Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, April 4, 1997
The scenic Koolau Golf Course in Windward Oahu is for sale. Marketers hired to sell
Koolau Golf CourseJoseph Toy, the court-appointed commissioner and receiver for the 1,300-acre property, has hired Santa Monica, Calif.-based broker Kennedy Wilson Inc. and locally based Hawaiian Island Consulting Inc. to market the golf course and its 107,000-square-foot clubhouse, said Andy Beaman, attorney for Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, which took over the property in December.
Beaman said that the sellers have received substantial interest from mainland and Asian investors. He said an auction date has not yet been set.
Long-Term Credit Bank took over the property after it filed a foreclosure suit in November 1994 against developer Minami Group (USA) Inc. At the time of the suit, Long-Term said it was owed $26 million on the principal of the loan. A Circuit Court ruling in July found that the developer owed the bank more than $41 million, Beaman said.
Kennedy Wilson specializes in selling golf courses and other resort and commercial real estate.
Any auto insurance reform coming out of this year's Legislature will be worked out by House and Senate conferees. Three House panels
kill Senate no-fault planThree House committees agreed yesterday to kill the Senate's reform bill, which calls for allowing lawsuits when serious injuries occur.
The House reform bill would return drivers to a liability system in which accident victims would be allowed to sue a driver at fault for damages. It reduces the minimum personal injury protection to $3,000 and shifts some medical costs to employers.
Representatives and Senators both claim their reform bills will reduce premiums. House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee Chairman Ron Menor said he believes the two sides can reach an agreement before the session ends.
American Hawaii Cruises' Hawaii Heritage Cruises won the "Best of Show" award in the "Keep It Hawaii" program of the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. The annual awards recognize businesses that promote the aloha spirit. HVCB lauds businesses
for promoting alohaThe cruise line also won in the transportation category. Dole Plantation also won two awards, in the attractions and retail categories.
Other winners recognized at a luncheon yesterday were: Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, print media; Hilton Hawaiian Village, visual and performing arts; Waikoloa Beach Resort, historic preservation; Hawaiian Edventure Program, Hilo, events and programs; Polynesian Cultural Center, shows; Tropical Visions Inc., broadcast media; Aloha Festivals/Waikiki Hula, special; Mahalo Air, environmental preservation; and Big Island Steakhouse, restaurants.
Apple Computer Inc. today unveiled a Power Macintosh with a microprocessor running at 300 megahertz, the fastest mainstream desktop on the market. Apple unveils faster Power Macintosh
The computer is one of several Apple is introducing to succeed its slow-selling Performa line. Other models have chips running from 225 Mhz to 275 Mhz, all faster than rival personal computers using Intel Corp. or Intel-type chips.
The new machines are priced from $2,000 to $3,000 without monitors. The 225- and 250-Mhz models are available now; ones with 275- and 300-Mhz chips will be available later this spring.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple unveiled the computers today at a technology fair in Disney World in Florida.
NEW YORK -- America Online Inc. is offering more refunds to customers who continued to struggle getting online while the company tried to unclog its networks. America Online extends
refunds through MarchAOL, settling a class-action lawsuit brought by frustrated subscribers, agreed yesterday to expand its refund offer to cover customers who had trouble logging on in February and March.
The agreement, tentatively approved by a court in Chicago, gives subscribers up to $10 back to compensate for problems dialing into the online service these past two months. That is on top of the up to $40 they can get back under an earlier nationwide settlement of access troubles in December and January.
Like that deal -- reached with 36 states, including Hawaii, in January -- the expanded agreement applies to all of AOL's roughly 7.5 million U.S. members, said a spokeswoman for the Dulles, Va.-based company.