Kaakua appointed as HILT CEO
HONOLULU — Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT) announced Thursday that Laura Kaakua will be appointed as its new president and CEO starting in March. Kaakua will be replacing Kawika Burgess who will transition to HILT’s Board of Advisors and lead HILT’s development campaign.
“We are very pleased to welcome Laura to the land trust and are excited with the level of land conservation experience that she brings to HILT. The land trust is in a really great position to ensure that the most significant natural and cultural resources on each district on each island are protected for future generations,” said Jonathan Scheuer, HILT’s Board Chairman.
Kaakua is a graduate of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, and has extensive land conservation experience having spent the last nine years serving as the Aloha Aina project manager at The Trust for Public Land. She has also been a lecturer at the William Richardson School of Law and served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Greg Nakamura in the Third Circuit Court. Kaakua is an alakai of halau hula Ns Pualei o Likolehua, a volunteer with Protect Kahoolawe Ohana, and served as a committee member of the Access to Justice Commission.
“HILT has worked with communities and landowners across Hawaii to conserve over 18,000 acres of our most precious lands — from native forests, to ranch pastures, to coastal wetlands. I am grateful and excited to build upon the organization’s previous success, and continue to protect Hawaii’s special natural places,” said Kaakua.
HILT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 2011 out of the merger of four local land trusts, and it is the first and only nationally accredited local land trust in Hawaii.
Kona Business Action Center Day Thursday
Are you considering starting a business or have questions regarding your existing business?
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) hosts the Kona Business Action Center Day, 9:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Thursday at the County of Hawaii West Hawaii Civic Center, Department of Research and Development, 2nd floor, Building C, just above the DMV.
DCCA will be available to assist with Hawaii State business registrations, general excise tax applications, Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and other business filing questions. Walk-ins welcome.
Tax penalty for qualifiers waived
WASHINGTON — The IRS will waive the estimated tax penalty for any qualifying farmer or fisherman who files his or her 2018 federal income tax return and pays any tax due by Monday, April 15. The deadline is Wednesday, April 17 for taxpayers residing in Maine or Massachusetts.
The IRS is providing this relief because, due to certain rule changes, many farmers and fishermen may have difficulty accurately determining their tax liability by the March 1 deadline that usually applies to them. For tax year 2018, an individual who received at least two-thirds of his or her total gross income from farming or fishing during either 2017 or 2018 qualifies as a farmer or fisherman.
To be eligible for the waiver, qualifying taxpayers must attach Form 2210-F, available on IRS.gov, to their 2018 income tax return. This form can be submitted either electronically or on paper.