Pest-control company Terminix has acquired the assets of Pearl City-based Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions.

Sandwich Isle Pest Solutions, founded in 1997, specializes in residential pest- and termite-control services on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii island.

“The acquisition of Sandwich Isle is an important strategic step in expanding our business on the Hawaiian Islands, an important region for termite, mosquito and general pest activity,” Rob Gillette, CEO of ServiceMaster, parent company of Memphis, Tenn.-based Terminix, said in a statement. Terminix and Sandwich Isle did not return phone calls seeking comment about the impact of the deal on Sandwich Isle’s employees.

HECO to break ground on biofuel plant

Hawaiian Electric Co. said Thursday it will break ground on a 50-megawatt biofuel-capable generation plant at Schofield Barracks on Monday.

The state Public Utilities Commission approved HECO’s plan to build a biofuel-capable power generation plant at Schofield Barracks in October.

HECO will own and operate the Schofield Generating Station Project on 8.13 acres of land leased from the Army. HECO would pay rent of $342,000 a year to the Army for the space over a 30-year contract.

The quick-starting facility, which will be built 8 miles from the ocean, will be less susceptible to damage from tsunamis than facilities closer to the water.

Self-driving Uber cars coming to Pittsburgh

SAN FRANCISCO >> Uber will soon start using self-driving cars to carry passengers in Pittsburgh, raising the stakes in the race to deploy autonomous vehicles.

The ride-hailing company said Thursday that customers will be able to opt into the test program, which will use autonomous Ford Fusions summoned by the touch of a smartphone. Although other companies are testing self-driving cars on public roads, this is the first time the public will get access to them. The rides, which come with a human backup driver to handle situations that the autonomous cars haven’t seen, will be free to those willing to take part.

Hulk Hogan pins Gawker.com on the mat

NEW YORK >> Gawker.com, the website that broke new ground with its gossipy, no-holds-barred coverage of media, culture and politics, is shutting down after 14 years, brought low by an unhappy but deep-pocketed subject.

Founder Nick Denton reportedly told staffers Thursday afternoon that Gawker.com will come to an end next week.

The announcement follows the sale of the site’s parent company, Gawker Media, to Univision for $135 million. That deal was struck after Gawker’s expensive loss in an invasion-of-privacy case brought by the former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan. A Florida court awarded Hogan $140 million in damages.

U.S. jobless aid applications fall to 262,000

WASHINGTON >> Fewer people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, evidence that layoffs are scarce and employers are likely hiring at a solid clip.

Weekly applications for unemployment aid slipped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, typically a less volatile measure, rose 3,000, to 265,250. The number of people receiving benefits ticked up 15,000, to 2.18 million. That’s nearly 4 percent lower than a year earlier.

Gap offers dim outlook for annual profit

NEW YORK >> Gap offered a muted outlook Thursday after reporting a 43 percent drop in net income for the second quarter, weighed down by store closures.The company, which operates Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores, said it earned $125 million, or 31 cents a share, for the period. That compares with $219 million, or 52 cents a share, last year. Adjusted results were 60 cents per share, a penny above market forecasts. Revenue slipped 1.2 percent to $3.85 billion. The company has been revamping its brands, but a promised turnaround has failed to come to fruition.

ON THE MOVE

The University of Hawai‘i Foundation has promoted and hired the following employees:

>> Dale Spenner has been promoted to director of estate and gift planning. He joined the UH Foundation team in 2015 and served as an associate director of estate and gift planning. Before moving to Hawaii, Spenner was director of planned giving for more that 10 years at Culver Educational Foundation in Indiana.

>> Diana Kim has been hired as an associate director of estate and gift planning. She served as a judicial extern to Family Court Judge R. Mark Browning and also lectured in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at UH Manoa. Kim is the owner of Diana Kim Photography and received international recognition for her project “The Homeless Paradise.”