Business Briefs
Star-Bulletin staff
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HAWAII
KITV TV anchor joins law firm
KITV news anchor Shawn Ching will leave the station after the November Nielsen ratings to join the
Kobayashi Sugita & Goda law firm.
He will specialize in commercial litigation.
"The opportunity to work with Bert T. Kobayashi, Jr. and the highly respected attorneys at Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda presented itself and I jumped at it," Ching said in a statement.
The station recently announced that anchors Pamela Young and Gary Sprinkle would add the 6 p.m. weekday show to their duties, bumping Ching and co-anchor Paula Akana to only the 10 p.m. show. However, it is something Ching has wanted for a long time, said Mike Rosenberg, KITV president and general manager.
Ching will continue to anchor the late news through November, while learning the ropes at the law firm.
He joined KITV in 1995 as sports director, following his days as a University of Hawaii football player and on-air color commentator. He began studying law in 2000 and passed the Hawaii State Bar in 2003.
HawTel, IBEW OK tentative pact
Hawaiian Telcom Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 1357, have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year collective-bargaining agreement. Ratification of the agreement by union members is expected to take about three weeks.
Separately, the company has hired Lazard Freres & Co. LLC as its financial adviser to assist in the evaluation of various balance sheet restructuring options. HawTel is seeking to develop a revised strategic plan that may include product development opportunities, cost reduction initiatives, asset rationalization, capital raising opportunities and/or debt reduction options to improve cash flow and liquidity.
HawTel said it also is consulting with Kroll Zolfo Cooper LLC, the corporate recovery and advisory firm that HawTel hired in the first quarter, on a range of options to best position HawTel to maximize value and to capitalize on the continuing opportunities that exist in the Hawaii communications market.
Hawaiian Air fuel costs up 78%
Hawaiian Airlines said yesterday during an investor update that its average cost per gallon of jet fuel during July and August, including taxes and delivery costs, was $4.02, a 78 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Fuel expenses during that period more than doubled to $95.8 million from $43.9 million.
Dockworkers ratify 6-year-pact
A new six-year contract for Hawaii dockworkers was ratified last week, signaling job security for about 800 employees statewide.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 members overwhelmingly ratified the agreement, which provides for a $5-an-hour increase in wages over the life of the contract, according to Wesley Furtado, an ILWU representative.
Workers also won a $30 increase in pension benefits over the life of the agreement, he said.
NATION
BLOOMBERG NEWS
TECH SLOWDOWN: Dell Inc., fighting Hewlett-Packard Co. for computer sales as the economy slows, predicted "further softening" in demand this quarter. A technology slump that started in the U.S. last quarter spread to Western Europe and some Asian countries, Dell said yesterday. Above, Alicia Collette looked at a Dell laptop computer in Provo, Utah, last month.
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TAKING NOTICE
Promotions / New Hires
» RIM Architects Hawaii has hired
John Vann as senior project coordinator. He was previously project manager at Perkowitz + Ruth Architects in Calif. and has more than 11 years experience in retail, entertainment, hospitality and commercial projects.
» Hilton Hotels Corp. has named Jerry Gibson as area vice president of Hawaii and managing director of Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa. He replaces Gerhard "Gary" Seibert, who retired earlier this years after 35 years of service.Gibson was previously vice president and managing director of the Hyatt Regency Chicago and has nearly 30 years of industry experience with 18 years in Hawaii, including general manager of Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort and Spa.
» Pacific Air Cargo has announced the following promotions in its Aloha Contract Services division:
* Brian Lee to Honolulu station operations manager.
* Glenn Jinbo to Honolulu station manager.
* Pamela Karsten-Diaz to managing director of the Hawaii region.
* Lehua Silva to Maui station manager.
* Lisa Teshima to customer service manager for the American Airlines contract.
» University of Hawaii West Oahu has hired Linda M. Randall as vice chancellor for academic affairs. She was previously associate provost at the University of Baltimore.