The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 29

30-YEAR T-BOND YIELD: 565 839 NASDAQ: 1256 DOW JONES: 3333 SECTION BUSINESS THE KANSAS CITY STAR wwwkcstarcom Friday February 2d 1999 COMMENTARY Claycomo workers vote to support strike production jobs After several weeks of talks the union achieved a small gain in the number of assembly-line positions Kline declined to specify how many new jobs the union thinks are needed at Claycomo Ford officials declined comment Local union officials and man agement continue to discuss the concerns Kline said Officers with the UAW International office have not begun participating he said line increased with the new model produced last fall Last summer Ford announced that a new compact sport-utility vehicle would be built at Claycomo replacing the slow-selling passen ger cars The automaker said it did not anticipate adding jobs at the plant as a result of the new vehicles introduction To contact Randolph Heaster call (816) 234-4746 or send e-mail to rheasterQkcstarcom If the UAW International officers intervene and cannot reach an agreement with Ford UAW International could authorize the local to give a five-day notice to strike Ford uses the Claycomo plant to build the F-series truck and the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique passenger cars The F-series continues to be the most popular vehicle in the country which has strained operations Kline said He said the speed on the truck become swamped as assembly-line speed has increased in the last several months Kline said The plant employs about 5000 hourly workers concern is not only work standards but also the cleanup of the he said people are overloaded they do their job and quality could be A similar dispute arose late last year at General Motors Fairfax plant in Kansas City Kan when UAW Local 31 sought an increase in By RANDOLPH HEASTER The Kansas City Star Workers at Ford Motor Claycomo plant have authorized a strike if their union and management cannot resolve a dispute over work load More than 98 percent of the members of United Auto Workers Local 249 who voted gave their approval in an election last week said Jerry Kline local president Production workers say they have THE MORNING MEMO Good times roll Tivoli owner to close longtime art house its Sheaffer luxury-pen unit The company which also makes Wite-Out and Tipp-Ex said profits in the second half fell to $53 mil lion from $68 million Bic already dominant in the United States and Europe had counted on emerging markets to drive revenue The results were de- pressed by weakness at Sheaffer acquired in the latter half of 1997 as recession in Asia cut spending on luxury goods Good news bad news Two big retail earnings reports were released Thursday Earnings for JC Penney Co Inc the No 2 department store chain in its quarter that ended Ian 30 were $207 million or 77 cents a share That By JOYCE SMITH The Kansas City Star The longtime art house Tivoli Westport Theatre will close March 16 Jerry Harrington owner of the two Tivoli locations in Westport said that his lease at Westport Square had been up for six months and that the space needed to be remodeled But the single-screen theater seats only 104 and Harrington would rather concentrate on his three screens at the Tivoli Theatre at Manor Square "The little theater is too small I open movies Harrington there so it make sense Harrington said no sense in limping along doing well and I want the little theater to drag it The Tivoli Westport Theatre at 425 Westport Road has seven part-time employees who also have other jobs They work at the Tivoli because they love the theater Harrington said showed a movie from Iran because of my great love of cinema not because going to make any Harrington said The Victorian-style theater opened in 1972 as the Bijou Theater and concentrated on classic movies from the 1930s and 1940s Harrington bought the theater in 1984 and Four reports Thursday showed continued strength in the US economy New orders to US factories for big-ticket products surged 39 percent in January the biggest increase in 14 months fed by strong demand for automobiles and aircraft The increase in demand for durable goods items expected to last three or more years followed a healthy 34 percent rise in December Analysts had expected new orders to decline 01 percent in January after increase Sales of existing homes climbed to a record seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507 million units in January an 08 percent increase from December The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 5000 last week lo 293000 The four-week moving average for claims which smooths out week-to-week volatility was down as well dropping 2000 to 292500 That was the lowest in a decade and a strong signal that labor markets remain tight Help-wanted advertising in big US newspapers rose in January The Conference Board a business research group said its advertising index climbed to 93 last month up from 88 in December The index was 90 in January 1998 Airline dispute AMR Corp has agreed to enter mediation with its pilots at American Airlines the No 2 US carrier and analysts say that is the best chance yet to end a dispute over pay at newiy acquired Reno Air Inc The AMR pilots union seeks immediate raises for Reno Air pilots who earn about half the $150000 annual compensation of American pilots It also wants immediate raises for American pilots who will rise in seniority because of AMR's $124 million purchase of Reno Air which it completed Monday Pilots called in sick for 11 days this month which AMR said cost it at least $150 million AMR and the Allied Pilots Association plan to meet for two more sessions of direct talks If an accord isn't reached they will enter mediation for as long as three days Not clicking Bic SA the world's largest maker of pens and lighters said second-half profits from operations fell 22 percent as a result of highei taxes and as slowdown weighed on Durabie goods JERRY HEASTER Slots at track make moral money sense way past time for Kansas lawmakers to do right by Wyandotte County and go along with the latest bid to legalize slot machines for racetracks A bill recently introduced by Sen Sherman jones would require local-option voter approval for counties with racetracks but the push it's getting from Jones underscores its economic importance for his Kansas City Kan constituents If legislators approve the measure little doubt that a majority ofWyandotte Countians would vote to help The Woodlands regain a measure of competitive parity with the Missouri-side riverboats and Indian reservation casinos In addition to slots the bill also provides for voter approval of video poker and other electronic games of chance not the full-fledged casino option that would be the most equitable solution for revitalizing The Woodlands but at least it would give the racetrack a fighting chance to regain its erstwhile role as a key contributor to Wyandotte economic fortunes Jones is cautiously optimistic about his chances because he believes gambling has lost some of its emotional baggage The riverboats and Indian casinos seem to be reasonably well-accepted which implies folks hereabouts understand that legalized gambling mean the end of civilization as civilized people know it Another encouraging sign is the special concern opponents voice about this attempt at relief for The Woodlands One foe characterized the measure as very in-your-face If so it's about time There is no reasonaWn justification for Kansas ic Viators to deny local voters the right to decide whether gambling liberalization is acceptable in their communities This is particularly true in the Kansas City area because doing otherwise is a disservice to Kansas taxpayers While Kansas political leaders have resisted attempts to expand legalized gambling competition has diverted revenue that Kansas could have collected from residents and tourists more than willing to voluntarily pay taxes in the process of having a good time In a just world of course legislation allowing The Woodlands an opportunity to compete for area gambling dollars would have been forthcoming a long time ago hard to resist the thought that just a little help from its friends across the way in Johnson County would have been a big boost for Wyandotte County in this regard Help been forthcoming however which raises a question Partisan politics aside why legislators from an area that has everything going for it extend a helping hand to an area not nearly as fortunate in the realm of economic development? Why indeed? The reality is that Kansas has long since passed the point of being able to save its citizens from themselves when it comes to gambling if indeed that has been the main rationale for rejecting any liberalization of gambling in the state In the Kansas City area the gaming presence is a fact of life that going to go away For Kansas to deny itself the tourist dollars and tax revenue generated by gambling makes neither moral nor economic sense Jerry Heaster's column appears Wednesdays Fridays Saturdays and Sundays 1b reach him write the business desk at 1729 Grand Blvd Kansas City MO 64108 Tb share a comment on StarTbuch call (816) 889-7827 and enter 2301 Send e-mail to jheasterQkatarcom KEVIN ANDERSON The Kansas City Star the end of an era The movie industry has totally said Tivoli Westport Theatre owner Jerry Harrington who will close the art house March 16 On Thursday Anna Hristova checked the show listing See TIVOLI C-8 was up slightly from $201 million or 76 cents a share a year earlier Sales were $932 billion down from $975 million the previous year The results came in shy of Wall Street forecasts Penney shares closed at 38 down lA The Gap one of the trendier retailers pressuring Penney earned $3139 million or 53 cents a share in the quarter that ended Jan 30 up from $2156 million or 36 cents a share in the same period a year earlier Sales totaled $3 billion up from $22 billion a year ago The re suits topped Wall Street estimates of about 50 cents a share Gap's stock closed at 62 down lA Safety complaints The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating several complaints involving pickup trucks ind sport-utility vehicles There have been more than 100 complaints of fires or heavy smoke in Ford Explorers after debris such as leaves entered the air ventilation system About a million Explorers from model years 1992 to 1994 are on the road Several owners have complained that spare tires are falling off ChevTolet S-10 pickups In some cases the tires have hit other vehicles About 1 45 million of the pickups are on the road from the model years being investigated 1991-1996 Complaints provided to the agency by Ford allege that some 1997 and 1998 Explorers continue to accelerate after the driver takes his or her foot off the gas or disen gages the cruise control There are 300000 of the 1997-98 Explorers on the road Government tests on three sport-utility vehicles show they protect passengers from side impacts but have a tendency to roll over C-2 KCK developments seen as turnaround says unit to be ready for summer CITYSCAPE JOYCE SMITH Site of new development 7 Antioch Rd One of the top goals of the Unified Board of Commissioners of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Kan is to attract retailers Development at Interstate 635 and Shawnee Drive in Kansas City Kan is a good start and officials say a sign of things to come "It shows a renewed confidence in our community and the buying power of our said Dan Schenkein president of the Kansas City Kan Area Chamber of Commerce In January Metz Baking Co opened a 25000-square-foot distribution center and a Taystee Bakery Outlet Tfexaco Star Mart Brotherhood Bank Trust and a restaurant also have new operations on the southwest comer On the northwest comer a combination Ifcco Bell and KFC restaurant is under construction and should open in early April A major drugstore chain is looking at opening on one of the comers The area is about a mile north of Johnson County "When you have a nice concentration of peo with a nice income and no services a natural thing to said David Christie of DJ Christie in Overland Park a developer of the southwest comer with Greg Patterson of Commercial Realty Resources Inc Christie also was a partner behind the remodeling of the nearby Shawnee Plaza and is continuing to develop the northwest comer of Shawnee Drive and Interstate 635 By STEVE EVERLY The Kansas City Star Hawthorn 6 a new generating unit near the Kansas City Power Light Co unit that exploded last week is expected to be running in time for summer power demands The new unit is about 500 yards from the heavily damaged Hawthorn 5 engineers said they had been unsure whether Hawthorn scheduled spring debut would be postponed because of damage But Pam Levetzow a spokeswoman said that an inspection found little or no damage and that the unit was expected to begin generating electricity on schedule Hawthorn 6 which is fired by natural gas will provide 142 megawatts of electricity slightly more than one-third of Hawthorn capacity A megawatt is 1000 kilowatts Ihe utility could buy additional electricity on the wholesale market to meet demand A thornier problem is Hawthorn 5 The mostly coal-fired boiler that produced the steam to turn that turbines was destroyed Work is under way to stabilize the unit to allow an inspection of the ON THE LOCAL FRONT Moving over Lawyers Association of Kansas City's Whittaker Award given for leadership in civic and cultural affairs He is immediate past chairman of the board of Children's Mercy Hospital and has leadership roles on the boards and committees of the Midwest Bioethics Center American Humanics the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City the Midwest Research Institute and the Partnership for KAREN STORY The Kansu City Sun recognized the growth opportunities in the area and had fought to open there several years ago but could not get the city to rezone the property LaVert Murray director of development for the Unified Government said neighl rs originally opposed developmeit because of traffic concerns tried to make sure the traffic would be manageable and I think they have since embraced the proj David Oliver a longtime area lawyer known for his civic involvement is joining the firm of Berkowitz Feldmiller Stanton Brandt Williams and Stueve Oliver has more than 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer and specializes in civil and commercial law He will practice in the Missouri office on the Country Club Plaza In 1998 Oliver received the See C-8 See KCK C-8 Compiled by Greg HackJThe Star.