HCFCU announces temporary closure of Kailua-Kona branch
Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union (HCFCU) will temporarily close its Kailua-Kona Branch at 75-159 Hualalai Road for six weeks for the first phase of its renovation project beginning Saturday, April 9. The branch is scheduled to reopen on Monday, May 23. Members can continue to take care of their banking needs during the temporary branch closure at the bank’s branches in the Kaloko Industrial Park (73-5611 Olowalu St.) or the Kealakekua branch at 81-6631 Mamalahoa Highway. E-banking is also available. The Kailua-Kona branch’s ATM and night depository will be unavailable from April 19 to May 3. Access to safe deposit boxes will be available throughout the week via appointment. Call (808) 930-7700 or visit www.hicommfcu.com/kailua for information.
Matson increased community support to $4.2M in 2021
Matson contributed a total of $4.2 million in cash and in-kind donations to 564 charitable organizations and non-profit programs in the communities it serves during 2021, up from $3.5 million in 2020. Cash contributions, including funds directed by employees through the company’s Matching Gift program, added up to $2.3 million in 2021, while the value of donated services and equipment totaled $1.9 million. The biggest categories of giving for the year were environmental programs, at $926,000 in cash and in-kind support; food security programs, at $814,000 in cash and in-kind support; and social equity programs at $273,000 in cash support. In 2020, Matson made a multi-year commitment of $5 million in cash and in-kind services to support food bank networks in Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, which will be fulfilled through 2023.
Soaring cost of diesel ripples through the global economy
Farmers are spending more to keep tractors and combines running. Shipping and trucking companies are passing higher costs to retailers, which are beginning to pass them on to shoppers. And local governments are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars extra to fill up school buses. The source is the sudden surge in the price of diesel, which is quietly undercutting the American and global economies by pushing up inflation and pressuring supply chains from manufacturing to retail. It is one more cost of the war in Ukraine. Russia is a major exporter of diesel and the crude oil that diesel is made from.
Facing demand for labor, US to provide 35,000 more seasonal worker visas
The Biden administration, responding to an increasing demand for temporary workers, announced Thursday that it would make an additional 35,000 seasonal worker visas available for American businesses to hire foreign workers before the summer months. The visa program being expanded, known as the H-2B visa program, allows American businesses to hire foreign workers for seasonal nonagricultural jobs like mowing lawns, cleaning hotel rooms, staffing amusement parks and waiting tables. Industries like landscaping, hospitality and tourism are particularly reliant on foreign nationals to meet high demand during the busy summer months.
Soda, beer companies are ditching plastic six-pack rings
The plastic rings ubiquitous with six-packs of beer and soda are gradually becoming a thing of the past as more companies switch to greener packaging. While the transitions can be a step toward sustainability, some experts say that simply switching to different packaging material could be the wrong solution or not enough. This month, Coors Light said it would stop using plastic six-pack rings in the packaging of its North American brands, replacing them with cardboard wrap carriers by the end of 2025. Since the 1980s, environmentalists have warned that discarded plastic is building up in landfills, sewers and rivers, and flowing into oceans.
By local and wire sources
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