Cost cuts needed now, Postal Service says
WASHINGTON >> With financial losses mounting, the nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service is urging the House to quickly pass legislation that would give it broad authority to close thousands of low-revenue post offices, reduce labor costs and end Saturday deliveries. At a meeting Friday the Postal Service’s board said a bill passed by the Senate last week doesn’t give the agency the latitude it needs.
That bill would provide the Postal Service with an $11 billion cash infusion but halt the closing of up to 252 mail-processing centers and 3,700 post offices. The agency called the closings a key part of its plan to save some $6.5 billion a year.
Journalist Tran joins KITV news team
Cam Tran will debut as the new weather anchor on KITV tonight, joining Pamela Young and Jahmai Webster at the anchor desk on weekends.
She succeeds Amber-Lynn Hyden in the position, which also will have Tran serve as a reporter three days a week.
A Texas native, Tran joins the local ABC affiliate from Hearst-owned sister-station WMTW-TV in Portland, Maine, where she worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor as part of an Edward R. Murrow and Emmy Award-winning news team.
Tran previously had worked as an anchor and reporter in Abilene and Austin, Texas.
She has a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Texas and will expand her credentials as she works remotely toward her Certificate of Meteorology and Geosciences from Mississippi State University. Tran is an active member of the Asian American Journalists Association.
Hyden left the station to return to the airline industry.
Bonds tied to Ala Moana debt are sold
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sold $1.4 billion of bonds backed by debt on Ala Moana Center, according to a person familiar with the offering.
A $1 billion slice carrying top grades and maturing in 9.91 years yields 135 basis points more than the benchmark swap rate, said the person, who declined to be identified because the terms are not public. A portion rated Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, the lowest investment-grade ranking, yields 260 basis points more than the benchmark.
The deal contains a single loan on a 2.42 million-square-foot property at Ala Moana Center, according to Morningstar Inc.
Goodwill hosts job fair for new Maui store
Goodwill Industries of Hawaii has scheduled a job fair Monday for its newest store, scheduled to open in June on Maui.
The event is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the new store, at 250 Alamaha St. in Kahului. Goodwill said it will be hiring managers, salesclerks, production workers and drivers.
Benefits packages at Goodwill include medical and dental coverage, vacation leave and a 401(k) retirement plan.
The store is Goodwill’s first on Maui and 10th statewide.
Yahoo shareholder wants new CEO ousted
SAN FRANCISCO » Scott Thompson’s reign as Yahoo’s CEO is in jeopardy after just four months on the job because he allowed an inaccuracy about his academic credentials to recur for years.
A major Yahoo shareholder who exposed the fabrication is now leading the charge to oust Thompson for unethical conduct. In a letter Friday, activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb demanded that the board of the struggling Internet company fire Thompson by 6 a.m. Hawaii time Monday or face possible legal action.
"CEO’s have been terminated for less at other companies," wrote Loeb, who controls a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo through his hedge fund, Third Point LLC.
Yahoo reiterated Friday that "the board is reviewing this matter and, upon completion of its review, will make an appropriate disclosure to shareholders."
Thompson’s troubles revolve around an exaggeration about his education at Stonehill College, a small Catholic school near Boston where he was graduated in 1979.
Since announcing Thompson’s hiring in January, Yahoo included two bachelor’s degrees — one for accounting and the other for computer science — on the executive’s biography. The dual degrees appeared on Yahoo’s own website and in an April 27 legal document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After being confronted Thursday by Loeb, Yahoo confirmed that Thompson received only an accounting degree from Stonehill.
Oil prices decline to below $100 a barrel
NEW YORK » The price of oil suffered its biggest one-day decline in nearly six months Friday, falling below $100 per barrel for the first time since February. A drop in gasoline prices can’t be far behind.
Oil fell $4.05 to $98.49 after a weak U.S. jobs report offered the latest evidence that the global economy is weakening, possibly reducing demand for oil. At the same time, there is mounting evidence that world oil supplies are growing. For the week, oil fell more than $6 and is now about $12 below its February high. U.S. gasoline prices have fallen to $3.80 per gallon from a peak of $3.94 in early April. Hawaii still tops the nation at $4.57, below its all-time high of $4.62 set April 11.
ON THE MOVE
RevoluSun has hired the following as independent project developers:
>> Eric Leano has 16 years of sales experience, including serving as a therapeutic sales representative at Pfizer as well as sales representative at Hilti.
>> Chelsea Pavone has nine years of sales experience working in the service and tourism industries as well as the insurance and furniture sectors.
Blue Planet Foundation has announced Richard Wallsgrove as its program director. He previously worked as an attorney in Honolulu and handled complex litigation on a wide range of issues. Wallsgrove also worked with the Center for Island Climate Adaptation & Policy at the University of Hawaii as well as lectured at UH-Manoa’s law, business and engineering graduate schools.
The Association of Legal Administrators Hawaii Chapter has announced its board of directors for 2012-2013: Darlene Loo-McDowell, president; Leslie Ishimi, president-elect; Ann Hisamoto, immediate past president; Marilynn Eleccion, secretary; and Ellen Cantiberos, treasurer.
