| Kamehameha Schools considering uses for Oahu North Shore land
HONOLULU Kamehameha Schools, the state's largest private landowner, is re-evaluating how it will use some 26-thousand acres on Oahu's North Shore. Kalani Fronda is the trust's land asset manage. He says it is considering using the land to grow agricultural products and to develop alternative energy. Some of the land may also go toward senior assisted living and affordable-housing projects. The land includes 15-thousand acres of conservation land, nine-thousand acres of agricultural land and 22-hundred acres zoned for commercial, agricultural and residential use. The trust wants to take advantage of what it deems underutilized land and infrastructure to support diversified agriculture, educational, cultural and economic projects. ___ Information from: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, http://www.starbulletin.com Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
Senior housing project going downtown
Santa Maria Planning Commissioners say they're excited about a downtown project that would bring a senior assisted-living home to the heart of the city.
The commission voted 4-0 Wednesday night to allow the Sun family to develop the project at 117 N. Broadway. The commission's newest member, Adrian Andrade, who was appointed Tuesday night by Councilwoman Hilda Zacarias, abstained from the vote.
The applicants are proposing extensive remodeling in their building to create the assisted-living facility on the second floor while keeping the existing furniture store on the ground floor.
Though commissioners said they are pleased to see an additional opportunity for seniors to live in the downtown area, Commissioner Lawnae Hunter insisted a condition of approval be added to require some sort of open space for the residents.
Women's Health
Ukrop's Pharmacy and the Virginia Women's Center (at John Rolfe) are sponsoring a series of monthly seminars on women's health. The dates and topics are: -- Wednesday: "Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy." -- March 7: "Osteoporosis and Treatment." The seminars will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Celebration Room at Ukrop's John Rolfe. To register, call (804) 340-4053. Learning disabilities A support group for adults who have or think they might have a learning disability or attention-deficit disorder is held from 7 to 8:15 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays at Weinstein JCC, 5403 Monument Ave. For details, call Sheila Price at (804) 337-3747 or (804) 730- 0411. Emotions Anonymous Emotions Anonymous meets Fridays at 8 p.m.
Toyota worried about labor costs in US
Here's something you might have seen coming. We've talked about how labor costs have been one of the major factors cited as keeping the domestic automakers behind the 8-ball regarding profitability compared to Japanese competitors. Sure, there's more to it than that, but the fact remains that labor costs are high on the list. How does that effect foreign automakers that have domestic workforces? About how you'd expect. Toyota, for one, is warning that U.S. labor costs could severely curtail their profits in the not-too-distant future. Continues after the jump[Source: Freep]The Detroit Free Press got its hands on a report by Seiichi (Sean) Sudo, president of Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing in North America, which tells senior management about the labor situation. In it, he outlines a recommended plan to keep wages more in line with local manufacturing than with just auto manufacturing compensation nationally.
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