Hanging by a string

As if it didn’t have enough problems trying to unload the struggling Union-Tribune, the Copley Press has been hit by a lawsuit claiming that it is violating state labor laws by treating its newspaper carriers as independent contractors rather than employees. In the case, filed last month in superior court, six plaintiffs claim that the company failed to provide meal and rest periods; didn’t pay minimum wage; made routine pay deductions of $1 each for “damaged papers, wet papers, and allegedly undelivered papers”; and forced the carriers to pick up the tab for their own string, rubber bands, and plastic bags. … San Diego has lost another big convention to the declining national economy. The National Business Aviation Association has canceled its 2009 Light Business Airplane Conference, originally scheduled at the convention center on March 13 and 14. “We regret the inconvenience to all who finalized their itinerary for San Diego,” the group said in a statement. “Still, we believe the step we’ve taken is the right one for both Attendees and Exhibitors in this very challenging economy.”