BUSINESS BRIEFS
Union, Kahala extend contract
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The Kahala Hotel & Resort and the union representing its employees have agreed to extend their labor contract to Aug. 31.
The Kahala Hotel & Resort employs roughly 450 workers who belong to the hotel worker union UNITE HERE Local 5. A contract covering Ala Moana Hotel employees also has been extended to Aug. 31.
Local 5 is negotiating contracts expiring June 30 with the four Sheraton hotels in Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa and Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. Contract talks have yet to begin between the union and the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel.
UH GRAD WINS RARE RECOGNITION
Troy Knott, who recently finished his graduate studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Department of Urban and Regional Planning, is the first UH student in more than 15 years to receive the Outstanding Student Award from the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Knott is one of 38 undergraduate and graduate students from across the country to be recognized by the APA and AICP, which represent about 40,000 planners nationwide. Knott was hired as a full-time planner for local design firm Group 70 after his recent graduation.
J. CREW IPO AT $20 PER SHARE
NEW YORK — Shares of J. Crew Group Inc., the New York-based preppy clothing retailer, priced late yesterday at $20 per share, above the expected range. J. Crew shares are set to trade today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "JCG."
In an earlier regulatory filing, J. Crew said it had expected to sell the 18.8 million shares at an estimated range of $15 to $17 each. At the $20 price, J. Crew will receive net proceeds of $351.6 million and will use it to redeem its preferred stock.
For the fiscal 2005 period, J. Crew posted net income of $3.8 million compared with a loss of $100.3 million in the year-ago period.
