State Sen. Sam Slom and Hawaii Reporter Editor Malia Zimmerman were expected to submit a final bid today to buy the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

The pair was working late last night to revise an earlier bid and prove to the U.S. Department of Justice, the agency reviewing the sale, that they can meet the ailing paper's liquidation value and run it.

Justice officials will “;review their business plan to operate the newspaper and their financial capabilities,”; said Dennis Francis, Star-Bulletin publisher.

Black Press offered the Star-Bulletin for sale on March 15 to satisfy Justice Department requirements regarding its planned purchase of The Honolulu Advertiser from Gannett Co.

The Star-Bulletin's value is undisclosed, but sources have estimated a range of $1.5 million to $2 million, with significantly higher operating costs. Slom and Zimmerman said they do not have “;great sources of income or independent wealth”; to buy the paper from Black Press, which lost $100 million plus in the last nine years.

The two were investor shopping late last week, and Slom said yesterday that they had the capital. According to the pair's Save Hawaii News website, they are teaming with members of Smart Business Hawaii, Slom's business association.

Brian Ferguson, principal of Texas-based Anthem Newspaper Holdings LLC, denied rumors yesterday that his team had partnered with the pair. He declined to discuss his own efforts to acquire the 117-year-old paper.

According to sources, Ferguson's team put in four bids, but most, if not all, were outside of the sale's parameters.

Frederick “;Derick”; Harris, owner of Big Island-based Cyber ID, also said he has bid, but he said yesterday that he has not been contacted by Justice officials.

On Saturday, Slom, Zimmerman and advisers toured the Star-Bulletin's Waterfront Plaza headquarters. A Seattle-based printing consultant toured the Star-Bulletin's Kaneohe press plant yesterday, Slom (R, Kahala-Hawaii Kai) said. They later shared their findings with investors, he said.

“;We did have the funding lined up, but a lot of that was based on questions that the investors asked us,”; Slom said, adding that he expected to make a viable offer.

If successful, Zimmerman said they plan to “;hire most of the staff”; under an employee stock option plan. They envision a six-day-a-week, for-profit tabloid which emphasizes local and investigative reporting and provides less Oahu-centric coverage. The paper's name would change, Slom said.

Black Press is expected to acquire the Advertiser from Gannett Co. in the next week or so. If there is no successful bidder for the Star-Bulletin, Black Press plans to merge the two rival papers and call the new publication the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Meanwhile, six unions representing Advertiser workers have filed grievances with Gannett to restore wages by 5 percent and to pay severance, said Wayne Cahill, administrative officer of the Hawaii Newspaper Guild.