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Questioning about the circumstances of Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd's resignation continued on the seond weekend after his departure in the wake of a sexual harassment complaint.

The Wall Street Journal cited a person it says was familiar with the HP board's thinking who said that the former CEO short-circuited an internal investigation by agreeing to a settlement with former actress Jodie Fisher on August 4, two days before his departure was announced.

The Journal reported that the settlement with the former marketing contractor came without the board's knowledge or input, a day before Fisher and her lawyer were supposed to meet with HP's outside counsel and Hurd's personal lawyer.

That story runs counter to another that the Journal attributes to an unnamed source it said is familiar with Hurd's thinking that HP had repeatedly instructed its CEO for three weeks before the settlement to come to an agreement with his accuser.

That source told the Journal that Hurd gave the board everything it asked for up to that point but the directors didn't let him address them or respond directly to questions.

The paper further said, however, that another unnamed source familiar with the board's thinking encouraged Hurd to speak with the board but he declined. It said, however, that the source on Hurd's side didn't agree with that version of the story.

The latest revelations about Hurd's departure come amid continuing scrutiny of the reasons for his sudden exit.

New York Times columnist Joe Nocera called it "one of the great head-scratchers in recent times" in a Saturday piece.

"The consensus in Silicon Valley is that Mr. Hurd was despised at HP, not just by the rank and file, but even by HP’s top executives," Nocera wrote.

The Times columnist suggests that the sexual harassment claim merely gave the board the pretext for doing what it wanted to do, get rid of Hurd without provoking an outcry on Wall Street where he was extremely popular for turning around the company's finances.

"In fact, the directors should be called out for acting like the cowards they are," the columnist wrote in a scathing piece. "Mr. Hurd’s supposed peccadilloes were a smoke screen for the real reason they got rid of an executive they didn’t trust and employees didn’t like."

Fisher, 50, was working as a contractor for HP when the alleged incidents that led to Hurd's resignation on August 6 occurred. She was reportedly paid to appear as a greeter at HP customer events where Hurd also appeared.

HP said an internal investigation didn't find evidence of sexual harassment but did find instances when Hurd's behavior didn't live up to the company's codes of conduct. This reportedly included alleged instances of expenses Fisher was paid that weren't properly reported.

To read more of the Business Journal's coverage of Mark Hurd's career and sudden resignation click here.

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Solar is making the news this morning in Arizona with three announcements:

* The city of Surprise put out a news release saying a major solar energy company is creating a U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility in West Valley city with details to be announced Wednesday.

* Arizona Public Service Co. and SunPower Corp. of California signed an agreement to build a 15-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale. About 550 jobs will be created during construction with completion scheduled for next summer. The facility is expected to generate the equivalent of 50 percent of the base’s energy use, or enough to power 3,750 homes. Construction is set to begin in January saving account pay day loan. Early talks about this plant were reported in the Phoenix Business Journal in May.

* Solon Corp., a silicon solar module manufacturer and provider of turnkey solar power plants, signed an agreement with Tucson Electric Power Co. to bring a 1.6 megawatt solar plant to the city. The University of Arizona will house the 1.6-megawatt system at UATechPark’s SolarZone, a 200-acre project designed to bring together industry, research and solar demonstration components. Construction is scheduled to be completed by December.

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Half of denverbusinessjournal.com readers who answered our latest Business Pulse question say they support John Hickenlooper in the race for Colorado governor, a higher tally than all other candidates combined.

The Business Pulse survey is not a scientific sampling, and is not an attempt to predict actual voting totals, but offers a view of what readers are thinking.

Hickenlooper, Denver’s mayor, is running as the sole Democratic Party candidate for governor.

On Thursday he announced his running mate, Colorado State University-Pueblo President Joseph Garcia.

Another 20 percent of those answering the Business Pulse question said they support Tom Tancredo, a former Republican congressman and presidential candidate who is running as an American Constitution Party candidate.

Among the two Republicans vying to succeed Bill Ritter as governor, former congressman Scott McInnis was picked by 15 percent in our unscientific survey and businessman Dan Maes by 7 percent.

McInnis and Maes are running in a mostly-mail-in GOP primary, which ends Tuesday, Aug. 10. The winner will face Hickenlooper and Tancredo on the November general-election ballot.

There were 1,383 responses to our informal multiple-choice survey, which asked: “As of now, which candidate do you favor for Colorado governor?”

Readers answered:

• John Hickenloooper — 50%.

• Dan Maes — 7%.

• Scott McInnis — 15%.

• Tom Tancredo — 20%.

• Other/don’t know — 9%.

This week’s Business Pulse question: “As of now, which candidate do you favor for Colorado senator?”

Click here to respond, and please leave a comment explaining your answer. The deadline for replies to this question is Monday at 10 a.m. MDT.

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Despite BP’s current status as one of the most hateable companies around, shareholders in a little-known biofuels technology company are probably quite pleased with the oil giant at the moment.

Shares of Verenium (VRNM), an industrial enzyme maker, spiked 42% after BP announced plans to buy its cellulosic biofuels business for $98.3 million.

Under the terms of the deal, BP will acquire Verenium facilities in Louisiana and California, as well as rights to its cellulosic biofuels and enzyme technology.

Verenium, which has had a partnership with BP since February 2009, will retain control of its core business and will continue to collaborate with BP on research and development.

Carlos Riva, Verenium’s chief executive, said in a statement that he was pleased with the deal and called BP "the right company" to invest in biofuels technology.

Philip New, chief executive of BP Biofuels, called the company’s existing partnership with Verenium "fruitful" and said the acquisition will help expand BP’s ability to deliver "low cost, low carbon, sustainable biofuels, at scale no faxing payday loans."

"This acquisition demonstrates BP’s intent to be a leader in the cellulosic biofuels industry in the U.S.," he said.

BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, launched a marketing campaign in 2000 with the slogan "beyond petroleum." While BP has been developing ethanol and other alternative fuels for years, BP continues to reap most of its profits from the oil industry, however.

The purchase comes as BP conducts tests on a new cap it placed on a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, which has been leaking oil for nearly three months.

Despite this relatively small deal, BP (BP) is expected to sell more oil assets to cover costs related to the spill. It pledged last month to put $20 billion in an escrow account for liability payments.  

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Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said Friday that the state collected $1.61 billion in sales tax revenue for the month of June.

This is a 2.2 percent increase compared to June 2009.

“Total sales tax collections have now slightly exceeded year-ago levels for a third consecutive month,” Combs says. “Net collections in the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors expanded, but collections from the all-important retail sector were down from the year-ago level. While overall economic activity is no longer contracting, a resumption of solid growth in sales tax collections is not yet in evidence.”

Next week, Combs will send $442.8 million in sales tax allocations to cities, counties, transit systems and special-purpose taxing districts no checking account payday advance.

San Antonio will receive $17 million from the state for the month of July. This is a 15.8 percent increase over July 2009.

Bexar County does not collect a sales tax. VIA Metropolitan Transit will receive $7.8 million in sales tax revenue from the Comptroller’s Office for July. This is an 18.8 percent increase over July 2009.

The San Antonio Advanced Transportation District will receive $3.3 million from the state for July, an 8 percent increase over July 2009.

State sales tax revenue in June and local sales tax allocations in July represent sales that occurred in May.

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Shares of BP Plc continued their slide this week as the company passed the $100 billion mark in market capitalization lost following the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.

BP's stock hit a new 52-week low of $27.07 Friday after a series of setbacks in the company’s effort to cap the leaking oil will and the revelation that it has so far spent as much as $2.35 billion on well cap efforts and spill cleanup.

The stock had closed at $59.49 on April 20, the day of the explosion.

BP (NYSE: BP) has resumed siphoning operations after a remotely operated vehicles damaged the well cap earlier this week, although recovery is at a reduced rate.

Moreover, there are additional concerns about the sustainability of recovery operations as a tropical storm approaches the spill area.

The Houston Business Journal is providing continuous coverage of the Gulf oil spill.

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New York state legislators approved more emergency spending, a new menu of business tax incentives and higher cigarette taxes in votes on Monday.

Legislators enacted another one-week emergency spending plan, staving off a government shutdown while everyone waits on a budget for the full fiscal year to be finalized in ongoing closed-door negotiations.

The state budget is nearly three months late and it must resolve a $9.2 billion deficit.

Lately, Gov. David Paterson has used the short-term spending plans to force votes on slices of the overall state budget, a rare piecemeal process.

After Monday’s separate votes, legislators have locked in roughly 70 percent of the budget for the total fiscal year, according to Democratic estimates.

To date, $5.53 billion of the state deficit has been erased through a mix of actions that raise revenue, and some spending cuts.

Legislators have yet to address $3.65 billion in red ink, according to Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn).

The latest emergency spending plan, approved Monday, keeps bare-bones operations going through June 27. The bill passed the Senate 33-28, with Sen. Roy McDonald (R-Saratoga) breaking ranks with his party to vote for the bill. The legislation passed by a wider margin in the Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats.

“This year’s assault on taxpayers’ wallets has only just begun,” said Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Long Island).

In addition, a majority of senators approved a budget bill setting full fiscal-year funding in the areas of transportation, economic development, public protection and the environment.

The bill passed the Assembly late last week by a 79-52 vote. A Senate vote count was not immediately available.

The bill enacts a transportation plan allotting $1.8 billion for roadwork this fiscal year, a drop of 9 percent, or $187 million, from last year.

The bill cuts a range of business benefits. The state is shrinking a range of hi-tech programs by $25 million, including matching grants and technology transfer incentives.

The bill also eliminates a $71 million subsidy for small businesses providing mandated coverage for mental health treatment, known as Timothy’s Law. Businesses will still be required to continue the coverage for employees.

Also, the bill enacts the state’s new menu of business tax incentives, called Excelsior Jobs. It replaces the signature Empire Zones program, which shuts off to new applicants after June 29.

Business lobbies have hammered the Excelsior Jobs benefits as mere shells of the incentives the state offered under Empire Zones. The new incentives are limited to specific industries, and the state will spend $50 million on them this fiscal year—compared with $550 million in annual Empire Zone spending.

Upstate Democrats indicated more needs to be done to help businesses.

“The Excelsior Jobs program is a good start. We will continue to develop incentives,” said Sen. William Stachowski (D-Buffalo). “This program lays the foundation for additional strategies.”

Skelos and other Republicans accused Democrats of gutting the state’s economic development tools.

“Surely now other states will be stepping up their efforts to lure companies that want to escape New York’s high taxes,” Skelos said.

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TOP PROFIT GROWTH

Dollar figures in millions

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The city of Phoenix has received $423 million to date through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Mayor Phil Gordon said Friday.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport $26.6 million for two baggage screening systems.

“The city of Phoenix continues to work hard to stimulate our economy and put our residents back to work,” Gordon said in a prepared statement. “Surpassing $400 million in ARRA funds is a significant accomplishment and demonstrates our commitment to secure funds for critical projects and create jobs.”

Gordon noted other ARRA-funded projects, including $25 million for energy-efficiency improvements to neighborhoods along the Metro light rail system. He wants to call that the “Green Rail Corridor.”

Phoenix has also received stimulus funds for house weatherization grants for low-income homeowners, and for transportation projects.

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