biz briefs 1-3

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For more information, contact Love at 323-2417 or the above e-mail address or Virginia Easton Smith at 322-4892 or vsmith@hawaii.edu.

Horsemanship session begins on Jan. 12

Therapeutic Horsemanship Hawaii-Kona will be starting a new six-week session beginning Jan. 12. THH is a North American Riding for the Handicapped Association center member, offering riding and horsemanship lessons for children, youth and adults with special needs.

Individuals with physical, cognitive, social, sensory, attention and emotional disabilities, as well as at-risk youths and children currently involved in the foster care and/or judicial system who have an interest in learning about riding, grooming and caring for horses are invited to attend.

Sessions are held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays at Horseplay Equestrian Center in Honalo. The cost is $150 for the six-week session. Scholarships are available for those who qualify. A wheelchair mounting ramp is available for those who might have difficulty mounting from the ground.

Volunteers are also needed to help with horse leading, side-walking, grooming and other barn activities.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Nancy Bloomfield at 937-7903.


Hawaiian Telcom expands Internet service area

Hawaiian Telcom has expanded the availability of its higher speed — 7 and 11 megabits per second — high-speed Internet service to Kona. The following telephone prefixes should now qualify: 326, 327, 329, 331 and 334.

Since August, Hawaiian Telcom has offered consumers and businesses ultra-fast Internet service with a choice of 3, 7 and 11 Mbps speed. The launch of Next Generation HSI was made possible by Hawaiian Telcom’s investment of more than $100 million over the last two years into systems and network upgrades.

“We’ll continue to upgrade our network and expand availability of our services to meet demand throughout the state,” said Mike Ruley, Hawaiian Telcom’s chief executive officer. “Broadband use continues to grow, and consumers want a quality broadband connection powered by a reliable network.”

New customers who sign up for 7 or 11 mbps high-speed Internet can get one month of free service. Additional promotions and discounts are available for customers who bundle HSI with other Hawaiian Telcom services. Visit www.hawaiiantel.com or call 643-3456 (residential) or 643-0841 (business) for more information.

All speeds reflect initial connection speeds between the computer and Hawaiian Telcom’s central office.


Fruit growers plan dinner meeting

A dinner meeting of the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers-West Hawaii will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Hong Kong Chop Suey in the Kealakekua Ranch Center.

The meeting will feature presentations by Dr.Yosef Mizrahi from Ben-Gurion University in Israel. His topics will include “Exotic fruits under domestication in Israel” and “Cacti as crops.” Mizrahi is well-known worldwide for his work with dragon fruit and marula.

The dinner cost for members will be $10, and nonmembers will pay $15. For reservations, contact Ken Love at kenlove@kona.net as space is limited.

For more information, contact Love at 323-2417 or the above e-mail address or Virginia Easton Smith at 322-4892 or vsmith@hawaii.edu.