BUSINESS BRIEFS
Beachboys to end services
Beachboys Inc., which has offered a host of traditional beach-boy services from surfing lessons to umbrella rentals for nearly 35 years, will close its last Waikiki Beach services stand Friday.
Beachboys Inc., the sole provider of beach activities at the Outrigger Waikiki hotel, said it was forced to close because Outrigger had "decided to move their beach activities in a new direction."
"The friendships that we've made over the years with hotel guests and visitors have been more like family," said Sammy "Steamboat" Mokuahi Jr., who runs the concession. "It has been one of the most rewarding things about being a Waikiki Beachboy."
OIL FIRMS SAY DAMAGE LIGHT
DALLAS — Oil companies said yesterday that damage to their massive Texas refineries from Hurricane Rita appeared lighter than expected, but analysts are still predicting that retail gasoline prices may remain near $3 a gallon for weeks or even months.
PAYMENT SOUGHT TO DELTA PENSION
NEW YORK — Delta Air Lines retired pilots asked a federal judge to order the carrier to make its October pension contribution to ensure the plan's survival.
Delta, which filed for bankruptcy Sept. 14, sent letters to 4,500 pensioners saying it won't make the payment. The decision might prompt the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. to terminate the airline's plans, the Delta Pilots' Pension Preservation Organization said.
BOEING WORKERS TO VOTE ON DEAL
SEATTLE — A likely end to the strike at Boeing Co.'s commercial airplanes division could be one of those rare labor-management deals in which both sides feel like winners. About 18,400 machinists are set to vote Thursday on a new three-year contract.
