Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from May 2004

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from May 2004

Knights at Medieval Times work hard to entertain guests.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Nancy Kercheval They're "adrenaline junkies" or "rough and tumble kids" who never grew up, but above all, they're Knights of the Realm. And as such, they are required to entertain the king and princess and the people of the land...

Commentary: Golf: Sucker pins, false fronts and tricky tees.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Joe Rahnis The grounds crew and course superintendent can be a golfer's best friend. After all, they're the ones responsible for keeping the grass lush and trimmed, the bunkers in top shape and the greens rolling true. Don't...

Boonsboro working to use Blue Ridge Trolley station as museum.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The town of Boonsboro is working with the Boonsboro Historical Society to use the last remaining Blue Ridge Trolley station in Washington County as a museum showcasing early transportation in the region. In...

Signature Special Event Service opens two new locations.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Signature Special Event Services, of Frederick, a full-service event rental company serving the corporate, sporting and social event markets, opened two new locations, in Los Angeles and Shelbyville, Ky.,...

Interior Design Expo teams up with Habitat for Humanity.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Interior Design Expo, slated for May 15-16 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, has entered into a joint agreement with Baltimore's Habitat for Humanity to help combat local homelessness. The...

Round Up Hunger campaign collects more than $161K for food banks.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Safeway stores in the Washington/Baltimore region collected more than $161,000 for area food banks with a Round Up Hunger campaign. Customers were asked whether they wanted to "round up" their grocery order...

National Foundation for Cancer Research launches NFCR Flower Club.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Building on recent studies that show the healing benefits of flowers among people suffering from cancer and other illnesses, the National Foundation for Cancer Research, of Bethesda, introduced the NFCR...

Current events grow stale during game development process.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Alan Dessoff One of these days, people who like to play computer games will be able to join the Iraq war, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, all from the comfort of their...

Commentary: Joint ventures - creating the perfect chicken soup.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Neal Strum and Brian O'Connor Imagine you are a master chef deciding to collaborate with a talented colleague to create the perfect chicken soup. In laying the ground rules for your joint effort, you will need to decide what...

Biotech firms take big risks for development, but few products make it.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Shelly Schwartz It was strike three for Human Genome Sciences. The Rockville biotechnology firm, one of the most successful in the nation, announced in February it was pulling the plug on its drug to fight oral ulcers caused by...

Commentary: The case for Greater Baltimore's bioscience strategy.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Donald C. Fry In targeting the bioscience industry as the next "impact" sector for economic growth, the Greater Baltimore region is not alone. Numerous regions in the United States and elsewhere are seeking to leverage bioscience...

Commentary: Controversy emerges over radio frequency identification devices.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Bill McComas Get ready for the next fight between an emerging technology and privacy advocates. In one corner stands radio frequency identification devices, or RFID, a technology poised to revolutionize supply chain management,...

Commentary: M&A: Strategy of creative destruction.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Chris Desautelle Growth measured by revenue, the number of customers and staff, or other factors is a necessary part of corporate life. Companies that don't grow tend to struggle as budgets are reduced, product or service...

Commentary: Safe and sound, right?
May 1, 2004... Byline: Eric Ruck Thanks to the speedy spread of technology, we've all become acutely aware of the importance and safety of our data. Everyone has a virus program running on his or her computer to keep the software from getting sick....

Secured Processing Inc. helps fend off attacks from the inside.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Carolyn Taschner The man pushing the mop could be a company's biggest threat. A spy in a janitor's jumpsuit, he may be waiting to sidle up to the nearest computer to steal classified information in a few flicks of his yellow-gloved...

Univ. of MD incubator program selectively chooses promising ventures.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Christianna McCausland When the Technology Advancement Program (TAP) at the University of Maryland, College Park admitted its first company in May 1985, most people still thought an incubator referred to a machine found in a...

Partnership inspires high school students, military mentors.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Robert L. Rager Some of the United State's most fertile ground for science and technology innovation lies within the secured confines of Maryland's military research facilities, where the best scientific minds in the country are...

Infrastructure updates help companies get back to profits, productivity.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Mary E. Medland Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was dead on the money with his term "Jobless Recovery." "Organizations that have gained productivity have realized that technology can drive better earnings and...

Head of MD's Office of the Public Defender steps down.
May 3, 2004... Byline: The Daily Record Editorial Advisory Board Since 1990, Stephen E. Harris has led Maryland's Office of the Public Defender. Following the legendary founding defender, Alan Hamilton Murrell, was no easy task. Murrell, considered by...

Disease management firms are in demand.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Chet Dembeck A Timonium firm that helps health care companies manage their chronically ill patients has outgrown its 20,000-square-foot headquarters and is moving to Hunt Valley. FutureHealth Corp. recently signed a seven-year...

Court of Special Appeals overturns conviction in Charles Village murder.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks A defendant who was convicted of murder after being removed from the courtroom for misconduct is entitled to a new trial, the Court of Special Appeals has held. It will be the third trial for Mohammad Biglari, who was...

Browne v. Board of Education decision turns 50.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley The 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education may not be for another two weeks, but a series of events organized by Maryland's legal community reaches a climax today. The Maryland State Bar Association...

U.S. Census Bureau mailing questionnaires to small biz owners.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil More than 1 million small business owners across the country this week will begin receiving surveys that once completed will influence business-assistance programs at all levels of government. The U.S. Census...

Deputy public defender to succeed departing public defender.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Geier Nancy S. Forster, former deputy to departing Public Defender Stephen E. Harris, has been named to succeed Harris as Maryland's third public defender. Harris welcomed the announcement that the Board of Trustees for...

Making sure everyone gains in Silver Spring revitalization.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos With downtown Silver Spring revitalization more than halfway to its goals and chain stores moving in, Montgomery County has launched a program intended to help retain small and minority businesses. Its main...

Film Festival balances growth and intimacy.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler Organizers of the Maryland Film Festival, kicking off its sixth year Thursday, are seeking ways to keep the event growing. More than 150 films are scheduled to be shown in three Baltimore area theaters through...

MD Legal Briefs May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Grand jury indicts Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. announced Friday that John M. Kochan Sr., 53, of Silver Spring, has been indicted by the Montgomery County grand jury on charges of exploitation of...

BGE donates $25K scholarship to Coppin State Univ.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. donated a $25,000 scholarship to Baltimore's Coppin State University, one of 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities participating in the 2004 Tom Joyner Foundation...

Morgan State Univ. president named member of The HistoryMakers.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Earl S. Richardson, president of Morgan State University in Baltimore, was named a member of The HistoryMakers, a Chicago-based nonprofit group that honors black persons, both well known and unsung....

The Walther Shopping Center sold.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Walther Shopping Center, a 54,000-square-foot, 100 percent leased, neighborhood retail center at Walther Boulevard and Dunfield Road in Perry Hall was sold for $6.8 million. KLNB Retail, of Baltimore,...

U of Baltimore to conduct Community Service Day.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The University of Baltimore will conduct its annual Community Service Day on May 7, with more than 150 UB students, faculty, staff and friends volunteering free assistance to nearly a dozen neighborhood...

EntreMed president to resign.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports EntreMed Inc., of Rockville, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics primarily for the treatment of cancer, said Neil Campbell will resign as president and chief operating officer,...

Manekin LLC breaks ground on three-building campus in Chantilly, Va.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Manekin LLC, of Columbia, a full-service commercial real estate firm, broke ground on Manekin @ Dulles South, a three-building, 140,000-square-foot flex/industrial campus across from Lafayette Business Center...

Corvis Corp. cuts loss.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Corvis Corp., of Columbia, a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, reported a first-quarter net loss of $33.9 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $146.8 million, versus a net loss of...

AAI sells 26 undeveloped acres in Baltimore County for $8M.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Chet Dembeck AAI Corp. is selling 26 acres of undeveloped property adjacent to its headquarters in northern Baltimore County's Hunt Valley area for $8 million. The maker of aircraft testing and maintenance equipment has taken a...

Two of the region's startup firms get chance to pitch at MIT forum.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil A software maker and a producer of forensic tests are two start-up companies in the Baltimore-Washington area that hope to capture the attention of the technology community. Baltimore-based Agentsmith, which...

Commentary: Difficult struggle to eradicate Shaken Baby Syndrome.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Robert S. Coplan, M.D., M.P.H. According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), shaking babies typically out of frustration over an extended crying jag is a serious form of child abuse. It often involves children only...

Venture financing falls in region.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe Despite a strengthening economy, venture capital financing in the Washington metropolitan area dipped 2.8 percent to $212 million during the first three months of 2004, according to a quarterly survey...

MD Legal Briefs May 5, 2004.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports No sanctuary Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary Inc., of Silver Spring, and its president, Dianne D. Pearce, yesterday was ordered by the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to immediately cease and desist from...

Eisner Communications helps chart US Airways' low-cost flights.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler Baltimore-based Eisner Communications is trying to help US Airways Inc. defend its turf and return to profitability as a low-cost competing airline moves into the Philadelphia market. In an effort to counter...

Judge enjoins liquor-pricing regulations.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks Two of Maryland's liquor-pricing regulations are unenforceable, a federal judge in Baltimore has held. The decision invalidates the post-and-hold liquor pricing system, which requires wholesalers to lock in their...

Anne Arundel County exec. opens tax, fee issues.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos Anne Arundel County's outlook for fiscal 2005 is not as bad as expected, but fundamental fiscal problems remain, County Executive Janet S. Owens said yesterday in her annual budget address. Owens proposed a...

HUD fights housing ruling.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley In the latest twist in Baltimore's long-running public housing case, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has petitioned the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming it should not have to meet the...

Judge's question gives grounds for new murder trial.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks A man convicted of killing his estranged wife's boyfriend will receive a new trial, owing to improper questioning by the judge at his first trial. The Court of Special Appeals yesterday reversed James Johnson's...

Community College of Baltimore to offer course on identity theft.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Continuing Education and Economic Development division of the Community College of Baltimore County will offer a two-session course on preventing identity theft on May 11 and May 18 on campus at 800 South...

Baltimore to introduce new initiative.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports David Costello, director of the Mayor's Office of Community Investment, tomorrow will introduce Creative Baltimore, Mayor Martin O'Malley's initiative to position Baltimore as a diverse and creative city, at...

Ciena Corp. completes acquisition of Catena Networks.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Ciena Corp., of Linthicum, a fiber optic telecommunications equipment manufacturer, completed its previously announced acquisition of Catena Networks Inc. and Internet Photonics Inc., in separate, all-stock...

Thomson Prometric signs contract with National Pharmaceutical Assn.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Thomson Prometric, of Baltimore, which provides educational testing and assessment services, and the National Pharmaceutical Association, which represents approximately 11,000 community pharmacies in the U.K.,...

NextLinx Corp. unveils expanded international trade product.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports NextLinx Corp., of Rockville, which sells computer software that helps companies manage international shipments of goods, unveiled an expanded international trade product, Global Knowledge, coinciding with...

MobilePro to acquire Ticon.net.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports MobilePro Corp., of Bethesda, a provider of wireless technology and broadband Internet services, signed a letter of intent to acquire Ticon.net, a Janesville, Wis.-based Internet services provider. The deal...

Travel Advantage Network unveils new software mgmt. system.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports The Travel Advantage Network, of Millersville, a company that specializes in prepaid wholesale vacations, unveiled a new Web-based software management system that offers real-time data sharing from anywhere...

First Advantage Corp. acquires Realeum Inc.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports First Advantage Corp., of St. Petersburg, Fla., a global risk management services provider, announced its acquisition of Realeum Inc., a Web-based property management software firm based in Rockville. Terms...

4GL School Solutions awarded contract with Texas school district.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports 4GL School Solutions Inc., of Towson, a provider of information management services to school districts, was awarded a three-year contract by the Grand Prairie Independent School District, of Grand Prairie,...

Spirent Communications partnering with ClearSight Networks.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Spirent Communications Inc., of Rockville, an international network technology company, is partnering with San Mateo-based ClearSight Networks, a provider of network monitoring and analysis tools for...

Group 1 Software supplies Yorkshire Water with customer communications mgmt. software.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Group 1 Software, of Lanham, which manufactures customer relationship management software, supplied UK-based Yorkshire Water with its DOC1 customer communications management software to design, generate and...

TeleCommunication Systems' wireless E9-1-1 service used by Golden State Cellular.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports TeleCommunication Systems Inc., of Annapolis, a developer of wireless messaging software and data systems, furnished Golden State Cellular with wireless E9-1-1 service for the California market. Enhanced 911,...

Ace*Comm Corp. cuts loss.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Ace*Comm Corp., of Gaithersburg, a telecommunications and Internet service company, reported a fiscal third quarter net loss of $1.4 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $4.8 million, for the...

Judge nixes FTC's attempt to regulate lawyers.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley The Federal Trade Commission has no authority to regulate the conduct of lawyers, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., concluded in a case that once had the legal community fearing for the sanctity of the...

Commentary: MoneyWi$e - Outlook gloomy? Seek dividends.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Julius Westheimer Where should we put out money at a time like this? Money magazine says, "With bond yields at record lows, money market accounts paying next to nothing, and the stock market looking highly uncertain, one answer is:...

Husband's taped message admissible.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Barbara Grzincic A husband's good-bye to his estranged wife, left on an answering machine in the home she shared with her mother and daughter, was not a "confidential spousal communication" that should have been excluded from...

Edgewood Village Center already 75% leased.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Chet Dembeck Although construction on the new Edgewater Village Center in Anne Arundel County won't begin until next month, 75 percent of its space has already been leased. The project's Owings Mills-based developer, Erwin L....

Liquefied natural gas facility to have $91.2M economic impact.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil The expansion of the Cove Point liquefied natural gas facility in Calvert County would have a net $91.2 million economic impact on Southern Maryland, according to a new feasibility study. The study, conducted by...

MD Legal Briefs May 5, 2004.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Murderer sentenced George R. Foster, 30, of Baltimore, on Monday was sentenced to life in prison by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kaye Allison. Foster was convicted on April 7 by a jury of...

Widow shares in gains during administration period.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Ann Parks A widow who elected a statutory share of her husband's multimillion-dollar estate is entitled to claim half of its value at the time of distribution not at the time of her husband's death, the Court of Special Appeals...

Verizon planning to build on fast DSL growth.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos Following the record growth of new DSL subscribers in the first quarter, Verizon yesterday announced initiatives to keep growing its broadband market share. In the first quarter alone, the company added 345,000...

Vocus Inc. furnishes Carvel Corp. with PR software.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Vocus Inc., of Lanham, which makes Web-based software for the corporate communications and public relations markets, furnished Carvel Corp., of Atlanta, the nation's first retail ice cream franchise, with...

Acclaim Systems establishes office in Lanham.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Acclaim Systems Inc., a Philadelphia-based software company offering information technology services for custom application development and systems integration, has established an office in Lanham to serve...

Ernst & Young announces finalists for Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP announced the 28 finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 Awards in Maryland. They were selected from 50 nominations by an independent panel...

International medical publishing co. forms arrangement with American Assn. for Medical Transcription.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Lippincott Williams & Williams, of Baltimore, an international medical publishing company, formed a publishing arrangement with the American Association for Medical Transcription, a national organization...

Group to launch public awareness campaign for Baltimore Urban Debate League.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports More than 250 public officials and business and community leaders are expected to gather tomorrow at Baltimore's Center Stage to launch a public awareness and fundraising campaign for the Baltimore Urban...

Municipal Mortgage & Equity profit down.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, known as MuniMae, of Baltimore, which originates, invests in and services tax-exempt housing bonds, reported first-quarter net income allocated to common shares of $1.2...

Telkonet Inc. signs co-marketing agreement with Hughes Network Systems.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Telkonet Inc., of Annapolis, which develops products for high-speed Internet access over electrical power lines, signed a co-marketing agreement with Hughes Network Systems Inc., of Germantown, an...

Lockheed Martin Corp. awarded four delivery orders by NASA.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Lockheed Martin Corp., of Bethesda, was awarded four delivery orders by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration worth approximately $108.8 million under its Outsourcing Desktop Initiative. Desktop,...

Annapolis Bancorp reports net income of $413K.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Annapolis Bancorp Inc., parent company of BankAnnapolis, reported first-quarter net income of $413,000, or 13 cents per diluted share, a 27.5 percent increase over net income of $324,000, or 11 cents per...

Essex Corp. reports net income of $312K.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Essex Corp., of Columbia, an optical and communications engineering company, reported first-quarter net income of $312,000, or 2 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $14.2 million, compared to a net loss of...

Jolivet decides not to challenge minority consultant bid.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Daily Record Staff Business Writer The president of a national minority group has decided against challenging the validity of a Baltimore City agreement. Arnold Jolivet, president of the American Minority Contractors and...

Sight of shotgun was frightening enough to sustain robbery conviction.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Peter Geier A College Park man who pulled a shotgun out of his coat before driving off in another man's idling automobile showed a sufficient "intent to frighten" the car owner to sustain a robbery conviction, the Court of Special...

Hospital stays to cost more.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Chet Dembeck Staying in a Maryland hospital could soon cost nearly 5 percent more. Hospitals in the state will be allowed to raise their inpatient rates by 4.78 percent and their outpatient rates by 3.78 percent beginning July...

Court of Special Appeals denies cattle rustler's claim.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Barbara Grzincic A cattle rustler's claim that he was improperly herded between two states' criminal justice systems was essentially hogwash, the Court of Special Appeals held yesterday. Robert C. Painter Jr. was charged with...

Judge orders Carnegie International chairman to pay SEC $1.2M.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Lawrence Hurley The chairman of Laurel-based telecommunications firm Carnegie International Corp. has been ordered to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission more than $1 million after failing to respond to allegations that he...

Camden Crossing development gets new loan.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Andrea Cecil A refinanced loan for a $30 million residential community in Southwest Baltimore means homes will be built faster over a shorter period of time. Baltimore's Board of Estimates yesterday approved an agreement for a...

Baltimore officials turn to 'creative class' for economic development.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Kara Kridler Baltimore officials are turning to the "creative class" to help spur more economic development. Attracting the creative class, which includes artists, writers, scientists, students, young professionals and...

Anne Arundel County officials hope new biz plan will attract investment, developers.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Sofia Kosmetatos Anne Arundel County officials are counting on a new business plan for Odenton, one of two designated growth areas in the county, to attract developers and investment to the area whose development has been stalled...

MD Higher Education Commission reports surge in financial aid applications.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Staff and Wire Reports Following a decision by Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to provide more money for need-based financial aid, the Maryland Higher Education Commission reported a surge in applications, and said it is assisting...