Stimulus funding for small biz examined

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye will discuss how the federal stimulus package can help Hawaii's economic recovery through opportunities for small businesses.

The Service Corps of Retired Executives Hawaii office is hosting a seminar titled “;Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses—Capturing Your Share of the Stimulus Dollars”; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Ala Moana Hotel Hibiscus Ballroom.

Speakers from various government agencies will speak as will a local business owner who has received one of the largest government contracts in Hawaii.

The cost of attendance is $60 and seats can be reserved via phone at 547-2700 or online at www.hawaiiscore.org.

Texas company lands $32.8M Big Isle highway project

A $32.8 million Hawaii highway project for the Big Island has been awarded to Road and Highway Builders LLC, a unit of Texas-based Sterling Construction Co.

The project will involve rebuilding a two-lane highway on Saddle Road for the Federal Land Highway Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Work is expected to begin late in the third quarter and last about two years.

NY Times gets 2 offers for Boston Globe, sources say

New York Times Co. received offers from at least two potential buyers for the unprofitable Boston Globe newspaper, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The bidders include a group led by Stephen Pagliuca, a managing director at Bain Capital LLC and co-owner of the Boston Celtics, and another led by Stephen Taylor, a member of the family that sold the Globe to Times Co. in 1993 for $1.1 billion, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process isn't public. They wouldn't disclose terms of the bids.

EBay working on alternative software for Skype

SAN FRANCISCO » EBay Inc. is developing software it might use to continue running the online telecommunications service Skype if it cannot resolve a legal dispute with a separate company run by the service's founders.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, eBay said it has started developing an alternative to the technology it currently licenses from Joltid Ltd.

The company noted its efforts might not be successful, however, and could lead to a “;loss of functionality or customers even if successful.”; Regardless, building such software will be costly, eBay said.

EBay declined further comment.

Skype has been engaged in litigation with Stockholm, Sweden-based Joltid over licensing technology used to power the Internet-based phone service. Skype and Joltid were both created by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, though the pair sold Skype to eBay for $2.6 billion in 2005.

Coming Up

» Today: The Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for July. Major automakers report U.S. auto sales for July. The U.S. Commerce Department releases construction spending for June. Centex Corp. releases first-quarter financial results.

» Tomorrow: The U.S. Commerce Department releases personal income and spending for June.