BUSINESS DIGEST || Cortland Bancorp declares dividend

Cortland dividend

CORTLAND

Cortland Bancorp, the holding company for Cortland Savings and Banking Co., announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share.

The dividend will be payable June 1 to shareholders of record as of the close of business May 11.

Cortland Bancorp recently reported earnings of $1.4 million, or $0.31 per share, for the first quarter of 2016, up 19 percent from $1.1 million, or $0.25 per share, for the first quarter of 2015.

First-quarter earnings were up 25 percent on a linked quarter basis.

Covelli acquires 21 Cincy Panera sites

WARREN

Warren-based Covelli Enterprises, the largest franchisee of Panera Bread, announced Tuesday the acquisition of an additional 21 bakery-cafe locations in the Cincinnati area.

The acquisition gives Covelli more than 300 Panera Bread restaurants in five states and Canada. The company now owns more than 130 Panera Bread bakery-cafes in Ohio. That is the largest number of cafes owned in one state by any company in the Panera system.

The addition of the Cincinnati bakery-cafes follows the acquisition of two other Ohio markets: Dayton and Columbus. Since purchasing those markets, Covelli has more than doubled the number of bakery-cafes in those areas, with more than 60 restaurants currently open. Covelli has aggressive growth plans for the Cincinnati market.

Groundbreaking set

NILES

A groundbreaking is set for noon today at Toyota Volvo Jaguar’s new location on state Route 46 next to Gordon Foods. City and Trumbull County officials are scheduled to attend.

S. Korea: North nears 5th nuke test

SEOUL, South Korea

South Korea’s president said Tuesday that North Korea has almost completed preparations for a fifth nuclear test, and the country reportedly has placed a new midrange missile on standby for an impending launch.

North Korea said two days ago it had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in a continuation of its weapons tests during ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills. Seoul officials said they could not confirm whether Saturday’s test-firing was a success.

Fatal overdoses

SAN FRANCISCO

Fourteen people in the Sacramento, Calif., area have fatally overdosed on a pill disguised as a popular painkiller, and now the drug has turned up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bay Area hospitals have treated seven patients who ingested what they thought was the painkiller Norco in recent weeks, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patients all survived, though at least some experienced nausea, vomiting and difficulty breathing.

The pills were adulterated with fentanyl, the powerful opioid.

Staff/wire reports