Posted on: Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Business briefs
Visitor count up 1.6% in 2002
A total of 6.45 million people came to Hawai'i in 2002, up 1.6 percent from the previous year, according to an annual visitor research report released yesterday by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Those who came spent more, bringing nearly $10 billion in visitor expenditures into the state last year, an 8.7 percent increase from 2001.
Gas prices stay at record high
The average price of regular gasoline statewide remained at a record high of $2.127 a gallon yesterday — a peak hit on Saturday, according to AAA auto club.
Gasoline prices in Hawai'i have risen steadily for several weeks despite a continued decline in prices both on the West Coast and nationwide. Hotel plans new spa, restaurant
Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort is adding a new spa, Italian restaurant and cafe to its Kealohilani Tower as part of $60 million in renovations to the hotel. Work on the tower's improvements started last week and is scheduled for completion in late fall this year.
NATION & WORLD
Motorola CEO steps down
Shares of Motorola Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of mobile telephones, rose 8.8 percent on optimism that a new chief executive officer could revive sales.
Christopher Galvin quit Friday after more than six years at the helm and 36 years at Motorola, the company founded by his grandfather. The company said it is looking internally and externally for a replacement.
Univision gets OK on purchase Univision Communications Inc.'s $3.2 billion purchase of Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. won final approval from regulators, creating a company with the biggest U.S. Spanish-language television and radio networks.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission in Washington said it approved the merger in a 3-2 party-line vote. The agreement had been delayed since August while Chairman Michael Powell, a Republican, tried unsuccessfully to secure the support of Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat.
— Staff and news reports
