BUSINESS BRIEFS
Vitamin Shoppe to open in 'Aiea
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i's first Vitamin Shoppe is scheduled to open tomorrow in 'Aiea.
The store at Pearl Ridge Market at 98-199 Kamehameha Highway is scheduled to open at 10 a.m. after a blessing that starts at 9 a.m.
The 'Aiea Vitamin Shoppe will be the first of four stores scheduled to open in the next four months for the New Jersey-based chain retailing vitamins and nutritional supplements.
Vitamin Shoppe also plans to open stores in Ala Moana Center, Kane'ohe and Lahaina, Maui. Next year, the company also plans to open stores in Kapolei and Kailua, Kona.
STORM LOANS AVAILABLE FOR FARMERS
Farmers who suffered damage from wind, heavy rains and flooding that occurred from Dec. 4-14 may be eligible for low-interest loans from the Hawai'i Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Loan Division.
Gov. Linda Lingle issued a disaster proclamation on Dec. 7, and the Hawai'i Board of Agriculture approved the emergency loan program at its meeting on Jan. 22.
Farmers may apply for emergency loans of up to $250,000 at 3 percent interest. To fast-track the loan process, requests of $75,000 or less will not require credit denials from other financial institutions, which would normally be required for agricultural loans. The board also waived the three-year residency requirements normally required for agricultural loans.
Under the emergency loan program, farmers needing loans of $25,000 or less may apply for micro-loans, which involve less paperwork and swifter processing. Loan applications for emergency loans relating to the December storms will be accepted until Oct. 31, 2008.
For more information on O'ahu, call 973-9460; in Hilo, call 933-9976; and in Kona, call 323-7591.
FLORACULTURE ORGANIZATION SOUGHT
Several floraculture associations are pushing to form an industry-wide umbrella organization to help Hawai'i nursery products compete in a global market.
The Hawai'i Florists and Shippers Association has invited more than a dozen organizations to a charter meeting Feb. 27 in Hilo.
Attendees will include professionals representing floral and plant nurserymen, floraculture farmers, plant wholesalers, landscapers, florists, packaging suppliers and shippers.
"Our industry needs to join forces so we can market our Hawai'i brand aggressively and professionally," said Eric Tanouye, new president of HFSA.
"With competition from Asia, South America and Europe growing, we need to strengthen our reach to not only the U.S. Mainland but also abroad."
For more information, call 808-959-3535.
MEDICAL CONVENTION WRAPPING UP
The Society of Critical Care Medicine wraps up its 37th Critical Care Congress today with 4,500 people attending at the Hawai'i Convention Center.
This is the first time that the congress conference, which began Saturday, has been held in Hawai'i.
The congress was scheduled to have a larger contingency from China, Japan and South Korea than in the past. The conference was expected to generate more than 36,000 room nights for Honolulu hotels, convention center officials said.
Total statewide spending by attendees was expected to be more than $21.2 million, with more than $2 million in statewide tax revenue.
