OAKLAND, CA-Construction has begun on a new $12 million, 140-room hotel that will include residential-style living quarters, a hospitality center and a 24-hour convenience store. The three-story hotel is expected to open in October 2001.

LOS ANGELES-With some utility companies considering rationing supply this long holiday weekend, millions of California commercial and residential property owners face the possibility of energy blackouts. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's may lower their credit ratings, compounding the problem.

HICKORY, NC-Hickory Metro Partners Inc. is putting up a $7-million structure here on Lenoir-Rhyne Boulevard, just off Interstate 40 and about 50 miles northwest of Downtown Charlotte.