Business Briefs [Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)]

Incentive program for safe drivers approved

The Hawaii Insurance Division has approved a new program geared toward rewarding safe drivers with discounts on their auto insurance.

DTRIC Insurance Underwriters Ltd. is the first local insurer approved to sell a discount program that creates an incentive for safe driving through the use of an Aka­mai Rater device that collects data used to evaluate how a customer drives.

The device is voluntarily installed in a vehicle by a policyholder who chooses to enroll in the plan.

Hawaii foreclosures among lowest in June

Hawaii had 449 completed foreclosures in the month of June, the third-lowest number in the nation, according to data released Tuesday by California-based CoreLogic.

The National Foreclosure Report for June tallied up 60,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. compared with 80,000 in June 2011.

The other four states alongside Hawaii with the lowest June numbers were South Dakota (39), the District of Columbia (81), North Dakota (565) and Maine (625).

The highest numbers of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ended June 2012 occurred in California (125,000), Florida (91,000), Michigan (58,000), Texas (56,000) and Georgia (55,000). The five states account for 48.4 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally, according to CoreLogic.

Rail project to be electrified by Siemens

The multimillion-dollar contract to electrify the track for the Hono­lulu Rail Transit project has been awarded to Atlanta-based Siemens Corp.

The company did not release the dollar value of the contract awarded by Ansaldo Hono­lulu JV.

Siemens said Tuesday it will supply the rail system with 14 traction power DC rectifier substations at 750 volts and two tie breaker gap substations. The order also includes the emergency stop equipment at the metro depot and all stops along the 20-mile line.

Siemens Corp. is a U.S. subsidiary of Munich-based Siemens AG, an electronics and electrical engineering company with 360,000 employees in 190 countries.

Pearl Harbor upgrades vehicle fleet

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is upgrading its fleet of slow-moving electric vehicles with 36 new models made by Vantage Vehicle International Inc.

The new two- and four-passenger trucks and cargo vans, with a range of 40 miles and a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour, will be used to transport people, tools and supplies on base, according to a news release from the Hawaii office of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

The vehicles have hard doors, air conditioning and instrument gauges that other electric slow-moving vehicles do not. The new fleet will replace smaller, outdated "neighborhood" electric vehicles that have been in use for the past 10 years.

The new vehicles also come with roof-mounted photovoltaic panels that reduce the amount of time at a charging station while extending battery life, according to the news release.

Kauai opens 'world's westernmost brewery'

Kauai is again laying claim to having the "world's westernmost brewery."

Kauai Island Brewing Co. opened recently in Port Allen and is brewing about 10 beers being served at an associated 75-seat brewpub restaurant called Kauai Island Brewery & Grill.

The company claims to be the furthest-west brewery based on a longitude of 159 degrees and figuring there are no breweries in places further west that include Fiji and Siberia. The brewery also advertises the "last beer before tomorrow."

Bret & Janice Larson opened Kauai Island Brewing last month with brewmaster Dave Curry. The Larsons previously owned Wai­mea Brewing Co., which used to tout itself as being the world's westernmost brewery but closed after 13 years when its lease at Wai­mea Plantation Cottage Resort expired.

SP Plus Security Services expands to Hawaii

A service line of Standard Parking Corp. has received state security licensing that paves the way for it to expand to Hawaii. SP Plus Security Services works with government, municipal, professional office, retail, hotel, medical and residential segments seeking uniformed guard services.

Regional Manager Jon Tava­res oversees the SP Plus Security operation in the state. He currently manages multiple Standard Parking services.

ON THE MOVE

Architects Hawaii has announced the following additions and promotion:

-- Magdalena Harper as interior designer. She is currently working on the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl, and Maui Memorial Medical Center.

-- Christie M. Niibu Fong as project architect. Her recent projects include the Pali Momi Medical Center pavilion, Kahuku Medical Center and Tripler Army Medical Center.

-- Kwan N. Law was promoted to senior designer. His projects include the Queen's Medical Center, Allure Waikiki and?Yukio Oku­tsu State Veterans Home in Hilo.

The Queen's Medical Center Breast Center has been granted a three-year, full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.

Credit: Star-Advertiser staff