Sale of strip club pending

Gala Hospitality Corp., owner of the strip club formerly known as Gala Cabaret, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Bada Bing in Lawrence.

The Bada Bing strip club is owned by a company controlled by Kansas City businessman Peter Bengimina, who bought it from Louis Ribaste a few months ago. Bengimina could not be reached for comment.

Gala Hospitality, with headquarters in Miami, was formerly known as Xpedian Inc., a small public company previously involved in Web-based financial planning businesses.

Jeff Stoller, president of Gala Hospitality, said the purchase price was still being negotiated. The deal is subject to approval by liquor control authorities in Lawrence.

Development: Board wants comments on new economic plan

The Lawrence/Douglas County Economic Development Board will conduct a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday at the Bert Nash Mental Health Center to hear comments on what type of economic development plan the county should have.

The hearing is part of the group’s process of rewriting the economic development chapter of Horizon 2020. The board recently has conducted meetings in Baldwin and Lecompton to hear the economic needs of those communities.

Technology: Microsoft faces new lawsuit

Sun Microsystems Inc. sued rival Microsoft for more than $1 billion Friday because the software giant made the Windows XP operating system incompatible with Sun’s Java programming language.

Accusing Microsoft of “extensive anticompetitive conduct,” Sun said Microsoft forced other companies to distribute products that do not work with Java, effectively crippling its growth.

Microsoft spokesman Vivek Varma said he was surprised because the two companies settled a separate lawsuit last year.

Utility: Williams to cut work force

Williams Cos. on Friday said it would cut 4 percent of its work force, or 450 jobs, as part of a previously announced $50 million reduction in annual costs.

Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams said early retirement packages have been offered to the employees, who have until mid-April to accept the package.

In addition to having pipelines throughout the area, Williams operates a natural gas compression station in Ottawa.

Pharmaceutical: Drugmaker wants to offer Claritin over-the-counter

Under immense regulatory and competitive pressure, Schering-Plough Corp. said Friday it planned to switch its blockbuster allergy prescription medicine Claritin to an over-the-counter drug.

The switch means the company’s top selling drug will see its sales shrivel, analysts say. Last year, Claritin had sales of $2.7 billion. That could sink to $400 million next year if the switch is approved.