Anderson previously served as administrator of the Foreign Trade Zone 9, a division of DBEDT. He also worked in DBEDT's Investment Attraction Branch as an economic development specialist where he focused on increasing capital investment into the state and supported foreign trade missions to Asia.

Anderson's resume also includes a stint as member of the Hawai'i/Pacific Region District Export Council, to which he was appointed in 2000 by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He was raised in Pa'auilo on the Big Island, and on O'ahu. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and Punahou School.

VA awards $20 million for Hilo veterans' facility

Veterans in Hawai'i will have greater access to long-term health care, thanks to a $20 million grant awarded today by the Department of Veterans Affairs to construct a new state veterans home in Hilo.

"This grant honors our commitment to care for the men and women who have served in uniform," said R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "Our federal-state partnership will provide a comfortable home for Hawai'i veterans in a time of personal need."

The $20,051,460 grant will pay up to 65 percent of the cost to construct a new 95-bed veterans home and adult day care center in Hilo. Overall cost of the project is estimated at $32 million.