Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, April 13, 2001
Second Hawaii-mainland cargo ship contracted
GULFPORT, Miss. >> A second ship capable of carrying over 4,000 cars at a time from California to Hawaii is scheduled for construction. Friede Goldman Halter Inc. will build the 13,000-ton, $69 million ship at FGH's Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.The Pasha Group and Van Ommeren USA, a Stamford, Conn.-based shipowner, formed a joint venture, Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines, to build the ship which will carry cargo between Hawaii and the mainland.
Pasha and Halter agreed on a deal six months ago to build the first cargo ship. The second ship will be a 579-foot floating garage that can transport 4,300 cars and trucks from the West Coast. The first vessel should be done by spring 2002, and the second ship will be ready sometime in 2003, FGH spokesman Chris Cunningham said.
Construction on the first car carrier began at Halter's Pascagoula shipyard in the fall. About 300 to 500 people will work on the first ship, with more to be added later.
Hawaii firms produce fewer toxic emissions
Hawaii industries reduced their toxic emissions by 29 percent from 1998 to 1999, according to the latest information available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 1999 numbers showed 2.6 million pounds of toxic chemicals released into the air, water or land, compared to 3.6 million pounds in 1998, the EPA said.The EPA bases its figures on voluntary reporting by industries. The EPA said strong regulations and improved practices have been reducing the amount of pollutants entering Hawaii's air and waterways.
Saipan Grand Hotel settles federal lawsuit
A hotel in Saipan has agreed to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Micro Pacific Developments, which does business as Saipan Grand Hotel, will pay former employee Alisanre Angeles $19,900 as part of the settlement.The hotel retaliated against Angeles, a gardener, by not renewing his contract after he filed charges against the company under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The hotel's attorney, Douglas Hall, said the hotel was simply trying to comply with the local law giving preference to a local resident instead of Angeles.
"It was not a desire to retaliate against Angeles because of the charges he had previously filed," Hall said. "Nevertheless, given the reality of how expensive litigation can be these days, a settlement made sense all the way around."
Daphne Barbee-Wooten, a Honolulu-based attorney, handled the case for the EEOC.
Japanese travel numbers hit records in 2000
TOKYO >> The numbers of both foreigners visiting Japan and Japanese traveling abroad reached record highs in 2000, the Japan National Tourist Organization said yesterday.The number of foreigners who visited Japan last year rose 7.2 percent from the previous year, to 4.76 million. Meanwhile, the number of Japanese who went abroad rose 8.9 percent to 17.82 million.