Twinkie's last stand: It's up to a mediator  Nov. 19, 2012 at
11:05 AM ET  Twinkie the Kid’s ride into the sunset hit a hurdle
Monday when Hostess Brands, unions and lenders agreed to
mediation to try to save the company, and its spongy, yellow
cake, from liquidation.   The decision staves off, for a couple
of days at least, Hostess’ plans to shut down its 33 factories
and lay off 18,500 workers after an acrimonious labor dispute
that could lead to the end of the 82-year-old company and its
well-known brands such as Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Sno-Balls and Wonder
bread.   During the hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert
Drain urged the parties to come to an agreement through
mediation rather than through a public, and costly, hearing. The
court called a short recess while the lawyer for the baker's
union phoned his client to see if the union would agree to a
mediation process tomorrow.  After the recess, the sides agreed
to a mediation session Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET to try to work
things out. If they can't resolve it, a