Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 34

I I I ji ii. BUSINESS Friday, April 29, 1994 Albuquerque Journal Page 6, Section Business digest A Peek at a Profession Tumbling Bond Prices Inflate Interest Rates NEW YORK Stocks fell sharply Thursday, as plunging bond prices sent Learning Moms' Jobs Thrills Girls 1 interest rates soaring. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 31.23 to 3,668.31. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. By Nancy Baca Analysts and traders appeared dis mayed at the degree to which the equity JOURNAL STAFF WRITER market was tied to bonds.

Slight Economic Growth Noted by Govermnent WASHINGTON The economy grew at a moderate 2.6 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, con siderably less than half the booming pace that closed out 1993, the government said I II Dr. Chelle Schumann, center, removes plant material from a basset hound's mouth, as Katie Sharp, 8, left, and Kate Fleming, 12, observe. Schumann was a "mentor mom" for the two Girl Scouts. In the background Is Journal photographer Mark Holm. His daughter Alison accompanied him to work and took this photo.

ALISON HOLM JOURNAL I Thursday. The advance in the gross domestic product, the total of all goods and ser vices produced in the United States, was less than most economists estimated and attributed to a host of factors. i I Consumer spending slowed in the first three months of this year following the buying spree that closed out 1993. The slower pace of growth caused by most sectors of the economy was only partly offset by a rise in car and truck produc "Hi, this is Beth with the gas company and my daughter and I are calling you Beth Conklin performed her daily duties as a customer service representative 'Thursday with a little help from an unpaid temp her daughter Melissa, 11. Thursday was "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" nationally and the second annual event was marked at workplaces from big corporations to small businesses.

Melissa Conklin joined her mother in the Gas Company of New Mexico's phone center. She put on an extra telephone headset, listened in on calls and took a few notes. Although the younger Conklin is not sure what career she'll choose, she said she had fun Thursday. "It's pretty fun, you get to run around and meet all kinds of people," she said. Melissa joined more than 60 other youths at Public Service Company of New Mexico or its gas company operations for the day, which also included a tour of some departments.

The Ms. Foundation for Women is the national sponsor for the program, which targets girls between ages 9 and 15. The day is designed to give the young women a glimpse of female success. Tours, speakers and job demonstrations helped fill the workday, and a few sons also got in on the act at the University of New Mexico, the city of Albuquerque and businesses working in conjunction with Albuquerque Public Schools Join-A-School The day started off with a breakfast for 300 at Winrock shopping center with guest speaker Margaret Chavez, wife of Mayor Martin Chavez. Mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles as well as other friends and relatives spent tion and a slower rate of imports.

I On the Ball Schumann said she has noticed more girls favoring the profession. Judith Ning, a leader of troop 5008C, helped coordinate a program through the Girl Scouts of Chaparral Council where more than 200 scouts either went with a parent, relative or friend or could choose a profession and be matched with a mentor mom, like Schumann. In District Court, the youths got a tour of courtrooms, judges' chambers and the holding area for prisoners. Some were already familiar with the turf. Jessica Scott, daughter of District Judge Robert Scott, said she has been coming to her father's courtroom since she was an infant.

"I come to work with him whenever I have a day off," she said, but added she plans to be a singer instead of following her father's career choice. Rebecca Learmonth brought her daughter, Shannon, 9, to help her with her job interviewing patients before surgery at Lovelace Health Systems on Gibson SE. "There's a lot of girls here," Rebecca Learmonth said. "It's really a good idea, this summer I think I'll bring my son." Shannon said she had fun with some of the other daughters at work. About 275 youths attended work with adults at Lovelace.

"We have fun pretending we're workers here," she said, adding that she had put together 59 information packets that will be distributed to children about to have surgery. The younger Learmonth plans to be an artist and a teacher, but she enjoyed her day with her mother. Veterinarian Chelle Schumann, at the Veterinary Care Animal Hospital, was a "mentor mom" along with two other veterinarians. In all, the doctors sponsored six young women who want to be vets. Kate Fleming, 12, and Katie Sharp, 8, are self-described animal lovers who plan to pursue careers as veterinarians.

They got a glimpse of some of the less-than-glamorous work, as Schumann removed some plant material from the mouth of Dustin, a basset hound. The young girls didn't shy away, though, if anything, the procedure piqued their curiosity. When asked what they plan to tell their friends about the day Fleming said, "They should have come." 1 1 i rrmt 'A ))))) )) )))))))))) tTTTtTTI FEATURE PHOTO SERVICE Technician Pam Turnage examines Ultra Distance golf balls at Wilson Sporting Goods' Humbolt, Thursday with youths at their sides. factory. The balls' Trilyn cover cap tures more of the cjub energy, allowing the balls to respond better.

Wilson is among the top three golf ball makers in the United States. Hotels Back Visitors Bureau New Hispanic Firms' Chances Good in City Hispano Chamber Also Vies for Tax By Bob Hagan JOURNAL STAFF WRITER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Albuquerque's hoteliers Thursday sided with the Convention and Visitors Bureau in a dispute with the Hispano Chamber of Commerce over the city's lodgers tax rev enues. The Albuquerque Innkeepers Associa tion wants the visitors bureau to get all the tax funds devoted to promoting the city, association president Theodore Barela said. Local hotels and motels collect about $7 Delta Will Restructure, Cut About 15,000 Jobs ATLANTA Delta Air Lines will eliminate up to 15,000 jobs or 20 percent of its work force in a restructuring aimed at slashing costs to compete more effectively against low-fare rivals, the carrier said this morning. The restructuring, to be completed over three years, js aimed at saving the third-largest U.S.

airline about $2 billion annually. It was announced as the airline disclosed it lost nearly $80 million in the first three months of 1994. Teamsters, Truck Firms Reach Tentative Deal WASHINGTON Representatives of Teamsters union locals were summoned here today to vote on a tentative settlement that could end the 24-day-old trucking strike and send some 70,000 drivers and warehousemen back to work as early as Saturday. After 10 days of roller-coaster negotiations, union negotiators were meeting with Trucking Management Inc. late Thursday, under the supervision of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to put the finishing touches on the agreement.

The walkout has shutdown eight major less-than-truckload carriers. Picket lines are to come down tonight, some sources outside union headquarters said. A spokesman at Teamsters headquarters wouldn't confirm that. FROM JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS million a year in a 5-percent tax on room rentals. Half that money is earmarked for DARON BENNETT JOURNAL Theodore Barela, president of the Albuquerque Innkeepers Association, announces his group's support for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

and the bureau has a proven track record. So far this fiscal year, the bureau is 81 percent ahead of its goal in booking conventions for the convention center and 14 percent ahead of goal in booking conventions for local hotels, according to the innkeepers group. Nine hotel owners or managers sit on the 33-member board 6f the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Barela said, "and many of us are involved with internal audits of the bureau. We know their convention booking numbers are legitimate." Other members of the innkeepers association at a press conference Thursday questioned the Hispano chamber's success in attracting conventions to Albuquerque. "They are generating very few leads and negligible business for us," said Suheil Kare, manager of the Fred Harvey Hotel.

But Hispano chamber chairman Tom Garcia said his group would welcome the opportunity to compare the relative efficiency of the two groups in using the available resources to bring business to Albuquerque. "We have specific plans and proposals and budgets we are prepared to present to the city, which will demonstrate we can bring a very high return to the city on those funds," said Garcia. Mayor Chavez did not respond to a request for comment on the innkeepers action Thursday afternoon. paying off the bonds that financed the convention center and half is spent on promoting Albuquerque as a convention and tourism destination. Albuquerque is one of 10 cities nationwide where Hispanics have a better chance of opening their own businesses and succeeding, according to the May issue of Hispanic Business magazine.

Hispanic Business magazine listed San Antonio; Denver; San Jose, Phoenix; and Albuquerque as the top five cities in the nation to offer the best atmosphere for new Hispanic entrepreneurs. Chicago; El Paso; Houston; Dallas; and New York rounded out the top 10 list, the magazine said. "The top 10 are taking the lead in reducing the risks associated with opening a new business, especially when it comes to Hispanics," Hispanic Business managing editor Hector Cantu said Wednesday. When making its selections, the magazine looked at the percentage of Hispanics in a city, the presence of Hispanic business support organizations and the number of Hispanics on city council, the magazine said. It also ranked cities according to how many companies each placed on the 1993 Hispanic Business 500 an annual directory of the nation's 500 largest Hispanic-owned companies, the magazine said.

Finally, the magazine looked at workers' compensation costs, work force education levels, population growth rates and whether a city had a Hispanic acquisition program, the magazine said. Currently, the marketing funds are split between the visitors bureau and the Hispano chamber, with the chamber getting 8 percent and the bureau getting 92 percent of the available funds. Mayor Martin Chavez has recommended increasing the chamber's share to 10 per The hotel and motel executives are backing the bureau because "our sales effort must be focused, not diluted." Theodore Barela cent, and the chamber itself has been asking for 15 percent of the money. On Monday, the board of the bureau asked that it receive all the marketing money. The hotel and motel executives are back ing the bureau because "our sales effort must be focused, not diluted," Barela said, Eueruone's Business Buyer beware: Attorney General Tom Udall has issued a consumer alert about door-to-door A He advises consumers to ask the contractors for identification and professional licenses when they show up offering "good deals." Contractors offering roofing, landscaping and paving services must be licensed by the Construction Industries Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.

Each spring, the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office receives complaints about unlicensed contractors doing repairs with inferior products and substandard methods. Udall recommends that even after consumers see the license of a contractor they should ask for names and telephone numbers of customers they can contact to determine if they were satisfied SBA awards: Former Journal business reporter Chris Miller has been named New Mexico "Media Advocate of the Year" by the federal Small Business Administration. Other winners in the SBA's annual awards contest include Stewart R. Little, chief executive officer of Diversified Business Technologies, who is "Small Business Person of the Year," and Jill Duval, owner and publisher of Duval Publications in Albuquerque, who was named "Women in Business Advocate of the Year." Marvin Francis Lozano, of the Albuquerque Small Business Development Center, won the "Minority Small Business Advocate" award, while Tony Strati, partner in charge of the Albuquerque office of KPMG Peat Marwick was named "Accountant Advocate of the Year." Peter Froning, executive director of the Enchantment Land Certified Development Company, was named "Financial Services Advocate of the Year." A reception honoring the SBA award winners is planned for May 6 at Santa Fe Community College. Miller left the Journal earlier this month to accept a position with Sandia National Laboratories.

Bob Hagan Fiesta whiz: Albuquerque resident Kevin Kaplan will take over as vice president of marketing and sales for the Maloof Companies' hotel and casino being built in North Las Vegas, Nev. Kaplan most recently served as vp of marketing at First Security Bank of New Mexico. He worked a two-year stint as vice president of marketing for the World Football League's Birmingham Fire football team, during which he was given the title of "sports marketing whiz" by Sporting News. Construction crews are beginning to break ground for the Fiesta Casino Hotel, an Old Mexico-themed resort that is the first in North Las Vegas. The Fiesta, scheduled for completion in December, is being built on an 18-acre site.

It will offer 25,000 square feet of gaming space that will include 600 slot machines, 13 table games, a bingo parlor, and race and sports book. The hotel portion will have 100 rooms in a five-story tower and include meeting facilities for up to 300 people. Giyland Bryant Udall with the contractors work. This should be done before agreeing to have a job done. For further information or to register a complaint, consumers should call the Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-678-1508.

Martha Man.