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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Party over for
Players downtownNobody partied at Players Sports & Entertainment Club downtown this weekend. Its owners were locked out at 6 a.m. Friday by court order, owing $85,000 in unpaid rent.
However, just who owes whom will be resolved in at least one more court case, according to Gary Dickman, vice president and general manager of Players' parent company Intercontinental Market Corp.
Players Aiea and University have picked up downtown employees.
Landlord Randal Galijan sued to evict Players in state District Court and won a writ of possession on Aug. 14.
Intercontinental filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 20.
"So we ended up asking the bankruptcy judge to allow us to enforce the writ," said Chuck Choi, attorney for landlord Galijan.
STAR-BULLETIN FILE
Players employees including bartender Nikol Burke, left, and waitress Christal Wong showed off their new location on Queen Emma Street in December. The business was shuttered by its landlord Friday for unpaid rent.
"The bankruptcy judge agreed with us and in September we got an order allowing us to enforce the writ and the landlord evicted Players Friday morning."
Dickman described the eviction as only a part of a battle with Players' landlord.
"In the lease, he's supposed to pay for the move from our old location, and once we were fully moved in, months later, we were supposed to pay rent. We're still not fully moved in and we've had to purchase everything ourselves. We're taking him to court too," Dickman said.
Players moved up the street from its long-time space at 1192 Alakea St. last year, "because the landlord of the Queen Emma building proposed a very good deal. A bigger location, new equipment and better financial deals and then lived up to pretty much nothing," said Dickman.
"We just gave notice because we thought we had a good deal. Looking back, obviously we wish we didn't."
Galijan was also to have built Players a kitchen with new equipment; problems with air conditioning and bathrooms with leaks and odors were not corrected, Dickman said.
"We're just trying to explore our options and other locations, if it's feasible," he said.
Eighty-five grand in back rent can't look good to a new prospective landlord, though.
"We ran a good business. We know we weren't at fault," said Dickman.
Part-timers purged
New Wave Broadcasting Inc. has released about a half-dozen part-time employees. Cost-cutting was cited in a staff meeting last week.New Wave owns and operates KQMQ-FM 93.1, KPOI-FM 97.5, KHUI-FM 99.5 and KDDB-FM 102.7. It recently agreed to sell KORL-AM 690 to Kauai-based broadcaster and publisher George Hochman for $550,000.
Among those cut, Kimo Villarimo and Ola Souza had survived the KHUI-FM 99.5 format change from "The Breeze" to "Bob-FM" last month. Lois Miyashiro, whose air shift was from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturdays, was informed by phone Friday night.
"I'm OK with it," she said. She's now a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties and a second-year MBA student.
The job cuts will likely lead to voice tracking, where announcers record shows for playback on computer equipment that also runs the music and commercials. It is a cost-effective and increasingly common practice by radio companies that saves money by paying a single air personality to do shows for multiple stations.
General Dan Manella declined comment on the staff reduction.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
