Business news in brief
In the Region
Pa. raises drilling-permit fees
Pennsylvania is increasing natural-gas-well permit fees for Marcellus Shale drilling. The fees are expected to generate $4.7 million in new revenue that will support oil and gas regulation. The Department of Environmental Protection said Friday that the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) adopted the new fees, which will fix the price at $5,000 for horizontal natural gas wells and $4,200 for vertical wells. Fees formerly were based on well-bore length, and generated about $3,200 for a horizontal well and $2,900 for a vertical well. - Andrew Maykuth
Frontier adds Trenton flights
Frontier Airlines is adding more nonstop flights at New Jersey's Trenton-Mercer Airport. The airline started flying Friday from Trenton to St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. Frontier says that Saturday it will sell limited fares starting at $29 each way to St. Louis and Milwaukee and $49 each way to Minneapolis on flights between Aug. 12 and Nov. 19. The new routes bring to 17 the number of nonstop destinations that Frontier serves from Trenton. - AP
2 deaths at Amazon centers
Two workers have died at Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment centers - one in December in Avenel, N.J., and one June 1 in Carlisle, Pa. - according to the U.S. Department of Labor, adding to safety questions about the warehouses where packages are shipped to customers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited five companies for violations at the Avenel facility. Amazon wasn't cited by the government for the death. OSHA said it was investigating the June 1 incident. - Bloomberg News
Elsewhere
Another GM recall
General Motors Co. recalled about 530,000 cars, including the last four years of Chevrolet Camaros, new Buick LaCrosse sedans, and older Chevrolet Sonics and Saab convertibles. GM said a driver's knee could bump the key fob and cause the key to unexpectedly shift from the "run" position, shutting off important car functions such as power steering, air bags, and the power-brake assist. This brings GM's total for the year to 38 separate recalls in the U.S. involving 14.4 million vehicles, a record for the automaker. - Los Angeles Times
Internet traffic jams probed
The Federal Communications Commission is setting out to unravel the mystery behind the Internet traffic jams bogging down the delivery of Netflix Inc. videos and other online content. Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. contend Netflix should bear some of the cost for handling the heavy traffic caused by its popular video service. - AP