The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 27

MU DOW JONES: 296 064 NASDAQ: 3280 30-YEAR T-BOND YIELD: 590 SECTION BUSINESS -f 1 wwwkc8tarcom THE KANSAS CITY STAR Thursday September 28 2000 AT WORK Death blamed on dishwasher After fatal fire in Louisburg Kan victims parents sue Whirlpool Sears Station officials again are ordered to testify DIANE STAFFORD Home office requires boundaries By PAUL WENSKE The Kama City Star Casino licenses are in jeopardy if they appear Coys on Aug 26 1996 Whirlpool makes Kenmore dishwashers for Sears The fire which occurred Feb 16 2000 in Louisburg claimed the life of Emily McCoy who was unable to escape from her house after it was engulfed in flames Officials estimated the damage at more than $500000 Attorneys for the McCoys say Whirlpool and Sears had knowledge of the fire danger gleaned new excursion gambling boat Charles German Station's lawyer in Kansas City said late Wednesday that it hadn't been decided whether the seven executives would appear commission statement is something we will study and that we take very seriously We will respond to him before October German said Although Station's Kansas City license expires Jan 15 2001 and St See STATION C-2 oath at a special meeting next month in lefferson City If they do not appear Oct 10 Chairman LG Ullery said Wednesday the licenses to operate riverboat casinos in Kansas City and St Charles Mo may be in jeopardy when they expire this or sooner After noting the license expiration dates Ullery said: commission will shortly face the question of whether Station Casino has proven by clear and convincing evidence its suitability as to receive By RICK ALM The Kama City Star The parents of a Kansas woman who died in a fire allegedly caused by a faulty dishwasher sued Whirlpool Corp and Sears Roebuck and Co on Wednesday in Miami County District Court Three lawsuits filed by lames and Lorray McCoy of Paola contend that Whirlpool and Sears knew that the Kenmore dishwasher was poorly designed when it was sold to the Mc The chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission has ordered seven executives at the Las Vegas headquarters of Station Casinos Inc to appear and testify under See FIRE C-2 OPEC defends its oil policy OPEP Segunda Cumbre 2627 28 Septiembre KCPT kicks off building project Public TV station is expanding and renovating offices Second Summit September 26 27 28 2000 Cor ocas Venezuela Caracas Venezuela At the OPEC meeting In Caracas Venezuela the first summit in 25 years officials said taxes on gasoline yppnlatiMi in futures markets and bottlenecks In transportation and refining were to blame for high oil prices great work migration is not from the factory floor to the office cubicle not from the farm to the city from anywhere to the home office One in five Americans now works at home Some run full-time businesses Some moonlight Some telecommute Some dabble in part-time enterprises that may one day grow big I am not one of them And frankly amazed that anything gets done Dedicated work-at-homers tell me their productivity soars I imagine how they see the dust bunny under the table? their otherwise independent cat meow and jump on the computer table and demand scratching? they hear the dryer buzzing and the phone ringing with an endless succession of calls from people who want to manage their investments or clean their carpets? The oft-stated advantage of working at home is that you have to spend time dressing up or commuting more likely to be in control of your work-hours You can run to a PTA meeting take an aerobics class or walk the dog and then take care of business at 3 am if you feel like it also the oft-stated disadvantage of working at home: It can be 24-7 if you want it to be A good work-at-homer needs a fair dose of self-discipline both to stay on task and to get off task A good work-at-homer also should have: The gumption to get out of the house and go to chamber of commerce meetings join service or civic groups and be active in a relevant professional association A dedicated work space that get overrun with household mail or homework a place that clearly says at Fairly set workhours if not 9 am to 5 pm daily at least a daily goal of putting inXhours on the job Those who have crawled out of the work-at-home trenches say too easy to put things off until tomorrow without some kind of daily commitment Ideally a separate business phone and fax number so personal calls and woik calls don't mix The discipline to get out of pajamas comb hair and shave if appropriate Somework-at-homers may not see anyone else all day but experienced hands say they feel more professional and productive when presentable They say it even helps their telephone voice Realistic expectations about the ability to juggle work and family especially if there are young children in the home Successful work-at-homers say nap time long enough sometimes day care is the solution Woiking at home can be isolating or invigorating It can be career suicide or the path to professional fulfillment and financial success It can be the most natural move you've ever made or the biggest mistake of your life Before joining the work-at-home migration Important to know yourself First question: Do you have the self-discipline it takes? All other questions about business plans market research income overhead networking visibility and so on rank after that Diane workplace column appears on Thursdays lb nsach her write the business desk at 1729 Grand Bind Kansas City MO 64108 send e-mail to or call (816) 234-4359 By MARK COUCH The Kansas City Star cii-JVtU! Television station KCPT on Wednesday began demolishing neighboring buildings to dear the way for a $5 million expansion of its midtown Kansas City offices The renovation and expansion of KCPT offices at 125 31st SL will bring the local public television station into the digital age and polish another street comer in the urban core KCPT which is cramped in a 35000-square-foot space of offices and studios is tearing down some smaller buildings immediately west of its existing building The small fbtiher shop buildings are to be replaced by a new administrative office building and parking lot KCPT's existing building will become the production facility The station expects construction to be completed by November 2001 The expansion will nearly double space and provide a home for the new digital broadcasting equipment a key requirement for the station to remain on the air was no said Bill Reed president and chief executive of KCPT we do not make this transition we go away" Federal broadcasting regulators have ordered all public television stations to convert to digital broadcasting by May 2003 Reed said KCPT expected to complete its transition by 2002 Digital broadcasting will allow KCPT to send multiple signals For example adult viewers in a household could watch City Week in in one room Higher output questioned TiTtii! VfVTflS if OPEP irouNoa cyM Is I don't see why anybody should worry" said Nigerian President Olusegun Obasan jo OPEC President Ali Rodriguez declared deficit of crude He said crude supply exceeded demand by 2 million barrels a day and added that some European Union members were quietly drawing from their own reserves He declined to reveal which ones saying know but you have to find Rodriguez also announced that Freiich Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had agreed Wednesday to hold a meeting of OPEC and European Union officials to discuss the oil market Rodriguez plans to travel to Paris By TRACI CARL I The Associated Press CARACAS Venezuela OPEC leaders strongly defended their oil policies Wednesday blaming high taxes and market speculators for prices that have sparked global protests At the first Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries summit in 25 years leaders insisted there was little reason to raise the amount of oil they are producing In October the United States will release 1 million banels of oil a day from its strategic reserve while OPEC will produce an additional 600000 barrels a day measures that should lower prices GREGORY BULLThe Associated Press Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo supported policy adding see why anybody should See OPEC C-2 See KCPT C-2 1 I HORNING MEMO Slight recovery would probably be $340 million to $345 million PriceHnecom Price per share Analystshad expected Chrysler group will report a loss of 600 million euros ($531 million) for the quarter this year Shares in DaimlerChrysler which hit an all-time low of $4413 last week rose 94 cents to $4594 on Wednesday BUSINESS NEWS INSIDE Stronger demand for airplanes and electron- rannrir uuraDie goods New orders seasonally adjusted USObMon 245 mr ics helped orders for big-ticket manufactured goods bounce back somewhat in The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that it would unveil revisions to its Consumer Price Index data for January through August Government officials speaking on the condition of anonymity indicated the revisions would show consumer prices creeping up a little bit more than previously thought Warnings Shares ofPricdinecom fell 42 percent Wednesday after the company warned that its third-quarter revenue was likely to fall short of expectations Priceline known for its name-your-price system for online purchases of airline tickets hotel rooms rental cars and home mortgages said its third-quarter revenue nual rate of $2161 billion The big-ger-than-expected increase came after durable-goods orders plunged a record 131 percent in July according to revised government figures An understatement A software glitch caused the government to incorrectly measure inflation at the consumer level this year possibly understating it a bit government officials indicated Wednesday But private economists said that wouldn't change the rosy picture of the US economy And it won't deter the Federal Reserve whose chief aim is to stave off inflation from leaving interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week die economists said revenue of approximately $360 million to $380 million Shares of Priceline fell $789 to $1075 Daimler-Chrysler AG warned Wednesday that its Chrysler side would report a loss for the quarter because of high US incentives and die costs of launching new versions of its minivan and midsize sedans After posting a third-quarter profit of 1 billion euros last year the August from a record plunge the month before The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for durable goods rose by a solid 29 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted an- Atipa Linux Solutions fa purchasing a North Carolina company C-3 Gary Phillips has been selected as president and chief executive officer of Associated Wholesale Grocers 03 Amazoncom quickly retreats from a plan that raised prices for loyal buyers C-8.