International business leader, Steve Forbes, will be the very special keynote speaker at the 25th anniversary Small Business Hawaii Annual Business Conference, Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at the Ala Moana Hotel. Seating is limited, advance reservations required. The application form and schedule is on page 5 of the printed edition.

President & CEO of Forbes Inc., Editor-in-Chief of Forbes, the world's foremost business magazine, author "A New Birth of Freedom: Vision for America", television celebrity and presidential candidate (1996, 2000), Forbes offers bold, new ideas for the new millennium, and how to rebuild the moral basis of a free society.

You and your business associates will not want to miss this opportunity to meet and talk with a political outsider who has made such an important transition from business leader to political leader. Forbes will share his current assessment of Hawaii's "new economy" progress with you.

State Legislature Convenes January 17

The 21st State Legislature begins its 60-regular day session, at 10 am Wednesday, January 17. With a record number of House Republicans (19 of 51) and dozens of new Representatives and Senators, new leadership and committee chairs, the Session should be lively.

This is a budget session requiring adoption of a two-year operating budget and a capital improvements budget (CIP). The question of revenues will be ever present with public employee unions demanding salary increases based on arbitration awards, and the teachers union threatening to strike if they don't see an increase. Additionally, the Governor wants to leave as his legacy some big ticket spending items: a $50 million aquarium, new medical school and assorted pork projects.

Other issues will be related to educational autonomy, the economy - elimination of the 4% tax on food, medical services and rents - crime enforcement, environmental protection and civil service and collective bargaining reform. However, there will be moves to increase taxes - to pay for union salary increases-as well as higher minimum wage and other mandates. Two problem areas will be workers' compensation costs and the exploding costs of medical insurance.

Governor Cayetano called for a refund of Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund (HHRF) monies to Hawaii homeowners. This has been a Republican mantra for several years. When it became apparent that the Fund was coming to a close with the re-emergence of private insurance companies, there were-and are-strong pressures to either keep the money, about $175 million, transfer it to the General Fund, or use it to pay for public union salary increases. When the HHRF was created in 1993, after Hurricane Iniki, it was clearly defined as "temporary," intended to stay only until the property insurance market stabilized. HHRF was not insurance. The fund was used to purchase reinsurance. Kathryn Matayoshi, head of DCCA said, "the state is not an insurance company."

Now that the purpose has been served, it would seem time to return the major portion of the fund to the private homeowners and insurance organizations that paid into it all these years. A small, carryover balance, would seem appropriate. The state says it doesn't have good records as to all who paid in and to what degree. That is another problem. It's akin to not knowing how many state employees we have or where the DOE education budget actually goes. However, giving back a rebate now, with the Governor's blessing and legislative concurrence, is a powerful symbol of our state keeping a promise.

This would stand in stark contrast to the dozens of Special Funds raided over the past several years and deposited in the General Fund for spending totally unrelated to the original tax or fee collections. Those who argue for hazard mitigation and tax incentives to protect property make a strong argument, but that is separate from doing what was intended and what is right with HHRF money.The Governor in this instance is right on the money.

Junior Achievement of Hawaii Announces
Hawaii Business Hall of Fame Laureates

Junior Achievement of Hawaii announced the four new inductees into the Hawaii Junior Achievement Hawaii Business Hall of Fame. They are: Edward T. Fukuda, President of Kandìs Drive Inn, Inc.; Edward J. Hogan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pleasant Holidays, L.L.C.; Francis S. Oda, ArchD, AIA, AICP, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Group 70 International, and Legacy Laureate, Chinn Ho, founder of Capital Investment Company, Inc.

The new Laureates will be honored and inducted into the Hawaii Business Hall of Fame at an awards dinner on Thursday, February 15, 2001, at the Sheraton Waikiki. The life-long accomplishments of each Laureate are celebrated at the event and serve as an inspiration to the business community and to Hawaii's youth. Thirty-nine distinguished individuals have been selected for the Hawaii Business Hall of Fame since its inception. The 2000 Laureates group included: James Campbell, Jean Fukuda, George J. Fukunaga, Ralph C. Hook, Jr., and Ethel B. Murphy.

Tickets for the dinner are $75 per person and sponsor tables of ten are offered at $1,500, $1,000, and $750. Please call Junior Achievement of Hawaii at (808) 486-8806 ext. 15 for reservations.

Established in 1990 by Junior Achievement of Hawaii, the Hawaii Business Hall of Fame recognizes business leaders who, through their entrepreneurial and civic activities, have made enduring contributions to the products, processes, and people of Hawaii. Nominations are reviewed by the Selection Committee, composed of the Chairs of the Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaii Business Roundtable, the Hawaii Council on Economic Education, Junior Achievement of Hawaii, and the President of Small Business Hawaii.

Founded in 1957, Junior Achievement of Hawaii educates and inspires young people to value free enterprise and understand business and economics to improve the quality of their lives. Fun-filled and stimulating education programs are taught by trained volunteer consultants in the classroom. Last year, more than 17,000 students in grades K-12 across the state participated in the program.

Army Business Fair February 27

Small Business Hawaii will join again with U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii Fort Shafter to cosponsor the 2nd Annual Hawaii Army Small Business Fair 2001, "Working With the Army in the 21st Century," Tuesday, February 27.

Sponsored by Hawaii National Bank, the event will help small business tap into government contracts. It will be held at Ft. Shafter, Hale Ikena, Bldg. 711, 7:30 am - 2 pm.

For advance information, contact Connie Tom with the Army at 438-6535, X140.

Honolulu Business Information Center Ranked #1

The Honolulu Business Information & Counseling Center (BICC) has been ranked as the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) number one performing center in the nation.

The Hawaii BICC served a record of 8,139 business clients in fiscal year 2000. An additional 1,100 utilized the facility for community meetings and other business-related functions. The SBA has a total of 86 BICC's nationwide. In Hawaii, SBA operates the downtown Honolulu location and is in the process of establishing a satellite location on Molokai as part of the Empowerment Zone Initiative with Molokai Community Service Council.

"This accomplishment is remarkable," according to Andrew Poepoe, the SBA District Director for Hawaii "because of Hawaii's smaller market size and island geography." "Hawaii is in a market size comparable to Providence, Rhode Island, and Boise, Idaho, but managed to out-performed venues like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago," he observed.

Poepoe attributed much of the success to the efforts of the BICC's partnership with the Hawaii Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, Hawaii Women's Business Center (HWBC) and SCORE. "In addition to those partnerships, we are extremely grateful for the financial support of numerous local organizations," Poepoe said. "That range of support contributes enormously to our ability to meet the diverse needs of Hawaii's small business community." Those sponsors include American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, City Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, Verizon Hawaii, Hawaii National Bank and Lava Net.

Hawaii's BICC opened in 1994 as an SBA special initiative and has grown to meet the needs of an expanding business community. Both start-up and established business owners receive information and assistance at the center in market research, business planning, financing, and the integration of technology into their small business operation.

The BICC provides free business counseling, a research library, computer lab, and on-site training for start-up and growing businesses. BICC clients have access to virtually all of the assistance available to them through both government programs and local resources. The BICC is located at 1111 Bishop St. Ste. #204 in downtown Honolulu. For more information call 522-8130.

Candidates Sought for Neighborhood Board

If you weren't one of the winning candidates in the recent statewide elections, you still have a chance to be elected to government as a member of your Neighborhood Board.

Neighborhood Board elections are held every two years. The deadline for filing as a candidate is January 16, 2001. There is no fee or petition required.

"Oahu's neighborhood system was created by a City Charter amendment in 1972 to increase community participation in the decision-making process of government," explained Benjamin Kama, Jr., the City's Neighborhood Commission Executive Secretary.

There are 32 Neighborhood Boards on Oahu. Each is required to meet within their own neighborhoods at least once a month for 10 months of the year. Elections are held every two years using a mailed ballot. Those who voted in the 2000 election are pre-registered for this year's election. Military and resident aliens may also register for board elections.

All 456 Neighborhood Board seats are up for election. Candidates must be at least 18 years old and reside in their Neighborhood Board district. Candidates can file their papers at the Neighborhood Commission Office, 530 S. King St., room 400.

New SBA Size Standards

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has increased its size standard for health care providers, substantially expanding the number of businesses that can qualify as "small" for governmental programs and services.

Hawaii District Director Andrew Poepoe stated that the impact the new standard will have on the state's healthcare industry is unknown and presents new opportunities to expand or create needed health care facilities and clinics. "Hawaii's growing reputation as a health destination leads me to believe it will be very positive for the local economy. We also have a fast growing elderly populations so the ability for more of our skilled nursing to participate in SBA programs will allow these small firms to address that need."

SBA estimates that nearly 5,000 firms will benefit from the change nationally, mostly skilled nursing care facilities, and offices and clinics operated by doctors. Under the previous size standard, the health care industry qualified a business as "small" if its annual revenues were $5 million or less. The new SBA size standard set higher size thresholds for 19 of the 30 industries in the health care category.

"Like so many parts of our economy, the health care services industry has changed rapidly in recent years," said SBA Administrator Aida Alvarez. "The SBA size standards that have been implemented more accurately reflect these changes. The new standards will provide these growing firms with continued access to SBA's small business development assistance, helping them succeed and serve their customers into the 21st century."

The SBA has adopted a $25 million size standard for hospitals and kidney dialysis centers; $10 million for nursing care facilities, medical laboratories and home health care services; and $7.5 million for outpatient care facilities and offices and clinics operated by physicians. The changes were based on a review of the economic characteristics of firms in the health care industries.

The remaining sectors, including offices and clinics operated by dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, and other health care practitioners will continue to operate under a size standard of $5 million.

The size standards took effect on December 18, 2000. A full listing of SBA'a size standards is available at http://www/sba.gov/size/NAICS-cover-page.htm.