Mokulele passenger tally sets record

Mokulele Airlines, which began jet service in mid-November, carried a record 40,500 passengers in May.

The interisland carrier, which is 50 percent owned by Indianapolis-based Republic Airways, did not disclose its load factor (percentage of seats filled), but said the number of passengers represented a 34 percent increase over its previous busiest month.

Mokulele also said it had no day-of-departure cancellations during the month and that its on-time performance was 96.6 percent.

Construction jobs decline 13.7%

Honolulu construction employment fell 13.7 percent to 22,700 from 26,300 in the 12-month period ending in April, according to a new analysis of government data conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America's chief economist, Ken Simonson.

Overall, construction employment fell in 276 of the nation's largest 299 metro areas.

State awards $3.7M in energy grants

The State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, along with the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, has awarded more than $3.7 million in federal stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Weatherization Assistance Program to help make homes of low-income Hawaii residents more energy-efficient.

The total award consists of two separate grants, with Maui Economic Opportunity receiving $2.5 million to serve the counties of Maui, Hawaii and Kauai, and the Honolulu Community Action Program Inc. receiving more than $1.2 million to serve Honolulu.

MassMutual expands to Hawaii

MassMutual Financial Group opened a new office in downtown Honolulu yesterday and said it is recruiting four new agents to keep up with demand.

The company's new offices are at American Savings Bank, 1001 Bishop St., in Suite 2600.

Dental convention breaks record

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's 62nd annual session at the Hawaii Convention Center from May 21-24 broke the event's attendance record with 4,838 participants, nearly double the expected crowd of 2,500.

ON THE MOVE

William “;Bill”; Maris has been promoted to chief operating officer and executive vice president of Parker Ranch. Maris joined Parker Ranch in November 2008 as its chief financial officer and in January 2009 was appointed to serve also as interim chief operating officer.

Benchmark Hospitality International has appointed Tom Cross as resort manager for Turtle Bay. Cross previously was the director of operations for the resort.

Mobi PCS has named Nina Daniels as human resources manager. She will continue as executive assistant to the president as well as retain her office management responsibilities.

ALOHA VISITORS

A weekly snapshot of passenger arrivals from May 26-June 1, with the change from the year earlier:

Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism