UH enrollment sets record at 56,716
By Star-Advertiser Staff
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Spring enrollment in the University of Hawaii system has increased for the fourth consecutive year, pushing the total number of students to a record 56,716.
Initial figures this semester show an increase of 955 students, or 1.7 percent more than spring 2010.
While enrollment at the flagship Manoa campus decreased slightly with a loss of 44 students or 0.2 percent for a total of 19,242 students, enrollment at seven of the remaining nine campuses increased: UH-West Oahu, 9.8 percent; Hawaii Community College, 9.3 percent; Windward, 6.9 percent; UH Maui College, 5.2 percent; Leeward, 2.6 percent; UH-Hilo, 2.5 percent; and Kapiolani, 1.1 percent. Enrollment decreases were recorded at two community colleges: Hono•lulu, 3.6 percent; and Kauai, 1.2 percent.
Hawaii attracted 7 million visitors, $11.4 billion in spending in 2010
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Jan 26, 2011
Visitor arrivals to Hawaii grew by 8.7 percent to nearly 7.1 million in 2010 and spending rose 16.2 percent to $11.4 billion.
Arrivals in December grew for the fourteenth straight month and overall spending rose by double-digit increases for the eighth straight month, according to data released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Total arrivals rose 9.6 percent to 633,730 visitors in December and total spending by these visitors increased 17.9 percent to $1.1 billion. Arrivals in all major markets posted December gains. Visitors from the U.S. West rose by 8.4 percent, visitors from the U.S. East grew by 10.1 percent, visitors from Canada grew by 16.6 percent, visitors from Japan increased by 8.6 percent and cruise ship traffic was up 11.5 percent.
While the results are solid indicators that Hawaii tourism is continuing to gain momentum, the state still has a way to go to achieve full recovery, said Mike McCartney, HTA’s president and chief executive officer.
Single Family Residences
Condominiums
State acquires almost $18M in forgotten funds
Unclaimed property went up in the last fiscal year, compared with the previous year
By Kristen Consillio
Article from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Jan 24, 2011
The state collected $17.7 million in unclaimed property, including bank accounts, uncashed checks and stocks, last fiscal year — the highest accumulated in a decade.
The state’s Unclaimed Property Program acquired nearly $1.2 million more in the fiscal year ended June 30 compared with the previous year, while paying out $5.7 million to 7,452 claimants, up from nearly $5.5 million paid to 7,681 people the year before.
The average claim since 2006, when the state launched an outreach program to encourage more people to retrieve forgotten funds, was $672.
The lowest claim, which was mailed to the office, was for 19 cents, while the highest in recent years was about $112,000, according to Scott Kami, administrator of the Financial Administration Division at the state Department of Budget and Finance.
“Some people want to make sure the government isn’t holding any of their money,” Kami said.
The reason for the increase in collections is due in part to outreach efforts both to companies that report the overlooked funds as well as prospective claimants, he said.
Unclaimed funds typically consist of bank accounts, stocks, uncashed business checks, safety deposit boxes and various types of insurance proceeds.
COME AND GET IT
Types of unclaimed property:
» Safety deposit boxes
» Deposits held by utility companies
» Dormant savings and checking accounts
» Insurance and medical refunds
» Shares of stock
» Uncashed traveler’s checks, money orders, dividend checks, payroll checks
Source: State Department of Budget and Finance Unclaimed Property Program
MISSING SOMETHING?
How to find out whether you have unclaimed property:
In Hawaii
» Search for your name at http://www.ehawaii.gov/lilo/app.
» E-mail unclaimedproperty@hawaii.gov.
» Call the state unclaimed property office at 586-1589
Outside Hawaii
» Visit http://www.unclaimed.org or http://www.missingmoney.com.
“Where we see a lot of unclaimed property in part because of your tourism (industry) is going to be with the transient work force,” said Valerie Jundt, president of Boston-based nonprofit Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization, which has more than 300 members that include banks, insurance companies, oil and gas firms, and retailers.
Unclaimed property scenarios include people who have multiple jobs and do not notify employers when they move; shareholders of a company that merge with another firm; or part-time residents using Hawaii as a second home who forget about bank accounts here, she said.
The company also sees high unclaimed property rates in college towns as students forget to collect deposits for utilities or cable, she added.
“Especially with all the identity theft that’s been going on in recent years with technology, people don’t necessarily share as openly with their personal lives, and they aren’t going to be as open where they have certain accounts or have transactions that occur,” Jundt said.
Makiki resident Celia Suzuki, 54, retrieved about $200 last year for herself, her parents and two siblings. While her portion was only $9.50 for uncollected dividends, Suzuki said, “every penny counts.”
She even checked the state website for friends who might have forgotten funds.
“One classmate and his wife on Maui had $1,000 in savings they totally had forgotten about,” Suzuki said.
If the property is not claimed, it goes to the state budget. The program pays all proven claims each year. If there is more than $1.3 million left after paying the claims, the excess goes to the general fund, a statutory requirement.
Approximately $12 million in unclaimed property was transferred to the general fund last fiscal year, up from about $10 million in fiscal 2009.
“It’s one of the ways that states are supplementing their revenue,” said Kim Sawyer, president and general counsel for Locator Services Group Ltd., a Boston-based firm that helps corporate clients recover unclaimed funds.
“The perspective states take is it shouldn’t be a windfall to private companies that are holding onto dormant assets. Rather, citizens of states should benefit by state governments having the ability to utilize these funds until the rightful owners come forward.”
Hawaii has no statute of limitations for unclaimed property and does not charge a fee to claimants, who must fill out a form with personal information, including Social Security number and explanation of ownership.
The state faces challenges at times, especially when people have common names, but said most claims are returned.
“We do get a lot of claims for John Smith,” Kami said. “You could have one John Smith file a claim for all John Smiths. We need to make sure we are getting it to the right people.”
Nationally, at least $32.9 billion is collectively being held by states and other agencies for 117 million accounts, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
The state program, which has nine workers, is currently focusing efforts on catching up on claims processing. It can go back 20 years to try and verify ownership through a people finder subscription website.
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