Art Howe claims in a lawsuit that his former partners at Montgomery Publishing Co., members of Philadelphia's prominent Rock family, owe him at least $2.5 million. That's what his lawsuit says is a conservative estimate of Howe's share of a sale of Montgomery, valued by investment bankers at $28.4 million, to Trenton-based Journal Register Co., the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. The lawsuit claims the Rock family -- who still own AAN-member Philadelphia City Paper -- drained the company of cash, eroding its value. Howe left Montgomery in 1999 and went to Village Voice Media as president.
Tom Bartel and Kris Henning, founders of City Pages (Minneapolis), are launching a glossy monthly called the Rake in March. Bartel sold City Pages to Village Voice Media-predecessor Stern Publishing in 1997. The Rake may compete with City Pages, published by Tom Bartel's brother, Mark Bartel. Tom says his brother is his best friend, but: "We've been rivals since we were kids. This is no different."