Public input sought on 2 Kakaako condos

Officials with a state agency are inviting more public comment on plans for two condominium buildings in Kakaako next month.

The Hawaii Community Development Authority has scheduled two feedback sessions — Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. and Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. — on plans for a second tower at the 801 South St. project and a revised plan for a seven-story condo called 803 Waimanu.

The sessions will be in HCDA’s office conference room at 461 Cooke St.

An initial public hearing and a presentation from the developer for the 803 Waimanu project before the agency and its board is scheduled for Nov. 6 at noon at the same location.

The two extra public comment sessions won’t be attended by board members, but agency staff will be available for discussion. Comments will be recorded and transcripts made available to board members for consideration.

A board vote on 803 Waimanu is scheduled for Jan. 8 at noon in HCDA’s conference room following public testimony.

For the 801 South St. project’s second tower, an initial public hearing was held on Oct. 2. HCDA also held two subsequent comment sessions Oct. 12 and Oct. 15. A board vote is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 9 a.m. in HCDA’s conference room following public testimony.

Alaska Air fliers must check in earlier

Alaska Airlines, which flies more than a fifth of its flights to Hawaii, said Tuesday it is changing its minimum check-in time prior to departure for customers traveling on most domestic flights to 40 minutes from 30 minutes. The minimum check-in time for international flights remains 60 minutes.

Passengers who miss the cutoff will be offered a $25 same-day confirmed seat on the next available flight, depending on availability.

As with the previous cutoff time, the 40-minute requirement does not ensure travelers will make it to their departure gate in time for boarding.

Busy security lines and heavy passenger traffic may require additional time. The Transportation Security Administration recommends that passengers allow at least one hour for domestic flights and two hours or more for international flights.

Isle firm to license microtag technology

Honolulu-based TruTag Technologies Inc. has signed a contract to license its product authentication technology to an international supplier of remanufactured inkjet and toner cartridges.

The technology features tiny microtags no thicker than a human hair that can be embedded with vast quantities of unique information to help identify the authenticity of a range of products, including inkjet and toner cartridges. The dust-size TruTag microtags are inert and edible, and can integrate into the fabric of a product much like fingerprints on a human being, according to TruTag.

Officials of Green Project Inc., based in Hacienda Heights, Calif., said the microtags will allow the company to implement a worldwide security program to protect its brand from being damaged by counterfeits.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but TruTag said that under the licensing agreement it will provide Green Project additional services to ensure continued protection for its products.

U.S. home prices see slow monthly gain

WASHINGTON » U.S. home prices rose in August from a year earlier at the fastest pace since February 2006.

But the price gains slowed in many cities from July, a sign that the spike in prices over the past year may have peaked.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 12.8 percent over the 12 months ending in August.

That’s up from 12.4 percent in July from a year earlier. All 20 cities showed year-over-year gains.

However, a measure of month-over-month prices for the 20 cities rose just 1.3 percent in August. That’s down from a 1.8 percent month-over-month gain in July. And 16 of the 20 cities reported more modest price increases in August than in July.

IN THE NEWS

Hilton Hawaiian Village cancels Tuesday fireworks

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is discontinuing its Tuesday fireworks show only three months after adding it to its entertainment lineup. The Friday fireworks show will continue.

The resort said next week’s will be the last Tuesday show. Hilton said the show, which required closing the resort’s pool and sections of the beach, disturbed guests.

"We already have a long-standing fireworks show on Fridays and while that was acceptable to guests, they didn’t like having two days of pool closures," said Cynthia Rankin, Hilton’s regional director of Hawaii corporate communications.

The resort’s Friday night fireworks display starts at about 7:45 p.m.

ON THE MOVE

The Hawai‘i Convention Center has promoted Mark Morikawa to facility manager. Prior to joining the convention center, Morikawa served as a project manager in Honolulu.

Hawaii Pacific University has named Vince Baldemor executive director of athletics. He will oversee 14 intercollegiate sports and campus recreation programs. Baldemor was previously president of ‘Ahahui Koa Anuenue, the nonprofit fundraising partner for University of Hawaii Athletics.

Shirokiya Residential Estates has named JP "John Paul" Lam as its director of Asia marketing. He has extensive experience in real estate sales and acquisition in California and Hawaii.