Apartment3 to shut down Sunday
Century Center restaurant and lounge Apartment3 will close its doors on Sunday after nearly three years in business, according to an announcement made Tuesday via social media.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce that this will be our last week in business due to circumstances beyond our control," read an update that was posted to Apartment3’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. "This Sunday will be our last day."
Apartment3, which has about two dozen employees, opened for business in July 2009 after owner Chip Jewitt agreed to partner with local promoters Flash Hansen and Matty Hazelgrove and redesign his year-old Aria Restaurant and Lounge. The new space was called Apartm3nt at first, but the name was changed after some expressed confusion about how to pronounce it.
Despite solid reviews and a faithful customer following due to its owners’ deep roots in the bar and nightclub industries, issues arose between the restaurant and the Century Center Association of Apartment Owners — the biggest of which were noise and parking complaints from other residents in the building.
HP to cut 27,000 to save up to $3.5B a year
SAN FRANCISCO » Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to jettison 27,000 workers as the growing popularity of smartphones, the iPad and other mobile devices makes it tougher for the company to sell personal computers.
The cuts announced Wednesday represent HP’s largest payroll purge in its 73-year history. The reductions will affect about 8 percent of HP’s nearly 350,000 employees by the time the overhaul is completed in October 2014.
HP hopes to avoid as many layoffs as possible by offering early retirement packages.
The company, based in Palo Alto, Calif., expects to save as much as $3.5 billion annually from the job cuts and other austerity measures. HP CEO Meg Whitman plans to funnel most of the savings into developing more products and services that could help the company adapt to technological shifts that are driving demand for more mobile computing and software that is provided over high-speed Internet connections.
Oil below $90 for first time since October
NEW YORK » The price of oil dropped below $90 per barrel Wednesday, the latest milestone in a weeks-long decline brought on by uncertainty surrounding economies from Europe to China.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell by $1.95 to end at $89.90 per barrel. Oil has tumbled more than 15 percent this month and is at its lowest level since Oct. 21.
Analysts say oil is in an extended slump that should lead to cheaper gasoline and other petroleum-based fuels this summer. Gasoline, which is made from oil, already has fallen nearly 26 cents per gallon since early April.
U.S. sales of new homes rose 3.3% in April
WASHINGTON » Americans bought more new homes last month, the latest evidence that the U.S. housing market could be starting to recover.
New-home sales increased 3.3 percent in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Sales rose sharply in every region of the country but the South.
Kraft shareholders OK ‘Mondelez’ name
NEW YORK » Kraft Foods Inc. says shareholders approved the name "Mondelez" for its new global snack food business, which may put to rest the snickering that initially greeted the name. The name — pronounced "mon-dah-LEEZ" — will take effect when the company officially splits into two publicly traded companies later this year. Mondelez International Inc. will be home to global brands including Oreo, Cadbury and Nabisco.
ON THE MOVE
Hawaii Human Resources has announced Ka‘ili Honbo as a business development manager. She will be responsible for cultivating new business relationships and growing the firm’s clientele. Honbo has 16 years of experience in marketing, health care, and managing regional sales and insurance for multinational and local companies.
The Modern Honolulu has hired the following:
» Lisa DeCambra as director of sales and marketing. She has 23 years of luxury resort sales and marketing experience.
» Michael Howe as director of catering and convention services. He was previously at The Royal Hawaiian since 2008.
» Kelly Kitashima as director of group sales. She was previously responsible for group sales and represented Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider and Sheraton Princess Kaiulani.
» Joy Tomita as director of leisure and corporate sales. She was previously sales manager at the Halekulani and Waikiki Parc Hotel.
» Jodi Ching as human resources manager. She previously worked at FCH Enterprises, the Halekulani, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.
The Queen’s Medical Center has received a $100,000 donation from UHA, a leading medical insurance plan in Hawaii. The funds will be used for QMC’s new organ transplant program, which is the only one in Hawaii as well as having been one of 250 transplant centers located at more than 5,000 U.S. hospitals.
