America’s Mattress opens Aiea site

America’s Mattress Hawaii, the state’s largest specialty sleep shop, has opened its Aiea store in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center. The company has seven other locations throughout Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.

"Although our local economy has not fully recovered yet, we are very optimistic for 2012 and feel adding an eighth store will better prepare us to accommodate the increasing demand for quality, premium mattress sets and related furniture and accessories here in Hawaii," said Chris Eldridge, founder and president of America’s Mattress. "The expansion also allows us to provide our customers with more convenience, selection and value."

America’s Mattress offers more than 40 different mattresses including the iComfort by Serta, Vera Wang, Perfect Day, and Serta-Pedic. The company also sells futons, sofa beds, bedroom furniture and pillows.

Electric car manufacturer stalls out

Electric car maker Aptera Motors is closing after failing to woo investors.

Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur said the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company closed Friday and laid off all 30 of its employees.

Wilbur said the company was hoping to get a $150 million loan from the Department of Energy but needed to raise matching funds. Aptera had trouble drumming up interest from investors, who have been spooked by the difficulties other small electric car makers have had.

Disney backs off hotel projects

Nearly five years after it outlined an ambitious vision of stand-alone hotels, niche parks and retail centers built in outposts far beyond its world-famous theme-park resorts, the Walt Disney Co. today has no such projects in its public development pipeline.

That’s the case after the company abandoned late last month plans to build a roughly 500-room, Disney-branded hotel near Washington, D.C. Disney, which spent $11 million to buy land in the area in early 2009, said the timing wasn’t right for the project.

The move follows an early stumble at Disney’s first big foray into stand-alone resorts: Aulani, the roughly $850 million hotel and time share that opened Aug. 29 in Ko Olina. Disney was forced to suspend sales in the project for two months this summer after it realized it had underestimated the annual fees needed to cover the resort’s operating costs; Disney will now have to subsidize the fees paid by early time-share buyers for the next 50 years.

Total recall

» The Rocketfish model RF-KL12 mobile battery cases for iPhone 3G and 3GS, imported by Best Buy Co. Inc. of Richfield, Minn., and sold at Best Buy Stores nationwide and online from April 2010 until September. There are about 31,000 in the U.S. that have been recalled. The made-in-China battery cases are black and made of lightweight rubberized material, and have a built-in battery. The model number "RF-KL12" is on the front of the product’s packaging, on the bar code, and in white print on the curved inner surface. The battery case can overheat while charging, potentially causing a fire. Call 800-917-5737 or visit www.bestbuy.com.