Moffatt gets hall of fame nomination

Tom Moffatt, Hawaii radio announcer-turned premier concert and event promoter, has been nominated for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame. It is co-located with the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. Moffatt began Hawaii radio career began 57 years ago.

Online voting is open at www.radiohof.org and will end at 7 p.m. HST on Aug. 1.

Sandwich Isles finishes sea cable

Sandwich Isles Communications has completed the installation of its undersea fiber optic cable connecting Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai and the Big Island. The network has the bandwidth to carry 2.9 terabits of data per second.

Jamba Juice launches Wi-Fi hot spots

Jamba Juice Hawaii has partnered with Hawaiian Telcom and Skywave Broadband to offer Wi-Fi hot spots at all of its stores.

As of yesterday, 21 of Jamba's 32 stores had been installed with Skywave WiFi, while the remaining 11 will be outfitted by mid-July.

Hawaiian Telcom High-Speed Internet subscribers have access to the Skywave WiFi for free, while other users can purchase it at $1.50 for two hours, $3.95 for a full day, and $14.95 per month. An updated list of Jamba stores with Wi-Fi hot spots is available at www.jambahawaii.com.

Fitch downgrades Central Pacific

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term Issuer Default Ratings of Central Pacific Financial Corp. and its bank subsidiary Central Pacific Bank to “;B”; and “;BB-,”; respectively, and also downgraded Central Pacific Financial's preferred stock ratings to “;CC”; due to the high risk of deferral. The ratings also have been placed on “;rating watch negative.”;

State approves A&B's land request

The state Land Use Commission unanimously approved yesterday a petition submitted by Alexander & Baldwin Inc. to designate more than 27,000 acres in central and Upcountry Maui as “;Important Agricultural Lands.”; In an earlier petition, A&B received approval from the Land Use Commission to designate 3,700 acres of Kauai land as IAL.

The lands designated on Maui are located in central Maui and extend from Maalaea, Kahului, Paia, Haliimaile to Kihei and are mostly in sugar cane production, with some lands in seed corn and pasture. On Kauai, the lands are located in Lawai and Hanapepe and are currently in coffee, seed corn, rice, taro and pasture.

“;This designation is the fruit of years of concerted efforts by farmers, landowners, government, legislators and many others to save the best agricultural lands for future generations,”; said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairperson of the state Department of Agriculture.

ON THE MOVE

  » Pila Sundererland has been named director of advancement for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a Honolulu-based research and public-policy think tank. He is a former general manager of The Beachhouse at The Moana Surfrider in Waikiki. He also was part of senior management at Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

» Carlsmith Ball has announced that Gerald A. Sumida has been elected to secretary-general of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, an international association of business and commercial lawyers founded in 1991 that focuses on legal developments and regional legal cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region. Sumida is a partner and chair of the firm's business, corporate and finance sections.