Online voting has begun on a tentative contract covering 436 Hawaiian Airlines pilots.

The Air Line Pilots Association, International said yesterday that the agreement includes pay raises of up to 21 percent over the duration of the five-year, eight-month contract, plus profit sharing.

The union says the pact also calls for company retirement contributions to increase to 19 percent per year for pilots whose pensions were frozen and replaced with a defined contribution plan when Hawaiian exited bankruptcy in 2005.

The ratification vote that began yesterday is to continue until Jan. 14.

10 VA HOSPITALS TO GET SOLAR POWER

SunWize Commercial Power Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., has been awarded a contract of more than $7.8 million by the Department of Veteran Affairs to install solar photovoltaic systems at 10 hospitals, including one in Hawai'i.

SunWize said construction is scheduled to begin early this year. Other systems are to be installed in New York, Wyoming, Arizona, California and American Sāmoa.

CORINTHIAN NOW OWNS HEALD COLLEGE

Corinthian Colleges Inc. said it has completed acquisition of the parent company of Heald College for more than $400 million.

The purchase gives Corinthian a presence in Hawai'i as well as expands its operations in northern California and Oregon. Corinthian, based in Santa Ana, Calif., said the acquisition adds about 12,900 students to its enrollment, along with 11 campuses.

PACIFIC PROPERTIES ALTERS CREDIT LINE

Pacific Office Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust with holdings here and on the Mainland, said in a regulatory filing that it had amended a credit agreement with First Hawaiian Bank.

The new agreement increases the maximum borrowing to $15 million from $10 million.

Pacific Office Properties also announced it has acquired a five-building complex known as the Seaview Corporate Center in San Diego for $75 million.

CALIFORNIA FIRM GETS KONA CONTRACT

Huitt Zollars, a Westlake Village, Calif.-based engineering, architecture and survey firm, said it has been awarded a civil engineering and LEED consulting contract for the $30 million first phase of the Kona Heights development on the Big Island.

Huitt Zollars said it will provide civil engineering and construction services for infrastructure improvements and act as the primary LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) consultant.

It said the 11-acre first phase will include 65 single-family homes and a neighborhood park. Construction is slated to begin in late 2010, it said.

HORIZON SWITCHES FREIGHT HANDLER

Horizon Lines Inc. has switched its handling of freight destined for Hawai'i, Guam and Micronesia through Oakland to a different port terminal operator in a move it said will include several service enhancements.

The No. 2 carrier of ocean cargo between the Mainland and Hawai'i said it switched to Ports America, the largest terminal operator and stevedoring company in the Americas, for its Oakland service. The move to Ports America includes gaining extended gate hours and lunchtime deliveries on ship days.

Horizon said it previously used APM Terminals as stevedore and terminal operator at its former facility in the Port of Oakland.