Golf course renovation will take a year
Makena Resort’s golf course will close Monday for renovation work to last about a year, following a recently completed upgrade of the hotel at the Maui resort.
Shawn Sweeney, president of The Landmark Hotels Group, which operates Makena Beach & Golf Resort, announced the plan Thursday.
The 18-hole course is projected to reopen in the first quarter of next year.
Cafe on the Green, a restaurant fronting the golf course, will remain open.
Parker Ranch Foundation gives out $2M
Four Hawaii island charities are sharing in a $2 million distribution from the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust for a third consecutive year.
The foundation announced Thursday that “excellent progress” for ranch operations made the distribution possible.
The distributions were as follows: $960,000 to North Hawaii Community Hospital, $400,000 to the Richard Smart Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation, $320,000 to Hawaii Preparatory Academy and $320,000 to Parker School Trust Corp.
Richard Smart, a sixth-generation descendant of Parker Ranch founder John Palmer Parker, set up the trust to benefit the Waimea community and specified the split of distributions among the four beneficiaries.
Smart died in 1992, and the trust began making distributions in 1996. Since then the trust has provided the charities with $22.9 million in cash and land.
Solar water heater rebate rises to $1,000
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has raised its rebate for solar water heaters to $1,000 from $800.
By combining the rebate with state and federal tax credits, the final cost of installing a solar water heater is about $2,000, according to a news release from the KIUC.
A typical Kauai family can cut its monthly electric bill by $100 or more by switching to a solar water heater, according to the utility.
To qualify for the rebate, customers must replace their existing electric water heater or nonfunctional solar water heater. New construction does not qualify. The installation must be done by one of 12 licensed contractors approved by KIUC to participate in the program.
For more information call 246.4300 or go to www.kiuc.coop.
Health Connector seeks printer and mailer
The state’s health insurance exchange, known as the Hawaii Health Connector, issued a request recently for proposals for a vendor to provide high-volume printing and mailing of approximately 10,000 notices a month.
The nonprofit Connector, a marketplace where individuals and businesses can shop for affordable health insurance, is seeking to print and mail appeals, notices and advertising in hopes of covering an estimated 100,000 uninsured residents as part of the federal Affordable Care Act. The health exchange will be launched Oct. 1.
Interested parties can view the request for proposals at hawaiihealthconnector.com/Public_Notices.html.
Average 30-year mortgage rate at 3.57 percent
Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages edged up this week but remained near historic lows. Low rates have helped drive the housing market’s steady recovery.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for the 30-year fixed loan rose to 3.57 percent from 3.54 percent last week. That’s near the 3.31 percent reached in November, which was the lowest on records dating to 1971. The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage increased last week to 2.76 percent from 2.72 percent last week. The record low of 2.63 percent was also reached in November.
The lowest mortgage rates in decades are spurring more home purchases and refinancing. That’s helped the broader economy. Increased sales are also pushing home prices higher.
ON THE MOVE
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Evelyn Lasquite has been appointed sales coordinator of its King Street office. She joined CBP in 2011.
Honolulu Theatre for Youth has announced its new board of trustees members: Kristine
Altwies, executive director and chief executive officer of Hawaii International Child; Julianne Erickson, community volunteer; Jason K. Lau, president of TalkStory Productions; and Alia Pan, Punahou School English instructor.
