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Show £1 FRIDAY JANUARY-12, 2001 Questar Helping to Revise Law Lawmaker to offer changes to controversial utility law duringlegislative session structures utility regulations in the state. “We have had in have talked about concepts,” said Cutt Burnett, spol for m Can “He [Ure] has been in control of this process and we have been consultants at be ghhea en Preston the interests in utiloS oe Ure said Thursday he will reveal his BY STEVEN OBERBECK Questar Corp. wrote the seal HB 320, which Ure sponsored. Gov. Mike Leavitt allowed it to become law last year sent See But Leavitt prom- it,” he said. “Right now I’m just waiting Bee Oe oe eeiston ty ihe mere ow lays, “People are still pretty wild eyed about forall the chips to fall into place.” In the meantime, the Committee of ConsumerServices is calling for the outright repeal of HB 320. If a repeal is not ‘The state’s largest natural gas utility is advising Rep. David Ure, R-Kamas, as he rewrites the much-criticized law that re- measure before it goes into effect July 1. ‘advocates harshly criticized the original HB 320. The law makes it easier for utilities to raise their rates and eliminates the Committee of Consumer intends to offer as a replacement,” Ball said. “So right nowall we have is HB 320, which is completely unacceptable.” possible, though, the committee wants to see the law completely rewritten, said on Ball, administrative secretary to the commit ittee. “We havenotyet seen what David Ure mittee has considered 19 proposed revisions. Hesaid his bill, House Bill 198, would “take us back to square one and get us away from the convoluted mess we have onour hands right now.” Tribune reporters DanHarrie and Greg Burton contributed to this story. Teltrust Closure Surprises Employees SHOWINGOFF » SLC-Ogden Ranked 24th BestArea to Earn, Save ‘The Salt Lake City-Ogden area is ranked 24th on a list ofthe best cities With no advance notice, 720 Utahnsout of work Danny La/ A Dodge Charger R/T, coder i cri of ieaw) cae oli clay aiine Utah inertial Aus igotis Sel Pekar due to a slowing in the area’s rate of job creation. ‘The area’s positive aspects are its ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CLEARFIELD — Workers arriving at the Teltrust Inc. Clearfield center Wednesday were told to clean out their Bold and Beautiful lockers and go home, the business was closing. The closure of the call-center company affected 300 workers in Clearfield, Dealers look to expo to spark buyer interest 420 at two centers in the Salt Lake City area and about30 in the company’s New Yorkoffice. “So, we're outofajob with no notice,” said Kristen Cole, 22, of Layton, one of many employees found congregating in the parking lotjust outside the business. BY STEVEN OBERBECK 1; Minneapolis Paul, St.1 MnWis ade Mosow lowest-ranked cities Paso,erasNew YorkNM Miami, Fla.; Fresno, Calif.; and Los AngelesLong Beach, Calif. would appeal the delisting. ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE fender, car show technician Booty Tanneall buffed away the smudge marks and its from the jet-black finish of the 2002 Ford Thanderbind. ‘The two-seater sports car with its nostalgic design, reminiscent of the classic 1956 T-Bird, promises to be the hottest conversation piece at the Utah International Auto Expo that begins today atthe Salt Palace Convention Center. “Everyone is talking about this car,” said Lambrix, who works for Special Projects, a Michigan companythat delivers Ford automobiles to car shows around the country.“It’s been getting a lot ofattention.” Hundreds of the latest cars, trucks and minivans will be on hand at the Salt Palace for the four-day show as automobile manufacturers and their Utah dealers try to make upfor lackluster sales during the last few months ofthe year. “Last year’s sales started out strong but then we slipped little,” said Craig Bickmore, executive director of the Utah Automobile Dealers Association. “Everyone is hoping 2001 will pick up again.” If Utah is anything like the rest of the country, Utah uealers will have a tough time recapturing the luster of the 6.4 percent sales gain that the state Tax Commission reported they Cole said she was told by local managers that the company had gone bank- rupt Wednesday. The employees were told they would receive final checks Thursday, along with paymentfor accrued vacation and i The new Ford Thunderbird gets a last-minute spiffing up. experienced during thefirst quarter of2000. The annualized sales rate for U.S. cars and light trucks in December was the lowest in more than two years. General Motors Corp., Ford and Daimler Chryslerall said they plan to curtail production during thefirst quarter to help reduce inventoTies of unsold vehicles on dealer lots as the nation’s economy slows. Kirk Schneider of Nate Wade Subaru and chairman of the Utah automobile show said aeracounton the annual eventto reignite public interest in buying new cars. “Tt is a way for us to showofft off the latest models in a.nonsales environment,” Schneidersaid. a small severance package based on tenure. Doris Grantowski, Teltrust chief executive officer in New York, said the closing occurred as a result ofterms and conditions falling apart on an investmentgroupshe was heading to purchase the assets of the company. Grantowski said she hopes to salvage the company and reopenit at a later date. The closure came as a surprise to Clearfield economic developmentdirector H. Kay Chandler, who thought that Teltrust was considering expanding its operations at its Lakeside Square location. “I thought everything was wonder- ful,” he said.“1. was my understanding FCC Clears Way for AOL, Time Warner Merger that they were going to take over some additional space in that center.” Chandler also was puzzled as to why he hadn't heard of the pending closure before Wednesday, since the city re BY KALPANASRINIVASAN Netgatewaydevelops software for companies that wanttodo business! eeuuae en en that stockholders ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The $106 geass merger of cures Online and Time Warner cleared its final government furs Tiaeeleg; having thé way te the creation of the nation’s largest media empire. The Federal Communications Commission’s approval lets the two companies forge ahead to complete a deal announced a year ago and originally valued — ‘The new business, to be called AOL Time Warner, combines the largest U.S. Internet provider — with 26 million subscribers — and a media titan that owns such popular entertainmenttitles as CNN,HBO,Sports Illustratedand Warner The FCC approved the deal after requiring the companies to take modest steps to open AOL's widespread instant messaging service to rival providers over Time Warner’s cable lines. That issue caused protracted debate at the FCC, even though approval long has been expected. Antitrust regulators at the Federal Trade Commission cleared the deal in December, but imposed broad restrictions to preserve consumer choice as the merged companygains a foothold in the markets for such services as high-speed Internet access, The FCC built on some of the conditions laid out at the FTC on theissue of Internet access. AOL was told by the FCC it will have to files or messaging over interactive television. AOLrivals Microsoft, ExciteAtHome and AT&T had sought a broader condition forcing AOL to open its existing messaging service — the short, real-time text messages millions of consumers now use — toall rivals. The FCC also said it would take a closer look at ways to ensure cable companies will not steer viewers away from competitors in the emerging market for interactivetelevision.Interactive signals enable consumers to do things like look up information on a team while watching a sports game. The commissionsaidit will consider whether cable companies must treat interactive programming offered by their competitors in the same wayas they treat systems, Those advanced services include video teleconferencing, the sharing of Sce FCC, Page D-4 quires businesses employing 30 or more people to notify Mayor Thomas Waggonerbefore closing. Cole said there had been rumors of a potential closing, but each time employees went to the company’s human resource officer to confirm the rumors, they were told, “Don’t worry, you're fine.” Heather Morrison, whois six months pregnantwith herthird child, said she will apply for unemployment. Shefears she won't find a job paying the $8.50 per hour she was making at Teltrust and mayhaveto settle for $6 an hour. “You can't afford a car on that. You can’tafford two kids on that,” she said. Chris Smith, a Teltrust supervisor, said if he had known the closure was coming, he would have gone little lighter on the Christmas gifts for his six children. Soft Sales Hurt Computer Companies; Gateway to Cut 10 Percent of Work Force BY BRIAN BERGSTEIN: then dropped to $20. “They're not alone in having thought that be the economic slowdown was going to look a bit more like a soft landing,”said Daniel Kunstler, an analyst who followsHewlett-Packard for J.P. Morgan expectations after a warning by Gateway on Nov. 29, and were ex) earnings of $7 cents per share, according to a survey by First Call/Thomson Financial. Hewlett-Packard, the Palo Alto-based computer, printer and server giant, said it expects to earn between 35 and 40 cents faster than they anticipated.. more like an economic rather than a supply-specific or execution thing.” For its fourth quarter, Gateway lost $94.3 million, or 29 cents per share, on revenues of $2.37 billion. Excluding a charge related to its investments in technology companies, Gateway earned $37.6 million, or 12 cents per share. ‘ already had lowered pershare this quarter, Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial were predicting 42 cents per share, up from 40 cents in the same quarter last year. Plus,the gloomy economy has made many people even mare wary ofbig purchases ae ee |
