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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2019)
BUSINESS Saturday, June 8, 2019 Company pays $6M settlement to Nevada dispensary co-owner Associated Press RENO, Nevada — A cannabis company paid a $6.3 million settlement to a Nevada dispensary co-owner who claimed the company skimmed millions of dol- lars from dispensary prof- its, according financial documents. California-based Terra Tech reached a settlement with Heidi Loeb Hegerich, a co-owner of the Blum dis- pensary in Reno, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Thursday. Loeb Hegerich filed a law- suit in November accusing the company of taking advan- tage of her and funneling the skimmed funds to the compa- ny’s other ventures. The law- suit also made claims of fraud, conspiracy and elder abuse. Terra Tech did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment Wednesday. It has previously denied the allegations. In a statement last year, the company said the claims were meritless and its shareholders were the real victims because they might have “suffered losses from their investment in the company as a result of her spurious accusations.” The company did not admit to any liability or responsibil- ity in the settlement, it said in filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “She’s very happy to have the situation behind her, and to move on to the next phase of her life,” said Mark Simons, an attorney for Loeb Hegerich. Loeb Hegerich and Terra Tech executives opened the Reno dispensary in January 2017. Her license is to be trans- ferred to Terra Tech as part of the settlement, according to the company’s filings. East Oregonian A9 Old Iron Show revs up again in Pendleton FedEx will stop air shipments of packages for Amazon By DAVID KOENIG AND JOSEPH PISANI AP Business Writers FedEx is dropping a con- tract for air shipment of pack- ages for Amazon within the United States, reducing its ties with the online retail giant that is already expand- ing its own delivery business. FedEx said Friday that it will not renew the contract for domestic FedEx Express handling of Amazon ship- ments when the deal expires June 30. It’s “a strategic decision” that will let FedEx focus on thousands of other retail- ers including Target, Wal- greens and Walmart, com- pany spokeswoman Katie Wassmer. In a statement, Amazon said only that it respected FedEx’s decision and thanked the delivery company for serving Amazon customers over the years. Amazon.com Inc. is emerging as a potentially for- midable challenger to FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Ser- vice Inc. Amazon has been expanding its fleet of planes and is building package-sort- ing hubs at two airports. It’s also launching a program that lets contractors start busi- nesses delivering packages in vans bearing the Amazon smile logo. With a decades-long head start in delivering packages, FedEx and UPS have highly developed global networks. Amazon, however, is more than three times their size by revenue and was sitting on about $23.5 billion in cash at the end of March. FedEx did not disclose details of the Amazon con- tract, but Wassmer said Ama- zon represented less than 1.3% of FedEx revenue last year. That would work out to about $907 million in reve- nue for the fiscal year that just ended May 31, according to Cowen Research analyst Hel- ane Becker calculated. Staff photo by Antonio Sierra A row of tractors are lined up at Roy Raley Park in Pendleton as a part of the 16th annual Old Iron Show Friday. The event runs through Sunday and features old iron engines, steam en- gines, antique cars, vintage farm implements and other machinery from bygone eras. M A K R A V N E L O H P Thanks to modern technology and industry-leading expertise, Phonak is able to bring you the best possible solutions for your hearing needs BRIEFLY Old West Federal Credit Union opens branch in Union UNION — The small town of Union has its first brick-and-mortar financial institution in seven years. Old West Federal Credit Union announced it held the grand opening May 23 of its new branch at 539 Main St., Union. “The 2,000 people who live, farm, and own busi- nesses in Union have been driving almost 30 miles round trip every time they need cash or need to make deposits,” according to Ken Olson, Old West Federal president and CEO. “Now they have their own, local credit union. We’re so hon- ored to bring financial ser- vices back to Main Street.” Charlie Morden, owner of the Historic Union Hotel, stated in the news release the new financial institution makes life easier for locals. Old West Federal now serves more than 12,000 members through a network of eight branches. The credit union gives each full-time employee eight hours per month to volunteer in their communities. According to the announcement, the credit union’s employees donated more than 900 hours to com- munity organizations in the first quarter of this year. Renata Anderson, MA 2237 SW Court, Pendleton • 541-276-5053 www.renataanderson.com FINAL WEEK! & CLEARANCE CENTER HERMISTON STORE ONLY! 80481 N HIGHWAY 395 E R O T S E T E L P COM WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! MATTRESS SETS LIVING ROOM SATURDAY 10 A.M. - 6 P.M. BEDROOM DINING ROOM ENTERTAIN MENT YOUTH BEDROOM SUNDAY MONDAY 11 A.M. - 5 P.M. 10 A.M. - 8 P.M. 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