Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from February 2003

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from February 2003

Lawyer, atty. general agree: Campaign against abuse is important.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Hurley Martin H. Schreiber II believes "a terrible mistake" was made during the investigation of his client, Luzviminda Malacas, but he stresses that he doesn't fault Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr.'s campaign...

Commentary: Teen hackers sued by movie studios for copyright infringement.
February 1, 2003... Byline: James B. Astrachan Electronic civil disobedience? That's what a group of teenage defendants called their actions when, faced with litigation, they revved up their efforts to link their Web site to other sites that distributed their...

Nursing aid's abuse conviction overturned.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Hurley Luzviminda Malacas may have been forgiven for thinking someone was playing a prank on April Fools' Day last year when she was sentenced to two years in prison. For starters, she maintains she didn't even know...

Jockey Club loses suit over ATM cancellation.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Peter Geier A Baltimore circuit judge ordered the Maryland Jockey Club to pay a cancellation fee of more than $129,000 to the company that formerly maintained ATMs at the club's Pimlico and Laurel racetracks. Judge Kaye A....

Inmate wants to help people get back on their feet after prison.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Peter Geier Vaughn G. is Vaughn L. Garris, identified in the original 1984 complaint as "a 14-year-old seriously emotionally disturbed child who resides in Baltimore City" whom the school system "failed to assess in a timely...

Of Service - House of Ruth offers legal help, shelter, and self-esteem.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Robert J. Rhudy and Joe Surkiewicz For a client who turned to the House of Ruth after her husband threatened to kill her, the most important thing she got wasn't the legal assistance or shelter provided by the domestic violence...

MD Legal Briefs Feb. 1, 2003.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Golden Gordons Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander is celebrating its golden anniversary by sponsoring The FabergE[umlaut] Menagerie, an exhibition of more than 100 animals carved from...

Commentary: Gage Menswear owner teaches sales techniques to retailers everywhere.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Neil R.G. Young, CLU, ChFC By anyone's standard, Bill Glazer is a master marketer. As the owner and CEO of Gage Menswear (www.gagemenswear.com), Glazer has been acclaimed in a number of business publications for his marketing...

Baltimore schools still struggling to improve special education services.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Peter Geier A critic compared the nearly two-decade-old special education lawsuit Vaughn G. v. Board of Commissioners to the infamously interminable Jarndyce and Jarndyce of Charles Dickens' "Bleak House." "This scarecrow of a...

Interview with director of Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Nancy Kercheval Billions of dollars are coming into Maryland as part of the tobacco settlement. Among the recipients of millions of dollars in funds is Johns Hopkins which receives a share of the cigarette restitution fund for...

Commentary: Achieve resolutions with goals - not objectives.
February 1, 2003... Byline: David R. Clogg, ChFC If you are like most folks, by now you have completely given up on pursuing your New Year's resolutions. According to a recent study, the vast majority of people who make resolutions only stick with them...

Commentary: Charitable giving - Advice to foundations.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Betsy Nelson The environment for philanthropy has certainly changed in the past two years. The economic downturn has battered foundations' portfolios while the deficits at federal and local governments have led to increased demands...

Commentary: Fast food liability lawsuits draw criticism.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Korzec Americans spend more money on fast food than on books, movies, videos, records and magazines combined more than $110 billion in 2000. The Surgeon General attributes 300,000 deaths a year to obesity. More than 50...

Military intelligence technology applies to hotels, too.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Lily Henning Reciting a zip code to a supermarket cashier, jotting down a home telephone number to qualify for frequent flier miles or filling out income information on a credit card application are everyday actions. They might...

Business owners give 'thumbs up' to university project.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Andréa Cecil Charles Village business owners are welcoming the 2005 arrival of new neighborhood retail with open arms, saying the added shopping will increase traffic at their businesses. In mid-January, the Johns Hopkins...

Commentary: Protecting your financial privacy.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Beth Rosenwald It seems as if your financial life is an open book these days to any individual or company with a personal computer, a modem and the right access code. That's because many local and national computer databases have...

Johns Hopkins Univ. researchers ignore market naysayers.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Bobby White It's either burn or fasten with adhesive Co those are the ways scientists and engineers join two materials together that are not fusible. Welding, braising or soldering usually does the job and, if not, a strong...

Bleak Baltimore economy set to improve.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Ezra Fieser The Baltimore economy might look bleak now, but the city is positioning itself for a prosperous decade. Despite experiencing its first year of negative job growth since the mid 1990s, downtown Baltimore Co with...

Commentary: 2003 investment tips.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Julius Westheimer How much allowance should you give your children? Money magazine says, in brief: "Don't be stingy; penny-pinching makes kids feel that you lack confidence in them. Stinginess also promotes fiscal irresponsibility;...

Maryland Weekly Outlook - Strategies for growth.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Special to The Daily Record The following information is provided to The Daily Record by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development for publication in our Monday edition. Employment Governor Robert L....

Property mgmt. firm in Montgomery County can be sued in Prince George's County.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer A property management firm headquartered in Montgomery County can be sued for employment discrimination in Prince George's County because that's where its allegedly biased decisions were...

Commentary: Determining whether you can afford to be a stay-at-home parent.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Dena Shapiro Frenkel For many families, one of the most challenging decisions is whether a working parent should continue working or stay at home after a child is born. Traditionally, this question has been posed to the...

Restaurant, Latin dance club planned for former Baltimore City Life Museum building.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Ezra Fieser A prominent Baltimore plastic surgeon and a Washington restaurant owner plan to open a three-floor restaurant and Latin dance club in the former home of the Baltimore City Life Museum near the Shot Tower on Front...

Newborn was a child in need of assistance despite change in law.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Hurley A court can define a newborn as a child in need of assistance even if no direct neglect of that infant is involved, the Court of Special Appeals has held. Friday's action rejected a judge's interpretation of a...

Legislation introduced to create redistricting commission.
February 3, 2003... Byline: John O'Connor A bipartisan group of delegates is hoping to head off future repeats of last year's redistricting dust-up Co which ended with the state Court of Appeals drawing lines for the first time Co by creating a...

MD Dept. of Business and Econ. Development wants to keep negotiations out of public eye.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Robyn Lamb The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development is pushing a bill that is designed to keep "extremely competitive" projects still under negotiations out of the public domain. HB 210, introduced in the...

MdBio Inc. launches program bringing mobile lab to high schools across state.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Patrice Dickens MdBio Inc. today will roll out a big rig Co an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig Co that will take science to high school students throughout the state. Modeled after similar programs in Boston, North Carolina and...

Court of Special Appeals reverses ruling on waterfront development rights.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Peter Geier The Court of Special Appeals last week kicked a dispute over expansion rights to Susquehanna riverfront property back to Cecil County Circuit Court, saying ambiguous language in an operating agreement needs further...

Salisbury-based developer unveils plans to build townhouse apts. in Princess Anne.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Salisbury-based developer Eric Davis unveiled plans to build townhouse apartments along UMES Boulevard in Princess Anne in time to greet students at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in September....

New Horizons Computer Learning Centers gets Nat'l Security Agency contract.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, of Baltimore, was awarded a three-year contract by the National Security Agency at Fort Meade to provide high-end, computer software technical training and information...

Kent Island businessman honored by MD State Board of Education.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Kent Island-based businessman Paul Reed Smith, founder and managing general partner of PRS Guitars, was honored by the Maryland State Board of Education for his commitment to furthering arts education in the...

Group 1 Software reports net income of $2.3M.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Lanham-based Group 1 Software, a maker of customer relationship management software, reported net income of $2.3 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $26.7 million in its third fiscal quarter...

Constellation Energy Group reports 2002 net income of $525.6M.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group reported 2002 net income of $525.6 million, or $3.20 per diluted share, on revenue of $4.7 billion, compared to net income in 2001 of $90.9 million, or 52 cents per...

T. Rowe Price Group reports 2002 net revenue of $923.5M.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports T. Rowe Price Group Inc., of Baltimore, reported 2002 net revenue of $923.5 million and net income of $194 million, or $1.52 per diluted share, compared to net revenue of $995 million, net income of $196...

Greater Baltimore Committee announces next Breakfast Briefing.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Greater Baltimore Committee's next Breakfast Briefing, on Wednesday from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. in the GBC Boardroom, 111 S. Calvert St., will focus on the topic, "Event Savvy: Marketing Your Business Through...

Host Marriott Corp. closes sale of Airport Marriott hotel in Ontario, Calif.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Bethesda-based Host Marriott Corp. closed on the sale of the Ontario, Calif., Airport Marriott hotel for $25.7 million, and expects to use the proceeds to repay debt obligations. The buyer was not identified....

Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust closes on $100M revolving credit agreement.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Mid-Atlantic Realty Trust, of Lutherville, closed a $100 million, three-year, unsecured revolving credit agreement with a bank syndication led by Allfirst Bank, replacing an existing $75 million credit line....

HMSHost Corp. awarded spaces at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports HMSHost Corp., of Bethesda, a provider of retail, food and beverage concessions in the travel industry, has been awarded spaces at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, for concepts valued at...

Choice Hotels special promotion to enable frequent flyers to receive triple miles, credits.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports A special promotion by Silver Spring-based Choice Hotels International will enable members of the nation's major frequent flyer programs who stay at any of the 3,500 hotels franchised by Choice in the U.S....

Host Marriott Corp. names senior vice president, corporate controller.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Bethesda-based Host Marriott Corp., a national hotel company, named Larry Harvey as senior vice president and corporate controller. Harvey was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Barcelo...

Northrop Grumman division lands 27-month, $20M contract.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Systems Development and Technology Division, based in Linthicum, was awarded a 27-month, $20 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to design, build and...

Antex Biologics files initial Investigational New Drug Application.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Antex Biologics Inc., of Gaithersburg, filed an initial Investigational New Drug Application with the Food and Drug Administration, in connection with its plans to conduct a Phase I clinical trial of its...

Marshall Mgmt. Inc. unveils plans to increase managed hotel portfolio.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Marshall Management Inc., a Salisbury-based hotel management company, unveiled plans to increase its managed hotel portfolio from 20 mid-size hotels to between 30 and 35 properties. The time frame was not...

USi announces addition of outsourced processing of payroll to service portfolio.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports USi, an Annapolis-based application service provider that emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2002, announced it has added outsourced processing of payroll and payroll taxes to its service portfolio....

Manekin LLC brokers sale of Lanham office/R&D/distribution building.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Columbia-based Manekin LLC brokered the sale of 4260 Forbes Blvd., a one-story office/R&D/distribution building that fronts U.S. Route 50 in Lanham. Healy Qualified Intermediary LLC sold the...

Optimus Corp. receives Federal Highway Administration research grant.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Optimus Corp., a Silver Spring-based company that offers products and technology geared to the public safety sector, received a Federal Highway Administration research grant to develop a Pedestrian Alert...

Aspect Security, Stratum8 Networks team up to produce Web site protection package.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Aspect Security, a Columbia-based company that offers Web application security services and training, and Stratum8 Networks, of Santa Clara, Calif., have teamed up to produce the Comprehensive Application...

Computer Sciences Corp. names new director, info. assurance strategic initiatives.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Computer Sciences Corp., of Falls Church, Va., named Ronald L. Dick, former deputy assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as director, information assurance strategic initiatives. Dick...

Oklahoma Stateline bought by Dolan Media subsidiary.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports A company owned by Dolan Media Co., the Minneapolis-based company that owns The Daily Record and other court and commercial newspapers across the country, acquired the assets of online capitol news service...

Century Engineering acquires East Coast operations of Hurst-Rosche Engineers.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Century Engineering Inc., a Towson-based civil, geotechnical and transportation engineering company, acquired the East Coast operations of Illinois-based Hurst-Rosche Engineers Inc., a transportation...

WellPoint Health Networks merger bonuses delayed in Missouri.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Patrice Dickens John A. O'Rourke, president of the Central Region of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., yesterday told Maryland Insurance Commissioner Steven B. Larsen there were no merger bonuses involved in the merger between...

Baesch Computer Consultants seeks to remain independent.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Bobby White Privately held Baesch Computer Consultants, a Glen Burnie company that provides information technology services, has so far resisted what seems to be a growing tendency of small IT firms to be gobbled up by larger...

Proposed light-rail line target of Montgomery bill.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Robyn Lamb Two Montgomery County Democratic legislators are expected to introduce legislation this week that, if passed, would dampen the prospects of the proposed inner Purple Line, a light-rail line between New Carrollton and...

K-9 cop's conviction upheld.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Hurley A Prince George's County police officer who set her police dog on an unarmed homeless man was not subjected to an unfair trial when evidence was presented of similar acts she committed later, the 4th U.S. Circuit...

College saving options could grow under bill.
February 4, 2003... Byline: John O'Connor Parents considering tucking away money for their children's college education could have more options next year if the General Assembly passes a bill expanding the state's tax-exempt college investment programs....

Member of legal community take time out for military service.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Peter Geier You may not get rich on the salary you get in the Army now, as the old song goes, but at least one Maryland law firm is making sure its call-ups can continue to maintain something of the style to which they've become...

MD Legal Briefs Feb. 4, 2003.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Arraignment slated Beverly Baker, the former controller at defunct NetworkTechnology Group Inc. is scheduled to be arraigned today in U.S. District Court for fraud. Prosecutors allege Baker and other top...

Woman files suit after surgical instrument left in pelvic area.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Hurley A woman who allegedly was left with a 12-inch-long surgical instrument in her pelvic area after a routine operation has filed suit against the hospital and surgeons responsible. Brenda L. Monaghan, of Joppatown,...

Bill would pay for state's small businesses to refinance loans.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Andréa Cecil Small businesses could save money by refinancing high-interest loans with the Small Business Development Financing Authority under a bill introduced in the state Senate. Senate Bill 51 Co which Sen. Nathaniel...

Coventry Health Care completes acquisition of PersonalCare Health Mgmt.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Bethesda-based Coventry Health Care Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of PersonalCare Health Management Inc., a managed health care company with approximately 78,000 fully-insured commercial...

Visual Mining Inc. receives info. technology schedule contract from government.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Rockville-based Visual Mining Inc., a developer of data-visualization software tools, has received a 5-year information technology schedule contract from the General Services Administration. The GSA schedule...

ToadNet Inc. acquires Radicus Internet LLC.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports ToadNet Inc., a Severna Park-based Internet Service Provider (ISP), acquired Radicus Internet LLC, an ISP located in Baltimore, for an undisclosed price.

Manugistics Group ranked as top technology provider for supply chain planning.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Manugistics Group Inc, a Rockville-based maker of chain management software., has been ranked as top technology provider for supply chain planning by Consumer Goods Technology magazine, a publication focused...

MaxCyte Inc., Northern Therapeutics to develop products to treat pulmonary diseases.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports MaxCyte Inc., a Rockville-based biopharmaceutical company, and Northern Therapeutics Inc., of Montreal, Canada, agreed to jointly develop nonviral gene-based products to treat pulmonary diseases based on...

HealthExtras Inc. reports fourth-quarter profit of $9.8M.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Rockville-based HealthExtras Inc., a provider of pharmacy, health and disability benefits, reported a fourth-quarter profit of $9.8 million (which included a nonrecurring gain), or 30 cents per diluted share,...

Carton Donofrio to handle public relations for Hord Coplan Macht.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Carton Donofrio Partners Inc., a Baltimore-based, international marketing communications and brand experience design agency, was selected by Hord Coplan Macht Inc., of Baltimore, an architecture and landscape...

Hemagen Diagnostics signs four-year extension of agreement with Roche Diagnostics.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Hemagen Diagnostics Inc., of Columbia, a biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and markets proprietary medical diagnostic test kits, signed a four-year extension of its agreement to provide...

AmeriDream Charity changes name to AmeriDream Inc.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The AmeriDream Charity Inc., of Gaithersburg, the nation's largest nonprofit provider of down payment assistance to low- and moderate-income homebuyers, changed its name to AmeriDream Inc. The change was made...

Sodexho School Services, Bibit Global form partnership.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Sodexho School Services, of Gaithersburg, and Bibit Global Services Co., a Dutch payment service provider, formed a partnership to make it easier for parents to pay school-related expenses by allowing debit...

CoStar Group Inc. settles copyright infringement dispute.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports CoStar Group Inc., a Bethesda-based provider of information to the commercial real estate industry, said it settled a copyright infringement dispute with an unidentified commercial real estate firm in New...

WellPoint Health execs. defend retention bonus packages.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Patrice Dickens Executives with WellPoint Health Networks Inc. yesterday defended their retention bonus packages after Jay Angoff, Maryland's independent adviser, raised concerns about whether the packages violate an anti-bonus...

'Patricide' author sues Sheppard Pratt.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Peter Geier A Baltimore man whose unpublished manuscript describes how he got away with murdering his father has filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against his former lawyers and Sheppard Pratt Health Systems Inc. over their alleged...

EventRebels.com introduces new software package to facilitate mgmt. of large banquet.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports EventRebels.com, of Ellicott City, an online meeting management and registration service, rolled out Banquet Master, a new software package designed to facilitate integrated registration processing and...

Fewer Maryland workers died on the job in 2001.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Bobby White The number of fatal work-related injuries in Maryland declined in 2001 when compared to 2000, according to just-released numbers compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state saw 64 total deaths as a result...

Community activists hold forum on Baltimore's war on drugs.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Hurley The war on drugs in Baltimore should not end as a result of the arson attack that left a family of seven dead, community activists said at a forum held yesterday. The event, entitled "Strategies for Citizens on...

Poll shows Marylanders uneasy about campaign contributions.
February 5, 2003... Byline: John O'Connor More than 95 percent of Marylanders believe that campaign contributions have some influence on legislators, and three-quarters believe the current campaign finance system is corrupt, according to poll results...

MD Legal Briefs Feb. 5, 2003.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Arraignment slated Victor Giordani Jr., the former chief operating officer of defunct Network Technology Group Inc. is scheduled to be arraigned today in U.S. District Court on fraud charges. He is the...

Commentary: Despite losses, don't give up on your 401(k) plan.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Julius Westheimer Despite most peoples' discontent with recent results of their 401(k) plans Co some shareholders with gallows humor call them 201(k)s Co it's still wise to handle retirement plans prudently. Here is a 401(k)...

Survey shows U.S. workers' Internet use habits.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe U.S. workers spend more personal time at home doing office work on the Internet than they spend at work surfing the Net for personal reasons, according to a survey released yesterday. Such findings...

MD Comptroller's Office distributes $184.5M in local income tax revenue.
February 6, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The state Comptroller's Office distributed $184.5 million in local income tax revenue to Maryland 23 counties and Baltimore City in January, marking a 12.5 percent decrease compared to the January 2002...

Former COO of Network Technology Group pleads innocent to 10 counts of fraud.
February 6, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Victor Giordani Jr., the former chief operating officer of defunct Network Technology Group Inc., pleaded innocent yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to 10 counts of fraud. The Baltimore...

The Columbia Bank unveils new commercial loan product.
February 6, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Columbia Bank unveiled the "Business Custom Capital" program, a new commercial loan product that offers qualifying businesses an unsecured line of credit up to $100,000, with approval decisions generated...

BAE Systems North America to buy all MEVATEC stock.
February 6, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Rockville-based BAE Systems North America, a defense contractor, agreed to purchase all of the stock of MEVATEC Corp., of Huntsville, Ala., for $82 million in cash, some of which may be deferred. MEVATEC...

Agentsmith Inc. installs RevenueMax software at WTTO-TV, WABM-TV.
February 6, 2003... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Baltimore-based Agentsmith Inc., which supplies revenue management technology and systems to the media industry, installed its RevenueMax software at WTTO-TV and WABM-TV in Birmingham, Ala., respectively WB...