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Hawaiian Air trustee selection delayed

Several unexpected snags have held up the naming of former United Airlines executive Christopher Bowers as the new trustee at Hawaiian Airlines.

U.S. Trustee Steven Katzman, who had expected to announce the appointment yesterday, said he wasn't sure when the official selection would be made.

"I have to ensure the appointment we make complies with the provision of the (U.S. Bankruptcy) code, and sometimes it's a (time-consuming) process."

A person familiar with the situation said "nothing will happen before the holiday."

Katzman wouldn't say whether the undisclosed issues could result in a new search. The U.S. Trustee's Office has been looking for a new trustee since former Liberty House executive John Monahan resigned June 24 as Hawaiian's trustee after just 22 days on the job. Monahan cited personal reasons for stepping down. Sources have pointed to health issues.

Bowers, 55, retired Monday as United's senior vice president of sales and reservations following a 30-year career with the airline. He also has extensive experience in marketing. A noncompete clause was one of the issues that had held up his appointment, a source said.

"The goal was to get a trustee on board as quickly as possible because the longer you wait, the longer the restructuring and getting everything settled at Hawaiian," another source said.

Visitor spending jumps 19 percent

Visitors to Hawaii spent $752.4 million in the islands in April, a 19.1 percent increase from $631.6 million in April 2002, the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism said yesterday.

The spending figure was up as more visitors came, an increase of 0.7 percent from a year earlier, and stayed longer, an average of 9.84 days compared to 8.61 days in the previous April.

Travelers from the U.S. West spent a total of $348.4 million, up 40.5 percent, and U.S. East visitors spent $221.4 million, up 22.3 percent. Arrivals from Japan declined in numbers and their spending was down 27.7 percent at $91.2 million. The Japanese visitors continued to have the highest per-person, per-day spending level at $255.20, and that was up 3.6 percent from $217.40 a year ago, DBEDT said.

AAA will motor to Nimitz Center

AAA Hawaii will move to a Nimitz Highway location in November, leaving its current spot on Ala Moana. AAA Hawaii has leased 7,431 square feet in Nimitz Center at 1130 N. Nimitz, a single-story complex that houses New Eagle Cafe, Sensually Yours and other shops and offices.

Jeff Goldsmith, AAA Hawaii manager, said it is a more central location with plenty of parking and the building's owner, MW Group, helped by moving another tenant, Lifestyle Kitchens, to make way for AAA. The agency's existing building, at 1270 Ala Moana, is to be demolished as part of the redevelopment of Victoria Ward Ltd. land in Kakaako.

2 down, 1 to go for Teamsters

Contract negotiations were held yesterday for some 1,400 employees of Oahu's public bus system whose contract expired at midnight Monday.

The employees -- including bus drivers, maintenance and clerical workers, and dispatchers -- continued to work under the terms of the old contract, said Calvin Calio, an assistant business agent with Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996.

The major stumbling blocks in the talks were cost issues, including wages and retirement and medical benefits, said Calio, who declined to go into specifics.

Meanwhile, the union announced Wednesday that it had reached tentative contract agreements with The Queen's Medical Center and St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii covering 1,300 union members, whose contracts expired Monday. They work in housekeeping and maintenance, as well as dietary and medical departments. Ratification votes will be scheduled later, the union said.

Isles get grant to stop unemployment fraud

Hawaii has been awarded $90,000 in federal money to improve the prevention of false claims for unemployment insurance benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor announced yesterday.

The award is part of a $4.8 million grant to 41 states aimed at eliminating long-standing overpayment problems and to address fraud in the unemployment insurance system, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao said in a news release.

Hawaii already has one of the lowest overpayment rates in the country.

State officials say the funds will go toward overall improvements to monitor the current collection system and reduce the amount of overpayments. State unemployment insurance agencies use a number of methods to detect and prevent fraud and collect overpayments, including Social Security number and name cross-analysis.

Nurses, Wahiawa to resume talks today

Contract talks were scheduled to resume today between Wahiawa General Hospital and the union representing 60 striking registered nurses.

A federal mediator called both sides to meet at the Hawaii Employers Council offices in Mapunapuna, said Scott Foster, a spokesman for the Hawaii Nurses Association.

The nurses have been on strike for nearly two months, and the two sides have been far apart on issues including salary, hospital contributions to health care premiums and retiree medical benefits. The hospital had presented three offers to the nurses with raises ranging from 15 percent to 19 percent over three years.

Last week, the hospital began using several traveling nurses brought in from the mainland to replace the striking workers.