HAWAII

Young Bros. routes holiday freight

Isle ocean shipper Young Brothers said last week that all shipments from Maui to Molokai will be shipped through Honolulu during the Christmas and New Years' holiday week.

All shipments destined to Molokai must be received in Maui on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 by 11 a.m. Each shipment will be transferred in Honolulu to a barge that will arrive in Molokai on Dec. 24 and Dec. 29. The company's Christmas and New Year's holiday schedule is available at http://www.youngbrothershawaii.com.

3 business leaders recognized

The Junior Achievement Hawaii Business Hall of Fame laureates for 2009 are: Dean Okimoto of Nalo Farms Inc., Herbert M. Richards Jr. of Kahua Ranch Ltd., and Susanna F. Cheung of Helemano Plantation Inc.

The will be welcomed as laureates into the hall of fame in an induction ceremony on March 13 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

These honorees join a group of 67 men and women who have been inducted into the Hawaii Business Hall of Fame since its founding in 1990. A committee comprised of Hawaii Business Roundtable; Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Small Business Hawaii and Hawaii Council on Economic Education selected the laureates.

PacRim to publish magazine

PacRim Marketing Group is the new publisher of an Oahu-based, Korean language magazine for visitors.

Pacific Journey is a quarterly magazine that includes lifestyle and fashion editorial, Korean-language shopping center maps and information, and a news and events calendar for Oahu.

PacRim Marketing said it has been working in collaboration with the magazine's former publisher, Skies America Publishing Co., for the past year developing content for the magazine. As publisher, PacRim now will take over the magazine's printing and production, starting with the December issue.

Mobi donates 1,464 phones

Through a phone-recycling program at its 14 retail locations statewide, Mobi PCS has collected 1,464 wireless phones that it has donated to Cell Phones for Soldiers.

The Michigan-based nonprofit turns each donated phone into one hour of talk time for American service members stationed abroad. Mobi selected the organization because of Hawaii's long history and close connection with all branches of the U.S. military.

Most of the phones, as well as over 500 batteries and other accessories, donated were provided by customers, employees and community members through Mobi's retail outlets on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. The company has committed to making monthly donations and hopes to eventually donate 2,500 phones a year to the nonprofit.

Honolulu a top city to live in

Those seeking a place to live, work or raise a family in a safe and secure environment should consider the Pacific Northwest or Hawaii, according to the fifth-annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live rankings from Farmers Insurance Group of Companies.

The rankings, compiled by database experts at http://www.bestplaces.net, took into consideration crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, life expectancy and job-loss numbers in 379 U.S. municipalities. The study divided the communities into three groups: large metropolitan areas, mid-size cities and small towns.

The Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area, which was not ranked in the Top 20 in the first three years of the Farmers study, jumped from 17th place among the large metropolitan cities in 2007 to first place in 2008. The Portland/Beaverton, Ore./ Vancouver, Wash., area ranks second among large cities in this year's study, while Honolulu is third. This marks the fifth straight year Honolulu is ranked in the Top 20 among large cities.

Las Cruces, N.M., is second to Olympia, Wash., among the most secure mid-size cities, with Salem, Ore., third. Bismarck, N.D., and Logan, Utah, rank second and third, respectively, behind Corvallis, Ore., among the most secure small towns.

NATION

CB Richard Ellis selected by FDIC

CB Richard Ellis Group said recently that it was selected as a primary adviser to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for portfolios of owned real estate nationwide.

The CBRE-led team will be responsible for the management and marketing of residential and commercial owned real estate. The portfolios will be comprised of assets that are held by the FDIC in its capacity as receiver for failed financial institutions. CBRE's work will include the management, leasing, and disposition of real estate assets. .