Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, April 6, 2001
Baywatch Hawaii reruns picked up by cable
Baywatch Hawaii is staying alive in reruns.The recently canceled television series will begin airing on cable's The National Network beginning in the fall, with a deal between TNN and Pearson Television North America, the show's distributor.
TNN picked up the two seasons of Baywatch Hawaii and eight seasons of its predecessor, Baywatch, to air in prime time this fall.
TNN is owned by Viacom entertainment, which also owns MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and Country Music Television.
Suffering low ratings and productions costs of over $1 million an episode, Baywatch Hawaii production was canceled in February.
Aloha Airlines signs lease for Orange County airport
Aloha Airlines has secured the airport lease that will allow it to begin flights between Hawaii and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif.Beginning May 1, the airline will begin daily flights from Honolulu Airport to John Wayne.
The flight leaves Hawaii at 11:45 a.m. and arrives at 7:56 p.m. Pacific time.
In conjunction, Aloha added a daily flight from John Wayne to Las Vegas starting May 1, departing at 8:55 p.m. Pacific time.
The airline will add direct flights to Orange County from Kahului, Maui, in June.
A year ago, Aloha began flights to Oakland, Calif. Starting today, round-trip flights are available between Kona and Oakland.
The airline has added two more Boeing 737-700 planes to its fleet that serves the West Coast and Central Pacific, bringing its total to four of the 114-passenger planes.
Budget EV Rental Cars offers discounts in April
Budget EV Rental Cars is offering discounts on its vehicles throughout April in honor of Earth Month.A joint venture between EV Rental Cars and Budget Rent a Car Corp., Budget EV offers electric, natural gas and hybrid electric cars for rent in nine cities: Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Ontario, Burbank, Palm Springs, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. It will open a 10th outlet at the Philadelphia International Airport April 18.
The first round of cities was chosen because their local environmental regulations encouraged this kind of product, according to Allison Striegel, public relations director for Budget Rent a Car. But there are plans to expand the program.
Budget EV plans to be in Hawaii by December, said Terry O'Day, director of operations.
Hybrid cars are already available from manufacturers, but the company is waiting to see whether they can deliver electric vehicles suitable for the state's charging stations.
Earth Month daily rates for Budget EV cars range from $39.99 for a natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX to $54.99 for either an electric GM EV1 or hybrid Toyota Prius.
Most Budget EV rentals are made at the counter to customers who had reserved a standard Budget automobile, said O'Day. So far renters have been enthusiastic about the performance of these cars, he said.
Schering-Plough sued over asthma inhalers
LOS ANGELES >> Schering-Plough Corp. faces a lawsuit seeking refunds for recalled asthma inhalers that may not have contained any active medication. The plaintiff, Chris MacGregor, claims Schering-Plough made and sold as many as 70 million defective inhalers from September 1997 until September 1999, according to her complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. In March 2000, Schering-Plough recalled its Vanceril and Proventil inhalers, as well as Warrick-brand products containing albuterol that were made before Sept. 30, 1999. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages on claims of negligence, fraudulent representation and unfair business practices.
In other news . . .
NEW YORK >> Internet giant Yahoo! Inc. is teaming up with Duet, an online music distribution company backed by Sony Corp. and French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, to offer paid music download services.