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HAWAII

Kaanapali land use dispute heads to court

WAILUKU >> A partnership has filed a lawsuit against Maui County, charging that its failure to make a land use change has deprived the business of developing its property in Kaanapali.

SunStone Realty Partners VIII, LLC said it has had apartment zoning on 1.6 acres of land and planned to develop a five-lot luxury subdivision. The land is between Kekaa Drive and Kaanapali Parkway near the Royal Kaanapali Golf Tournament Course. The partnership said the Maui Planning Commission and planning department supported changing the land from "park/golf course" to "multi-family" in the West Maui Community Plan.

In addition, Deputy Corporation Counsel Richard Minatoya warned the Maui County Council that denying the change in land designation could expose the county to liability for taking away the use of the property, the lawsuit said. But the Maui County Council's Land Use Committee rejected the proposed change.

The partnership said it has been prevented from developing the coastal land because of the county's failure to pass the amendment.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, names seven council members and seeks damages, including income and profits that would have been derived from the property.

Maui County Corporation Counsel Brian Moto was unavailable for comment.

Lingle to address economists

Gov. Linda Lingle will be the keynote luncheon speaker Thursday at the Hawaii Economic Association's 13th annual conference on economic issues at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

The eight-hour conference, themed "A New Regulatory Posture for Hawaii?," also will include a panel of state department directors, including Ted Liu of the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism, and Mark Recktenwald of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

In addition, the event will feature a panel on Hawaii economic forecasts. And a regulatory issues panel will feature University of Hawaii law professor David Callies; Karl Kim, UH interim vice chancellor for academic affairs; DBEDT economist John Mapes; and Katerina Sherstyuk, associate professor of economics at UH.

Registration for the conference, which includes lunch, is $50; or $10 for students, without lunch. The registration deadline is Monday.

Conference registration begins at 7:45 a.m., with opening remarks to begin at 8:15 a.m. from HEA President Mark Murakami.

For more information, call Chris Grandy at 956-7060. Registration forms are available at home.hawaii.rr.com/hea/conf2003.pdf

MAINLAND

United makes headway with labor

CHICAGO >> United Airlines' bid to gain employee backing for drastic cost cuts in bankruptcy got a twin boost yesterday when mechanics tentatively agreed to a contract and pilots overwhelmingly ratified separate concessions.

Combined, the two pacts would lower the bankrupt carrier's labor costs by $1.45 billion a year through 2008 -- $349 million from mechanics, $1.1 billion from the higher-paid pilots.

United's newest announced six-year pact calls for 13 percent wage reductions, new work rules and a 20 percent co-pay on health insurance for its 12,000 mechanics and aircraft cleaners, who will vote on it April 29. It also would enable United to outsource much of the work they perform -- something the union has long resisted.

Hours after the mechanics' deal was reached, the pilots' union announced its members had voted by an 82.3 percent majority to ratify a March 27 agreement reducing their pay by 30 percent and making further cuts through changed work rules. Just less than 82 percent of the more than 8,000 eligible pilots voted.

The union representing United's 173 flight dispatchers also ratified a six-year contract yesterday.

Apple reported interested in Universal Music

LOS ANGELES >> Apple Computer Inc. is in discussions about buying Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, for as much as $6 billion, according to a published report yesterday.

Talks between Apple and Vivendi Universal, Universal Music Group's parent company, have been held secretly for months, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Apple may offer $5 billion to $6 billion for the music company before Vivendi's April 29 board meeting, the newspaper said, citing sources it did not identify. Spokeswomen for Apple and Vivendi Universal declined to comment on the report.

Shares of both companies fell in the wake of the report. Apple lost $1.17 to close yesterday at $13.20 on the Nasdaq while Vivendi shares fell 4 cents to $13.86 on the New York Stock Exchange.

State sues restaurants over seafood

LOS ANGELES >> The state of California has sued companies that own 16 of the nation's best-known restaurant chains for allegedly failing to warn customers that some seafood they sell contains potentially harmful mercury.

The suits filed Thursday in Los Angeles and San Francisco superior courts claim that restaurants such as Morton's, Ruth's Chris Steak House and Benihana were not following Proposition 65 guidelines, which require businesses to post warnings when they expose people to carcinogens. The suits said the restaurants serve fresh or frozen swordfish, tuna or shark, which contain enough mercury compounds to trigger the law's provisions.

Ex-Gillette exec indicted on kickback charges

BOSTON >> A former Gillette Co. executive was arrested yesterday for allegedly demanding kickbacks, including a car, electronics, home renovations and hundreds of thousands of dollars, from company clients to whom he directed business.

Gino Deluca, 46, of Walpole, Mass., was charged with 15 federal counts of mail fraud and wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. After an appearance in U.S. District Court, he was ordered held pending a detention hearing Monday.

Between 1996 and August 2002, Deluca served as director of the permanent merchandising systems department at Gillette, overseeing promotion and display of Gillette grooming products at retail stores. Before he was fired last year, Deluca allegedly received close to $600,000 worth of kickbacks from vendors to whom he steered Gillette contracts, according to the indictment.

Gillette alerted federal authorities to the matter and cooperated in the investigation, Sullivan said.