County to fund tourism programs
Maui County is seeking proposals for tourism programs to be funded through the County Product Enrichment Program for the 2013 calendar year.
Eligible programs can be new or existing community-based events, experiences and projects on Maui, Molokai and Lanai related to the areas of agriculture, culture, education, nature, health and wellness, sports and technology.
Nonprofits, for-profit organizations and government agencies can apply for funding. Proposals are due Nov. 5.
Application packets are available at the county's Office of Economic Development at One Maui Plaza, Suite 305, in Wailuku, or online at mauicounty.gov/oed/cpep.
The County Product Enrichment Program is supported through the state Hawaii Tourism Authority. Since 2002, when the HTA began the program, the county has provided 266 awards to different community organizations totaling $3.9 million.
For more information, call Cheryl Sterling at 270-7997.
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Ward Centers plan would transform site
HONOLULU - Howard Hughes Corp. has unveiled its plan for Ward Centers in Honolulu.
Construction could begin in 2014 on three residential high-rises as part of a revised master plan transforming 60 acres into almost an entirely new neighborhood.
Ward Centers - now being called Ward Village - would be dominated by condominium towers and would have twice as many shops and restaurants.
The new plan would double the number of retail, dining and entertainment venues. It also calls for 22 skinnier towers that preserve more public views of the mountains and ocean compared with a previous plan.
The Texas-based Howard Hughes Corp. acquired Ward Centers from General Growth Properties about two years ago.
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Kauai to get power from wood chips
LIHUE - A company plans to generate electricity for Kauai by burning wood chips from trees grown and harvested on the island.
Green Energy Team LLC said Wednesday that it had received a U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee that will allow it to begin construction on a biomass-to-energy plant near Koloa next year.
The $90 million plant will supply more than 11 percent of Kauai's electricity needs.
The project is expected to create more than 200 construction jobs and 39 permanent operating jobs.
Green Energy will sell power from the plant to the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative under a contract approved by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.
The utility says the plant will contribute significantly to its efforts to generate 50 percent of its power from renewable resources by 2023.
