Owner assumes reins of water park management

Waters at Kapolei has taken over the operation of its subsidiary, Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park.

The move completes a three-year plan in which management company Horizon Amusement trained the local company to run the water park. Operations will not be affected, but some employees are being promoted as a result of the move.

Jerry Pupillo moves to general manager from assistant general manager; Takuya Ohki, who managed Eastbound tours, will expand into the East and West market as senior manager of sales and marketing; and Kai Cutter will add advertising and promotions to his title of special events manager. The 25-acre Hawaiian Waters Adven- ture Park in Kapolei boasts 20 slides, an innertube ride, a wave pool and a steaming whirlpool.

Ex-Straub manager PhyCor files for bankruptcy

Nashville, Tenn. >> PhyCor Inc., once one of the biggest U.S. managers of doctors' practices, filed for bankruptcy protection after nine straight money-losing quarters.

The company, which operated the business side for Hawaii's Straub Clinic & Hospital until the partnership was terminated in 2000, filed its Chapter 11 petition and a negotiated plan with creditors to reorganize in bankruptcy court in New York City. PhyCor said in a statement that the filing includes 48 subsidiaries. President and CEO Thomas Dent resigned and will continue as chairman of the board until the reorganization is completed.

Straub ended its agreement with the management company by paying PhyCor $30 million. PhyCor's North American Medical Management and PrimeCare businesses aren't covered by the filing and will continue to operate as before, PhyCor said.

Murdock sells 4-acre site in Calif. for $15 million

LOS ANGELES >> Castle and Cooker owner David Murdock has sold a four-acre site in Bel-Air, Calif., for about $15 million; local real-estate agents say it was on the market for about $19.5 million. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Murdock acquired the land in late 2000 as part of a complex exchange with then-highflying Global Crossing founder and Chairman Gary Winnick. The deal, in which Winnick acquired Murdock's home as well as other properties, had a value that was estimated to be as high as $95 million.

Previously, the property had been owned by Henry Salvatori, a confidant of Ronald Reagan and businessman, and had been the site of his 33-room, 12,000-square-foot, Georgian Colonial home. Salvatori died in 1997 at age 96. In 1999, Winnick, who had paid approximately $16.5 million for the home a year earlier, tore down the Paul Williams-designed home with plans to build a larger estate. This week, Winnick's company filed for Chapter 11 U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection in the largest telecommunications collapse to date.

Stock sale gain boosts Disney to quarterly profit

LOS ANGELES >> The Walt Disney Co. had a net profit in the fiscal first quarter, thanks largely to one-time investment gain. Revenue fell 5 percent amid a soft advertising market, low ratings at its ABC Television network and sluggish attendance at its theme parks after Sept. 11. The company had net income yesterday of $438 million, or 21 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31. That compared to a net loss for the year-ago quarter of $36 million, or 16 cents per share. Included this year was a $216 million gain on the sale of stock in Knight-Ridder Inc.