• GST Telecom is now offering local telephone service throughout Northern California. The company, which has built a 150-mile fiber optic network in the East Bay including a SONET ring in Hacienda, is expected to introduce local service to downtown San Francisco in the first quarter of this year.
• The State of New York has awarded a contract to Kronos Inc. a contract which allows the company to sell its time and labor management solutions to all levels of the state's government organizations, including government departments, agencies, counties, cities, and community colleges. Kronos' Timekeeper systems eliminate timesheets, streamline processing, improve data access and accuracy, apply rules fairly and consistently, and automate the accrual of leave balances.
• The Pleasanton City Council is honoring a number of Hacienda companies for their participation in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's "Spare the Air" program. Honorees will receive a certificate of appreciation at the January 20 City Council meeting. Hacienda companies receiving awards are: AT&T, California Indemnity, Chase Manhattan Capital, Dillingham Construction, Golden Grain, PeopleSoft, ProBusiness, Unisource, and Zenith Insurance.
• U.S. Bank has given several grants to non-profit organizations which benefit families and children in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Area non-profits which benefitted from U.S. Bank's charitable giving program in the fourth quarter include Valley Community Health Center and the Tri-Valley Community Fund.
• OHM Remediation Services Corp. has been recognized as the largest environmental consulting firm in the East Bay and the second largest in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. OHM saw environmental billings of $550 million in 1996, with $158 million from its Hacienda office.

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