IN BRIEF

TOPEKA, Kan.

Google changes name to Topeka for April Fools' Day

For a month, Topeka was Google. For a day -- April Fools' Day -- Google was Topeka.

In a nod to the Kansas capital, which unofficially changed its name to Google, Kan., for a month in a bid to become a test site for the company's planned super-fast fiber optic network, the popular search engine changed its name Thursday to Topeka.

Visitors to the company's home page, www.google.com, were greeted by the name "Topeka" in Google's familiar multicolor typeface. Below it was a link to a lengthy blog posting by Google Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt explaining the move.

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten's office was inundated with calls Thursday.

"We've had a lot of fun with it. It's brought attention to our city," Bunten said. "I appreciate that they received our effort to change the name in good humor and we do the same with their change to Topeka."

SAN FRANCISCO

Amazon strikes deal with publishers upon iPad launch

Amazon.com Inc. has reached new agreements with some publishers that had been fed up with the low prices Amazon charges for electronic books that go with its Kindle e-reader. This comes just as Apple Inc. is about to launch its competing iPad device.

Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS Corp., and HarperCollins, which is owned by News Corp., said late Wednesday that they have signed new e-book deals with Amazon. They declined to detail their agreements. But Simon & Schuster spokesman Adam Rothberg said his company's agreement is similar to those that publishers have been striking with Apple for e-books on the iPad.

Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

With Apple's pricing model, some e-books will cost up to $14.99 initially -- $5 more than Amazon charges for some popular e-books -- and Apple is insisting that publishers can't sell books at a lower price through a competitor.

Harrah's completes rewards integration at Planet Hollywood

Harrah's Entertainment says it has finished integrating Planet Hollywood Resort into its Total Rewards loyalty program.

That means Harrah's customers will be able to earn and use customer loyalty credits at the Strip resort in the same way as at 36 other properties owned or operated by the gambling giant.

The private casino operator took ownership of Planet Hollywood in February after the resort defaulted on an $860 million loan.

Under the deal approved by Nevada gambling regulators, Harrah's converted into equity $306 million of Planet Hollywood's debt that it bought for $70 million. Harrah's also assumed about $554 million more in loans, and agreed to invest $30 million cash into the property.

Southwire plant shutting down, eliminating 70 jobs

Seventy jobs are being lost as a manufacturing plant closes in a northwest Arizona community where unemployment has risen above 10 percent. The Southwire facility at the Kingman Airport Industrial Park is another casualty of the recession.

The 240,000-square-foot facility produces cable and wiring used in the construction of homes and other buildings.

"With construction starts dropping drastically we're having to reorganize our business to meet current market trends and market trends that we see two and three years in the future," said Southwire spokesman Gary Leftwich.

Leftwich said the date is uncertain but that the Kingman plant will shut down entirely before the end of the year.