Phila. Newspapers hearing rescheduled

Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C. and its senior creditors agreed today at a bankruptcy hearing to postpone a hearing on debtor-in-possession financing for the owner of The Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com.

This third postponement of the hearing was agreed to because the two sides continue talking about ways to resolve their dispute over the financing, though the two sides are "not particularly close at the moment," Lawrence G. McMichael, a Dilworth Paxson L.L.P. lawyer who represents Philadelphia Newspapers, told bankruptcy Judge Jean K. FitzSimons.

The new date for the financing hearing, which had been scheduled to start next Tuesday, is March 31, FitzSimons said today in court. McMichael said at today's hearing that the company's day-to-day finances are in good shape and that it could continue funding its operations from cash flow until the end of April.

In other business, the company reached an agreement with Peco Energy to provide a $275,000 deposit for its utility bill.