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MARRIOTT WORKERS RALLY

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Rallying union members are seen in the sunglasses of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 5 member Salvador Sapungay yesterday in front of the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel. The union and supporters were protesting a lack of progress in contract talks with the hotel.

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Kamehameha California sale done

Kamehameha Schools has completed the $25.3 million sale of its Desert Springs Marketplace retail complex in Palm Springs, Calif., to Sanderson J. Ray-Desert Springs Partners LLP, an Irvine, Calif.-based commercial real estate owner and developer.

Desert Springs Marketplace is a 110,122-square-foot retail center on 12.39 acres of land with an adjacent 12.97-acre vacant development parcel.

The sale is part of Kamehameha Schools' ongoing plan to re-balance its overall portfolio.

New chief oversees film and more

A new Arts, Film and Entertainment Division in the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism will direct development of the industries in Hawaii.

Gov. Linda Lingle appointed Judy Drosd, former Kauai County Film Commissioner, to lead the division. Drosd will oversee the Hawaii Film Office, managed by Donne Dawson, as well as the Arts and Culture Development Branch, managed by David Nada. Nada formerly managed the Product Trade Branch.

"We are fortunate that Judy will be joining us to lead this effort to develop what is a very promising sector of the state's economy," Lingle said.

Drosd has worked as a producer, production executive and marketing specialist in Hawaii and on the mainland. Her resume includes work at HBO where she was East Coast vice president of production, supervising production of feature films, television series, documentaries, live entertainment specials and sports programs.

Drosd is credited with raising Kauai's annual production revenues from $4.5 million to $11.4 million, and with tripling the annual number of film projects shot on the island during her 10-year tenure.

Council to decide move in August

The head of the Pacific Basin Economic Council said a decision on moving the international organization out of Hawaii to Singapore will be made next month at the general meeting Aug. 22-26 in Seoul.

PBEC President Dalton Tanonaka said the group's board is studying recommendations that it take advantage of incentives being offered by the Singapore government. In addition, he said PBEC would be able to build partnerships with other organizations located there, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.

PBEC is made up of nearly 1,000 members in 20 Asia-Pacific economies.

Hawaiian Airlines switches to Visa card

Hawaiian Airlines is introducing a Visa credit card from Bank of America that will allow its frequent flyer members to pool their miles. The new card replaces a previously offered MasterCard.

New HawaiianMiles enrollees will earn 10,000 miles with first purchase and payment for the platinum card, and 5,000 miles with first purchase and payment for the classic card. The two companies said there will be no interruption in service or earnings of miles for current cardholders.

Card members will earn one mile for every dollar spent using the card, two miles for every dollar spent with the card when purchasing a ticket directly from Hawaiian Airlines, and additional miles for purchases at participating merchants. A mileage-pooling feature will allow cardmembers to combine miles with other HawaiianMiles members for faster award redemption. Members can pool miles themselves on the airline's Web site, www.HawaiianAir.com.

Members also can earn HawaiianMiles when flying on America West Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

In other news ...

>> American Airlines' parent company narrowed its second quarter loss to $75 million thanks to a hefty federal aid package, and while the carrier said its financial condition was improving, it plans to halve operations at its St. Louis hub.

>> IBM Corp. announced yesterday that its second-quarter earnings rose significantly and matched Wall Street's expectations, driven largely by strong growth in the technology services division.

>> Even as the proxies were being tallied yesterday on Berkshire Hathaway's $1.7 billion bid for Clayton Homes Inc., shareholders agreed to postpone the vote for two weeks in hopes of getting a better offer.