Firm breaks link with Prudential Financial
A third Hawaii real estate firm has severed ties with Prudential Financial Inc.
Honolulu-based Prudential Advantage Realty has become Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Advantage Realty.
The switch follows moves made recently by two other local Prudential franchises: Prudential Locations became Locations on Feb. 1, and Prudential Maui Realtors became Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Maui Properties in December.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp., a New Jersey-based company with several real estate franchise brands including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby’s International.
Prudential Advantage Realty, which has an office at Kahala Mall, was established by Myron Kiriu in 2004. The firm has 75 agents and plans to open another office on Oahu’s North Shore.
Volta to give free ad space to 2 nonprofits
Volta Industries said it would provide up to $8,000 in advertising space to local nonprofits or community groups in its 2015 Awareness Powered by Volta contest.
Volta asked the public to vote on the four semifinalists:American Red Cross Hawaii State Chapter, Bishop Museum, Kamaaina Kids and MADD, Hawaii Chapter.
This community outreach program helps nonprofit and community groups build awareness by providing them with free advertising space worth thousands of dollars on Volta’s electric vehicle charging station kiosks.
The winner will receive a minimum of three months of free advertising at a Volta EV charging station valued at $6,000. The runner-up will receive a minimum one month of free advertising valued at $2,000. The public can vote at Volta’s Facebook page through Feb. 28. To vote, visit www.facebook.com/voltacharging.
‘SNL’ anniversary bash seen by 23 million
NEW YORK » The Nielsen ratings company says NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" 40th-anniversary bash drummed up a huge audience. Preliminary figures indicate Sunday’s retrospective special was seen by 23.1 million viewers.
That makes it NBC’s most watched prime-time entertainment special since May 2004, when the network aired a "Friends" clips show the night of its series finale.
It’s NBC’s most watched prime-time entertainment broadcast overall, excluding post-Super Bowl programs, also since May 2004, for an episode of "ER" the night of the "Frasier" series finale.
The 31⁄2-hour special looked back on the comedy series’ four-decade run and featured more than 80 guest stars. Nielsen says the preceding one-hour red-carpet special was seen by 11.1 million viewers.
U.S. labor official seeks to solve port mess
LOS ANGELES » The nation’s top labor official flew to California on Monday in an attempt to resolve a damaging contract dispute between West Coast dockworkers and their employers. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez headed for San Francisco, where monthslong negotiations between the dockworkers union and a maritime association of companies have come to a halt.
So, too, has the movement of billions of dollars of cargo that is supposed to pass through 29 seaports from Southern California to Seattle. The ports are a critical trade link with Asia and the gateway not just for imports such as electronics, household goods and clothing, but also U.S. exports including produce and meat.
Starting Saturday, companies locked out workers who would load or unload ships, saying they would not pay weekend or holiday wage premiums to crews they accuse of intentionally slowing work to gain bargaining leverage. As a result, cranes that would otherwise be moving containers onto dockside yards were raised up, stationary and eerily quiet on normally bustling waterfronts. Dockworkers deny slowing down and say they want to work.
Full port operations are supposed to resume Tuesday, when Perez is scheduled to attend negotiations — his first, and the two sides’ first discussions since Friday.
GM ignition switch death toll rises to 56
DETROIT » The death toll linked to crashes involving General Motors cars with defective ignition switches has climbed to 56. Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg and his aides are combing through claims filed before a Jan. 31 deadline to determine which are eligible for compensation. Each eligible death claim is worth at least $1 million.
ON THE MOVE
Accuity has promoted Cory Kubota to assurance partner from principal. He has been with the company for 18 years. Besides receiving his B.B.A. (bachelor’s in business administration) in accounting and finance from the University of Michigan, Kubota is also a certified public accountant, fraud examiner, global management accountant and in financial forensics.
Servco Pacific has appointed Lance Ichimura to vice president of product planning and inventory for its automotive division. He has been with the firm since 1991 and was previously the vice president of variable operations for Servco Auto Waipahu Toyota and Chevrolet.
Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Kevin L. Halloran to vice president-treasury and treasurer. He has more than 25 years of experience in treasury and finance roles, including serving as founding and managing partner of FourPoint Capital Partners in Honolulu and New York. Prior to that he served as vice president of corporate development and investor relations at Alexander & Baldwin.
