Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from April 2007

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from April 2007

Beltsville-based Spherix Inc. turns a profit.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Spherix Inc., of Beltsville, a provider of biotechnology, information services and information technology company, reported a profit of $3.5 million, or 26 cents per share, in 2006, compared to a loss of $2.8...

City of Annapolis pay hikes won't benefit retirees, Court of Special Appeals rules.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Caryn Tamber The city of Annapolis does not have to increase the pensions of its retired firefighters and police officers even though it increased salaries for active-duty employees, the state's second-highest court has held. The...

Baltimore-based MuniMae agrees to acquire Nevada solar project.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Baltimore-based Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC has agreed to help develop what could be one of the largest solar energy projects on the planet. The company, often called MuniMae, announced in a regulatory filing that...

Standard offer service revisited by Maryland electric industry.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen As regulators and lawmakers debate the deregulation of Maryland's electric industry, the most contentious issue continues to be how much utilities charge residential customers for power. Questions remain about whether...

Baltimore-based First Mariner Bancorp acquires three finance offices.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Baltimore-based First Mariner Bancorp will step up its regional presence in the mortgage business, buying three financing offices from Connecticut-based Webster Financial Corp. The move could increase the volume of First...

Maryland senate takes up hotel tax increase.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio Maryland state senators will take up a measure this week that would allow cities to charge a 1 percent tax on hotel rooms. If passed, the tax could be levied only by incorporated municipalities that don't get a share...

Cancer victim's kin file suit against Kaiser Permanente in Prince George's County Circuit Court.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Brendan Kearney The family of a man who died of lung cancer has charged in a lawsuit that doctors at the Kaiser Permanente managed-care firm let eight months elapse between taking and reading a chest X-ray that showed a spot on his...

Maryland Court of Appeals balks at merging gun counts.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Di Pasquale Gun offenders with previous convictions should not expect multiple gun counts against them to be merged, and thus get lighter sentences, simply because the General Assembly has increased penalties for one type...

Biz information bill dies in Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Business advocates applauded the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee last week for killing a bill that they say would have required the release of proprietary information from companies that receive tax credits...

Maryland-based RegeneRX Biopharmaceuticals asks to conduct trials on TB4.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, which develops products for the repair and healing of chronic wounds and injured tissues, said it has asked the Food and Drug Administration for permission to...

CSX Corp. pays CEO total compensation of $13.8M.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff CSX Corp., of Jacksonville, Fla., the third-largest U.S. railroad, paid Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward total compensation of $13.8 million for 2006 as profit rose 14 percent on more coal and grain...

Annapolis company's anthrax drug shows promise.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Medarex Inc., of Princeton, N.J., a biopharmaceutical company that develops antibodies to combat illnesses, and PharmAthene Inc., of Annapolis, which is developing countermeasures to bioterrorism, announced that...

Peace activists arraigned, wearing their protest in Baltimore's federal court.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Brendan Kearney It seemed like a typical arraignment session in Baltimore's federal court Friday. A sundry group of defendants appeared to face charges of driving without insurance or possessing marijuana. Then the judge summoned...

News Summary.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports GSE turns profitable GSE Systems Inc., of Baltimore, which makes real-time simulation and training software for the energy, process, manufacturing and government sectors, reported fourth-quarter net income of...

Owings Mills-based BUCS Bank completes merger with Pa.-based CommunityBanks.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen On the first day of the rest of BUCS Financial Corp.'s life, customers of the formerly locally owned institution will benefit from doing business with a company that has 20 times as many branches and nearly 25 times the...

Maryland Senate panel kills required energy-saving plans.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman Frustrated that energy efficiency was not part of last year's discussion over electric rates, some lawmakers this year proposed requiring utilities to implement efficiency programs. But despite unanimous passage in the...

Annapolis-based company is improving the dashboard camera.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew To American television viewers, the dashboard video cameras mounted in police cars nationwide have meant hours of entertaining programming, from car chases to drug busts to the wrangling of unruly suspects. To some...

Md. Court of Special Appeals rules damage award for trespass was too high to be 'nominal'.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic Five dollars a day adds up. In the case of Erin and Norma Brown, found liable for trespassing over a farm lane for more than four years, it added up to $8,350 in "nominal" damages. However, the Court of Special...

After year of growth, Baltimore Technology Park eyes more expansion.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew As it celebrates its one-year anniversary, the Baltimore Technology Park is finding its growth needs already have outstripped a previously announced $3 million expansion plan. The park is a data center, a high-tech...

Baltimore's Superblock faces new legal hurdle.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Dipasquale Despite the City of Baltimore's recent moves to advance the West Side superblock redevelopment, litigation still threatens to derail the project. A reminder of that possibility came late last week in the form of...

Alternative argument came too late, rules Md. Court of Special Appeals.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Brendan Kearney There may have been a sound constitutional basis to detain a suspect for 25 minutes after a traffic stop while awaiting the arrival of a drug-sniffing dog, the Court of Special Appeals has held; however, the state...

Investor group hopeful that real estate mogul Sam Zell might sell off The Sun.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Jen Degregorio Sam Zell's plan to sell the Chicago Cubs after buying the Tribune Co. is a hint that the real estate mogul might spin off other of the media company's assets, some observers said Monday. If so, former Baltimore...

GSE Systems Inc. of Baltimore turns profitable.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff GSE Systems Inc., of Baltimore, which makes real-time simulation and training software for the energy, process, manufacturing and government sectors, reported fourth-quarter net income of $430,000, or 3 cents per...

Coventry Health Care Inc. of Bethesda completes deal.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Coventry Health Care Inc., of Bethesda, a managed health care provider, said it completed its acquisition of Concentra Inc.'s workers' compensation and related businesses. Coventry announced the $387.5 million...

Annapolis-based CompuDyne report delayed.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff CompuDyne Corp., of Annapolis, a provider of products and technology for the public security market, told the Securities and Exchange Commission that its fourth-quarter earnings report has been delayed "due to...

Institutional Shareholder Services of Rockville to hold 'Say on Pay' forum online.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Institutional Shareholder Services, of Rockville, a provider of proxy voting and corporate governance data services, will hold a special Governance Forum Webcast, "Shareholder Vote on Compensation: What do...

Legg Mason of Baltimore announces creation of new unit.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Legg Mason Inc., of Baltimore, a global asset management firm, announced the creation of a new registered investment advisor, Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group LLC, to manage Legg's Separately Managed Account...

Autism network launched by Kennedy Krieger Institute of Baltimore.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Kennedy Krieger Institute, of Baltimore, which provides services for children with developmental disorders, announced the launch of the Interactive Autism Network, the first national online autism registry, at...

Novavax: Promising results with vaccine for avian flu.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Novavax Inc., of Rockville, a drug delivery company focused on women's health and infectious diseases, said a pre-clinical study of its virus-like particle vaccine conducted on animal species showed promising...

University of Maryland med school hires Baltimore ad and PR agency Trahan, Burden & Charles.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The University of Maryland School of Medicine has hired Baltimore ad and PR agency Trahan, Burden & Charles to handle public relations for its bicentennial celebration this year. TBC will promote events to the...

Six restaurant companies to open waterside establishments in development along Potomac River.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The developer of the National Harbor project in Prince George's County identified six restaurant companies that will open waterside establishments -- some by spring 2008 -- in the 300-acre mixed-use development...

Two Maryland buyers pay $1.05M for luxury condos in Ocean City.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Two Maryland buyers bought luxury condominiums at an auction in Ocean City on Saturday for a total price of $1.05 million, according to the J.P. King Auction Co., of Gadsden, Ala., which conducted the sale....

Washington cab driver pleads guilty to conspiring to help terrorist organization.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A Washington cab driver pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to help a terrorist organization after admitting he attended training camps in Pakistan. Mahmud Faruq Brent Al Mutazzim, of Gwynn Oak, had been...

University of Maryland arsonist sentenced to 371/2 years in prison.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A University of Maryland student who admitted setting a house fire that killed another student has been sentenced to 371/2 years in prison. Daniel C. Murray, 21, of Hurlock, was sentenced Friday for murder and...

Runaway spurs probe by Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The state juvenile services department launched an investigation at Morning Star Youth Academy after a 17-year-old boy ran away Friday morning, the sixth one in March. Maryland Department of Juvenile Services...

News Summary.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Vertis boosts profit Vertis Communications Inc., of Baltimore, a provider of targeted advertising, media and marketing services, reported fourth-quarter net income of $18.5 million, an 80 percent increase from...

Family members lose suit in Md. Court of Appeals over inheritance tax exemption.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic The state's inheritance tax exemption for relatives is "immaterial" when the will clearly specifies that such taxes should be paid from funds that would otherwise go to the family, Maryland's highest court has...

Boosting biotech in Md.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew Gov. Martin O'Malley and state economic development officials said Tuesday that the imminent establishment of the state's new Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board represents a renewed commitment to the area's...

Linthicum Heights-based Foundation, union work to avoid last-minute mine strike.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Representatives from Linthicum Heights-based Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. were working into the night Tuesday to stave off a strike by mine workers at three of its subsidiaries in Pennsylvania and Illinois. Still, even...

Hale's dual roles with Baltimore-based First Mariner Bancorp come under fire.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Shareholders of Baltimore-based First Mariner Bancorp are again facing a question of whether to separate the positions of chief executive officer and chairman of the company's board of directors -- both now held by Edwin...

Protiviti acquires Baltimore-based Penta Advisory Services LLC.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Protiviti Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., a provider of independent business and technology risk consulting and internal audit services, said it has acquired Penta Advisory Services LLC, of Baltimore. Penta, which...

Children's bracelets manufactured in Cockeysville recalled.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Tuesday that a voluntary recall has been issued for about 4 million lead paint-contaminated children's bracelets manufactured by A&A Global Industries, of...

Baltimore's 'Pride II' on a mission.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Pride of Baltimore Inc., a nonprofit organization that operates Maryland's tall ship, Pride of Baltimore II, will launch a campaign Wednesday called "All of Maryland," offering to county officials the use of the...

Regulators okay Belcamp-based SafeNet sale.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Federal antitrust regulators on Tuesday approved the $634 million purchase of security software and hardware maker SafeNet Inc. by an investor group led by Vector Capital, a private equity firm. According to a...

Northwest Airlines Corp. to close call center in Baltimore.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Northwest Airlines Corp. said it would open a reservations call center in Sioux City, Iowa, and close one in Baltimore because it's having trouble finding workers here. The airline said the Iowa center is...

NYSE suspends Chevy Chase-based trades.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in shares of Mills Corp. and will seek to delist the mall owner after its takeover by Simon Property Group Inc. and Farallon Capital Management LLC. The NYSE is...

Baltimore-based SunEdison order enlarged.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Evergreen Solar Inc., of Marlboro, Mass., a manufacturer of solar power products, will ship $510 million in photovoltaic modules to SunEdison LLC by 2011, increasing the company's orders since 2005 to more than...

Baltimore-based Vertis boosts profit.(Financial report)
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Vertis Communications Inc., of Baltimore, a provider of targeted advertising, media and marketing services, reported fourth-quarter net income of $18.5 million, an 80 percent increase from the $10.3 million in...

Annapolis-based CompuDyne's loss $16.4M.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff CompuDyne Corp., of Annapolis, a provider of products and technology for the public security market, reported a net loss of $16.4 million, or $1.95 per diluted share, on revenue of $33.9 million, for the fourth...

Alliant to acquire Beltsville-based Swales Aerospace.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Alliant Techsystems Inc., the sole producer of reusable solid-rocket motors for the U.S. space shuttle fleet, agreed to buy Beltsville-based Swales Aerospace for about $100 million to expand sales of satellite...

New trial, same verdict in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Nearly a year after the state's highest court ordered a new trial, a jury in Baltimore City Circuit Court has again convicted Tony Williams, 39, of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Dana...

Maryland man sentenced in N.C.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A Maryland man who had top security clearance at a civilian defense contractor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for helping steal personal information from his former co-workers. Xavier Vidal Jennette, 33, of...

Maryland pharmacist pleads guilty.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A western Maryland pharmacist pleaded guilty to illegally possessing the prescription painkiller Oxycodone Tuesday after he was caught in a drugs-for-sex sting. Thomas G. Bolt, 54, of LaVale, could be sentenced...

Local curbs on adult video store in Hagerstown upheld.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Dipasquale The state's intermediate appeals court has rejected a constitutional challenge to a Hagerstown law intended to prevent sexual contacts and illegal drugs at adult video stores. The city adopted the ordinance five...

Middle River woman files suit for harassing calls from company.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Brendan Kearney A Middle River woman who was the victim of dozens of harassing telephone calls placed from a Raymond James Financial Services Inc. office has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the two convicted callers and...

Law Digest.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports COURT OF APPEALS Constitutional Law, Taking of property without just compensation: Weems v. County Commissioners of Calvert County, CA No. 97, September Term, 2006. Calvert County Code provision had the...

National Gypsum to open $15 million facility in Belcamp.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff National Gypsum Co., of Charlotte, N.C., the country's second-largest gypsum wallboard manufacturer, according to Hoovers, announced it will open a $15 million joint compound manufacturing facility on June 1...

Baltimore takes next step in West Side redevelopment.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Development officials are moving forward with a redevelopment project adjacent to the West Side "superblock," soliciting proposals to redevelop a city-owned parcel bordered to the northeast by Liberty and West Clay...

Compromise revives the living wage bill in Maryland.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman After hovering near death, the living wage bill appears ready to move through the General Assembly in the final days of the 2007 session with a compromise provision to make it palatable to Senate leaders. The House...

Overturning stem cell patents will 'blow things wide open' in Maryland.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew Embryonic stem cell research in Maryland -- and throughout the nation -- could benefit from a recent federal regulatory decision to overturn the University of Wisconsin's patents on the science. The U.S. Patent and...

Challenge to workers' comp order came one day too late, Maryland Court of Special Appeals says.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic Employers and injured workers who receive a Workers' Compensation Commission order in their daily mail may not have as much time to respond as they think. The rule that adds a three-day grace period for "service by...

Baltimore County's Rodgers Forge fails to block home addition.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Di Pasquale A townhouse end-unit that shares the same foundation and street address as adjacent dwellings, but occupies a corner, can legally "front" on a different street, the Court of Special Appeals ruled Wednesday. That...

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers files suit seeking unnpaid royalties.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Ben Mook A night of karaoke performances at a small Reisterstown bar that included a rendition of Lionel Richie's "Stuck on You" was the last straw for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which has filed a...

CFO of Linthicum-based Ciena Corp. to step down.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Ciena Corp., of Linthicum, a maker of computer networking equipment, said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Chinnici plans to step down by the end of the year, and announced it has started a search for his...

Baltimore pediatric intensive-care specialist receives award from Hartwell Foundation.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Dr. Kenneth Brady, a pediatric intensive-care specialist at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, received the Hartwell Foundation's award for biomedical research. The three-year grant provides...

Columbia-based Universities Space Research Assn. urges govt. to adopt space flight opportunities for students.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff The Universities Space Research Association, a 101-member university consortium based in Columbia, unanimously adopted a resolution at its annual meeting urging the U.S. government to adopt a plan "to provide...

Annapolis-based Petri Ross Ventures purchases building.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Petrie Ross Ventures, an Annapolis-based retail and mixed-use developer, announced its purchase of a 25,000-square-foot building at 1919 West St. in Annapolis to serve as its new corporate headquarters....

Open Society Institute-Baltimore to launch new $10 million initiative.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff The Open Society Institute-Baltimore, a nonprofit organization funded by financier George Soros that uses alternative methods to fight urban ills, said it is launching a new, $10 million national initiative...

First Potomac Realty Trust, of Bethesda, buys Beltsville property.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff First Potomac Realty Trust, of Bethesda, a real estate investment trust that owns and operates industrial and flex properties in the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia area, announced its acquisition of...

Independent fiduciary named for Baltimore-based King Tile pension fund.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff The U.S. Department of Labor said it obtained a U.S. District Court judgment naming David M. Lipkin, president of Metro Benefits Inc., a Pittsburgh-based consulting firm that provides services to retirement...

Maryland-based Vertis Inc. receives 'B-' corporate credit rating.
April 5, 2007... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday placed its ratings on Vertis Inc., including the 'B-' corporate credit rating, on CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P said the ratings shift follows the...

Baltimore law firm fights back against security, insurance and maintenance cost increases.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Jen Degregorio As the law firm Gebhardt & Smith LLP tells it, the trouble began with the "egoistical, delusional paranoia" that gripped the operators of Baltimore's World Trade Center after terrorists attacked the tower's New York...

First session of Md. General Assembly is a reality check for Republican King.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman As the 2007 General Assembly session dwindled down to its final days, Del. James King spent most of last weekend in the kitchen. King, an Anne Arundel Republican, is a part owner of Kauffman's, a Gambrills restaurant....

World class scientist to lead U-Md.'s new genomics center.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew The University of Maryland School of Medicine said Thursday it has lured a world-class scientist to establish a genomics research center at its West Side BioPark. The Genome Institute is expected to draw about $25...

Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association report offers hope for convention business.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Jen Degregorio The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association has booked more hotel rooms so far this fiscal year than it did by the corresponding time last year, a fact tourism officials say offers hope for the city's...

News Summary.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Vocus prices public offering Vocus Inc., of Lanham, which makes Web-based automation software for the corporate communications and public relations markets, said it has priced shares of its previously...

Week in Review.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Dual roles questioned Shareholders of 1st Mariner Bancorp are again facing a question of whether to separate the positions of chief executive officer and chairman of the company's board of directors -- both...

Baltimore jury awards $455K to child attacked by two Rottweilers.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic Five years to the day after a 10-year-old boy was mauled by two Rottweilers, a jury in Baltimore City Circuit Court awarded him $455,000 in damages. After a two-day trial, jurors deliberated less than two hours...

Va.-based Crestline Hotels & Resorts Inc. to manage the construction of two new Baltimore hotels.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff Crestline Hotels & Resorts Inc., of McLean, Va., a hospitality management company, announced its appointment by an affiliate of Presidential Hotel Investors as the management company for two new hotels...

U.S. civil rights groups urge mortgage lenders to freeze foreclosures.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff A coalition of U.S. civil rights groups asked mortgage lenders to freeze foreclosures for borrowers with weak credit ratings, saying "reckless" lending practices to minorities caused their predicament....

Oxygen study shows results.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered how cells fine-tune their oxygen use to make do with whatever amount is available at the moment. Too little oxygen threatens life by compromising mitochondria,...

Maryland-based Ace*Comm nets a client.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff Ace*Comm Corp., of Gaithersburg, a telecommunications and Internet service company, said its Parent Patrol and Enterprise Patrol managed mobility services have been selected by Cincinnati Bell Wireless,...

Large time-share vacation properties provider to build upscale 250-unit vacation ownership resort.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff Wyndham Vacation Ownership, of Orlando, Fla., one of the world's largest providers of time-share vacation properties, said it has finalized a deal with The Peterson Cos., the developer of the National...

Maryland-based Vocus Inc. prices shares of its public stock at $19.50 per share.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff Vocus Inc., of Lanham, which makes Web-based automation software for the corporate communications and public relations markets, said it has priced shares of its previously announced public stock offering...