ORLANDO, Fla. >> Duke Energy and Walt Disney World officials on Tuesday announced details of a Mickey-shaped solar farm near Epcot.
The 5-megawatt solar farm is being called the Walt Disney World Solar Facility. It is visible from the air as a giant Mickey Mouse shape.
The farm is about 22 acres, part of a 15-year agreement that allows Duke Energy to build, own and operate the farm on Disney’s land. In return, the farm will provide solar power to Walt Disney World.
It’s taken Disney a while to build a large-scale solar facility, but the Epcot area is no stranger to solar panels. Epcot’s Universe of Energy building has had panels on its roof since October 1982.
Island Air offers kupuna, keiki fares
Island Air began offering special fares Tuesday for Hawaii’s oldest and youngest travelers with the introduction of its new “Kupuna and Keiki Saver Fare.” Residents and visitors 62 years or older or 12 years or younger can travel between Oahu, Maui and Kauai for $62 one way.
Reservations can be made online at www.islandair.com or by calling 800-652-6541. A valid ID and proof of age are required upon check-in.
The fare is nonrefundable and nontransferable, subject to seat availability and can be changed without notice. The fare includes one federal transportation segment tax and one security fee. Other taxes, fees and restrictions may apply.
Baking up a deal on Equal Pay Day
CONCORD, N.H. >> A New England bakery chain is charging female customers 79 cents on the dollar to illustrate the pay gap between men and women.
The Works Bakery Cafe is offering the discount Tuesday to women in its New Hampshire shops in honor of Equal Pay Day. Men are charged full price.
Equal Pay Day is a national symbolic event dramatizing how much longer it takes a woman to earn as much as a man.
Chain CEO Richard French says the Stand With Women campaign asked them to take part in the event. French says his company employs a lot of women, and they are paid the same as men.
French says hundreds of women came to each of the shops for the discount.
U.S. budget deficit up to $108B
WASHINGTON >> The federal government’s budget deficit rose sharply in March, pushing the deficit for the first six months of this budget year above the same period a year ago.
The Treasury Department says the deficit for March totaled $108 billion. That marks the biggest March deficit in four years and was more than double the imbalance in March 2015. The large jump from a year ago reflected calendar shifts, which had made the 2015 deficit look smaller because $36 billion in benefit payments was shifted into February.
On the Move
First Hawaiian Bank has announced the following promotions:
>> Howard Lao has been promoted to vice president from assistant vice president of the Business Services Division. Lao has 22 years of banking experience.
>> Peter Ono has been promoted to vice president from assistant vice president of the Collection and Recovery Center-Operations Department. Ono served as a supply clerk when he first joined the bank in 2000 and later took on various positions in BankCard Collections and BankCard Credit & Risk Management.
>> Jeremiah Pahukula Jr. has been promoted to vice president and security manager from assistant vice president and manager of the Security Department. Pahukula has 27 years of security and investigative experience and joined the bank in 2006.
>> Ronn Reeves has been promoted to vice president from assistant vice president of the Retail Planning Department. Reeves joined the bank in 1995.
>> Claire Rufino has been promoted to vice president and department manager from assistant vice president and department manager of the Risk Management Department. Rufino served as a management trainee when she first joined the bank in 1996.
>> Grace Yonehara has been promoted to vice president and trust officer from assistant vice president and trust officer of the Trust Division. Prior to joining the bank in 2008, Yonehara served as a supervising attorney and practiced family law at a Hawaii law firm.
