Volta to install vehicle chargers in Arizona
Honolulu-based Volta Industries LLC is preparing to expand its electric vehicle charging station network to Arizona.
Arden Penton, the company’s director of media and operations, will tour Arizona in the coming weeks to secure sites for more than a dozen charging stations, including locations in Phoenix and Tucson, the company said in a news release.
"We had a tremendous response in California and are really excited about the opportunities in Arizona," Penton said.
"We look forward to building some great new sponsor partnerships for these EV charging stations that will soon be available."
The company uses a business model in which EV owners can hook up to a Volta charging station at no cost. The service is paid for through advertising on the charging kiosks. Volta generally places the charging stations in locations with high visibility, such as shopping malls.
American Savings has new card program
A new Visa credit card is being started by Hawaii-based American Savings Bank in conjunction with First Bankcard, a division of First National Bank of Omaha.
Three consumer options and five business card options are being offered in which cardholders will be able to choose from a variety of rewards, from travel-related rewards to gift cards.
The bank previously offered self-issued cards, but the move to align its credit card program with First Bankcard "is a great strategic move that allows us to better meet the needs of our customers and accelerate growth," Tab Bowers, ASB executive vice president for marketing and business development, said in a statement.
The cards will feature images by famed wave photographer Clark Little.
State elevator permit service goes online
The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has launched a one-stop, online service for submission and payment of installation applications for new elevators.
The service also covers so-called kindred equipment and personnel hoists at construction sites.
DLIR Director Dwight Takamine said the department’s efforts to make all types of elevator permit applications and fee payments available online are part of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s initiative to provide the public with more convenient services. The digital form allows online completion and the attachment of installation plans for review. Following payment, applicants will receive an email copy of the application and a payment receipt.
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On the Net:
» hiosh.ehawaii.gov/hip
Barnes & Noble loss widens to $87 million
NEW YORK » Barnes & Noble says it plans to keep making its Nook electronic readers and will focus on offering content to its customers, even as its first-quarter net loss nearly doubled.
The quarterly results came as the struggling bookseller’s chairman, Leonard Riggio, said he is abandoning his bid for the company’s retail stores. Barnes & Noble is reviewing its strategy in the wake of CEO William Lynch’s departure in June and continuing declines in Nook revenue, a unit in which the company heavily invested.
The company’s net loss for the three months ended July 27 totaled $87 million, or $1.56 a share, compared with a loss of $39.8 million, or 76 cents a share, last year. Revenue fell nearly 9 percent to $1.33 billion.
Ex-Qwest CEO wants $18M back from IRS
DENVER » Imprisoned former Qwest Communications International Inc. CEO Joseph Nacchio is seeking a nearly $18 million tax refund.
Nacchio was convicted in 2007 of selling $52 million in stock of Denver-based Qwest based on inside information. He was ordered to forfeit $44 million and to pay a $19 million fine. He also was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.
Nacchio and his wife say in court documents that they want a refund of $18 million in taxes they paid on the $52 million they gained from the stock sales, because the court ordered Nacchio to forfeit that gain.
Attorneys for Nacchio and the federal government made verbal arguments in a Washington courtroom Tuesday. KUSA-TV in Denver reports it’s not clear when a judge will rule.
California company buys 810 Big Island acres
The True Life Cos. of California has completed the purchase of 810 acres of land in Puako, north of Kona International Airport, for possible development of 142 5-acre residential lots.
The property offers views of the Pacific Ocean as well as of Mauna Kea, its backdrop.
The company is a supplier of land to public and private homebuilders, and it plans to amend the tentative map over the next 12 to 18 months with input from area communities, according to a statement. The amended plan will address the natural terrain, elevation changes, view changes and parks network.
Several Kohala Coast resorts are near the planned residential development, tentatively named 1010 Puako.
ON THE MOVE
Hawaii National Bank has promoted David Kenny to assistant vice president and director of deposit operations. He joined the bank in 2007 as a customer support trainee and was previously manager of deposit operations.
Yamamoto Caliboso has announced that Adrienne Shimonishi Elkind has joined the firm as counsel. Prior to joining the company, Elkind was an attorney with Schlack Ito and Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel as well as a management executive for Hawaiiana Management Co.
Servco Pacific has promoted Jason Uejo to sales and service manager of Servco Subaru-Waialae from general sales manager of Servco Auto Honolulu. He joined Servco in 1997 through its Automotive Marketing program. For the past 16 years, Uejo served in other positions at Servco Automotive, including floor manager at Servco Auto Honolulu and financial service consultant at Windward Toyota, now Servco Auto Windward.
