Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Waimea Valley presents "Arbor Day"

Waimea Valley, located at 59-864 Kamehameha Highway (across from Waimea Bay) is proud to present its 2nd Annual “ARBOR DAY” Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.

The plant sale and tree give-away will take place in front of Parking Lot 2 (before security guard shack). Participants are encouraged to bring an extra bucket or two to take free mulch home for their yards.

HECO will once again participate by providing the trees for plant give away. Each household will be allowed one free tree and will be asked to complete a short survey before leaving. The survey will help HECO to determine what kind of plants to prepare for the next year.

Waimea Valley will have native and non-native plants for sale and several vendors from across O`ahu will also be selling a wide variety of plants:

• Olomana Tropicals –heliconias, gingers and bromeliads
• Jill Coryell, the Hibiscus Lady – original cultivated varieties of hibiscus
• Alvin Tsuruda of Waihale Products – a very wide variety of exotics, good named Anthuriums
• Ed Miyashita of Growing Creations – herbs, orchids and vegetable starters
• Kay Lynch of La`au Hawai`i– native Ferns

Admission to the Arbor Day Event is free; however, there will be a
parking fee of $5.00 per car.

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Second Annual Business Expo

Aloha Members and Friends,

The Second Annual Business Expo is presented by First Hawaiian Bank. Early Bird Discounts are available until October 10th. So, sign up today!! Download the application on the North Shore Chamber of Commerce website.

Our Luncheon Speaker is Howard Dicus and we hope to have a very exciting keynote speaker as well. The seminars that our Education Chair, Karen Campbell from Waialua Soda Works, has put together are excellent. Bob Boyle of Turtle Bay Resort, the Event Chair, will be hosting us in their beautiful hotel and serving their wonderful food.

Are you looking to expand your business in the North Shore area? Sign up as an exhibitor by October 10th and get the Eartly Bird Discount.

Attendees: If you sign up for this great event, the Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Reception AND six seminars are all included in your registration fee. It's a great bargain, educational and fun.

Mahalo to our Title Sponsor, First Hawaiian Bank, and sponsors Kamehameha Schools, North Shore News and Turtle Bay Resort.

Hope to see you there this year and remember to sign up before October 10th!

Aloha,
Antya Miller, Executive Director
North Shore Chamber of Commerce

Monday, September 21, 2009

North Shore Yoga Festival

True Union presents the North Shore Yoga Festival, an event designed to celebrate the many styles and philosophies that form the ancient practice of yoga. The North Shore Yoga Festival is the first of its kind in Hawaii, bringing together more than a dozen well-known yogis from the Islands and continental U.S. to lead innovate workshops and classes in order to promote yoga awareness. There will be four workshop sessions throughout the day, a keiki yoga class for children, as well as an evening concert by internationally acclaimed musician Ty Burhoe.

Surfers Yoga: Alignment and Fast Flexibility Techniques; Exploring the Parallels of Pilates and Yoga; Yoga Thai Massage Partner Class; Keiki Yoga; Free Your Hips, Free Your Mind; and much more.

Festival fee ranges from $20 for the music concert to $150 for a full day festival pass (four workshops, festival t-shirt, and Ty Burhoe concert). Visit True Union’s website at http://www.trueunion.org to register for festival events.

Contact Kate Baldwin at 757.651.0953 for more information on becoming an exhibitor or sponsor at the North Shore Yoga Festival.

Turtle Bay Resort will be offering a select number of rooms at a discounted rate for those attending the North Shore Yoga Festival. Contact Turtle Bay Resort 808.293.6000 for more information.

Phone: 757.651.0953; email: kate@trueunion.org; Web: www.trueunion.org.

True Union is owned and operated by Kate Baldwin. Kate is a renowned teacher and practitioner of Hatha, Raja and Bhakti Yoga. Kate is a Karma Yogi as well, and has been incredibly active in her community through organizations such as Team in Training, Make A Wish Foundation, Whitman Walker Clinic, Volunteers for the Visually Handicapped, and a number of others. Kate teaches yoga on Oahu at Turtle Bay Resort, North Shore Yoga Co-op, and Open Space Yoga. She was recently selected as one of lululemon athletica’s ambassadors to join efforts in spreading yoga awareness throughout the community.

Friday, September 18, 2009

2nd Annual Business Expo - October 28th

Aloha Members,

Hold the Date!! The Second Annual Business Expo Presented by First Hawaiian Bank and hosted by the North Shore Chamber of Commerce will be held at Turtle Bay Resort on Wednesday, October 28th. Howard Dicus will be the keynote speaker at lunch. Karen Campbell from Waialua Soda Works has done a great job again of lining up a variety of wonderful speakers and Bob Boyle of Turtle Bay Resort will provide us with scruptious food at breakfast lunch and dinner in a beautiful and comfortable conference setting.

This is an all-day affair, so be sure to mark your calendars now! More information will be provided soon.

Mahalo,

Antya

The Voice of Business in Hawaii - Be prepared

- From Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii President Jim Tollefson -

We all agree that our employees are our most valuable asset. Having a healthy and productive staff is critical to our continued success. Anytime an employee is out sick it affects the entire team and the productivity of the office.

Now, more than ever, when many businesses are functioning with smaller staffs or dealing with employee furloughs, any employee illness can have a major impact on a company's ability to perform. As we approach what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said may be one of our most challenging flu seasons through this fall and winter, it is very important for every business to plan and prepare their company. Along with increasingly stronger flu strains, the CDC has stated they expect the H1N1 influenza to increase and they believe more people and communities will be affected.

Currently, I am serving on the Advisory Council for the Department of Health Pandemic Influenza Public Engagement Demonstration Project. The council recognizes that for Hawaii to be prepared and respond effectively to an influenza outbreak it involves everyone: individuals, communities, businesses, States, Federal agencies, international countries and organizations. Creating public awareness and involvement is important to reducing the impact or spread of severe influenza.

The CDC is asking employers to plan to be able to respond in a flexible way to varying levels of the severity of an outbreak. They have created the "CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employers To Plan and Respond to the 2009-2010 Influenza Season". The new guide recommends actions that non-healthcare employers should take now to decrease the spread of seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu in the workplace. The guide also includes additional strategies to use if flu conditions become more severe and there are new recommendations regarding when a worker who is ill with influenza may return to work. It can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/business/guidance/. We will also be placing this guide and additional links on the Chamber website.

With the potential of increased illnesses within our staffs, or having an employee out who is a primary caretaker, or even more challenging, an outbreak that causes any type of temporary closure, employers must be prepared to respond in order to limit interruptions to their business.
As a small organization, your Chamber recognizes how important it is to plan for flu season. As a team, we will be reviewing an influenza pandemic plan, posting the key health and safety preventative measures, and have options such as the ability for an employee to work from home to continue business. The business community plays an important role in limiting the negative impact of the H1N1 influenza and seasonal flu outbreaks. I want to urge every Chamber member and business to incorporate the CDC's guidance plan and be proactive.

Additional tools and guidance documents have been developed by the federal government to assist employers in their planning. These resources are available online at: www.flu.gov/plan/workplaceplanning/index.html

One-Stop www.flu.gov

2009 H1N1 Influenza Information http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

2009 H1N1 Influenza Resources for Businesses and Employers http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/business/

Worker Safety and Health Guidance for a Pandemic www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/pandemicflu/index.html

OSHA's Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic http://www.osha.gov/Publications/influenza_pandemic.html

CDC/NIOSH Occupational Health Issues Associated with 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/h1n1flu/

Jim Tollefson
President & CEO
The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
The Voice of Business in Hawaii
1132 Bishop Street, Suite 402
Honolulu, Hi. 96813
Ph: 808-545-4300 ext 388
Fax 808-545-4369
www.cochawaii.org

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Honolulu Council bill bans shark tours

The Honolulu City Council on Friday introduced a bill to ban shark tour operations.

Bill 67 calls for penalizing violators up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.

...Currently, at least two shark tour operations — North Shore Shark Adventures and Hawaii Shark Encounters — operate on Oahu’s North Shore, where customers view sharks from a submerged cage.

More information at Pacific Business News

Saturday, September 12, 2009

More jobs, growth of BYUH behind plan for La'ie's future

Opponents of revised design cite expected large influx of people

The plan by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build 1,200 homes, a shopping center, churches, parks and light industrial complex at Malaekahana may succeed where earlier plans have failed, officials say.

Just a year ago, a proposal to build 550 homes was scrapped when the economy tanked and local support seemed weak.

More at the Honolulu Advertiser