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[ HAWAII INC. ]

PROMOTIONS

>> Bishop Museum has promoted Mike Shanahan to education director, Carolyn Kaichi to planetarium manager, Thomas Cummings Jr. to culture education manager, Kay Fullerton to science education manager and Hiilani Shibata to education operations manager.

>> Outrigger Hotels & Resorts has promoted Kimberly Agas to the newly created position of vice president of operations, Waikiki beachfront division. She will also move from the Outrigger Waikiki to assume the duties of Outrigger Reef on the Beach general manager. She replaces Geoff Graf, who has left the company to join Fairfield Resorts.

>> Gary Shiraishi has been promoted from field sales manager to the newly created position of sales vice president at the Islander Group. He has over 30 years of industry experience and joined the company in 1994.

>> Xerox Hawaii had promoted Cheryl Katekaru to marketing representative. She will be responsible for introducing the company's complete line of document processing equipment and services to new and existing commercial accounts. She previously served as a legislative aide.

>> Roberts Hawaii Inc. promoted Paul Dower to Oahu operations manager and Issac Takahashi to Oahu operations assistant manager. Dower previously served as operations assistant manager. Takahashi previously served as dispatch supervisor for the company.

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HAWAII

Isle ambassadors to tout business

SMG Hawaii has launched a networking program called Hawaii Business Ambassadors to assist in promoting meeting and convention business for Hawaii.

The program will designate local community members as envoys to expand isle market potential by increasing business at the Hawaii Convention Center, said Frank Haas, director of tourism marketing for the state Hawaii Tourism Authority.

"Hawaii Business Ambassadors is an innovative program to tap into the expertise and connections that we have right here in Hawaii," Haas said.

Bankoh recognizes college scholars

Dozens of college students who have been designated as Bank of Hawaii's 2nd Century Scholars will unite for a one-day event designed to prepare them for life after college.

The scholars, who are in their last year at colleges and universities throughout Hawaii and the nation, will listen to a variety of speakers share success secrets Saturday, and will then volunteer their time at the Hawaii Foodbank. Donna Tanoue, Bank of Hawaii vice chairwoman and former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., is among the speakers.

Bank of Hawaii selected 100 high school freshmen from across the state in 1997 to take part in the eight-year, $5 million scholars program. The scholarship program, which is designed to ensure success in college and beyond, allows each student to receive up to $10,000 per year of college for four years.

NATION

Mandalay board OKs MGM offer

LAS VEGAS >> The board of Mandalay Resort Group Inc. approved late yesterday MGM Mirage Inc.'s $4.8 billion cash offer to buy the gambling company in a deal that would create the industry's dominant casino operator.

"Our board has approved the offer from MGM Mirage to purchase the company at $71 per share," Glenn Schaeffer, Mandalay's president and chief financial officer, told the Associated Press.

MGM Mirage's board approved the proposal earlier yesterday after directors debated whether antitrust regulators would approve the biggest casino deal in U.S. history.

The deal includes the assumption of $2.5 billion in Mandalay debt and $600 million in bonds that can be exchanged for stock in the company. Schaeffer said the agreement also calls for a $160 million breakup fee if the transaction does not close.

The cash price represents a 30 percent premium to Mandalay's closing share price on June 3, the day before MGM Mirage's initial offer of $68 per share was disclosed.

Mandalay's board signed off on the deal after a seven-hour meeting, Schaeffer said.

Executives with both companies will discuss their proposed deal today with analysts.

'Do not e-mail list' won't work

The Federal Trade Commission declared yesterday that a "do not e-mail list" modeled after the immensely popular "do not call list" would not be effective, suggesting it might help spammers find legitimate e-mail addresses.

"A national registry was a great solution to unwanted telemarketing calls," said Timothy J. Muris, the chairman of the commission at a news conference. "At this time it's not the solution to unwanted e-mail."

In the law intended to crack down on junk e-mail, or spam, that passed last December, Congress ordered the commission to report on the feasibility of allowing e-mail users to place their e-mail addresses on a registry for those who do not want unsolicited messages.

Oracle profit rises 15% amid takeover battle

SAN FRANCISCO >> Oracle Corp., which is in a courtroom battle to defend its hostile bid for PeopleSoft, said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent because of strong growth in its database business, which it attributed to a modest recovery in technology spending.

"We're encouraged that the global economy is showing improvement, led by the United States," Jeffrey O. Henley, Oracle's chief financial officer, said during a conference call. "Clearly, we are benefiting from more business optimism."

For the quarter, the company, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., reported net income of $990 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with $858 million, or 16 cents a share, in the period a year earlier. Revenue increased to $3.08 billion from $2.83 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting a profit of 18 cents a share on revenue of $3.07 billion.

HP to sell, manage wireless networks

SAN FRANCISCO >> Hewlett-Packard has started a new campaign to sell wireless Internet technology to corporate offices and to help manage those systems.

The company's offering, which executives discussed yesterday in an interview, underscores the trend of big technology companies getting into the business of servicing wireless network equipment as well as selling it, wireless industry executives said.

Hewlett-Packard said it signed a deal with Aruba Wireless Networks, a wireless start-up based in San Jose, Calif., that will provide the underlying technology to build and manage the wireless network.