Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, November 1, 1996
Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, November 1, 1996
A tentative contract settlement covering 500 stevedores at Hawaii harbors has been reached by the Hawaii Employers Council and the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. Isle stevedores reach
tentative contract dealDetails of the proposed three-year contract will not be released until union members ratification meetings, said ILWU president Eusebio Lapenia Jr. and Tim Ho, president of the Employers Council.
The agreement was reached yesterday after four months of negotiations over work rules, manning and economic issues.
Besides the tentative contract settlement, the parties also reached a final agreement on an industrywide alcohol and substance abuse policy covering all waterfront employees.
The employers are Hawaii Stevedores Inc., HT&T Co., a division of Brewer Environmental Industries, Matson Terminals Inc. and McCabe, Hamilton & Renny Co.
The state agency that oversees the Aloha Tower Marketplace has given the project's lender another extension on its foreclosure complaint. Aloha Tower Marketplace
foreclosure suit delayedThe state Aloha Tower Development Corp.'s board of directors yesterday approved Mitsui Trust & Banking Co.'s request to delay until Dec. 3 its foreclosure proceedings against developer Aloha Tower Associates. Previously, the ATDC board gave Mitsui permission to delay its foreclosure proceedings until Nov. 19.
The extension comes as Mitsui is selling its mortgage to Honolulu Real Estate Partners VIII L.P., which is headed by Maui developer Everett Dowling. The partnership has said its purchase of the mortgage is contingent on a lower lease rent.
The ATDC has given Mitsui and the partnership until Nov. 22 to issue a formal proposal on a new lease rent. The state agency will hold a meeting on the proposal Nov. 26 when its board is to vote on the new lease proposal.
In August, Mitsui filed a foreclosure suit against Aloha Tower Associates, saying the developer failed to make payments on a $60 million loan. Aloha Tower Associates sued Mitsui in May, saying the Japanese lender reneged on more than $600 million in financing.
Both sides have said the legal actions should have no effect on daily operations of the marketplace.
The auction of the 25-story First Hawaiian Tower has been postponed. First Hawaiian Tower
auction rescheduledScheduled for earlier this week in Los Angeles, the auction has been rescheduled for Dec. 17, said Richard Sommers, attorney for Fuji Bank Ltd., the largest creditor of the building's owner Bishop Street Associates.
Bishop Street had filed for bankruptcy protection back in 1993 after Fuji and other lenders filed a foreclosure suit against Bishop Street, saying they were owed more than $110 million.
First Hawaiian Tower, formerly known as Pan Pacific Plaza, is located at 1132 Bishop St. The building was the temporary headquarters of First Hawaiian Bank as it waited for the completion of the new First Hawaiian Center.
Royal Kapolei Development Inc. plans to build a new retail and office center on Campbell Estate land in Kapolei. Retail/office complex planned
for KapoleiThe company recently reached an agreement with Campbell Estate to build and operate the Kapolei Park Square, a 13,200 square-foot project across from the Kapolei shopping center. Construction will begin in February and will be completed by November of next year, said Andrew Lee, the project's architect and development manager.
Lee, part owner of the Loco Moco restaurant chain, plans to open his own Chinese restaurant at the site. He said that developer hopes to capitalize on the potential growth in the west Oahu town.
NEW YORK - MCI Communications Corp. said it's in talks to merge with British Telecommunications Plc, a transaction valued at as much as $22 billion that would create one of the world's largest phone companies, according to Bloomberg Business News. MCI in merger talks with
British TelecomThe combined company would have a market capitalization of $55 billion, slightly less than AT&T Corp.'s $56 billion. Analysts were quick to point out, however, that the transaction faces intense regulatory scrutiny.
MCI spokesman Frank Walter said an announcement will be made before Monday morning. He declined to give financial details.
MCI and BT already have strong ties. In 1993, BT paid $4.3 billion for 20 percent of MCI, the No. 2 U.S. long-distance company. BT and MCI also operate Concert, a joint venture that provides phone services to multinational companies.