Newspaper settles lawsuit with ex-CEO of MaineToday

A newspaper in Pennsylvania has settled a federal lawsuit with the former publisher and CEO of MaineToday Media, which publishes the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram.

The Times Leader reported this week that it has settled its lawsuit against Richard L. Connor for an undisclosed amount of money.

The newspaper reported that the lawsuit was filed in May 2012 by its former owner, Wilkes-Barre Publishing LLC, alleging Connor failed to repay the company more than $250,000 in loans during a five-year period in which he was CEO, editor and publisher of The Times Leader.

Connor’s attorney, George A. Reihner, did not return calls Thursday. The newspaper’s attorney, Mark D. Bradshaw, could not be reached.

In December, Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. paid MaineToday Media $537,988.68 — minus a $50,000 deductible — under the company’s employee theft insurance policy to recoup money that MaineToday Media said Connor took for unauthorized personal use.

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Portland’s tidal power firm wins grants for $5 million

Ocean Renewable Power Co. in Portland has won two Department of Energy grants for a total of nearly $5 million to help it further develop its tidal power technology.

Ocean Renewable Power became the first company to connect tidal power generators to the electricity grid, with a project that’s under way near Eastport.

“We’ve proven the technology but this federal investment will give us the boost we need to take it to the next level. And it’s going to mean more jobs and investment in Maine,” said Chris Sauer, president of Ocean Renewable Power.

Vodafone considers selling its stake in Verizon Wireless

Britain’s Vodafone PLC, one of the world’s largest cellphone companies, said Thursday that it was talking to Verizon Communications about selling its stake in Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 mobile carrier in the U.S.

The U.K. company is mulling options for its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless. Verizon Communications Inc. owns the other 55 percent.

The partnership started in 2000, when what was then Bell Atlantic combined its East Coast wireless network with Vodafone’s operations on the West Coast. Vodafone had entered the U.S. market a year earlier by outbidding Bell Atlantic to buy AirTouch Communications Inc.


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