Gay & Robinson’s departure means Hawaii has only one sugar grower left
By Allison Schaefers
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 31, 2009
WAIMEA, Kauai » The sugar workers bringing in the last harvest at centuries-old Gay & Robinson had tears in their eyes, but this time it was not from the smoke and burning caramel smell that accompanies cane processing.
Amid a chorus of honking trucks, employees escorted Kauai’s last load of sugar cane from the field to the mill yesterday. Along the way, they paid homage to West Kauai, and the community responded in kind.
The convoy began at Makaweli Post Office and proceeded through Waimea Town, around the West Kauai Technology Center and into Hanapepe before stopping at Kaumakani Mill where the workers rode up the dusty drive like returning war heroes. They are the last of their kind on Kauai, the island that ushered in the state’s centuries-old sugar tradition with the opening of the first successful sugar mill in Koloa in 1835. They are the end of an era.
Maui Land & Pineapple Co. has reported a $25.5 million loss for the third quarter of 2009.
The loss includes $22.8 million in recorded losses on the company’s investment in Kapalua Bay Holdings. On top of previous write-downs, that means the company now has lost all of the money it originally invested in the venture, said Chief Financial Officer John Durkin.
"Unfortunately, we’ve now written down all our equity in Kapalua Bay Residences," he said.
The latest report brings ML&P’s total losses for the first nine months of 2009 to $92.9 million – larger than the $71.6 million loss the company recorded for the entire year in 2008.
SANTA PAULA, CA–(Marketwire – 10/30/09) – Limoneira Company (LMNR), one of California’s largest agribusinesses, announced the sale of 335,000 shares of its ownership in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGW), a global leader in the packing and marketing of fresh and processed avocados and other perishable food products. The sales took place on October 8th and 13th 2009, and were made to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet in preparation for its pending East Area 1 master planned community development project in Santa Paula, California. Limoneira continues to own 665,000 Calavo shares, which represents 4.6% of Calavo’s total shares.
"The Limoneira Company remains extremely excited about the bright futures of both Calavo Growers and Limoneira," says Harold Edwards, Limoneira’s CEO. "By monetizing a percentage of our ownership in Calavo Growers we are preparing for upcoming investment requirements in our East Area 1 development project, which will assist in unlocking significant value for both Limoneira and Calavo shareholders." Calavo Growers owns 15% of Limoneira.
KAHULUI, Hawaii–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. (NYSE:MLP – News) reported a net loss of $25.5 million or $3.17 per share for the third quarter of 2009 compared to a net loss of $8.7 million or $1.09 per share for the third quarter of 2008. The loss for the third quarter of 2009 includes $22.8 million equity in losses from the Company’s investment in Kapalua Bay Holdings, LLC, compared to $5.1 million income attributable to this investment for the third quarter of 2008. Consolidated revenues were $26.7 million for the third quarter of 2009, compared to $19.1 million for the third quarter of 2008. Revenues for the third quarter of 2009 include the sale of two properties that resulted in revenues of $11.7 million.
Contact: Miyoko Sakashita, (415) 436-9682 x 308, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a formal petition seeking to protect 83 imperiled coral species under the Endangered Species Act. These corals, all of which occur in U.S. waters ranging from Florida and Hawaii to U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific, face a growing threat of extinction due to rising ocean temperatures caused by global warming, and the related threat of ocean acidification.
Scientists have warned that coral reefs are likely to be the first worldwide ecosystem to collapse due to global warming; all the world’s reefs could be destroyed by 2050.
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Question: Can you tell me what the rules are regarding flying to and from Hawaii with fruit? I recently went to the mainland. I thought that if I cut some mango to eat on the plane, it would be allowed since there was no peel and no seed. To my surprise, my plastic container of mango was confiscated at Honolulu Airport. The (Transportation Security Administration) guy told me that mango was only allowed out if it was frozen. But who wants frozen mango? I was in Portland, Ore., where there were so many really fresh summer fruit that we don’t grow here in Hawaii, like peaches and berries. But after my mango experience, I was afraid to bring any fruit home.
Answer: You can find travel and shipping information on what you can and cannot take out or bring into Hawaii at the state Department of Agriculture’s Web site, hsblinks.com/126.
There are links to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which regulates what can be taken out of Hawaii; to Homeland Security (Customs and immigration), which regulates foreign fruits and vegetables; as well as to the state Agriculture Department’s information about what you are allowed to bring into Hawaii.
According to an official at the APHIS office at Honolulu Airport, you can’t take the majority of fresh fruits out of Hawaii. You either have to freeze or pickle the fruits. In the case of mangoes, you have to get rid of the seed as well.
If you have questions about what you can carry with you on an airplane leaving Hawaii, check the Web site hsblinks.com/vs or just call the APHIS office at 834-3220.
It’s a totally different matter if you’re bringing fruit back from the mainland. Basically, you can bring back most fresh fruits — apples, peaches, California oranges, berries, etc., as long as you declare and present them for inspection, according to a state agriculture spokeswoman.
Jones Act Lawsuit Will Test Control of Hawaii’s Shipping Monopoly
By Malia Zimmerman, 10/20/2009 5:52:42 AM
Big Island small business owner Jim O’Keefe operated the O’Keefe & Sons Bread Bakers in Hilo, Hawaii for 13 years before shutting down his extensive operation in 2008. His popular bakery closure left 50 people out of work, retail customers searching for other restaurants to buy deli and baked goods from, and several area businesses, grocery stores and resorts scrambling for other local places to buy wholesale baked foods.
The cost of doing business in Hawaii was just too high for O’Keefe to continue operating. Through his own research, he discovered that a large part of his expenses were for shipping flour and other food ingredients to the island of Hawaii.
“I would buy a 50 pound bag of flour for $6 or $7 in the mainland, and by the time it landed in Hilo, it cost me $12.50 a bag,” O’Keefe says.
O’Keefe, like virtually every other business person in Hawaii, sees the cost of goods skyrocket by the time they reach Hawaiian shores because of the Jones Act, a federal law that says all products shipped between American ports must be shipped in American made vessels by a crew that is 75 percent American. That law limits competition from world shippers, and raises the cost of doing business here, in O’Keefe’s case, by six figures over the life of his business.