quilt passions

Quilt Passions hosts fair, classes

Quilt Passions Quilt and Needlework Shop will be hosting a craft fair and quilt boutique from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 3 at the King Kamehameha Mall in Kailua-Kona. Locally made quilts, artwork and handcrafts will be featured throughout the day. The event is free to the public.

The shop also is sponsoring keiki sewing and quilting classes during fall break from Oct. 5 through 9. Classes will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Call 329-7475 or visit quiltpassions.net for details and class descriptions.

Shops at Mauna Lani adding 4-D theater

The Shops at Mauna Lani has announced its plans to open the first-ever 4-D theater in Hawaii.

Construction has already begun on the state-of-the-art attraction, dubbed “The Great 4-D Movie Ride,” which is slated to open in November.

The 24-seat theater will show 4-D features and simulated “rides” on a 19-foot widescreen projected from twin, high-definition digital projectors. The on-screen action is synchronized with full-range motion seats, a 2500W 5.1 DTS surround sound system and in-theater “4-D” effects, such as blown air and water spray, for a complete multi-sensory experience.

Hilo Hattie bankruptcy plan confirmed

Hilo Hattie has announced that it has successfully emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The effective date will be Oct. 4, coinciding with the company’s fiscal year end. The 46-year-old kamaaina retailer known as the “Store of Hawaii” has been operating under the protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy since Oct. 2, 2008.

Bum Sik Kang, chief executive officer who acquired the company on June 19, announced to his management team that “We will return to the basics of fashion retailing, providing the largest selection, highest quality and best value products to our customers.”

Bank provides school supplies to children

Central Pacific Bank helped prepare 2,200 Hawaii children for the new school year by collecting basic school supplies and $15,000 in monetary donations through its four-week Ready to Learn campaign this summer. Presented in partnership with KGMB-9 and nonprofit organization Helping Hands Hawaii, Ready to Learn is a recognized program by the state Department of Education established in 1999 that collectively provides more than 10,000 low-income Hawaii students with new classroom supplies at the start of the school year.

As part of Ready to Learn, Helping Hands Hawaii works with government agencies, social service agencies and community organizations to distribute the donated school supplies to students, from kindergarten through high school, statewide.

School supplies and monetary donations collected by Central Pacific Bank branches are being distributed on their respective islands. As part of the Ready to Learn campaign, Central Pacific Bank also donated $5,000 to the program, and $500 to three public schools — Lihikai Elementary, Manana Elementary and Waipahu Elementary — that were selected by the Kahului , Pearl Highlands and Waipahu branches, respectively, after they won an employee’s collection box decoration contest.

Coldwell Bank receives kudos

Bud Norwood, principal broker of Coldwell Banker Maryl Realty, has announced that Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC ranked highest among real estate companies in satisfying home sellers, according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Home Buyer/Seller Study.

“Locally, Coldwell Banker Maryl Realty has been recognized as a top producing Coldwell Banker affiliate this year. We are very proud of our hard-working and achieving Realtors, especially during the downturn of our economy,” Norwood said.

The independently administered study measured customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers among the largest national real estate firms. The study incorporates more than 3,100 evaluations from respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2008 and June.

The study examined four factors in the home-selling experience, including: agent, marketing, office and package of additional services. Among home sellers, Coldwell Banker Real Estate ranked highest and ranked second with home buyers.

Hawaiian to expand California service

With the first of its new fleet of long range, wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft arriving in April, Hawaiian Airlines will expand its service from Hawaii’s largest visitor markets for the summer peak travel season with the addition of three daily flights to Hawaii from California.

Hawaiian also announced it would put the first two of its new A330 aircraft into service on the Los Angeles-Honolulu route starting in June.

Hawaiian is adding two daily nonstop flights to Maui — one from Oakland and the other from San Diego — as well as another daily flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu, beginning June 17, 2010.

Hawaiian will supplement its daily Los Angeles-Honolulu service with a new flight using the wide-body, twin-aisle A330-200 aircraft, which seats 294 passengers — 30 more seats than the Boeing 767-300 — in a two-class configuration. Flight No. 3 will depart Los Angeles daily at 10:45 a.m. and arrive in Honolulu at 1:15 p.m. Return Flight No. 4 will depart Honolulu daily at 10:30 p.m. and arrive in Los Angeles the following morning at 6:55. The extra flight runs through Sept. 6, 2010.