HELCO reports stolen customer payments
HILO — Hawaii Electric Light Company, HELCO, is notifying all customers who made a payment at the Kilauea Avenue drop box between 2:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, about a security incident that may have affected their personal information.
An unidentified thief broke into the HELCO payment drop box at 1200 Kilauea Ave. shortly after 10 p.m. on Dec. 14 and stole approximately 30 payment envelopes. These envelopes are each likely to have contained a payment slip (with the customer’s name, address, and utility account number) and a check (with the customer’s name, address, and bank routing and account numbers).
No arrests have been made, but security staff is working with the Hawaii Police Department on the theft investigation. The company repaired and re-secured the drop box immediately after discovering the incident and acted quickly to improve the lighting around the box.
The company said in a press release it continues to look into other ways to strengthen the security of customer payments.
HELCO takes the security of customer information extremely seriously and wants to make sure customers are fully informed about the incident and know the steps to take to protect their personal information. Customers who made a payment at 1200 Kilauea Ave. on Dec. 14, between 2:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., are asked to call 969-6999 to determine whether their payment was stolen. Affected customers should also contact their financial institution and follow their guidance for a stolen check. Hawaii Electric Light will reimburse impacted customers for bank fees incurred to stop payment on stolen checks and will also waive late charges on utility accounts when caused by stolen payments.
Info: 969-6999.
Kona’s Garcia earns high rank in coffee comp
Madeleine Longoria Garcia of Kona took fifth place out of 36 competitors using a Kona coffee at the December 2018 United States Brewers Cup Qualifying round in Denver. The USBrC is an exciting competition that highlights and celebrates the art of manual brewing.
Garcia — a professional barista, Q-grader and cupping contest judge — is advancing to the national round this coming March in Kansas City as a strong representative of Hawaii coffee.
The road to nationals began last summer. In August, the Hawaii Coffee Association (HCA) sponsored Pacific Coffee Research in hosting Hawaii’s inaugural U.S. Coffee Champs Brewer’s Cup Preliminaries at Hawaii Agriculture Research Center in Kunia, Oahu.
During Garcia’s presentation, she talked about the burgeoning specialty coffee industry in Hawaii and improvements in coffee quality, which she has experienced in the five years she has lived in Kona. She also talked about the opportunity for education from seed to cup on the islands and Hawaii’s the unique position as a leader in scientific research for the larger specialty coffee industry.
“The HCA is thrilled that local a local barista is excelling in this important competition using locally sourced coffee,” said HCA President Chris Manfredi. “It really highlights the unique combination of people and place that makes the Hawaiian coffee culture so special. We’re cheering for Madeline and will be looking for her in the finals.”
Mauna Lani collects top golf honors
KOHALA COAST — Mauna Lani Golf recently collected top honors in a variety of categories from Golf Advisor in the website’s listing of Best Courses of 2018. Golf Advisor, the leading source of golf course ratings and reviews by golfers, for golfers, voted Mauna Lani’s South Course as the No. 1 Golf Course in Hawaii and its North Course as No. 6.
In Golf Advisor’s annual ranking of the “Top 50 Golf Courses in the U.S.,” the website’s most-popular and most-anticipated list determined by recreational golfers, Mauna Lani’s South Course was ranked No. 10. And, in the website’s ranking of “Top 25 Golf Courses Rated By Conditions,” the South Course placed No. 4.
According to Golf Advisor, course scores are based on their overall rating and subcategory average as voted on by Golf Advisor readers.