Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 23

November 7, 2007 ro)nnnn 0 1 j1 Li LJJI I BUSINESS EDITOR KenAndrade kandradestarbulletin.com 524792 SECTION TAKING STOCK Kaiser settles bias lawsuit Today's midday numbers: phone message rescinding the Maui job offer. Kaiser said In a statement that it followed all state and federal hiring laws but "agreed to resolve the matter In the Interest of all parties concerned." STAR-BULLETIN FULL STORY, CJ her position at Kaiser in Baldwin Park, Calif. Two weeks before her October start date, she told Kaiser of her pregnancy and plans to take maternity leave that December. Less than 24 hours after that, she said, she got a pay the amount to Margaret Mcllroy, a registered labor and delivery nurse. Mcllroy had been offered a position in 2003 as director of nursing for obstetrics and pediatrics at Kaiser on Maul, a transfer and promotion from Kaiser Foundation Health Plan has agreed to settle a pregnancy bias lawsuit brought by the U.S.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a California nurse for $180,000. Without admitting any wrongdoing, Kaiser agreed to Dow Industrials 13,436.75 1,493.33 NASDAQ 2,780.08 Russell 2000 ...783.66 Nikkei 225 .16,096.68 Hang Seng ...29,708.93 5,601.78 Yen 112.92 Gold Silver Crude oil 45.10 18.11 270.80 65.21 $10.20 .40.10 6 INSIDE HONOLULU GOES HIGH-TECH Manele resort makes AAA list The Four Seasons Lana'i at Manele Bay has made the AAA Hawaii Four Diamond list this year, one of 1 1 hotels and 11 restaurants on the list. C3 Sony displays its latest gadgets at a three-day expo Economist warns of possible recession in Hawaii HAWAII MMMMsjjBMjBBMSjlBSMSMBMMBBMBBlMHJJjplllW yjrwt ff tf 1 iff! I 1 Valencia sales continue Properties the real estate subsidiary of Alexander Baldwin has another of its Valencia, holdings, this one for $6.9 million. The company sold the Vista Controls Building, which It originally purchased in 2003 as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange, to Layton Belling Associates. Earlier this year, Properties sold three other Valencia shopping center parcels for $18.9 million.

"These sales optimize Investment within a relatively short cycle and demonstrate that our business model of Investments and joint venture commercial developments in southern California is bearing fruit, said Michael G. Wright, senior vice president for Properties. Chuck E. Cheese plans 3rd outlet Chuck Cheese' Pizza has signed a lease for another restaurant at Kapolel Town Square. It will be Chuck E.

Cheese's third location in the state, with the other two In Alna Halna and Pearl City. The family-fun restaurant franchise has agreed to a 1 5-year lease for 10,300 square feet with MW Group the developer of Kapolel Town Square. The square, which is between Home Depot and Kmart, and near planned Target and Costco Wholesale stores, offers more than 100,000 square feet total and is expected to open In Fall 2009. Ala Moana union pact ratified Members of Unite Here! Local 5 have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new four-year contract with the Ala Moana Hotel. Ninety-nine percent of the members who cast ballots voted in favor of the agreement covering 340 workers, reached Oct 24.

The contract will raise the pay of non-tipped and tipped workers; provide tipped employees double-time pay while on sick leave; reduce the maximum number of rooms assigned to housekeeping employees to 15 from 16; and guarantee no additional subcontracting by the hotel. The contract Includes the same health, welfare and pension benefits workers receive at the larger Walkiki hotels, and now has the same expiration date as other hotels with Local 5 contracts. Some Hawaii residents arid businesses may find that they have less money to spend and less confidence In spending it next year, as the state's 11-year-long economic expansion slows almost to the point of a recession, said economist Leroy Laney. Laney, economics consultant' to First Hawaiian Bank and a professor of economics and finance at Hawaii Pacific University, said in remarks prepared for today's First Hawaiian's business outlook forum that while real personal income and visitor arrivals are expected to grow slightly In 2008, job growth. will fall, the unemployment rate will rise and Inflation will remain high.

Slower economic conditions related to the end of Hawaii's real estate boom, the beginning of a construction slowdown and weakening in the performance of the state's visitor industry are not likely to reverse for some time, he said. STAR-BULLETIN FULL STORY, CRAIG T. KOJIMA CK0JIMA8STARBULLETIN.COM Sony Corp. Is showcasing its newest high-definition products through tomorrow during Its annual expo at the Ala Moana Hotel. Above, Ernie Block, Sony's senior product marketing trainer, yesterday showed off an 1 1-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) prototype TV with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

The prototype TV Is 3mm wide at its thinnest point, Sony said. More weeknight TV news, more of the time 'W. '( h.J.L tlr 1 ASSOCIATED PRESS THEBUZZ ErikaEngle DRINK UP: Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert and current quarterback Drew Brees yesterday introduced two personalized bottles of wine, above, to raise money for charity at Emeril's Restaurant In New Orleans. 6 BRIEFCASE Tracinda begins offer for stake in Tesoro Bloomberg News SAN ANTONIO, Texas Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. began a $1.4 billion tender offer to increase its stake in U.S.

refiner Tesoro the operator of Hawaii's largest refinery, to 20 percent from 4 percent The offer, for 21.9 million shares of San Antonio-based Tesoro at $64 each, will expire on Dec. 6 If it's not extended, Tracinda said today In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The price is 12 percent higher than Tesoro's last close before Tracinda announced plans for the offer on Oct 26. Tesoro Issued an Oct 29 statement acknowledging the offer and saying it would make a recommendation to shareholders on whether to accept within 10 business days after it commenced.

Kerkorian, a 90-year-old billionaire, would become Tesoro's largest shareholder with a 20 percent stake. In the Oct. 26 statement, Tracinda said It was attracted to Tesoro because of the company's management and a positive outlook for the refining industry. whether it is cheaper to run a local newscast than to buy a syndicated show, but said, "We are going to continue to localize ourselves. We are 'K5 the Home so running weaker-performing syndicated fare doesn't make a lot of sense going KFVE is an affiliate of the upstart My Network TV, which began life last September airing English-language telenovelas and professional wrestling and has yet to find a strong foothold.

On K5'sNBC-affillate sister station, "KHNL News 8 Now" at 1 1 a.m. will start Monday, Dec. 3, once the Nielsen ratings are pau. It will take up half the time slot currently occupied by the 700 Club and will be anchored by Kristlne Uyeno, who also anchors KHNL News8 Sunrise at 5 a.m. and KHNL News8 Today from 5:30 to 7 a.m.

With two new shows each day, does that mean a nice bump In salary for the talent and the producers? "No comment," Fink chuckled. Yeah, just like radio personalities get extra money for prerecording extra shows to air on other stations in their clusters. Yeah, that's the ticket. Erika Engle is a reporter with the StarSulletin. Reach her by e-mail at: erikastarbulletin.com ANOTHER new newscast Is coming to the KHNLKFVE television combo.

Starting Jan. 7, "K5 News at 6:30" will debut right after the 6 p.m. news ends on sister station KHNL. It will air each weeknight. Just last month, the stations announced plans to add an 11 a.m.

weekday newscast on KHNL that also will be streamed online. Why add a 6:30 show? Because not everybody is home plunked down on the couch In time to watch the six o'clock news, said John Fink, vice president and general manager. "We )ust think that with the number of people In the afternoons not getting home (because they're) picking up kids at practice or getting dinner ready, this provides them an alternative," he said. Also, not everybody has a DVRorTlVO. Others have yet to learn how to program the blasted, noon-blinking VCR.

Fink noted that stories ongoing at 6 can be updated In the extra half-hour, to be anchored by Stephanie Lum, Chief Meteorologist Sharie Shlma and Sports Director Jason Tang. No sign of Lum's other male co-anchors, Howard "Dash" Dashefsky on KHNL or Walter Makaula, an anchor for both ON A ROLL: Toyota said Its July-September quarter profit rose 1 1 percent to $4 billion on solid overseas sales and raised Its earnings forecast for the full year. Sales were stagnant in its home market, but strong in North America, Europe, Asia and other markets. Star-Bulletin staff and news services "We find there's more Interest for local news than there is for syndicated product." John Fink Vice president, KHNLKFVE 6 ALOHA, VISITORS A weekly snapshot of passenger arrivals from Oct 29-Nov. 4 with the percentage change from the year earlier VISITORS CHANGE Domestic 119,401 1.8 International 31,775 Total ........151,176 DOMESTIC ARRIVALS BY ISLAND Oahu 81,247 4.3 Kauai .........5,705 Maui 25,203 Big Island .7,246 5.0 stations.

Since the 6:30 time slot on KFVE will feature local news instead of a second half-hour of the syndicated "King of Queens," one wonders if ad rates will go up. "We find there's more interest for local news than there is for syndicated product," Fink said. Fink was not specific about Source: Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism 9 35,556 SF Building Office For Sale 94-235 Leoku Street, Waipahu 808-524-2666 Listed by: Sean G.Tadakl (S) CCIM oQJ gg This great facility is located In the rapidly growing Leeward community on Leoku Street just off Farrington Highway. This property offers easy access to major thoroughfares and is frequently routed by TheBus making alternative transportation easy and convenient. Existing space offers great flexibility with an open layout to private offices.

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