Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from June 2009

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from June 2009

Week in review- Business edition.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Staff and wire reports GM fallout General Motors Powertrain’s transmission factory in White Marsh was spared during a round of plant closings announced Monday as G.M. filed for federal bankruptcy protection, leaving the plant...

Commentary: Social media is worth your company's time.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Jackie Sauter Obviously we're in a recession, and time, resources and staff are limited. I can empathize with feeling overwhelmed with work and stretched too thin. But (there's always a but) social media isn't going to wait...

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee recommends Davis, Perez.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Steve Lash The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to recommend that the full Senate confirm Andre M. Davis to become a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge and Thomas E. Perez to become assistant U.S. attorney...

The Daily Record Business News Briefs: June 5, 2009.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports Center Club renovation starts The Center Club, one of Baltimore's premiere business meeting and dining locations, announced the start of a $2.7 million renovation of its main lobby and dining...

Sinclair Broadcasting to shareholders - 'We're hanging in there'.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Liz Farmer After posting a net loss of $85.7 million in the first quarter, the message coming from television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. at its annual shareholder meeting Thursday was one of patience. We're...

East Baltimore Development Inc. approves acquisition of more than 800 properties.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan The head of East Baltimore Development Inc., the nonprofit directing the largest redevelopment project underway in the Baltimore region, said that he has given his staff the green light to acquire between 800 and 900...

Commentary: Watch out Google -- here comes Bing.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Larry Fiorino It may not be perfect, but it's not Google. This is the Microsoft stand on the new search engine named Bing... www.bing.com. Check it out. I think you will enjoy the experience. On Monday, Microsoft released...

University of Maryland, Baltimore's David J. Ramsay retiring after 15 years.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan David J. Ramsay, the British-educated medical doctor who has headed the University of Maryland, Baltimore, for the last 15 years, has announced that he will retire. In an e-mail to students and colleagues sent...

Learning how to capitalize on BRAC coming to Maryland.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Maria Zilberman Some of the small business owners at Thursday's conference about capitalizing on opportunities coming to Maryland as a result of relocating military personnel came just to collect business cards. But others came...

Two recording studios in Baltimore take different paths to success.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Richard Simon In a nondescript house three blocks west of South Broadway Street and the heart of Fells Point, the members of We are the Ocean, a popular teen hardcore rock band from London, are in the final week of recording their...

Commentary: Entrepreneurship calls for brutal honesty.
June 5, 2009... Byline: J. Howard (Jim) Kucher We've all done it -- happened upon an essay we wrote back in high school; found an old clay sculpture we made for mom when we were little. While we're in the moment, thinking, Yeesh, this is terrible...

Commentary: When empathy isn't enough.
June 5, 2009... Byline: C. Fraser Smith From choosing a Supreme Court justice to policing credit card companies to loosening the knot of intransigence in the Middle East, President Barack Obama presides over a conveyor belt of Jobian dilemmas. The job...

Marylanders on the Move: June 5, 2009.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Accounting Clifton Gunderson announced Matthew Birkelien and Thomas Rey have been named partners in the firm. They join 14 other new partners recently admitted to the firm. Both are based in the firm's...

Commentary: This one rubs the wrong way.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Editorial It's enough to make a horse laugh. We're talking about the ludicrous position taken by the Maryland Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners in its long-running dispute with a certified...

Md. Court of Appeals: Rogers v. Eastport Yachting Center, LLC.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Administrative Law Appellate review BOTTOM LINE: Court of Special Appeals properly dismissed for lack of jurisdiction purported appeal from decision of Port Wardens of City of Annapolis where review...

Commentary: Bing to compete with Google.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Larry Fiorino It may not be perfect, but it's not Google. This is the Microsoft stand on the new search engine named Bing... www.bing.com. Check it out. I think you will enjoy the experience. Last Monday, Microsoft...

Commentary: Mortgage rates start to climb again.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Robert Nusgart After several weeks of relative stability, mortgage rates are on the rise. The spike in rates started a week ago Thursday when there was a huge sell-off in mortgage-backed securities after three bond auctions by the...

Md. Court of Appeals: State v. Blackwell.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Criminal Procedure Expert testimony BOTTOM LINE: Because State Trooper's testimony regarding administration of a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test to criminal defendant constituted expert testimony,...

Md. Court of Appeals: Brown v. State.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Criminal Procedure Fundamental jurisdiction BOTTOM LINE: Drug Treatment Court had fundamental jurisdiction over criminal defendant's case because it was a division of the circuit court, which...

Md. Court of Special Appeals: Doe v. Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Criminal Law Sex offender registration law BOTTOM LINE: Forcing a convicted rapist to register with local law enforcement for the remainder of his life does not violate his rights to procedural due...

Md. Court of Special Appeals: Webb v. State.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Criminal Law Single larceny doctrine BOTTOM LINE: Where no evidence was adduced at trial indicating that criminal defendant came into possession of items of stolen property at different times,...

U.S. Supreme Court: Ashcroft, et al. v. Iqbal.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Civil Procedure Sufficiency of pleading BOTTOM LINE: Respondent failed to plead sufficient facts to show that federal officials adopted and implemented detention policies under which he was arrested...

U.S. Supreme Court: Montejo v. Lousiana.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Criminal Procedure Right to counsel BOTTOM LINE: Where criminal defendant was appointed counsel at arraignment but never articulated a request for counsel, statements made during subsequent police...

U.S. Supreme Court: AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, et al.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Labor & Employment Anticipated disability BOTTOM LINE: Where employer paid lower pension benefits based on employees' pregnancy absences, employer did not necessarily violate statute prohibiting such...

U.S. 4th Circuit: Iota XI Chapter Of Sigma Chi Fraternity v. Patterson.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Constitutional Law Procedural due process BOTTOM LINE: Fraternity failed to establish due process violations due to sanctions imposed by University where fraternity did not establish a cognizable...

U.S. 4th Circuit: United States v. Jenkins.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Criminal Procedure Sentencing enhancement BOTTOM LINE: District court's four-level sentence enhancement was appropriate where defendant's unlawful possession of a firearm facilitated his underlying...

U.S. 4th Circuit: CACI International, Inc., et al. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Insurance Duty to defend BOTTOM LINE: Insurer did not have a duty to defend company employees who were alleged to have injured prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison where policy did not extend coverage to...

U.S. District Court, Md.: Erie Ins. Exchange, et al. v. Davenport Insulation, Inc.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Civil Procedure Diversity of citizenship BOTTOM LINE: Where policyholders were customers, rather than members, of unincorporated association, district court denied Insurer's motion for remand to state...

U.S. District Court, Md.: Perry, Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Ins. Co.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Insurance Duty to defend BOTTOM LINE: District court granted summary judgment in favor of Insurer where policy's Intellectual Property Rights Exclusion relieved insurer of its duty to defend suit for...

U.S. District Court, Md.: Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc. v. Shanghai Meihao Electric, Inc.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Intellectual Property Attorneys' fees BOTTOM LINE: District court adopted magistrate's recommendation for award of attorney's fees to defendant, despite plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of suit, where...

U.S. District Court, Md.: Kaplan v. Carefirst, Inc., et al.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Labor & Employment Younger abstention BOTTOM LINE: Younger abstention doctrine required court to abstain from hearing claim for payment under severance agreement while it was pending with the Maryland...

The Daily Record Business News Briefs: June 8, 2009.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports Ferro nominated to U.S. post Anne Ferro, the head of a Maryland trucking-industry group, was named by President Barack Obama as the top U.S. regulator of trucks and commercial buses. Ferro,...

Baltimore developer C. William Struever announces slowdown.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan Baltimore developer C. William Bill Struever will not be investing any equity in new projects for the foreseeable future, he said. The developer, whose company's $10 million in unpaid bills has been widely...

Maryland's U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes: Get credit flowing.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes says that the federal government needs to do more to encourage transparency in lending practices and get credit flowing from major financial institutions in order to pull Maryland's...

Commentary: Financial planners matter in tough times.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Gary Williams Why enlist the services of a financial planner when your holdings are down and you're facing a host of financial problems? Because as dark as times may seem, you're actually giving yourself a fresh start in building a...

Riding out the downturn: Law professor believes many big law firms will not survive.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber Law professor William D. Henderson sees the recession forever changing the law firm landscape. Henderson, who has studied law firm economics, said he believes many big firms will not survive, at least not in their...

The bubble bursts for starting salaries at law firms.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber One year ago, law firms were reluctantly raising associate starting salaries again, wary of bucking the upward-trending salary market even as they watched the economy take a nosedive. This year, The Daily Record's...

Deferrals spell opportunity for Md. Office of the Attorney General.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber The Office of the Attorney General will be getting some top-notch talent this fall -- for free. Some large law firms have promised to pay their deferred first-year associates a stipend if they find a job in...

Still no offer? University of Md. law dean urges new graduates to work for free.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber Dana Morris is urging new graduates without jobs lined up to consider unpaid work for now. The assistant dean for career development at the University of Maryland School of Law said that in this tough job market,...

All the lifestyle that Legal Aid wages can buy.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber When Janine A. Scott started at the Legal Aid Bureau more than 10 years ago, her salary was $28,000 a year. She soon discovered that she loved the work, but the money was a sticking point. How could she have the...

Methodology: Tracking down the numbers.
June 8, 2009... Byline: BARBARA GRZINCIC These charts are the culmination of nearly five months' work by our most senior legal affairs writer, Caryn Tamber, who covers the business of law. And work it was: for the most part, the law firms we surveyed...

Week in review - Legal edition.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record staff School can keep Porter’s papers The University of Maryland will get to keep the papers of the late Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Katherine Anne Porter, whose most famous novel, “Ship of Fools,”...

Baltimore jury: Pension plan error cost Md. Transit Administration worker $135K.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Brendan Kearney A Baltimore jury has awarded $135,000 to Etta Walker, a longtime Maryland Transit Administration bus driver and supervisor, after a second trial to determine how much a pension-program snafu cost the 56-year-old...

Ex-tenants of Annapolis' historic Market House seek millions.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Danny Jacobs A high-profile lawsuit involving Annapolis' historic Market House will go to trial Monday, even though the two parties involved have already settled the lawsuit. Instead, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge will...

Commentary: Misconceptions in the Sotomayor Discussion.
June 8, 2009... Byline: The Daily Record Editorial Advisory Board President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has rekindled a number of running disputes in our national dialogue about the courts and about diversity. This board does...

Grandparents have burden in modification cases, rules Md. Court of Special Appeals.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Christina Doran Parents do not need to show a material change in circumstances in order to modify the visitation rights of third parties, such as grandparents, the Court of Special Appeals held. The parents' decision is itself...

Marylanders on the Move: June 8, 2009.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff Report Joseph J. Mezzanotte, a partner in the Columbia office of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP, is the new chairman of the board of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce. Mezzanotte has been active in the...

Commentary: Of Service: Addressing needs as rights.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Joe Surkiewicz Legal services to the poor grew out of the civil rights and anti-poverty movements of the mid-20th century, which had antecedents in the anti-slavery and women's rights campaigns of the previous century. And...

Md. businessment Geppi, Skayhan sued for loan default.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Danny Jacobs A holding company backed by two prominent Maryland businessmen has allegedly defaulted on a $600,000 loan for a planned, mixed-use development in Maine, according to court documents. Comic book magnate Stephen A....

Former Hagerstown pastor pleads guilty to tax evasion.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Ben Mook A former pastor who once headed a Christian retreat in Hagerstown pleaded guilty Thursday to: tax evasion, filing a false application to secure nonprofit status for Shiloh Ministries of Hagerstown (Shiloh Company) and bank...

News briefs - Legal edition.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Staff and wire reports Mother gets prison term for kidnapping son BALTIMORE (AP) — A woman who fled with her young son from Maryland to Mexico more than 10 years ago was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in federal prison...

Cardaro to take the helm of the Md. State Bar Association.
June 8, 2009... Byline: Barbara Grzincic Tom Cardaro can remember the first time his job required him to wear a tie. The place was Giant Food, and he'd just been promoted. To fish-cutter. It was a big promotion, said Cardaro. He'd been...

Maryland Legal Briefs: June 9, 2009.
June 9, 2009... Byline: The Daily Record Staff and Wire Report Device may foil auto cameras Want to know when to hit the brakes? A warning system called PhantomAlert warns drivers as they approach speed cameras and red-light cameras. Joseph Scott, a...

Baltimore developers settle Bracebridge litigation.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Danny Jacobs Two prominent Baltimore developers have settled a $10 million lawsuit involving a 560-acre Cecil County waterfront estate and subdivision, days before their scheduled trial. Terms of the settlement between Edward...

Vegan-friendly natural food restaurant coming to downtown Baltimore.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Maria Zilberman Nira Minniefield and Eshe Armah are not in a rush to open The Natural Life Cafe, a vegan-friendly natural food restaurant coming to South Arlington Street in Hollins Market. The cafe was scheduled to open last...

Commentary: Regional Perspectives: Seeking justice in Baltimore's transportation plans.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Joe Nathanson What would West Baltimore's infamous highway to nowhere have in common with an MTA bus depot located in East Baltimore? The Route 40/Franklin-Mulberry corridor highway tore through established neighborhoods in the...

Firm says safety issue is forcing shift from Baltimore.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan An international venture capital firm is moving its operation in midtown Baltimore to Timonium, according to a company official, because of persistent crime problems in the city and safety threats to its employees....

Retired Raven Michael McCrary loses $33M award in Md. Court of Special Appeals.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Brendan Kearney The $33.6 million damage award that retired Raven Michael McCrary won last year in his lawsuit against his former business associates was overturned on appeal Monday afternoon. In a 61-page opinion, the Court of...

Lawyer guilty of stalking suspended by Md. Court of Appeals.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber The Court of Appeals has suspended a lawyer indefinitely for a stalking conviction, even though the Supreme Court of New Jersey, where the attorney lives, suspended him for only three months. According to the...

Gorman to lead Md.-based Stevenson University's new School of Sciences.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Andy Rosen Stevenson University has named a longtime administrator and professor to head the institution's newly created School of Sciences. Susan T. Gorman will be the dean of the science school, Stevenson announced Monday....

The Daily Record Business News Briefs: June 9, 2009.
June 9, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports Amex notice to Neuralstem Nerualstem Inc., of Rockville, which develops products to treat central nervous system disorders with stem cell technology, said it was notified by the NYSE Amex...

Md. appellate court declines to give former police commissioner his job back.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Barbara Grzincic Former police commissioner Kevin Clark is not entitled to reinstatement or to any damages beyond what the city of Baltimore has already offered him, the Court of Special Appeals held. The decision is the second...

Baltimore approves 15-year deal for Legg's new headquarters.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan Legg Mason will be in Harbor East for the long haul. Baltimore officials Wednesday gave final approval to a Payment In Lieu of Taxes agreement between the city and developer H&S Properties Development Corp. for...

Baltimore Council moves to slow quick-takes.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan Benjamin Baylor, an auto repairman from East Baltimore, found out just a few weeks ago that the city planned to seize part of his property with the controversial quick-take method of condemnation, pay him $12,000 for...

Maryland State Bar Association presentation to use two-way video.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Brendan Kearney Perhaps it's fitting that the first panel discussion ever to be available by two-way videoconference from the Maryland State Bar Association's Annual Meeting will address one of the more cutting-edge technological...

Maryland Legal Briefs: June 11, 2009.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports O.C. stun gun ban panned A proposed ban on stun guns in Ocean City is meeting opposition from Town Council members who say the devices could serve as a less lethal alternative to hand guns. The...

For Maryland State Bar Association panel, timing is Supreme.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Steve Lash Organizers of Thursday's panel discussion on the Supreme Court's direction under President Barack Obama could not have asked for better timing when they planned the Maryland State Bar Association session back in...

Paving success in Howard County.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Maria Zilberman The new Independence Construction Materials asphalt plant in Jessup smells like freshly paved hope for the construction industry. Though the site will only employ six to eight people, its opening, marked by...

Md. Court of Appeals disbars Howard County solo.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Caryn Tamber The Court of Appeals has disbarred an Ellicott City solo practitioner who repeatedly misused his attorney trust account. Even though none of his clients suffered a loss, David Moore Thomas' behavior was especially...

Downtown Baltimore circulator buses delayed.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Andy Rosen Baltimore plans to start the bulk of its free downtown bus system in September, a few months behind the original schedule for the program, but city officials say the program is on track. The bus system was originally...

Commentary: It's a medical condition, not an indecency.
June 11, 2009... Byline: The Daily Record Editorial Advisory Board U.S. Representative Jim Moran of Virginia recently introduced legislation that would classify as indecent a television or radio broadcast of an advertisement for medication to treat erectile...

The Daily Record Business News Briefs: June 11, 2009.
June 11, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports Emergent secures extension Emergent BioSolutions Inc., of Rockville, announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved an extension of the shelf life of its flagship product, the...

Baltimore, employment lawyer settle bias suit.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Brendan Kearney More than five years after Howard B. Hoffman was fired from the Baltimore City Law Department, the contentious litigation over the legitimacy of that action may finally be over. Lawyers for the city and Hoffman,...

Commentary: Keys to University of Md. School of Law dean's success lie in her advice to students.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Editorial Advisory Board Later this month, Karen Rothenberg will conclude her impressive decade as dean of the University of Maryland School of Law. During her tenure, the law school attracted more highly qualified...

The Daily Record Business News Briefs: June 12, 2009.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports Chindex sees turnaround Chindex International Inc., of Bethesda, which sells medical products in China, said it turned a profit in the fiscal fourth quarter as hospital revenue and sales of...

Maryland State Bar Association Annual Convention: Getting to Rowe Blvd. and back.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Danny Jacobs Retired Judge Irma S. Raker's advice for handling a successful appeal harkens back to the directions for getting to Carnegie Hall: prepare, prepare, prepare. The trip to the state's appellate courts on Rowe...

Constellation Energy appeals decision by Maryland Public Service Commission.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Robbie Whelan and Andy Rosen State energy regulators say they have the authority to approve or reject Constellation Energy Group's deal to sell nearly half of its nuclear power generation business to Electricite de France. The...

Port of Baltimore bracing for tough '09.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Andy Rosen Overall shipping increased across the Port of Baltimore in 2008, according to yearly statistics compiled by the Maryland Port Administration, but officials at both public and private terminals are bracing for a tough...

The overworked associate... and other perils of practicing law.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Danny Jacobs This case should scare the hell out of you, Alvin I. Frederick began. Frederick was referring to Attorney Grievance Commission v. Kimmel & Silverman, in which the state's highest court suspended the principals of...

Lawsuit against Rockville-based wind energy co. alleges windmills threaten endangered bat.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Brendan Kearney Animal rights and environmental advocates have sued a Rockville-based wind energy company, claiming its plan to build towering turbines along a West Virginia mountain ridge threatens an endangered species of bat....

Commentary: Philanthropy is growing and changing.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Betsy Nelson Stepping back to assess the state of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector is a yearly occurrence at the annual meeting of the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers. This year, Susan Raymond, executive vice...

Week in review - Business edition.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Staff and wire reports H&S tax break approved Baltimore officials Wednesday gave final approval to a Payment In Lieu of Taxes agreement between the city and developer H&S Properties Development Corp. for one 15-year tax break on...

Cross-border transfer tests Maryland lawyer's right to be present.
June 12, 2009... Byline: Steve Lash A Montgomery County judge should not have relinquished jurisdiction over a child-custody case to the Virginia courts outside the presence of the father's Maryland attorney, that lawyer told the Court of Appeals. ...

Is tourism the answer for Western Maryland?
June 12, 2009... Byline: Andy Rosen On a spring Friday afternoon downtown in this Western Maryland city, workers begin to set up lawn chairs around garden boxes and along the sides of a mostly pedestrian Baltimore Street. They're getting ready for the...