Hawaiian Air debuts ‘Hawaii Five-0’

Hawaiian Airlines has begun showing the opening episode of the new "Hawaii Five-0" series on its trans-Pacific flights for the next three weeks ahead of the Sept. 20 nationally televised debut on CBS.

As part of an exclusive marketing agreement, a Hawaiian Airlines aircraft also is seen in the opening credits of every episode.

In addition, Hawaiian’s nearly 4,000 employees are among the first to receive a new "Hawaii Five-0" ring tone to download on their cell phone.

First Hawaiian gets state card pact

The Hawaii State Procurement Office has awarded its corporate card contract to First Hawaiian Bank following a bidding process involving local and mainland card issuers.

First Hawaiian, which had held the contract since 2002, won the bid in competition against both local and mainland card issuers. The bank’s corporate card program is used by clients to purchase supplies and other goods. The program has built-in spending limits that can be customized for a specific department. Corporate cards can save a business money by reducing paperwork and streamlining purchases and enhancing cash flow, First Hawaiian said.

Maui health consulting firm sold

Maui health service information technology consulting company Akimeka LLC has been acquired by VSE Corp. of Alexandria, Va.

The company did not reveal the price, but Forbes.com reported it was $33 million. Akimeka had sales of $38 million in 2009 and operating income of $6.5 million.

Akimeka provides computerized information services to the Department of Defense for the management of health and logistics records. Its headquarters are at the Maui Research & Technology Park. It also has offices in Virginia, Florida and Texas.

VSE sells a variety of services to the federal government in logistics, engineering, information technology services, construction management and consulting.

Tesoro Hawaii unit shut, filing says

Tesoro Corp. shut a process unit at its refinery in Kapolei after a "false signal," according to a filing to the National Response Center.

The incident happened at 12:40 a.m. yesterday, according to the report. U.S. refineries must notify the center if they release hazardous substances in excess of reportable quantities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund.

Lynn Westfall, a Tesoro spokesman, declined to comment on current operations in Hawaii.

Pest appears in pineapple shipment

LOS ANGELES » Federal agriculture inspectors at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have found a destructive pest in a shipment of pineapples that’s never been seen before in the United States.

The U.S. Customers and Border Protection said yesterday that the variety of leafhopper found late last month from Costa Rica can cause severe damage to crops such as grapes, potatoes, soybeans and corn.

The insect was the second first-in-the-nation pest that inspectors at the Southern California port complex have found in the last two months. Crews there found a type of aphid in late June.

ON THE MOVE

Century 21 of Hawaii has announced the following top listing and sales associates for July 2010:

» Randy Prothero is top sales associate and Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is top listing associate, both from Century 21 Liberty Homes.

» Eva Hinderleider is top sales associate from Century 21 Realty Specialists.

Foodland Super Market said $325,000 will be given to Hawaii’s nonprofit organizations to match customer donations given through Give Aloha, Foodland’s Annual Community Matching Gifts Program. The annual program began yesterday and will run through Sept. 30. Customers are able to make a donation to their favorite Hawaii nonprofit organization at any Foodland or Sack N Save store.

Burger King sale possible

NEW YORK » Shares of Burger King Holdings Inc. soared 15 percent yesterday after published reports said the fast food chain was in talks to be acquired by a private equity firm. Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that 3G Capital was among parties interested in pursuing a deal with Burger King. Neither publication named its sources. The company’s shares rose $2.41 to $18.86.

A spokesman from Burger King declined to comment on the report, and a message left with 3G wasn’t immediately returned.

Burger King is the second-largest hamburger chain after McDonald’s Corp. But it is faring worse than its rival in a weak economy.