WASHINGTON – Laura Unger, a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is expected to announce her resignation – leaving the market watchdog agency with only two commissioners out of its full complement of five. Unger, a Republican attorney named to the SEC by then-President Clinton in October 1997, was expected to step down soon to join the private sector, an agency source said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Her five-year term expired in June. Unger would join a stream of attorneys, accountants and examiners who have left the SEC in recent years for more lucrative jobs outside government – an exodus that Unger herself recently said had created a “staffing crisis.”
SEATTLE – Shipping company Airborne Inc. received $8.8 million from the federal government to compensate for some of its losses from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The payment is part of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, a government-funded package designed to help airlines and air transport companies hurt after Federal Aviation Administration grounded airplanes for two days following the hijacking attacks. Airborne, the parent company for Airborne Express, said it expects the economic fallout from the attacks to hurt the company through Dec. 31. The Seattle-based company already was struggling with the economic downturn before the attacks. In June, the company cut 640 jobs in the first layoff in its 55-year history.
SPOKANE – Belo on Tuesday said it has purchased station KSKN-TV, the WB-UPN affiliate in Spokane. Belo previously operated KSKN under a marketing agreement with KSKN-TV Inc. and had announced plans to buy the station. The price was $5 million cash. With the acquisition, the company now owns six over-the-air television stations, a regional cable news network and seven Web sites in the region. Dallas-based Belo’s Northwest holdings include KREM-TV in Spokane, KING-TV and KONG-TV in Seattle and NorthWest Cable News, a regional 24-hour news service.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A judge will decide whether a waitress can sue a Hooters restaurant over the “toy Yoda” Star Wars doll she got for winning a beer selling contest instead of the Toyota car she said she was promised. Circuit Judge Glenn Hess heard arguments Monday on a motion by the Hooters at nearby Panama City Beach to dismiss Jodee Berry’s suit or send the case to mediation and arbitration. He said he would rule by Friday. Berry claims manager Jared Blair told waitresses the one who sold the most beer in April would win a “new Toyota automobile.” When led blindfolded to the parking lot to claim her prize, she instead received the toy Yoda, the suit contends. She is seeking unspecified damages. The restaurant’s lawyer, Casey Rodgers, said Berry had agreed in writing when hired not to sue her employer without first going to a mediator. He said the provision is in an employee handbook she signed.
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