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IN HAWAII

No new talks set for nurses strike

No new talks between the Hawaii Nurses Association and Wahiawa General Hospital have been scheduled since more than 60 nurses employed at the hospital went on strike at 7 a.m. yesterday.

Richard Aea, the hospital's human resources manager, said the hospital had not heard yesterday from the federal mediator who has been trying to bring the two sides together.

"It feels like a cooling off period. We are just waiting to hear from the mediator so we're on hold now," Aea said.

The hospital remains open with outpatient, emergency and limited inpatient services. Elective surgeries have either been re-scheduled or canceled, Aea said.

"We are admitting on a limited basis, but it doesn't mean we are closed," he said.

Patients are being cared for by nursing supervisors and personnel from ancillary services, Aea said.

Nurses Association chief negotiator Sue Scheider said she believes a deal between the two sides can be reached.

"We still think that there is a deal to be brokered. I know that there is some flexibility in our position and I would assume that there would be in their's because we both need to bargain in good faith," she aid.

Wahiawa has offered its nurses packages that include up to a 19 percent pay raise over three years but the nurses say any increase will be eaten up with recent hikes in health insurance for both full- and part-time workers.

Tourist biz buzzes about contract

The tourism industry had its first public discussion yesterday of the performance of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and management of the state's No. 1 industry, in the first of several committee meetings spun out of Gov. Linda Lingle's "Tourism Summit" last month.

Yesterday's committee meeting, held at the Hawaii Convention Center, focused on the competitive process for awarding the more than $30 million state contract to market Hawaii to tourists, which is currently held by the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. The bureau and other unidentified organizations have submitted competing bids to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for a new contract that would start in January 2004.

The main concern is something that hasn't happened yet: namely, what to do about the transition process if the Hawaii visitors bureau loses the contract, or a portion of it. Much of the criticism came from people who are board members of the Hawaii visitors bureau, including Chris Resich, president of destination management company MC&A Inc.; and Hilton executive Peter Schall.

The committee plans to hold another meeting Monday, and will form an advisory committee to advise the HTA in awarding the new contract.

ELSEWHERE

Turner cuts AOL stake in half

NEW YORK >> Ted Turner's stake in AOL Time Warner Inc. continues to dwindle as he sells shares and removes himself from the media company that has sapped much of his fortune.

The billionaire sold 50 million AOL Time Warner shares and donated 10 million more yesterday, netting $784.2 million and slicing his share of the media giant to 45 million shares, or about 1 percent.

Japan Air, All Nippon holiday travel drops

Tokyo >> Japan Airlines System Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co. said overseas passenger numbers fell more than two-fifths during Japan's "Golden Week" holiday because of concern about a deadly virus and the Iraq war.

Japan Airlines, Asia's largest carrier, said in a statement the number of people flying abroad fell 48 percent to 109,000 during the series of national holidays between April 25 and May 5. All Nippon said it carried 66,000 overseas travelers in the same period, 42 percent fewer than a year earlier.

Japan Airlines said the number of people flying to China plunged 79 percent during the period. People flying to Honolulu, one of its most lucrative routes, fell 47 percent.

The timing of this year's Golden Week, normally a peak period for leisure travel, gave most workers fewer days off than usual.

In other news ...

>> Gillette Co., the world's largest razor maker, said first-quarter profit climbed 18 percent because of higher Mach3Turbo and Duracell battery sales. Greater competition will hurt profit the rest of the year, Gillette said.

>> President Bush and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong signed a bilateral free trade agreement today linking the U.S. to the financial hub of Southeast Asia.