Utility to spend $11M to protect birds

Kauai’s electric utility has agreed to spend more than $11 million on measures designed to minimize and mitigate potential impacts of its facilities on endangered and threatened seabirds.

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative said Thursday that the commitment is in its revised short-term habitat conservation plan filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

In May the utility was named in a federal indictment alleging it killed or injured dozens of threatened seabirds. The indictment said the company and its predecessor entity failed to protect the birds for decades despite numerous warnings.

In response, the company said it had worked for a decade to protect the birds.

Big Isle restaurant will add brewery

The owners of a Mexican restaurant in Waimea on the Big Island are expanding the business with a brewery.

Tom and Jayne Kerns, who bought Tako Taco Taqueria in August 2008, said they plan to convert the restaurant into Big Island Brewhaus, which would feature 10 handcrafted beers on tap along with Mexican cuisine.

The conversion is projected for completion in late October. Tako Taco is staying open during the work.

Tom Kerns has been involved with breweries in Oregon and the Philippines. He was also the founding brewer of Fish and Game Brewing Co. on Maui, which later became Maui Brewing Co.

Google acquires Like.com service

Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular search engine, acquired the visual-shopping service Like.com in the company’s third acquisition this month. Terms weren’t disclosed.

"We’re pleased and excited to welcome Like.com to Google, where they’ll work closely with our commerce team," said Andrew Pederson, a spokesman for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google. Like.com lets users search through pictures of products, including handbags, shoes and watches, to find what to buy.

Google has stepped up its pace of acquisitions to at least one every two weeks — exceeding the once-a-month pace that CEO Eric Schmidt projected when he began buying companies again last year after the recession. Earlier this month it purchased Jambool Inc., a provider of virtual-currency software, and Slide Inc., which makes social-networking games.

Like.com, based in San Mateo, Calif., was started to help shoppers find what they wanted without having to know the manufacturer or model number. The site lets consumers enter terms like "red high-heeled pumps" and then see pictures of products.

Dell rises to No. 2 spot in China

Dell Inc. has overtaken Hewlett-Packard Co. to become the No. 2 personal-computer brand in China last quarter, the South China Morning Post said, citing estimates by a market research company.

Dell had a 9 percent market share in China in the second quarter, compared with Hewlett-Packard’s 8.2 percent, the newspaper said, citing estimates by International Data Corp. Lenovo Group Ltd. has a market share of 28.7 percent in China, according to the newspaper.

ON THE MOVE

Aloha Contract Services has promoted Jonnalyn Kamanawa to safety manager. She has been a customer service agent for Aloha Airlines, has held administrative and supervisor positions in guest services at ACS Kona station and worked in ACS Corporate Offices’ human resources and training departments in Honolulu.

Helber Hastert & Fee Planners has hired Dane Sjoblom as a planner. He has experience in planning and zoning policies in private and public projects throughout Hawaii.

The Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce has announced its board of directors: Wayne Kato, chairman; Christine Kubota, chair elect; Tyler Tokioka, vice chair; and Scott Higa, vice chair and finance/treasurer. Elected vice chairs are Roy Ishihara, Gordon Kagawa, Candice Naito, Terry Noyama, Darrell Yamagata and Sidney Hamada.

The Oahu Club Hawaii Kai has appointed Nashimoto & Associates as business and marketing agency of record. Nashimoto & Associates is an Asia-Pacific advertising, marketing and public relations firm based in Hawaii which is headed by Masako Nashimoto-Luttrell, president of the company.