Postal Service lost $354M in first quarter

WASHINGTON » The Postal Service lost $354 million over the last three months, and officials warned that mounting losses could lead to cash flow problems for the rest of the year, the agency said Friday. The loss was far less than the $1.3 billion in the comparable quarter the previous fiscal year, but Postmaster General Patrick Dona­hoe continued to press Congress to give the agency more flexibility to manage its finances.

On Thursday the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill to end Saturday mail delivery and make permanent a temporary hike in the cost of a first-class stamp, which went to 49 from 46 cents on Jan. 26.

Hawaiian Air passenger traffic up 4.1%

Hawaiian Airlines’ passenger traffic rose 4.1 percent in January from the year-earlier period as the state’s largest carrier added more flights.

The airline transported 824,824 passengers last month compared with 792,009 a year ago. Its load factor, or the percentage of seats filled, rose 1.2 percentage points to 81.7 percent from 80.5 percent.

Revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, increased 6.9 percent to 1.15 million from 1.07 million. Available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, rose 5.3 percent to 1.40 million from 1.33 million.

Territorial wraps fifth repurchase program

The parent of Territorial Savings Bank has completed its fifth repurchase program after buying 300,000 shares of its common stock at an average price of $22.94 a share.

Territorial Bancorp Inc.’s stock closed Friday down 12 cents at $22.24 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Veterans job fair set for Feb. 20 on Kauai

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the University of Phoenix will hold a job fair for veterans and military spouses Feb. 20 at the Kauai Veterans Center in Lihue.

The event is part of the chamber’s nationwide Hiring Our Heroes campaign, which aims to have businesses hire a half-million veterans and military spouses by year’s end.

A workshop for job seekers will take place before the fair at 9 a.m. The job fair will follow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Job seekers can register for free at hiringourheroes.org. Walk-in job seekers also are allowed. Veterans must provide proof of service.

Restaurant association to honor excellence

The Hawaii Restaurant Association is seeking nominations for the state’s best chefs, cooks, servers, bartenders and more for employee excellence awards.

The second annual event honors both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house workers, including bus staff, hostesses, reservationists or administrative assistants, cooks, prep cooks, kitchen staffers and dishwashers.

Nominations may be submitted online at is.gd/HRAawards though Friday.

Hacked Pittsburgh firm linked to Target

NEW YORK » The hackers who stole millions of customers’ credit and debit card numbers from Target may have used a Pittsburgh-area heating and refrigeration business as the back door to get in.

If that was, in fact, how they pulled it off — and investigators appear to be looking at that theory — it illustrates just how vulnerable big corporations have become as they expand and connect their computer networks to other companies to increase convenience and productivity.

Fazio Mechanical Services Inc., a contractor that does business with Target, said in a statement Thursday that it was the victim of a "sophisticated cyberattack operation," similar to Target.

It said it is cooperating with the Secret Service and Target to figure out what happened.

The statement came days after Internet security bloggers identified the Sharpsburg, Pa., company as the third-party vendor through which hackers penetrated Target’s computer systems.

ON THE MOVE

Honolulu Community Action Program has selected James Upega as coordinator of a new program called Na Lima Hana Employment Core Services, which is an employment preparation, development and support program for unemployed and underemployed income-eligible individuals on Oahu. Upega was previously a community worker at Kalihi Palama District Service Center and an aide for the HCAP Low-Income Home Energy Program.

The Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club has promoted Francis Young to front office manager. He has 29 years of hotel industry experience and was previously an assistant front office manager for Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki. Before working at the hotel, Young served as front services manager and assistant rooms director with assignments at Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Orlando, Fla., and Greenville, S.C.

SHIP AHOY!

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HONOLULU HARBOR