Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Thursday, January 8, 1998
Convention center noise over the top
Noise from the rooftop of the convention center exceeds legal limits.Ways to minimize noise include erecting a tent over the roof area, or enclosing the lanais of residents who live near the center and who would be impacted by the noise, the Convention Center Authority said in a noise report released yesterday.
Community fears over noise from the rooftop appear borne out from the report. Area resident Bill Lech says the report confirms what the residents knew all along - that the state would have to find a way to deal with the noise.
"They built this convention center with the problem," Lech said. "They knew they had it. Now they have to do something about it."
No estimate has been prepared on how much any design changes to minimize noise will cost taxpayers, said convention center spokesman Alton Kuioka.
The state is hoping to win a liquor license for the rooftop area of the convention center, but first has to solve the noise problem.
Convention center officials say the lack of a liquor license could cost the convention center some bookings.
The convention center, which was completed in October, is scheduled to formally open in July.
Servco moving Lexus dealership to new site
Servco Pacific Inc. has closed its Motor Imports' Toyota/Suzuki facility at 650 Kapiolani Blvd. and will be adding a new Lexus showroom and dealership at the location.A permit request has been made to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which oversees the Kakaako area where the dealership is located.
Completion is scheduled for 1999 and then the Lexus dealership will relocate from 744 Ala Moana Blvd., said Mark H. Fukunaga, Servco chairman and chief executive officer.
The Motor Imports' service and parts facility at 609 South St. is not affected by the changes and will continue to operate.
30-year mortgage rates decline to 6.94 percent
WASHINGTON - Mortgage rates fell this week to a 23-month low after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's comments on deflation convinced financial markets he would consider cutting short-term rates later this year.The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined from 7.03 percent last week to 6.94 percent, matching a low hit in February 1996, according to Freddie Mac, the mortgage company.
A further decline would take the rate toward the territory last reached in October 1993, when it hit what was then a 25-year low of 6.74 percent.
Mortgage rates have been keying off the U.S. Treasury securities market, where investors fleeing Asian turmoil have been snapping up bonds. Thirty-year mortgage rates hit a peak for 1997 of 8.18 percent in early April, after the Federal Reserve last tightened monetary policy.
Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 6.55 percent this week, also a 23-month low and down from 6.61 percent. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.50 percent, the same as last week. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.
Federal Express plans 3-to-4 percent rate hike
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Federal Express Corp. has announced a 3 percent to 4 percent increase in domestic shipping rates to take effect Feb. 15.The announcement yesterday came a week after United Parcel Service said it would boost U.S. air express rates by 3.3 percent, effective Feb. 7.
Mason Kaufman, a shipping consultant for Express Logistics of Memphis, said FedEx is in good financial shape but had the opportunity to raise rates because of the UPS increase.
"If UPS raises their rates 3 percent, people just traditionally pay it," Kaufman said. "It just opened the door for FedEx to get 3 percent more profit."
AT&T planning to buy regional phone company
NEW YORK - AT&T Corp. is on the verge of buying Teleport Communications Group Inc., which provides local telephone service in 28 states, in a stock deal valued at $10 billion to $11 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported today.The acquisition would give AT&T a foothold in the local markets of several large urban areas, including New York and Los Angeles. AT&T could use the 65 local phone networks owned by Teleport to compete with the Baby Bells and other companies. Teleport sells local phone service primarily to business customers.
AT&T's board was expected to vote on the acquisition today and the deal could be announced as early as Friday, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified sources.