Hawaii among worst states for business
Hawaii slipped a notch to 44th place in the latest Chief Executive magazine ranking of the Best and Worst States for Business.
Some 511 CEOs around the country completed the survey resulting in the list that ranks taxes and regulations, workforce quality and living environment — the latter of which includes factors such as quality of education, cost of living, affordable housing, social amenities and crime rates.
States worse than Hawaii, according to the magazine, are Connecticut (45), Massachusetts (46), New Jersey (47), Illinois (48), New York (49) and, in last place, California.
For the 11th consecutive year, Texas won the top ranking. Florida’s second-place finish also is a repeat, while North Carolina rose to third from fourth, Tennessee slipped to fourth from third and Georgia jumped to fifth from 10th place last year.
The entire list can be viewed online at 808ne.ws/StatesForBizChfExec.
Hawaii’s business climate perennially ranks poorly on such lists created by general and specialty publications.
Local farmers market among best in U.S.
Haleiwa Farmers Market is the best in Hawaii and represents the Aloha State on the Cooking Light magazine list of 50 Best Farmers Markets across the U.S.
State-by-state selections were made by chefs and food authorities who live and work in the state. Noteworthy local chef Ed Kenney is quoted in the national magazine’s coverage online at 808ne.ws/Haleiwa_CookingLight.
Farmers markets "matter," said Hunter Lewis, Cooking Light editor, in a statement. "They connect you to a local economy and the pulse of a place," adding that the number of farmers markets across the country has soared some 371 percent in the last 20 years, "fueled by our craving for fresh local food."
The full list is available online and in the June issue of Cooking Light, released to newsstands Friday.
The Haleiwa Farmers Market is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursdays in Waimea Valley. It is one of the FarmLovers Farmers Markets run by Living Breath LLC, which also stages farmers markets in Kakaako, Pearlridge and the KailuaTown Farmers Market, according to its website.
U.S. sales fuel Toyota’s record $18B profit
TOKYO » Toyota zoomed to a record $18.1 billion profit for the fiscal year that ended in March, up 19 percent from the previous year, buoyed by sales growth in the U.S. and a perk from the cheap yen.
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda told reporters Friday the Japanese automaker appeared to be back on track for "sustainable growth." The company announced it’s expecting 3.5 percent growth in profit to $18.8 billion for the fiscal year ending in March 2016.
Since Toyoda, grandson of the automaker’s founder, took the helm in 2009, Toyota has gone through hard times, getting embroiled in a massive recall scandal, mostly in the U.S. The scandal ballooned to millions of vehicles being recalled for a range of problems, including faulty brakes, sticky gas pedals and defective floor mats.
Sales last year grew 6 percent to $227 billion.
ON THE MOVE
Hawaii National Bank has announced the following promotion and new hire:
» Keith Shimomura to vice president and manager of the bank’s Kaimuki and Hawaii Kai branches from assistant vice president and manager. He has 34 years’ experience at the bank.
» Gayle Ishima as assistant vice president and residential operations manager for its residential mortgage department. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the residential mortgage industry.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell has named Nicole A. Velasco as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. She was previously executive secretary of the Neighborhood Commission Office as well as an analyst for the state Office of the Auditor and the finance committee of the state House of Representatives. Prior to that, Velasco served as a government affairs adviser at Ashford & Wriston.
