Business Briefs Star-Bulletin staff and wire services

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HAWAII

Honolulu's industrial vacancy tight at 1.9%

For the third consecutive year, Honolulu's industrial market posted the lowest vacancy rate in the nation, according to a report by Colliers International.

Honolulu ranked as the tightest industrial market in the nation, recording a vacancy rate of 1.9 percent in June.

Southern California cities came in close behind, with Riverside and Los Angeles posting June vacancy rates of 2.3 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Boston ranked last, with a vacancy rate of 25.4 percent.

Prospective tenants for industrial spaces in Honolulu are faced with a limited supply and dramatic increase in rents. Speculative warehouse construction, however, has not caught up to the demand.

Most of the speculative construction will be industrial condominiums, according to Scott Mitchell, executive vice president of Colliers Monroe Friedlander.

Despite higher energy costs, most markets still predict robust demand for warehouse space in coming months.

Hawaiian, Aloha very punctual

Hawaiian Airlines ranked as the most on-time carrier for flights nationwide in June, followed by Aloha Airlines.

Hawaiian's flights were 94.6 percent on time while Aloha's flights were 82.6 percent on time, according to the monthly Air Travel Consumer Report issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Mesa Air Group Inc., the parent of go!, ranked No. 15, with flights that were 73.7 percent on time, dropping from its May ranking of No. 13.

The DOT report covers 20 airlines, including nine carriers that provide service for Hawaii.

Hawaiian was also No. 1 for baggage handling, with only 2.6 mishandled baggage reports for every 1,000 passengers flown. Aloha was 7th, with 5.1, and Mesa 16th, with 10.9.

In the fewest-cancellations category, Hawaiian was on top with only 0.3 percent of flights canceled. Only JetBlue and Frontier outdid Hawaiian, with only 0.1 percent cancellations.

Aloha had 1.8 percent of its flights canceled, while Mesa had 5 percent of its flights canceled.

Gentry to unveil Ewa luxury project

Gentry Homes will unveil its new luxury single-family home development, Cypress Point, at a grand opening this weekend. The project is located at 91-1307 Kuanoo Street in Ewa, next to the 27-hole Hawaii Prince Golf Course. Homes in the 27-residence community range from three to five bedrooms and offer up to 3,500 square feet of living space and 7,000-square-foot lots.

Cypress Point is the most expensive community built by Gentry on Oahu. Prices will start in the low $900,000s.

On assignment

Erika Engle is on assignment. TheBuzz will return on Sunday.

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PROMOTIONS

» Avalon Development Company LLC has promoted Collin Miyamoto to vice president-acquisition and analysis. He previously served as a Finance Factors Ltd. assistant branch manager.

» Hawaiian Electric Company Inc. has promoted Lynne T. Unemori to corporate relations vice president. She will be responsible for internal and external communications for the company. She replaces Chuck Freedman, who retired.

» First Hawaiian Bank has promoted Bryan Shigezawa to treasury and investment division senior vice president. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the trust and investment division. He joined the company in 1997 as an assistant vice president in the controller division.

» Ernst & Young LLP has promoted Rod Nystul to executive director of the Honolulu office tax department. He has previously served as tax services coordinator in the Orange County, Calif., office.

» The aio Group, has appointed Floyd K. Takeuchi president and chief operating officer of its newest division, TransOceanic Media. He previously headed the company's print media group.

» It's All About Kids LLC has appointed three employees to management positions. Dayna Itano has been promoted to administration director. She will oversee all internal administrative matters for the company and help with the operations team management. Jeff Randall has been appointed information technology manager. He will be responsible for planning, developing and implementing the use of new technology to improve the company's delivery services. Danny McInerny has been promoted to sales director. He will be responsible for developing and maintaining a community outreach campaign.

» HTH Corp. has announced the following promotions: Toshiya Amanda has been promoted to sales director. She will be responsible for sales operations at Oahu's Pacific Beach Hotel and the Pagoda Hotel and King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. Karen Yonemoto has been promoted to senior sales manager. She will be responsible for the meetings and conventions market at the hotels, as well as the travel agent, kamaaina and corporate markets. Stacey Soeda has been promoted to sales manager. She previously served as assistant sales manager.

» American Savings Bank has promoted Geoffrey Lockwood to assistant vice president, strategic research and development manager. He will handle direct management of research and product development. He has worked for the bank since 2002.

» PBR Hawaii has promoted Scott Murakami to associate. He previously served as a landscape designer. He joined the company in 2004.

» P.F. Chang's China Bistro has appointed Ronald Vazquez operating partner and Larkspur Sanchez culinary partner. Vazquez will be responsible for day-to-day operations, hiring, training and customer service for the restaurant. He joined the company in 2000 in Chicago. Sanchez will be responsible for product quality, purchasing, food costs and kitchen labor costs. He join the company in 1999 in Chicago.

ON THE BOARD

» The Hawaii Foodbank has appointed James Starshak to its board of directors. He is a partner at Carlsmith Ball LLP. He will serve a three-year term.

» The American Liver Foundation, Hawaii Chapter has elected five directors to its board: Dr. Gerard Akaka, internist and medical director, Queen Emma Clinics; Lee Moriwaki, operations executive vice president, Bank of Hawaii; Rod Moriyama, information technology services assistant superintendent, state Department of Education; Curtis Saiki, attorney, Cades Schutte LLP; and Manoj Samaranayake, tax manager, Honolulu office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

» Hawaiian Electric Co. has appointed David C. Cole and B.J. Kobayashi to its board of directors. Cole is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. Kobayashi is chief executive officer of the Kobayashi Group LLC.

» The YMCA of Honolulu has elected six new members to its board of directors: Benjamin K. Akana, senior vice president, main banking center, First Hawaiian Bank; Jeffery A. Bell, senior vice president, chief financial officer/treasurer corporate, Servco Pacific Inc.; Marivic G. Dar, financial planner, Prudential Financial; Mike Matsumoto, president & CEO, SSFM International Inc.; Juli Torigoe, director of finance and administration, Hawaii Community Foundation; and Lance Wilhelm, senior vice president, Kiewit Building Group Inc.

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