Philippine Air to expand Honolulu service

Philippine Airlines is increasing its service between Manila and Hono­lulu to five times a week beginning Aug. 1. The carrier currently operates the route three times a week.

Onetime competitor Hawaiian Airlines discontinued four-times-a-week service between those two cities July 31 due to high fuel prices and competition that resulted in low fares. Hawaiian had operated that route since April 2008.

32,000 Mormon missionaries to get iPads

SALT LAKE CITY » The Mormon Church is moving forward with its plan to arm missionaries with iPad minis and broaden their proselytizing to social media.

A test program that began last fall with 6,500 missionaries serving in the United States and Japan went well, prompting the initiative’s expansion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a news release this week.

Church leaders expect to have the specially configured mobile devices in the hands of more than 32,000 missionaries by early 2015.

Using the iPad minis has proved an effective tool for missionaries to communicate with church leaders and keep in touch with people who have expressed interest in joining the Mormon Church, David F. Evans, director of the church’s missionary department, said in a video posted on Mormonnewsroom.org.

"We know in many parts of the world, the traditional forms of proselyting work very, very well," Evans said. "In some other places where technology and urban life has developed in such a way that missionaries have a harder time contacting people, we hope that these tools become even more valuable in those places."

Scholars say this is the latest example of the LDS Church’s gradual embrace of the digital age and its recognition that door-to-door proselytizing is not the most effective way to expand church membership.

The program will expand to all missions in United States, Canada, Japan and Western Europe.

Google cuts search link in Europe

BRUSSELS » Google’s removal of search results in Europe is drawing accusations of press censorship, as stories from some of the continent’s most prominent news outlets begin vanishing. The U.S. Internet giant said Thursday it is getting 1,000 requests a day to scrub results.

The U.S. firm must comply with a May ruling from the European Union’s top court that enables citizens to ask for the removal of embarrassing personal information that pops up on a search of their names. Among links to vanish were stories on a soccer referee who resigned after a scandal in 2010, French office workers making Post-it art, a couple having sex on a train and a lawyer facing a fraud trial.

Amazon defends self over kids’ purchases

LOS ANGELES » Amazon says that it is prepared to go to court against the Federal Trade Commission to defend itself against charges that it has not done enough to prevent children from making unauthorized in-app purchases.

The FTC alleged in a draft lawsuit released by Amazon that unauthorized charges by children on Amazon tablets have amounted to millions of dollars.

Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. said in a letter Tuesday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Rami­rez that it had already refunded money to parents who complained. It also said its parental controls go beyond what the FTC required from Apple when it imposed a $32.5 million fine on the company in January over a similar matter.

Pharmacy sales lift 2 drugstore chains

A jump in pharmacy revenue fueled June sales growth for two of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, and they may start adding gains from the health care overhaul later this year.

Walgreen Co. and Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday that pharmacy revenue from their established stores climbed more than 11 percent at Walgreen and 5 percent at Rite Aid last month. Walgreen runs the nation’s largest drugstore chain with 8,215 stores, while Rite Aid ranks third with 4,754. The company in the middle, CVS Caremark Corp., which owns Longs Drugs, doesn’t report monthly results. Overall, Walgreen’s revenue from established stores rose 7.5 percent in June, while Rite Aid’s climbed about 4 percent.

ON THE MOVE

Shriners Hospitals for Children-Hono­lulu has appointed Dr. Craig M. Ono chief of staff. He has served as acting chief of staff since December. His has been assistant chief of staff since 2006 and orthopedic surgeon at Shriners since 1992. Ono’s interest is in lower-extremity reconstruction as well as clubfeet and sports injuries.

Retail Merchants of Hawaii has introduced its new board members:

» Michael Wiley is a group publisher at Nella Media Group. He was previously director of major and national accounts for the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser.

» Terri Min is a director of human resources at ABC Stores. She has worked for ABC Stores for 25 years.

» Jennifer Erwin is a general manager at PacRim Marketing Group and PR Tech. She was previously a premier full-service moving and storage Mayflower agent in San Francisco.

Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel has announced Scott Prange as a new associate. He was previously a research assistant for professor Danielle Conway and professor Ron Brown at the William S. Richardson School of Law.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR

KALAELOA BARBERS POINT HARBOR