HONOLULU -- The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, one of only a handful of afternoon newspapers left in the United States, has announced that it will close in October after 117 years of continuous publication. The newspaper said on Thursday it will print its last edition on Oct. 30. Its owners, Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership, said declining circulation and Hawaii's eight-year economic slump contributed to the decision.

Rupert Phillips, general partner for Liberty, told the 97 staffers that investors at Liberty felt they could better invest their money on the U.S. mainland, where he said the newspaper business was steadily improving. About 50 circulation workers who deliver the paper will also lose their jobs. Liberty purchased the Star-Bulletin from Gannett Co. Inc. in 1993, when the circulation hovered around 100,000. Its current daily circulation is 67,124. The Star-Bulletin was published under a joint operating agreement with the morning newspaper, the Honolulu Advertiser, which has a daily circulation of 104,602 subscribers.

The joint operating agreement, however, was created in 1962 to ensure that the Advertiser would not go out of business. The agreement was renegotiated in 1993 when Gannett bought the Advertiser. Phillips said the closing ends the agreement. John Flanagan, editor and publisher of the Star-Bulletin, said his staff worked hard after the change in ownership and felt the paper got "more in touch with the local community." The advertiser is expected to hire 20 to 25 staffers from its former rival, which shares space in the same building in downtown Honolulu. (Reuter)