MC&A named to Working Woman 500

Working Woman Magazine named Honolulu firm MC&A Inc. to its Working Woman 500 list of top women-owned businesses.

MC&A, a travel destination management company headed by Mary Charles, came in at No. 319, with revenues of $40 million in 2000, an increase of $10 million from 1999. The company employs 100 people.

Companies on the list must be owned and operated by a woman. The largest company, Fidelity Investments, reported revenues of $11 billion in 2000.

The list is in the June issue of the national magazine, which goes on sale May 25.

Finalists named in UH business plan contest

Eight finalists in the 2001 Business Plan Competition held by the University of Hawaii will compete Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center for $30,000 in prize money.

The teams, composed of UH students and community mentors, include Alohacare Intelligent Monitoring, Ecospan Systems, INCA, KimcheeNet, Meira Networks, Team InfoShroud, TeaSpot, TransMed Communications.

The competition began in February with 40 teams. Sponsors include City Bank, the Aspect Technology Fund and MCS Inc. In addition to cash prizes, the highest scoring technology and health care teams will each receive $5,000 towards office space.

Number of businesses in state drops slightly

The number of businesses in the state declined slightly from 1998 to 1999, according to new statistics released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In its report County Business Patterns, the Census Bureau said the number of businesses in the state fell to 29,569 in 1999 from 29,603 in 1998.

However, the number of employees in the state, during the week of March 12 in both years, increased to 419,047 in 1999 from 416,571 a year earlier. First quarter payroll in 1999 also increased to $2.76 billion from $2.74 billion, according to the bureau report. The numbers do not include those self-employed or most government employees.

The number of business establishments fell slightly on Oahu and the Big Island from 1998 to 1999, while the numbers rose marginally on Kauai and Maui.

Company recalls about 10,000 scuba jackets

WASHINGTON >> A California company is recalling about 10,000 scuba jackets because they could create a danger of drowning.

An overpressure valve on the buoyancy compensator devices could stick open, presenting the danger, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said yesterday.

Sheico PKS Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif., has received one report of a valve sticking open, but is not aware of any injuries.

Divers should not use the jackets, which were sold by dive stores and mail-order catalogs from September 2000 through March 2001.

The jackets were sold under these brand and model names:

>> Sherwood, models Silhouette, Magnum, Avid, Luna, Outback and Freedom, serial numbers 21280001 through 22010740.

>> Genesis, models Cayman, Cobra, Athena and Phantom, serial numbers 21280001 through 22010740. Models Talon and ReCon, serial numbers 20520001 through 22010740.

>> All units of the Aeris brand Atmos jacket.

People wanting more information can go to http://www.sherwoodscuba.com/opv, http://www.genesisscuba.com/opv or http://www.diveaeris.com.