Visitor spending
rises 19 percent
HONOLULU (AP) — Travelers to Hawaii spent $1.17 billion in the islands last month — 19 percent more than the same month last year.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority says March was the 22nd consecutive month visitor spending has grown. The number of people coming to the islands grew 13 percent to nearly 715,000.
The authority’s CEO, Mike McCartney, said in a statement Thursday the trend should flatten in April. But he’s optimistic for a robust second half of the third quarter as airlines launch nonstop flights to Hawaii from New York, Washington, D.C., Fresno, Calif., and Las Vegas. Travel from South Korea jumped 38 percent and visits from China surged 24 percent.
Coast Guard to use new device
HONOLULU (AP) — The Coast Guard says it will begin using a new non-lethal signaling and warning device to enforce security zones in Hawaii’s ports, waterways and coastal waters.
The LA51 is a 12-gauge military shotgun. A Coast Guard video demonstrating the device shows a guardsman firing the shotgun in the distance in front of a boat on the verge of veering into a security zone. The people on the boat hear a pop and see a flash and smoke in the distance.
The Coast Guard said Wednesday the device is safer than the M16 tracer round it currently uses. It also gives off a bigger flash and sound.
It says Department of Defense weapons testing shows there is little risk of the LA51 causing significant injury.
Maui residents get new meters
KIHEI, Maui (AP) — Maui Electric Co. is installing new, “smart” power meters that will enable the utility to remotely monitor electricity fed to more than 100 residents taking part in the Maui smart-grid demonstration project.
Operations Superintendent Chris Reynolds says two meters have been installed so far in Maui Meadows. Another 110 will be in place in May.
Smart meters allow a utility to remotely read customers’ meters, connect and disconnect service and know when a customer has experienced a power outage.
The data help customers understand more about their energy use and guide them to use energy more efficiently.
The Maui meters are part of a broader experiment to demonstrate how solar, wind and other renewable energy sources can be integrated into an electrical grid.
