Kailua hill preserved
Kaneohe Ranch Co. is selling the 67-acre Hamakua Hillside to the state in an ongoing effort to preserve adjacent Hamakua Marsh.
The hill, on the mauka side of Kailua town, is a watershed that feeds Hamakua Marsh. The marsh is the largest remaining natural wetland in Hawaii and home to four endangered Hawaiian water birds.
Isles rank third for government workers
Hawaii lost its distinction of having the highest percentage of government workers in its labor force, falling to third place last year in an annual report published by Gallup.
The District of Columbia took over the top spot with 29.2 percent of its workforce made up of government employees. Alaska was second with 28 percent, and Hawaii was third with 27.8 percent, according to the results of a Gallup Tracking poll released Monday. Nationally, government workers made up 16.2 percent of the labor force in 2012.
Hawaii was No. 1 in 2011, followed by Alaska and the District of Columbia. The shift in the rankings was the result of government employment falling in Hawaii and Alaska while holding steady in the U.S. capital.
Last year in Hawaii, federal workers made up 12.8 percent of the labor force, while state workers accounted for 10.6 percent. City and county workers composed 4.1 percent of the workforce, according to the report.
Schuler buys more 83 lots in Maui Lani
The Schuler Division of homebuilder D.R. Horton is adding to its development at the 1,000-acre Maui Lani community on the Valley Isle.
The company said it has bought 83 lots in the New Traditions neighborhood at Maui Lani, and plans to build single-family homes priced from the high $300,000s.
Schuler’s acquisition followed an initial 60 lots at New Traditions more than a year ago.
Schuler first acquired property at Maui Lani in 2000 and has built numerous homes in neighborhoods such as The Islands, The Legends and The Bluffs.
Maui Lani is a master-planned community launched in the mid-1990s by Maui Lani Partners LLC, a company headed by local developer Bill Mills, and plans are for it to eventually contain about 3,600 homes.
On the Move
Hawaii National Bank has hired Jay Hyungmyong Dow as assistant vice president and loan officer in the corporate banking department. He has nearly 10 years of finance and banking experience, having previously worked as an assistant vice president and loan officer at Ohana Pacific Bank.
AT&T has named Stefanie Ball director of sales to oversee its retail stores in Hawaii, and she will be based in Mililani. She has worked 10 years for AT&T in various positions.
