BUSINESS BRIEFS
HawTel given negative outlook
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services yesterday lowered its outlook for Honolulu-based Hawaiian Telcom Communications Inc. to negative from stable because of operational difficulties.
S&P reiterated its "B-" credit rating for the company. However, the outlook change means an increased likelihood of a future rating downgrade. Hawaiian Telcom is Hawai'i's major phone company. The company was purchased by the Carlyle Group in 2006.
HONOLULU DROPS ON NIELSEN LIST
Honolulu fell one spot in Nielsen Media Research's latest rankings of the largest television markets, with its 424,010 television households making it the 73rd biggest market in the country.
Honolulu placed behind Toledo, Ohio, and ahead of Springfield, Mo., in the rankings.
While not among the top markets overall, Honolulu is the fourth-largest Asian-American market behind Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
SEŅOR FROG'S TO PARTY FOR CHARITY
Honolulu's new Seņor Frog's restaurant will hold its grand opening in Waikiki next week with a fundraiser for Hawai'i Meals On Wheels
The new chain eatery, in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, will hold the event from 7 p.m. to midnight Wednesday at a cost of a $25 donation. Seņor Frog's, owned by Cancun, Mexico-based Grupo Anderson's, held a soft opening earlier this month.
NATURAL ENERGY LAB GETS FUNDING
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday released $1.3 million for improvements at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i Authority on the Big Island:
RUPTURED FUEL LINE TO AIRPORT FIXED
Tesoro Corp. said it restarted a fuel line yesterday that supplies Honolulu Airport.
The underground pipeline was accidentally ruptured Monday, spilling an estimated 2,100 to 2,520 gallons of aviation fuel at the company's Campbell Industrial Park refinery.
SHOPPING CENTER TO BE RENOVATED
A Malibu, Calif.-based real estate investment company said it plans to renovate Aina Haina Shopping Center.
American Commercial Equities LLC, which bought the 62,000-square-foot retail complex in June, announced its plan yesterday in a press release.
The company did not detail its plan or disclose a timetable for the work. An American Commercial representative could not be reached for more information.
According to property records, the firm bought the East O'ahu center anchored by Foodland Super Market for about $32 million.
American Commercial also bought the Local Motion building in Waikiki in June for $15 million, according to property records. Local Motion, which developed the building and sold it to American Commercial, will remain a tenant.
INTERNET CABLE TO BE UPGRADED
The Southern Cross Cable Network, a submarine cable linking Australia, New Zealand and Hawai'i to Mainland Internet networks, said it will upgrade equipment at its 10 cable stations to double existing network capacity.
The consortium said it has contracted Alcatel-Lucent to perform the work, which will be rolled out in two phases. The first project will be completed by the end of the first quarter 2008, while the second phase will be completed by the end of next year.
Southern Cross' cable networks inaugurated service in November 2000 at a cost of $1.3 billion.
2 SURFERS SIGN ENDORSEMENT DEAL
Big-wave surfer Kohl Christensen of Waialua and champion junior surfer Kekoa Cazimero of Waimanalo have signed endorsement/sponsorship agreements with EX Drinks U.S. LLC.
Christensen, 30, has been an avid surfer for more than two decades, regularly surfing waves in the 20- to 25-foot range. He's also surfed big waves in Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and Tahiti.
Cazimero, who turned 18 in June, recently graduated from Kaiser High School in Hawai'i Kai. He won the Open Title in the National Scholastic Surfing Association event in San Clemente, Calif., in 2006.
