf course will include new irrigation equipment, regrassing of greens and tee boxes, and renovations to the bunkers and landscaped areas surrounding the course.

Golf course designer Robert Nelson is overseeing the enhancements to the 6,555-yard, par-71 course, which was designed by Arthur Jack Snyder in 1976.

The course is expected to reopen Nov. 15.

NATION
How to improve your credit score

Credit scores, that abstruse number between 300 and 850 that lenders assign to us based on our credit histories, are based on five factors, and the higher your score, the more likely you are to be considered a fine catch by a lender. These are: payment history, amounts owed, length of history, new credit applied for and taken, and type of credit.

Here are a few tips to raise your score:

» Pay bills on time.

» Don't move your debt. Paying it off, instead of shuffling it among a plethora of lenders, will improve your score.

» Check credit reports. Errors on personal credit histories are not uncommon and can wreak havoc on your score. Check all three main credit-reporting companies -- Experian, Equifax and TransUnion -- to make sure you have a mistake-free trio reporting on you.

» Manage your debt. Letting this float around your finances year after year, with paltry payments, will burden your score.