Donrey Media Group changes its name

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. >> The Donrey Media Group, which publishes 21 newspapers in eight states including Hawaii, has changed its name to Stephens Media Group.

The change, announced by the company yesterday, was effective immediately.

Stephens owns the Hawaii Tribune-Herald in Hilo and West Hawaii Today in Kailua-Kona. Stephens also has newspapers in Arkansas, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. The company also owns the Web site portal lasvegas.com and co-owns hawaii.com in partnership with Gannett Co.

The Little Rock-based Stephens Group and its chairman, Jack Stephens, bought Donrey Media Group almost nine years ago. The Stephens family also runs Stephens Inc., an investment banking firm. Donald W. Reynolds founded Donrey Media Group in 1940 with the purchase of the Okmulgee Daily Times in Oklahoma and the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith. In 1954, Reynolds established the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a philanthropic foundation based in Las Vegas. Stephens bought the Donrey Media Group in 1993 after Reynolds' death that same year.

Navy to mull taking over isle-bound cruise ship

MERIDIAN, Miss. >> The secretary of the Navy said yesterday that the service will consi- der converting a partly built cruise ship for military use, but the idea is "probably a stretch."

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., suggested Friday that the Navy take over the project as a way to limit multimillion-dollar losses for taxpayers and the shipbuilder. The public-private venture, which had been destined for Hawaii, was halted amid the dramatic falloff in tourism after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Navy Secretary Gordon England expressed skepticism yesterday about the cost of con- verting the cruise ship to the kind of vessel needed by the Navy for command and control missions. "It's probably a stretch, frankly, to do that, but we'll decide what's in the best interest of the nation and the Navy," England said.

In October, Northrop Grumman suspended work on two Hawaii-bound, 1,900-passenger cruise ships it was building for American Classic Voyages, which filed for bankruptcy protection after the attacks. Work was halted after the U.S. Maritime Administration ended its guarantee of $1.1 billion in loans. The first ship is 40 percent complete; the second hadn't been started. Taxpayers are on the hook for $187 million. The shipbuilder's losses are expected to top $10 million.

E*Trade's earnings surpass expectations

SAN FRANCISCO >> E*Trade Group Inc. reported its fourth-quarter profit from operations more than tripled from the prior year, reflecting further progress in the online stock broker's effort to attract and retain customers with an expanded menu of financial services.

The Menlo Park-based company reported a profit yesterday of $21.6 million, or 6 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from net income of $1.4 million, or break even on a per share basis, from the year-ago period.

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[Taking notice]

NEW JOBS

>> Rusty Rasmussen has been picked to lead Castle and Cooke Hawaii's new residential mortgage company, Castle and Cooke Mortgage Inc. Rasmussen, a former vice president at First Hawaiian Bank, will open a new mortgage office in February with a staff of four loan officers.

>> Hawaii Pacific University has named Daniel Branch assistant director of admissions for interactive media. He comes to HPU with a computing background in application development, reporting solutions and Internet integration. He received a degree in information systems and computer programming from Purdue University Calumet, where he later worked in the admissions office.

Also joining the staff is HPU alumnus Scott Liedtke, who was named assistant director of admissions. He will assist with Hawaii recruitment activities. In the international recruitment office, HPU welcomed Guilherme Albieri as coordinator for Latin America. Albieri, a native of Brazil, received a master's degree in organization change from HPU.