BUSINESS BRIEFS
City ranked low in WiFi access
Advertiser Staff
Honolulu fell to No. 73 among 100 metropolitan areas for wireless Internet accessibility, according to a survey by electronics giant Intel Corp.
The "Most Unwired Cities" survey compares a city's population to the number of so-called WiFi "hot spots," or wireless Internet access points. This year's ranking placed Honolulu just below Mobile, Ala., and above Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. The top WiFi metro areas were Seattle-Bellevue-Everett-Tacoma, Wash., and San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland, Calif.
Honolulu last year was ranked No. 13.
Notable WiFi hotspots in Honolulu were: It's a Beautiful Day Kafe, Volcano Joe's and Ala Moana Center. A list of other local hot spots is available at intel.jiwire.com.
Deloitte exec to retire Dec. 31
The longtime head of Deloitte & Touche's local office will step down at the end of the year.
Lloyd Fujie, who had worked for Deloitte for 32 years, said he plans to retire as the company's managing partner for Hawai'i at the end of December and will be replaced by former Hawai'i resident Paul Higo.
Higo recently spent several years in the company's New York, Hong Kong and San Jose, Calif., offices after spending much of his early career in Hawai'i.
Airline planning Hawai'i flights
America West Airlines expects to begin flying from the Mainland to Hawai'i late this year or early next year to serve more vacation areas.
The Arizona-based airline has begun training crews and is awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to make the flights, America West spokesman Carlo Bertolini said yesterday.
America West began planning for the Hawai'i flights before its proposed merger with US Airways and expects to begin them whether or not the combination occurs, he said. Flights would probably include departures from Phoenix and Las Vegas.
SMG contract extended to 2011
The Hawai'i Tourism Authority has extended SMG's contract to market and manage the Hawai'i Convention Center through June 2011.
The authority is paying SMG about $382,000 in management fees this year, with increases of up to 4 percent a year based on Honolulu's consumer price index.
SMG has been managing the convention center since before it opened in 1998 and took over marketing of the center from the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau in 2003.
