Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from January 2008

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from January 2008

Maryland's 6 percent sales tax rate to take effect Thursday; just another worry for some merchants.
January 2, 2008... Byline: Louis Llovio Maryland retailers are getting their stores ready and crossing their fingers as a 1 percentage point sales tax hike takes effect Thursday. The increase, part of a comprehensive tax restructuring approved during a...

More jurisdictions are offering incentives for environmentally conscious Marylanders.
January 2, 2008... Byline: Danielle Ulman It may not be easy being green, but it is getting cheaper. Increasingly more local jurisdictions are offering incentives to environmentally conscious Marylanders working to shrink their carbon footprint. ...

News Summary - 1/3.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Staff and wire reports Property reassessments mailed The latest Maryland property assessments will arrive this week in mailboxes at the state's homes and businesses. The average assessment is rising 33 percent over three years...

Partnership with Univ. of Maryland to help ease shortage of dentists in Cecil.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Karen Buckelew When Union Hospital was thinking of expanding to better serve its Cecil County community's needs, its leadership was shocked to hear the No. 1 demand of community residents and health advocates -- more access to...

Report: Aggressive action could cut Baltimore City property tax rate.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen Baltimore City could lower its property taxes by more than 10 percent within a few years if officials act aggressively, according to a report to be released Thursday by a tax panel formed by Mayor Sheila Dixon. ...

In a case it described as a "puzzle without a clue," the Court of Special Appeals held that the mystery surrounding a 92-year-old woman's fall left too much uncertainty to take the case to a judge or jury.
January 3, 2008... Byline: LIZ FARMER In a case it described as a puzzle without a clue, the Court of Special Appeals held that the mystery surrounding a 92-year-old woman's fall left too much uncertainty to take the case to a judge or jury. The...

$22.5M for renovatiion of landmark American Brewery in East Baltimore.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Robbie Whelan The owners of the American Brewery complex in East Baltimore have secured $22.5 million to renovate two buildings, totaling 113,000 square feet, in one of the city's most blighted neighborhoods. Humanim, a...

Maryland property reassessments mailed.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff The latest Maryland property assessments will arrive this week in mailboxes at the state's homes and businesses. The average assessment is rising 33 percent over three years ago. That includes a 75 percent...

Baltimore-based LifeBridge bond sale pending.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff A Maryland state agency will borrow $261 million this week for Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health as tax-exempt bond sales trail the 12-month average for a third straight week. Maryland's Health & Higher...

Becton, Dickinson & Co.'s stock soars; Diagnostic segment in Sparks.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Becton, Dickinson & Co., a maker of medical supplies and diagnostic tools, rose to a record in New York trading Wednesday after the Food and Drug Administration approved its test that identifies drug-resistant...

Mount Laurel-based PHH Corp. sale falls through.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff PHH Corp., a New Jersey-based mortgage and vehicle leasing company, scrapped its $1.8 billion sale to General Electric Co. and Blackstone Group LP because Blackstone failed to get financing for the transaction....

Baltimore-based fund promotes Sullivan to EVP.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Robert E. Sullivan was promoted to executive vice president of Baltimore-based Petroleum & Resources Corp., effective Tuesday. Sullivan joined the closed-end investment company in May 2004 as a research analyst...

Trade credit markets squeezed.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff A major credit index dropped to its lowest point in its more than five-year history, as growth in the nation's manufacturing sector was trumped by a sharp contraction in the service sector, according to Owings...

Maryland Midland Railway changes hands.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Genesee & Wyoming Inc., of Greenwich, Conn., an owner of short line and regional freight railroads in the U.S., Canada and Australia, announced it completed its acquisition of 87.4 percent of Maryland Midland...

Rockville-based California Tortilla lands in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff California Tortilla, of Rockville, a quick-casual, Mexican restaurant chain, announced the opening of its newest restaurant inside the North Pier of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. California Tortilla...

Globecomm Services Maryland strikes gold.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Globecomm Systems Inc., of Hauppauge, N.Y., a provider of satellite-based communications infrastructure systems and services, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Globecomm Services Maryland, has been awarded a...

Immigrants' plan expected from Frederick County.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Frederick County Commissioner Charles Jenkins is calling for penalties for local businesses that hire illegal immigrants. He is talking to the county attorney about a plan to audit local businesses that receive...

Baltimore Ponzi scammer pleads guilty.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff David McDowell Robinson, of Baltimore, whose trial on 27 counts of wire and mail fraud charges was to begin Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, pleaded guilty immediately prior to jury selection, the...

Maryland Court of Special Appeals rebuffs ex-Public Service Commission head.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Kenneth Schisler got his job back, but he won't be reimbursed for his attorneys' fees. Maryland's second-highest court rejected an effort by the former head of the Public Service Commission to recover the costs...

Frederick police go high-tech.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Police in Frederick plan to equip at least five patrol cars with digital video cameras. The cameras will be purchased with money from an anti-terrorism grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security....

Judge: Expert's lies not basis for new trial.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Associated Press TOWSON, Md. - A Baltimore County judge says a police firearms expert's false testimony about his credentials was immaterial to his analysis of bullet fragments that helped convict a former Baltimore police sergeant...

Development story legislative.
January 3, 2008... Main legislative preview / Andy Rosen Finance / Andy Rosen Energy / Andy Rosen Retail / Louis Llovio Film / Louis Llovio Development / Robbie Whelan Healthcare / Karen Buckelew Courts / Liz Farmer

Maryland health care leaders, advocates looking forward to General Assembly's regular session.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Karen Buckelew After the General Assembly's special session in November, Maryland health care leaders and advocates seem to be experiencing an uncommon feeling as the regular session approaches next week -- satisfaction. The...

Maryland General Assemby to look again at film rebate tax.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Louis Llovio With last year's wrap of The Wire, the General Assembly could once again take up the issue of the film rebate tax created in 2005 to spur film and television production in the state. According to the Maryland...

Maryland retailers counting on business-friendly legislation this session.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Louis Llovio Maryland retailers, who kicked off 2008 having to swallow a 1 percentage point sales tax hike, are counting on the Maryland legislature for more business-friendly legislation this session. Among its most important...

Maryland General Assembly lobbied by private energy companies to keep deregulation.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen The Public Service Commission says it can implement many of the changes it has suggested for the electricity market on its own, but experts say the General Assembly will have to step in to strengthen the reforms. ...

On the Move.
January 4, 2008... ACCOUNTING Clifton Gunderson LLP announced that Gehrig C. Cosgray has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. Cosgray has over 33 years of public accounting and consulting experience, specializing in serving commercial...

Commentary: Charitable Giving - National Philanthropy Day.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Betsy Nelson Each November, the Association of Fundraising Professionals celebrates National Philanthropy Day to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropy -- and those people active in the philanthropic...

Commentary: Tech Talk: Internet has transformed traditional political campaigns.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Larry Fiorino This week kicks off the much-anticipated primary elections for the 2008 presidential election and, beginning in Iowa, voters will have the chance to have their voices heard in what is shaping up to be one of the most...

Week in Review.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Staff and wire reports $22.5M for brewery The owners of the American Brewery complex in East Baltimore have secured $22.5 million to renovate two buildings, totaling 113,000 square feet, in one of the city's most blighted...

News Summary - 1/4.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Staff and wire reports Fortress expands reach Fortress International Group, of Columbia, whose Total Site Solutions subsidiary provides planning, design and development services for secure facilities and information...

Columbia-based Fortress International Group expands reach.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Fortress International Group, of Columbia, whose Total Site Solutions subsidiary provides planning, design and development services for secure facilities and information infrastructure, announced its acquisition...

Rockville-based Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised $6.8M.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Rockville, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for cancer and central nervous system diseases, said it raised $6.8 million in a private placement of...

Germantown-based Comtech Mobile Datacom Corp. gets U.S. Army contract.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Comtech Telecommunications Corp., of Melville, N.Y., said its Germantown-based subsidiary, Comtech Mobile Datacom Corp., received orders totaling $17.7 million under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity...

Bethesda-based Iridium Satellite LLC gets aviation council approval.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Iridium Satellite LLC, of Bethesda, a supplier of mobile voice, data and Internet services worldwide via satellites, said the Montreal, Canada-based International Civil Aviation Organization Council approved...

Rockville-based EntreMed Inc. gets FDA go-ahead.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff EntreMed Inc., of Rockville, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and inflammation, said the Food and Drug Administration authorized the start of clinical trials for its...

Linthicum-based Dialysis Corp. grows.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Dialysis Corporation of America, of Linthicum, which owns and operates free-standing kidney hemodialysis centers, announced it acquired a majority interest in a dialysis center in Hawkinsville, Ga. The center has...

Baltimore/Washington InternationaI Airport gets busier.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff The latest figures from the Federal Aviation Administration show Baltimore's airport was the nation's 33rd busiest in 2006. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport climbed three spots from...

New signs for Baltimore's Holabird Business Park.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff The Baltimore Development Corp. announced a request for proposals for the design, fabrication and installation of new entry and directional signs at Holabird Business Park in Southeast Baltimore. BDC, the...

Hagerstown child abuser sentenced to 30 years.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff A Hagerstown man is heading to prison for 30 years for the child-abuse death of his former girlfriend's 4-month old son. Floyd Bingaman, 21, was sentenced Thursday for his November conviction on charges of...

EEOC: Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. will pay $2.5 million.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense company, will pay $2.5 million -- the largest amount ever obtained for a single individual by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- to...

Hunt Valley company sued in Texas.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Kinetic Concepts Inc., of San Antonio, Texas, a maker of wound-care products, filed suit in Texas against Hunt Valley-based Innovative Therapies Inc. and three of its officers who formerly worked for Kinetic for...

Cecil County advocate told to close homeless shelter.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber A Cecil County advocate for the homeless said the county government is trying to shut down a shelter she has set up on her property. Carla Reeves said she does not think it is a coincidence that the county's action...

Maryland 2008 Legislative Preview: Gay marriage, felons' rights on the agenda.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer When the Court of Appeals issued its 244-page opinion in September finding that same-sex marriage was not a fundamental right, one thing for the 2008 legislative session seemed for certain: gay-rights groups would be...

Headhunters: Baltimore Ravens' new leader needs to listen.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Louis Llovio Ask anybody in Baltimore who the next head coach of the Baltimore Ravens should be, and they are likely to give you an answer based on win-loss records and offensive output. Ask a staffing expert, though, and the...

Cosgray joins Washington, D.C. office of Clifton Gunderson LLP.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Clifton Gunderson LLP announced that Gehrig C. Cosgray has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. Cosgray has over 33 years of public accounting and consulting experience, specializing...

Marylanders receive awards and recognition: January 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report David Warschawski, founder and CEO of Warschawski, has been named one of the top 40 industry leaders under the age of 40 by PR Week, the industry's leading publication. Warschawski was chosen for the...

Maryland community bank hires four.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff BlueRidge Bank, a community bank with plans to serve Frederick, Washington and Montgomery counties, has expanded its executive management team with four new personnel appointments. The new members include: Scott...

Maryland boards announce changes: January 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff BOARDS David Bollinger, owner/partner of Barnes-Bollinger Insurance Services in Westminster, is chair of the board of trustees of Carroll Lutheran Village, a full-service continuing care retirement community....

Baltimore-based Goucher College hires Pipkin.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Goucher College has hired Kate Pipkin as the new director of communications. In this position, Pipkin oversees a staff that includes two-person teams in media relations, writing, and design; a design and...

Maryland financial firms annouce changes: January 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Ascend One Corp., a company committed to helping consumers break the cycle of credit card debt, announces the hire of Deborah Deaton as director of operations for Amerix Corp. In her new role, Deaton is...

Maryland health care community announces changes: January 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Harold Goll, M.D., chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, has been named president of the Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists. Goll has been a physician at GBMC since...

Maryland real estate announcements: January 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Realtor Thomas A. Ryles Jr., an agent with Long & Foster Real Estate Inc., recently announced receiving the Graduate, REALTORS Institute designation, or GRI. The GRI designation is awarded to members of the...

Charlestown Retirement Community has new sales director.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Charlestown Retirement Community has hired Donald Grove as the new director of sales and marketing. Prior to joining Charlestown, Grove served as senior director of sales & fan services for the Baltimore Orioles...

Maryland technology companies announce new hires: January 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff WebAdvantage.net, a results-centric, process-driven strategic search marketing and online advertising agency, announced Paula Bragg has joined the management team as senior account manager. During her eight years...

Deep Creek Lake a winter wonderland.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Mary Medland Marylanders may trek to Ocean City in the warmer months, but when it comes to winter, they head for Garrett County. "You can find something to do here all year long, but in the winter we are famous because we are...

North Carolina's coastline captivates families.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Karen Nitkin At dusk, the pale ghost crabs come skittering out of sand holes on the vast white beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Kids armed with flashlights chase them while their parents set up a picnic dinner nearby. ...

Maryland's organic eateries provide comfort and food.
January 4, 2008... Byline: Mary Medland These days, it looks like more Americans may be coming full circle when it comes to eating produce that is in-season and grown locally. While 100 years ago it may have been common practice to grow your own fruits and...

Commentary: Web Watching: As an Office killer, Adobe Buzzword doesn't stack up.
January 5, 2008... Byline: Ben Mook When it comes to looks, Adobe's free venture into office productivity software, Buzzword, is head and shoulders among other free office productivity programs, but it lacks in other areas that would make it a truly viable...

On the Move.
January 5, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Ongoing The artists of CalvART Gallery are once again hosting their popular holiday event, “Gifts of a Lifetime — The Small Works Show,” which brings a unique collection of special pieces to...

Maryland's Hughes Communications plans acquisition.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Hughes Communications Inc., of Germantown, an international supplier of broadband satellite services, said Friday it plans to acquire Helius Inc. for an undisclosed amount in an effort to expand its service...

Computer services group hires lobbyist in preparation for legislative assault in Maryland.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen A legislative assault on Maryland's pending tax on computer services is taking shape as the General Assembly prepares to begin its 2008 session Wednesday. Legislators are preparing for intense discussion of their...

Baltimore-based Darkroom Productions parlays 'Wire' work into distribution deal.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Robbie Whelan Darkroom Productions, a two-man team of local hip-hop producers that has been featured on HBO's "The Wire," has signed a deal that will give it worldwide distribution through New York's Koch Entertainment. In an...

Maryland law firms announce staffing changes: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Offit Kurman has promoted Michael N. Mercurio, Steven E. Shane and Jonathan R. Wachs to principal. Mercurio serves as outside general counsel to clients on matters related to corporate and business law,...

Commentary: Legal ADvice: Matlock would have gagged.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jim Astrachan Andy Griffith is a famous motion picture and television actor. Perhaps he is best known for one of history's longest-running sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show, created by Sheldon Leonard in 1960, in which Griffith...

Commentary: The Big Picture: Feeling alien-ated.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Jack L.B. Gohn I am increasingly turned off by the so-called immigration debate. I start from first principles that are very simple. And I don't hear anyone coming close to sharing them, and I wonder why not. The principles? Just...

Legal Opinions - Maryland Court of Appeals: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Labor & Employment Benefits due under City code BOTTOM LINE: Under Section 3.36.150A1 of the Code of the City of Annapolis, retired police officers and fire fighters are entitled to receive increases in...

Legal Opinions - Maryland Court of Special Appeals: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Civil Procedure Award of damages in excess of ad damnum request BOTTOM LINE: An ad damnum clause that seeks damages in excess of a stated amount cannot satisfy the plain language directive of Rule 2-305,...

Legal Opinions - U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Criminal Law Proof of mens rea BOTTOM LINE: U.S. District Court erred in finding sufficient basis for the defendant's guilty plea when the defendant did not admit to the mens rea element during the...

Legal Opinions - U.S. District Court, Maryland: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Civil Procedure Diversity jurisdiction BOTTOM LINE: Corporation's Pennsylvania citizenship destroyed complete diversity and dismissal was appropriate. CASE: Trans/Air Manu. Corp. v. Merson, et al ,...

On the Docket in Maryland: January 7, 2008.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff COURT OF APPEALS Labor & Employment, Benefits due under City code: Under Section 3.36.150A1 of the Code of the City of Annapolis, retired police officers and fire fighters are entitled to receive...

Interrogatory: Have you run across any unusual Maryland laws?
January 7, 2008... “Adultery is still on the books as a $10 fine … Criminal Law Title 10, Crimes against public health, conduct, and sensibilities; Subtitle 5, crimes against marriage; section 10-501: ‘Prohibited: A person may not commit...

Sex, death, drugs and more: The legal topics facing the state's lawmakers this year may be familiar, but they're anything but routine.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer Some of the tough money issues may have been ironed out during the special session -- namely the budget deficit, slots and taxes -- but Maryland's lawmakers will find no shortage of controversy on their desks come...

Jury finds for Ocean City condo group in suit over repairs.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney A federal jury has awarded $18,000 to an Ocean City condominium association after deciding the engineer the group hired to oversee facade repairs at the waterfront building failed to tell them the work had not been...

Week in Review - Legal Edition.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Staff and wire reports Advocate told to close shelter A Cecil County advocate for the homeless said the county government is trying to shut down a shelter she has set up on her property. Carla Reeves said she does not think it...

Maryland law students confront Katrina's lasting legacy.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer The Gulf Coast region devastated by Hurricane Katrina more than two years ago may look physically better today, but for more than 80 University of Maryland School of Law students, repairing that part of the country is an...

My First/Book: Crosstown rivalry? He wrote the book on it.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney Kyriakos P. Marudas was talking to his father on the phone while studying abroad in Oxford, England during the fall of 1987 when he thought to ask about the latest happenings in his hometown of Baltimore. Among...

Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties impose hiring freezes.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff The county executives of Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties announced hiring freezes in their respective jurisdictions on Friday, citing uncertain economic conditions and a projected budget shortfall....

Rockville-based DrFirst Inc. forms alliance with Medical Information Technology Inc.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff DrFirst Inc., of Rockville, a provider of electronic prescribing software, said it has established a strategic alliance with Medical Information Technology Inc., or Meditech, of Westwood, Mass., which makes...

Chestertown Foods plant to close.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Chestertown Foods Inc. has idled 127 workers and will close its plant in Chestertown, where it makes cooked, diced chicken products, at the end of February. The company informed the workers and the Maryland...

Maryland Classified Employees Assn. goes after AFSCME.
January 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff The Maryland Classified Employees Association said Friday that some of its state employee members filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the Maryland State Labor Relations Board against another...

Charges filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore over federal fuel bid rigging.
January 7, 2008... Byline: Ben Mook A Baltimore businessman was indicted Monday in federal court on charges he helped defraud the U.S. Department of Defense by conspiring to rig bids for aircraft fuel by selling his former company's bid information to...

News Summary - 1/8.
January 8, 2008... Byline: Staff and wire reports McDaniel to get $5M gift McDaniel College in Westminster announced the largest outright gift it has ever received from a living alumnus. Commercial real estate developer Leroy Merritt has pledged $5...

Double jeopardy ban protects teen, despite court's premature ruling, says Md.'s highest court.
January 8, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber A prosecutor's decision to rest the state's case in a juvenile proceeding, combined with a circuit judge's premature ruling, should have precluded further action against the teen, the state's highest court has decided....