Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from January 2007

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from January 2007

Nanotech project seeks to add more minorities in MD.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew Luring under-represented minority students into the emerging field of nanotechnology and keeping them there has proven challenging, but a partnership between the Johns Hopkins University, historically black Howard...

Baltimore-based company to serve up java in Jersey.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Donna's Restaurants Inc. is preparing to expand its brand name into New Jersey this month. The Baltimore-based company already owns and operates five locations in Central Maryland, but the new branch--opening in...

Baltimore County pushes IRB tax break.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio The Baltimore County Department of Economic Development is urging companies to take a second look at a federal tax exemption designed to spur expansions for manufacturers. The federal government increased the...

Tiny New Market could triple in size with annexation.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Jen Degregorio The New Market Town Council last week agreed to annex land that could be used for a 900 home development that could triple its population. New Market has annexed a parcel of land that could triple the population...

Business Summary.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Generic drug for Zoloft Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc., the Baltimore-based subsidiary of an Indian drug company, announced the Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for Sentraline...

Space behind screen door was public, MD CSA holds.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Di Pasquale Police did not need a warrant to search the space between a screen door and the closed wooden door of a suspect's home, the Court of Special Appeals said yesterday. The decision upholds Steven Christian's...

MD Legal Briefs: January 3, 2007.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Counterfeiters at work Counterfeit money turning up at Somerset County businesses in recent days likely came from the same source, police say. Authorities are trying to track the origin of the phony $20...

Gansler sworn in as state attorney general in MD.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks As family, friends and colleagues looked on, Douglas F. Gansler was sworn in by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday as the state's newest attorney general. It was a changing of the guard not seen since Jan. 12,...

Baltimore-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. gets approval for generic drug for Zoloft.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc., the Baltimore-based subsidiary of an Indian drug company, announced the Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for Sentraline Hydrochloride Tablets as a generic...

Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. gets surcharge okay.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff The average residential customer will repay Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. about $5 a month over the next decade for power the utility is now selling at below-market rates. Last week, the Maryland Public Service...

McDaniel College in Westminster awarded $200K.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff McDaniel College, a four-year, liberal arts college in Westminster, announced it has been awarded a $200,000 grant by the New York-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support McDaniel's commitment to faculty...

Bloomie's in Chevy Chase.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Federated Department Stores Inc.'s Bloomingdale's unit plans to open stores in Chevy Chase and Costa Mesa, Calif., this year, the New York Post reported, citing an interview with Bloomingdale's Chief Executive...

Changes for MD-based Shore Health System.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff A hospital in Cambridge is due for a renovated emergency room, and another hospital in Easton is moving to a new location, according to Shore Health System hospital officials. Hospital spokeswoman Patti Willis...

Education projects top Baltimore County's wish list.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. is asking the county's legislative delegation to bring home $9.75 million in state bond funds for projects to benefit neighborhoods and millions more on top of that for...

Absorption of office space in Baltimore area doubled in '06.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Jen Degregorio Absorption of office space in the Baltimore area last year more than doubled the pace of the previous year, a good sign for the area's 2007 outlook, according to year-end data. The Baltimore region saw a net...

With departures, MD Board of Public Works readies for change.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman Outgoing Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, left, stands for applause as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. looks on at their last Board of Public Works meeting yesterday at the State House in Annapolis. In a curtain...

Univ. of MD's School of Medicine looks to raise awareness, donations with new book.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew Two domed medical buildings flank the city of Baltimore, though one of them, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, may be a bit better known than the other. The University of Maryland School of...

Gas power plant at Sparrows Point in Dundalk?
January 4, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen If developers are successful in their bid to construct a liquefied natural gas terminal at Sparrows Point in Dundalk, the facility may be accompanied by a power plant. The AES Corp., a Virginia-based power company,...

News Summary.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Patriot sales to increase Lockheed Martin Corp., of Bethesda, the world's largest defense company, will increase sales of its latest Patriot missile to U.S. allies in Asia and the Middle East, according...

Waiver of rights against SIF came without a warning.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic A woman who settled her workers' compensation claim with her employer cannot pursue a claim against the Subsequent Injury Fund, even though it was not a signatory to the settlement. Carol Lynn Hart argued that...

4th U.S. Circuit Court rules ignorance of victim's age no defense under fed child-prostitution law.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Caryn Tamber The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has joined other circuits in holding that ignorance of the victim's age is no defense to charges of transporting a minor across state lines for prostitution. The decision...

Law Digest.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports COURT OF APPEALS Civil Procedure, Entitlement to new trial: Goldberg, et al. v. Boone, CA No. 21, September Term, 2006 Although line of cross-examination questions about the D.C. sniper case was improper,...

MD Court of Appeals rules insured can keep advance, despite lower award.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks A car accident plaintiff who received a $20,000 advance from her insurer can keep it, even though a Baltimore County jury later determined that she was only entitled to recover $5,445 for the accident, the Court of...

Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Patriot missle sales to increase.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Lockheed Martin Corp., of Bethesda, the world's largest defense company, will increase sales of its latest Patriot missile to U.S. allies in Asia and the Middle East, according to a company official. Lockheed expects...

Pentagon to buy more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from Bethesda-based Lockeed Martin.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record The Defense Department has vetoed U.S. Navy and Air Force plans to cut the number of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 Joint Strike Fighters they would buy next year. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England ordered the...

Rockville-based newsletter publisher sold.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Avista Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, said it reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Phillips Investment Resources LLC, of Rockville, a Rockville-based provider of subscription-based...

Hunt Valley-based United Industrial Corp. sells unit.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record United Industrial Corp., of Hunt Valley, a provider of defense, training and energy systems, said it completed the sale of its wholly owned energy subsidiary, Detroit Stoker Co., for a total of $22.2 million. According...

MD Public Service Commission submits report.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record The Maryland Public Service Commission has submitted a study of the state's process of energy deregulation to the General Assembly, as lawmakers ordered, but delayed its recommendations on methods to guard against...

Electricity report ... kind of.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record The Maryland Public Service Commission has submitted a study of the state's process of energy deregulation to the General Assembly, as lawmakers ordered, but delayed its recommendations on methods to guard against...

Gaithersburg-based GXS' has new client.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record GXS Inc., of Gaithersburg, which operates one of the world's largest business-to-business e-commerce services, announced that Drug Fair Group Inc., a New Jersey-based drug store company, selected GXS Managed Services...

Kaiser joins Bethesda-based Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., new hire.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing compounds from its proprietary functional fatty acid technology platform, said Ronald W. Kaiser has been hired as its...

Advance for Columbia-based Celsion Corp.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Celsion Corp., of Columbia, a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of heat-activated treatment systems for cancer, said scientists at Duke University found promising results using...

Lanham-based Merkle Inc. announces acquisition.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Merkle Inc., of Lanham, a provider of database marketing services, said it acquired the response services division of AB&C Group, of McLean, Va., a provider of direct response processing services. Financial terms were...

White Marsh-based firm announces acquisition south of the border.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Williams Scotsman International Inc., of White Marsh, announced its acquisition of approximately 80 mobile office and section modular units from a Mexican division of GE Equipment Services. Terms were not disclosed....

Baltimore-based Phillips Foods Inc. bans trans fats.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Phillips Foods Inc., of Baltimore, a restaurant and seafood products company, said it began using trans fat-free frying oils in its Baltimore, Washington, Annapolis, Myrtle Beach and Atlantic City restaurant locations...

Old Mutual Financial Network launches OMFN En Espanol.(Website overview)
January 5, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Old Mutual Financial Network said it launched OMFN En Espaol, the Hispanic brand for its life insurance products and services, with a new Web site, updated marketing materials and a bilingual sales and customer...

Rent and land rights issues are top of mind for Maryland retailers.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio Retailers are making eminent domain reform and rent for maintenance concerns some of their top priorities when the new legislative year kicks off in Annapolis next week. This is the second year in a row that the...

Maryland Athletic Club follows expansion trend with Harbor East plan.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio The Maryland Athletic Club and Wellness Center unveiled plans yesterday for a new, 47,000-square-foot facility it plans to build in downtown Baltimore's Harbor East neighborhood by September. This is the second gym...

A Maryland supermarket focuses on organic, fresh and prepared foods to appeal to downtown shoppers.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen The new Super Fresh supermarket in Charles Plaza is looking to appeal to Baltimore's downtown shoppers by focusing on organic, fresh and prepared foods. Super Fresh, a regional chain run by The Great Atlantic &...

Maryland Financial Briefs: January 5, 2007.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff J. Bank's sales rise Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., of Hampstead, a manufacturer and retailer of upscale menswear and accessories, said its same-store sales -- that is, sales at stores open at least a...

Maryland's 2007 legislative session to address primarily health care issues.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew This is the legislative session for health care, according to several proponents of proposals aimed at Maryland's roughly 750,000 uninsured. During last year's election, about 80 candidates signed on to endorse...

Maryland energy and finance issues are similar to those of '06.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Some familiar themes could emerge in the areas of finance and energy during the 2007 legislative session. Debate will likely continue over payment options in consumer areas including automobile insurance and...

Developers' issues touch on eminent domain in Maryland's legislative session.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Jen Degregorio Land-use issues will surely crop up during this year's General Assembly session, but they are not likely to cause the fanfare and polarization they did in 2006. Eminent domain reform was a tune nearly every...

Maryland Real Estate Briefs: January 5, 2007.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Maryland Daily Record Staff Contract spat The managing director of Maryland Minority Contractors Association Inc. sued Baltimore City for violating competitive bidding laws for public development projects. The association is...

Proposals would change the justice system from prosecutions to the death penalty in Maryland.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Caryn Tamber Advocacy groups will ask the General Assembly this session to consider measures they say will improve the integrity of criminal prosecutions. Proposals by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the...

There is little prospect of public fighting between the Maryland governor and lawmakers.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman There won't be any bitter veto override battles or election year posturing when the General Assembly convenes next week. There is little prospect of public fighting between the governor and lawmakers, and gone are the...

Two Maryland senators may introduce a comparative negligence bill this session.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Caryn Tamber There may be a bill this session to make Maryland a comparative negligence state. Maryland is one of the last places that still has a contributory negligence standard, which means an injured party whose own...

Maryland's family law issues go beyond gay marriage.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks The fate of the state's ban on same-sex marriage may be in the hands of the Court of Appeals at the moment, but that doesn't mean the topic will be forgotten in the General Assembly this year. Del. Donald H. Dwyer...

Law Notes.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Miers resigns Harriet Miers, President Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee and longtime adviser, yesterday submitted her resignation as White House counsel. White House press secretary Tony Snow said the...

Housing emerges as the major issue for public interest law firms in Maryland's General Assembly.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Dipasquale Housing has emerged as the major issue for public interest law firms as the Maryland General Assembly starts it 2007 session next week. Cheryl Hystad, legislative director at the Legal Aid Bureau Inc.,...

Power rates set to rise; Allegheny Power caps to expire in 2009.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen Allegheny Power Co. wants customers to start paying higher bills this year to avoid a sharp rise in prices when its rate caps expire after 2008. The Pennsylvania-based utility -- which covers all of Allegany County...

Roll up your sleeves for a flu shot at the pharmacy.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew As flu season gears up to claim its share of Marylanders, some new faces are joining the ranks of those dispensing the chief line of defense against the virus, that is, immunization. This winter marks the first...

Maryland Legal Briefs: January 8, 2007.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Harrison fights charges Eastern Shore charter boat captain and restaurateur Levin F. "Buddy" Harrison pleaded innocent Friday to misdemeanor charges of illegally hunting Canada geese. Harrison, the...

Medifast shuffles execs, launches ad blitz.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew An executive shuffle at Owings Mills weight loss firm Medifast Inc. coincides with the company's launch of a national advertising blitz and a new network of franchises. Medifast Chair and CEO Bradley T. MacDonald...

First-refusal right floated as ground-rent fix.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Di Pasquale A Baltimore public interest lawyer has a simple plan for dealing with potential abuses of ground rents: Tweak a remedy already on the books. Baltimore already has a city ordinance granting residential...

Baltimore man loses appeal in guest-house dispute.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks A Baltimore-area car dealer who became entangled in a legal battle with Anne Arundel County over improvements to his Pasadena property has lost another round in the courts. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed a...

Status quo maintained on Prince George's police promotions.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic An arbitrator's order that thwarted an attempt to change the promotion practices of the Prince George's County police department will stand, the Court of Special Appeals has held. Technically, the court found...

Chilled FluMist marks new chapter for MedImmune.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Karen Buckelew MedImmune Inc.'s inhaled flu vaccine, FluMist, has hit a winter thaw, winning federal regulatory approval for a refrigerated form of the immunization. The vaccine has been marketed in a frozen form since 2003,...

Colts-Ravens match will mean big bucks for Baltimore.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio The Ravens' first home playoff game in three years -- against the hated Indianapolis Colts no less -- has the city awash in purple and black, but come this weekend the prevailing color will be green. With the team...

AES Corp. asks for federal approval to build liquefied natural gas terminal at Sparrows Point.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen The AES Corp. asked for federal approval yesterday to build its proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at Sparrows Point in Dundalk. The project has been widely discussed over the past year, but this is one of the...

MD business groups set to weigh in on health insurance issues.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman After two years trying to fend off legislative efforts to require certain companies to offer health benefits, state business groups are taking a hands-on approach to the health insurance debate this year. ...

News Summary.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports Emergent's revenue picture Emergent BioSolutions Inc., of Gaithersburg, which develops and manufactures products that harness the immune system to treat and prevent disease, announced it estimates its...

MD Court of Special Appeals issues rare opinion on insane delusions.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks A Maryland man seeking to challenge his late father's will has failed to convince the Court of Special Appeals that he was disinherited as the result of an insane delusion. The court affirmed that, while the late...

MD Court of Appeals revives win for vaccine companies.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Caryn Tamber The state's highest court has closed the door to future lawsuits by an autistic boy whose parents claim his condition was caused by preservatives in childhood vaccines. Yesterday's Court of Appeals decision...

Agreement covered indemnitee's fraud, rules MD Court of Special Appeals.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Barbara Grzincic An entrepreneur's promise to indemnify the buyer of her two companies against claims by her estranged husband covered his claim that the buyer concealed a $1 million payment to her, the Court of Special Appeals...

MD Legal Briefs: January 9, 2007.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Arabs' trial procedes Federal prosecutors in Chicago wrapped up their racketeering case against two alleged Hamas militants yesterday, saying the men furnished funds and fresh recruits to...

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. of Gaithersburg announces its total revenue estimate for 2006.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Emergent BioSolutions Inc., of Gaithersburg, which develops and manufactures products that harness the immune system to treat and prevent disease, announced it estimates its total revenue for 2006...

Mall developer The Mills Corp. of Chevy Chase awards executives.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Mall developer The Mills Corp, of Chevy Chase, said in a regulatory filing Friday that it awarded its new chief executive, Mark Ordan, a $382,000 yearly bonus, just months after he took over the top...

Human Genome Sciences Inc. of Rockville reaffirms its 2006 forecast.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Human Genome Sciences Inc., of Rockville, reaffirmed its forecast for last year and said revenue is expected to increase 50 percent this year, versus last year's sales of $19.1 million and a net...

BioVeris Corp. of Gaithersburg receives $2.8M payment from Switzerland-based Roche Diagnostics.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports BioVeris Corp., of Gaithersburg, which makes diagnostics testing products, said it received a $2.8 million payment from Switzerland-based Roche Diagnostics for licensing BioVeris' ECL technology in...

Housing market on Lower Eastern Shore improves.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports The housing market on the Lower Eastern Shore is showing signs of strength after assessment prices to one-third of property owners went up by no less than an average 53 percent, compared to...

National Institutes of Health considers renovating research center on Johns Hopkins Bayview campus.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Due to severe vibrations in the new, $250 million Biomedical Research Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus in Baltimore, the National Institutes of Health is considering "extensive"...

Baltimore Development Corp. issues Request for Proposals for design of new Rash Field Park.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports The Baltimore Development Corp. and other city agencies issued a Request for Proposals for the design of a new Rash Field Park that incorporates an underground parking facility. The site on the...

Visibooks LLC of Frederick launches new In Pictures line of free computer how-to materials.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Visibooks LLC, of Frederick, a provider of illustration-based computer learning materials, said it launched its new In Pictures line of free computer how-to materials. There are 12 online tutorials...

Baltimore Orioles move to WHFS-FM.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports Baltimore Orioles' games will move from WBAL 1090 AM to CBS Radio's WHFS-FM next season, the team announced yesterday. WHFS, along with sister station ESPN 1300 AM, will air all 162 Orioles' games...

BAE Systems of Rockville awarded $71.7 million U.S. Navy contract.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff & Wire Reports BAE Systems, of Rockville, a British-owned defense company, said it was awarded a $71.7 million U.S. Navy contract to provide system integration support for the Trident II (D5) Fleet Ballistic...

Tobacco tax hike advocates in MD launch ad campaign.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Dori Berman Advocates for a tobacco tax hike to pay for Medicaid expansion are ramping up their efforts with ad campaigns aimed at swaying lawmakers who will convene today for the 2007 legislative session. The AARP yesterday...

MD probes tax company refund loans.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Andy Rosen State financial regulators are looking into the legality of loans set up by tax-preparation companies based on customers' estimated refunds. Charles Turnbaugh, Maryland's financial regulation commissioner, said he...

Redevelopment fund established for Pikesville.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Louis Llovio The Baltimore County Department of Economic Development is offering up to $1 million to developers who can find new and creative uses for vacant or stagnant properties along a nearly three-mile stretch of Reisterstown...

News Summary.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Staff and wire reports SafeNet names new CFO SafeNet Inc., of Belcamp, a network security products maker, said it named John W. Frederick as chief financial officer. Frederick, 43, has served as interim chief financial officer...

MD Court of Appeals undoes tornado victim's win.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks A LaPlata man whose home was leveled by the 2002 tornado acted one week too late to pursue an administrative grievance against his insurer, the Court of Appeals held yesterday. The homeowner, referred to in the...

Carmody named as People's Counsel by MD AG Douglas F. Gansler.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Ann W. Parks Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has appointed Assistant Attorney General Paula M. Carmody to replace Patricia A. Smith as People's Counsel. Carmody is not a newcomer to the role, having worked at the Office of...

MD Court of Appeals wrongful termination suit was filed on time.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Cynthia Di Pasquale The statute of limitations for filing a discriminatory discharge lawsuit under state law starts when an employee stops working, not when the notice of termination is given, the state's top court held. ...

MD Legal Briefs: January 10, 2007.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Daily Record Staff Entrepreneur told to pay The Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland attorney general's office issued a final order requiring a seller of a canceled bus trip package to pay restitution of more than...