BUSINESS BRIEFS
Gas price average up 1¢ to $3.21
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The statewide price average for regular unleaded was $3.21 this week, which is up a penny from last week, according to the AAA Hawaii Weekend Gas Watch. The average price in Honolulu was $3.10 per gallon, which is unchanged from last week.
In Hilo the average price was $3.19 a gallon, which is down 6 cents from last week. The average pump price in Wailuku was $3.56 a gallon, which is an increase of three cents since last week.
DECISION ON HAWTEL TV DELAYED
A state deadline to decide whether Hawai'i's major telephone company can offer TV services has been delayed until Oct. 31.
The prior deadline was Sunday. Hawaiian Telcom requested the extension — its 12th.
Hawaiian Telcom is seeking a cable franchise license from the state, which would give the company the right to offer video service in Honolulu over its phone lines in competition with Time Warner Oceanic Cable. The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is reviewing the company's application.
Hawaiian Telcom has said it plans to launch the Internet-based television in the first half of 2008.
ATA OFFERS $129 FARE TO BAY AREA
Hawai'i residents can travel to the San Francisco Bay Area for $129 one-way under a fare being offered by ATA Airlines.
The air carrier said it is holding an airfare sale through Monday that includes the above airfare between Honolulu and Oakland, Calif.
Among other one-way fares it is featuring during the sale are:
The fares are available at the carrier's www.ATA.com Web site and are good for travel through Dec. 14, with some exceptions. The tickets cost $10 more if purchased at ATA's ticket counters or through its telephone reservations centers.
EMMIS GAINS $10M ON KGMB SALE
Emmis Communications Corp. reported a gain of $10.4 million on its June sale of KGMB-TV and its 41,000-square-foot offices on Kapi'olani Boulevard to HITV Operating Co. for $40 million in cash.
Emmis, which last year sold KHON as part of an effort to get out of the television broadcast business, reported the gain in releasing its second-quarter financial results.
RETAIL-WHOLESALE GAS GAP UP TO 54¢
The gap between average prices for retail regular gasoline and wholesale regular gasoline rose to 54 cents a gallon on O'ahu during the week ended July 29, the state Public Utilities Commission reported.
That was up from a gap of 52 cents a gallon the prior week. Lawmakers mandated the disclosure in hopes it will discourage unfair pricing, after the suspension of Hawai'i's controversial gasoline price caps in May 2006.
The average pretax retail price fell to $2.80 a gallon from $2.83 a gallon during the week ended July 22. At the same time, the average wholesale price fell from $2.31 a gallon to $2.26 a gallon.
The PUC's average wholesale price has been criticized as inaccurate and inflated because it combines different types of wholesale transactions into one price.
