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QNHCH names employee of the quarter

Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea recently named Kylee Stone, Imaging Services

assistant, as employee of the quarter.

Stone has worked at QNHCH for over six years and was recognized for her caring attitude and dedication.

“Kylee is known to always go the extra mile, especially for our patients,” said the hospital’s president, Cindy Kamikawa during a virtual ceremony. “She is willing to help out her co-workers with anything they need; she is a great team member and a great representative of Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital.”

Also recognized were nominees Mandi Diaz, Medical-Surgical Unit; Leah Gibbs, Emergency Room; Johanna Gibson, Imaging Department; Wendy Huelsman, Rehabilitation Services, Sheena Nakata, Medical-Surgical Unit; Ronald Tangonan, Environmental Services; and Akiko Zbytovsky, Family Birthing Unit.

Night market coming to Kona Commons

Hana Like Home Market will hold its first “Phases” Night Market in Kona from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Kona Commons Shopping Center in Kailua-Kona.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will offer over 30 artisan booths by local makers and creators. Entertainment, foodie favs, gift giveaways, and fun for the whole family will round out the night. Live singer, Ala, will perform, as well as DJ Johnnie with music from his exclusive vinyl record collection. Many of the artisan booths will be interactive, including a design bar that allows attendees to customize home decor products.

Guests are invited to “talk story” with the local makers. Shoppers can ask questions and learn more about their drive and passion. Each business owner has their own unique background and story of how and why their business began.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Hana Like Home Market. Their passion for supporting local makers and tasters complements our tenant mix,” said Nancy Sakamoto, general manager of Kona Commons. “We cannot wait to welcome the community to enjoy something new and exciting to do in Kailua-Kona on a beautiful Hawaiian moonlight night.”

For more information, visit www.konacommons.com/events.

Biden administration outlines plan to build network of EV chargers

The Biden administration said Thursday that it would require states to submit proposals to line highways with electric vehicle chargers, part of a $5 billion plan to fill a gap in the infrastructure needed to support sales of battery-powered cars. Electric vehicles have been surging in popularity, but America lags Europe in the number of places where an owner of a battery-powered vehicle can recharge. Administration officials detailed plans to address the deficit using $5 billion that Congress allocated as part of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in November. Administration officials hope to encourage utilities and private operators to build additional chargers.

Uber says business bouncing back

Uber said Wednesday that growing revenue and returning passengers sent a strong signal that its business was bouncing back in the final three months of 2021 from the slowdown caused by the pandemic. The company’s revenue grew to $5.8 billion, an 83% increase from a year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Uber said it was attracting a growing number of users by relying on its food delivery business, Uber Eats, to bring in business during spikes in coronavirus cases, when its ride-hailing business declined. Uber’s stock price was up about 5% in after-hours trading Wednesday.

Discovery’s merger with WarnerMedia clears antitrust scrutiny

Discovery and AT&T cleared a significant regulatory hurdle Wednesday that put the companies on a glide path to close a deal to combine Discovery and WarnerMedia in the next two or three months. The merger “satisfied the closing condition” as part of an antitrust review by the Department of Justice, Discovery said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When closed, the deal will create one of the biggest media companies in the country, combining the assets of HBO, Warner Bros. studios and the sports-heavy TNT and TBS networks with Discovery’s library of nonfiction programming.

SoftBank’s woes are mounting

This week, SoftBank’s planned $40 billion sale of chip designer Arm to Silicon Valley chip maker Nvidia fell apart because of regulatory setbacks. Shares in a handful of big tech companies that SoftBank owns stakes in, from Alibaba to DoorDash, have plunged in recent months amid a wider sell-off in high-growth tech stocks. And one of founder Masayoshi Son’s key deputies, Marcelo Claure, left the firm in January after a bitter pay dispute — the latest senior executive to depart the firm in the past year. The slump in SoftBank’s fortunes was reflected in its latest earnings report. The firm said its quarterly earnings fell 97% from a year ago.

By local and wire sources