IN HAWAII

UPW members ratify Kuakini contract

A Kuakini Medical Center employees union ratified a new three-year contract last night a day after a tentative agreement had been reached with the help of a mediator.

The United Public Workers union, which represents 183 full- and part-time licensed practical nurses, aides, dietary workers and others at the 209-bed hospital, had announced it would strike at 7 a.m. Saturday if an agreement wasn't reached.

Mediator Ken Kawamoto of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Honolulu said the two sides negotiated for 5 1/2 hours Tuesday before reaching an agreement. He said the sticking points were wages and benefits. The old contract, which was for two years, expired Aug. 31.

Kuakini spokeswoman Donda Spiker declined to release any information about the vote totals or the contract because she said she wasn't authorized and it was a UPW matter.

Other executives at the hospitals were in a meeting and were unable to be reached.

The person answering the telephone at UPW repeatedly hung up before any questions could be asked.

East Kauai building sold for $1.8 million

East Kauai Properties LLC has purchased the East Kauai professional Building in Kapaa, Kauai, for $1.8 million. The seller was Black Development Corp., according to the seller's broker, C.B. Richard Ellis Hawaii Inc.

Richard Weiser, head of East Kauai Properties, said a third floor may be added to the existing two. Current tenants include the state Department of Human Services, Child & Family Services, the Queen Liluokalani Trust and Rehab of Hawaii.

East Kauai properties owns a number of commercial properties on Oahu, C.B. Richard Ellis said.

PTC to feature sessions on telecom in Asia

Asian telecommunications and capital markets will be the focus of one of the workshops at January's Pacific Telecommunications Conference.

Phillip L. Spector, a satellite specialist and managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison will lead the workshop "Where do we go from here? The Growth, Rebuilding and Restructuring of Asia's Telecommunications Markets."

"The presenters at the workshop will look at how and why Asia's telecom carriers have managed to operate with lower levels of leverage and more modest stock prices in less competitive markets, and how they have emerged from this period in a stronger position than many U.S. domestic carriers," said Hoyt Zia, executive director of event organizer Pacific Telecommunications Council.

The 25th annual conference is Jan. 19-23 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Its overall theme is "Global Broadband/Global Challenges."

The Asia telecommunications workshop will cover topics such as satellite networks, China restructuring and the potential for India.

For more information, visit www.ptc.org.

ON THE MAINLAND

Suit over Digital Island sale dismissed by judge

WILMINGTON, Del. >> A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by former shareholders of Digital Island Inc. who claimed they were underpaid in last year's buyout by Cable & Wireless Plc, a global telecommunications company, Bloomberg News reported.

The judge said the shareholders of Digital Island didn't present evidence of wrongdoing. The company was bought by Cable & Wireless in August 2001 for about $340 million. Digital Island was founded in Hawaii before moving to the mainland.

Eight former Digital Island stockholders sued in federal court, contending company officials failed to tell them about lucrative pending contracts that may have resulted in a higher per-share buyout price.