Travel firm to take Trump reservations

Travel Hawaii, a seller of Internet vacation packages, will begin taking reservations for the Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk beginning Nov. 1.

Travel Hawaii will offer a range of choices — from studios to three-bedrooms — on its Web site, Travel-Hawaii.com. A studio starts at $270 per night for two, including all taxes, to $1,509 per night for a three-bedroom oceanfront condo.

“;It's a great thing for Waikiki to have a brand-new hotel in the luxury class,”; said John Lindelow, owner of Travel Hawaii. “;And it doesn't hurt at all that it has the Trump name on it.”;

Kona coffee field to be developed

California-based Yasheng-ECO Trade Corp. plans to develop about 45 acres in Kona as a coffee plantation in a partnership with Pfau, Pfau & Pfau LLC. The partnership is part of an overall plan to develop 28,000 total acres of farm land that also includes California.

While the partnership has been announced, several hurdles must be cleared as Pfau has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of California.

Medicaid patients get relief

Fifteen Medicaid patients have won the ability to keep their doctors in a temporary ruling in federal District Court.

The patients want to prevent the state Department of Human Services from forcing them to participate in the state-run Quest Expanded Access managed care program, and filed a temporary restraining order against the state.

The court's granting of the TRO this week allows the 15 to continue receiving care from their current physicians until Oct. 19, when the court will hear arguments on a preliminary injunction to block the program.

Suit against A&B, Horizon dismissed

A federal judge has dismissed a consolidated class-action civil lawsuit against Alexander & Baldwin Inc., subsidiary Matson Navigation Co. and rival Horizon Lines Inc. for allegedly violating antitrust law in their Hawaii and Guam routes.

However, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle granted the plaintiffs the opportunity to amend the complaint within 30 days.

Dow Jones indexes might be for sale

NEW YORK » News Corp. is in talks to sell its Dow Jones stock market index business, potentially separating the famous Dow Jones industrial average from The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper that has long controlled it, according to people briefed on the matter.

A leading contender to buy the business is MSCI Inc., a former Morgan Stanley unit that also builds indexes, one of these people said. It was not clear when a deal would be struck, and the talks might not lead to a transaction.

ON THE MOVE

  Syngenta Hawaii has hired Mark Phillipson as general manager. He previously was at Merck & Co. Inc., where he had more than 20 years' experience in senior positions.

Hawaii Pacific University has promoted Rick Murray to associate director of safety and security from security coordinator. He has been with the university for eight years and started as a security guard.