Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) articles from November 2008

Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) archives from November 2008

Place to Be.
November 1, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Ongoing K’NEX: Building Thrill Rides, a hands-on look at the science, math and technology behind exciting amusement park rides, will be on display at the Maryland Science Center until Jan. 4, 2009. The...

Commentary: Your Money: Make estate and financial planning a first step after divorce.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Gary S. Williams After a marriage breaks up, about the last thing most people want to do is sit down with one more attorney. But no matter how old you are or whether you have kids, it's important to consult both financial and...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff CSA revives suit brought by burn victim A lawsuit brought by a tenant against his landlords for injuries he sustained when an arsonist set the apartment building on fire has been revived by the Court of...

'Other' questions on Maryland ballot: Statewide, early voting to be decided.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen Did you know? There are referendum questions on state and local ballots Tuesday that do not concern the legalization of slot machines in Maryland. While the debate over whether to allow 15,000 slot machines around...

Law Digest.
November 3, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record U.S. District Court, Maryland Civil Procedure: Scope of discovery: Where the record as to discovery dispute between parties in FLSA action lacked facts sufficient to enable the court to determine potential FRCP...

Legal Opinions - U.S. District Court, Maryland: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Civil Procedure Scope of discovery BOTTOM LINE: Where the record as to discovery dispute between parties in FLSA action lacked facts sufficient to enable the court to determine potential FRCP 26(b)(2)(C)...

Legal Opinions - Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record THIS IS A CONFIDENTIAL DECISION AND THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES SHALL NOT BE REVEALED Special Education Private Placement Student v. Montgomery County Public Schools OAH No.: MSDE-MONT-OT-08-07417 Opinion...

Week in Review - Legal Edition.
November 3, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record CSA reverses order for new murder trial A lawyer was not ineffective for failing to question a juror in a murder trial about whether she had seen the defendant in shackles, the Court of Special Appeals has...

Commentary: Judge on the Jury: Watching TV in court -- How to improve the programming for jurors.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Judge Dennis M. Sweeney Not long ago, I tried a jury trial in a personal injury case where each side had two medical experts. By agreement, both sides had, prior to trial, taken the sworn testimony of the experts, which they...

Pro bono: Choosing the right weapon to save a Baltimore community.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber Bryan Dunn walks out of his house in Baltimore's Seton Hill neighborhood in the morning and sees drug vial tops on the sidewalk. There are usually broken vials across the street in St. Mary's Park. When he...

During football season, Maryland Atty. General Gansler is commentator on Redskins pre-game show.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has what he calls a dream job -- and it's not necessarily the one to which he was elected. The lifelong Washington Redskins fan, in his first term as the state's chief prosecutor,...

Baltimore County Bar Association's 'Chamber Chats' provide judicial perspective.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs David Luby clerked for Judge Robert N. Dugan in Baltimore County Circuit Court for 18 months, so he did not necessarily learn anything new about the court's workings over lunch last week with Judge Lawrence R. Daniels....

For U of Maryland competitors, mock trial is the real deal.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs Dana Backlund cried on the witness stand Thursday during the opening round of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's Tournament of Champions. Backlund, a second-year student at the University of Maryland...

What slowdown? Record business at Baltimore-area thrift shops.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer Which Louis Vuitton purse would you choose -- one for $800 from the designer's shop or one from Goodwill for $85? If you chose the latter, you're in a growing crowd. You just can't say no to that deal, said Amy...

Lawyers spar over Baltimore's West Side Superblock.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash Attorneys for a Peter G. Angelos building partnership and the City of Baltimore battled before the Court of Appeals over whether the city can legally proceed with its proposed Superblock redevelopment project on...

Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore will seek out other victims of priest.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber The Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore says it did not know until last week that a priest who once served at a Maryland church was found to have molested two of his own children. Archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine...

Baltimore jury awards railroad worker $1.2M for knee injury.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney CSX Transportation Inc. must pay a former yard conductor almost $1.2 million for a career-ending knee injury he suffered while trying to throw a switch at the Locust Point yard three years ago, a jury decided. ...

27 Marylanders released early due to retroactive amendment to federal sentencing guidelines.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney Stanley A. Ray worked at Wal-Mart until the day in August 1999 he reported for his 111/4-year federal prison term for dealing crack cocaine. At this time last year, he thought his return to his native...

Disabilty rights groups say Maryland's disenfranchisement of wards goes too far.
November 4, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney Vandre Johnson wanted to vote -- but there was a problem. Johnson, 35, had suffered a brain injury in a 1991 car accident and was declared a ward of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services in 2004. ...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 4, 2008.
November 4, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Marriott CEO: Outlook weak Marriott International Inc. Chief Executive Officer J.W. Marriott said that during the past few weeks, the Bethesda-based hotel company's outlook has further weakened for late...

FTC approves merger of Maryland-based Constellation Energy and MidAmerican; PSC begins its review.
November 4, 2008... Byline: Danielle Ulman Constellation Energy and MidAmerican moved one step closer to completing their merger Monday, with the Federal Trade Commission's announcement that the planned merger does not violate antitrust laws. We are...

U of Maryland School of Law trial team falls to Duquesne.
November 4, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs The University of Maryland School of Law's national trial team made it to the semifinals of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy's Tournament of Champions, but fell Saturday to the eventual winners from the...

New format give Baltimore fourth sports talk radio station.
November 4, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer In a shuffling of radio personalities that includes the end of the Kirk & Mark Show and the return of former WMAR sports director Scott Garceau to the airwaves, CBS-affiliate WJZ-FM 105.7 has become Baltimore's fourth...

Maryland Court of Appeals hears arguments on police interrogation case.
November 4, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash The Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday on whether the seemingly benign, generally rhetorical question What's up? becomes unlawful interrogation when said by a police officer to a handcuffed suspect just outside a...

Baltimore-area companies say they'll be flexible with voting employees.
November 4, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen Maryland voters are expected to flock to the polls on Tuesday, and the widespread participation, coupled with the potential for voting booth delays, could make the workday a little different than business as usual. ...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 5, 2008.
November 5, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff USEC sees net income drop USEC Inc., of Bethesda, a global energy company that supplies enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants, reported third-quarter net income of $8.4 million, or 6...

Columbia-based Osiris Therapeutics in $1.38B deal with Genzyme.
November 5, 2008... Byline: Danielle Ulman A Maryland biotechnology firm took a step toward commercializing its drugs Tuesday, with a deal worth up to $1.38 billion to sell and develop two adult stem cell drugs. Columbia-based Osiris Therapeutics Inc., a...

Available: 'WHFS,' call letters with a history in Md.
November 5, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer There's an apple waiting to be plucked in the Baltimore radio marketplace. When CBS Radio changed the call letters of its 105.7 FM station Monday, it was the second time in less than three years that the call...

Long lines, few problems as Election Protection workers field calls for Baltimore area.
November 5, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs High voter interest, long lines and isolated incidents marked Tuesday's election in the Baltimore region, but on the whole, lawyers and volunteers manning Election Protection command centers said things were running...

Mechanical problems cause voting delays in Suburban Maryland.
November 5, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash Maryland voters in suburban Washington endured long delays -- due mostly to mechanical malfunctions -- to participate in an Election Day that saw the largest turnout in state history. In Prince George's County,...

Maryland firms take stock of potential effect of Obama presidency.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Danielle Ullman One day after Barack Obama's historic victory, Maryland businesses took stock of how the policies the president-elect promised during his campaign could affect them during these tough economic times. While it is...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 6, 2008.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Bankrupt firm ends Nats deal Mattress Discounters Corp., of Upper Marlboro, a 140-store bedding retailer, is no longer a sponsor of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club LLC. The sponsorship agreement was...

After referendum victory in Maryland, real work for slot machines begins.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer Now the real work begins. After five years of debate in the General Assembly, the state's horse racing industry was thrown a lifeline by voters when they approved a referendum Tuesday to allow slot machines in...

Md.'s Weinberg Foundation puts hold on new requests, wants to better target resources.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc. will not begin reviewing new grant requests until next April, a move that officials said is intended to help the $2 billion organization better target resources during an...

Maryland lawmakers decry vehicular manslaughter ruling.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash The Court of Special Appeals has overturned the vehicular-manslaughter conviction of a gravel-truck driver, holding he was not operating a vehicle when he failed to warn motorists near Churchville that he had spilled...

Md. court releases man found NCR, says expert testimony on danger not an absolute requirement.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney A mentally ill Baltimore man who was committed to the state health department was not required to present expert testimony to prove his fitness for release at trial, the Court of Appeals held yesterday, reversing a...

Same-sex exes resume battle over visitation, rights of non-parents back in Md. court.
November 6, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber The visitation case that prompted a groundbreaking top-court ruling on parents' rights is back in trial court this week. Judge Michael J. Finifter began hearing testimony Wednesday about whether Margaret K. should...

Ruling by Md.'s highest court could re-open former Governor Ehrlich firing probe.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Barbara Grzincic The General Assembly's probe into former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s employment practices may not be over just yet. The state's highest court on Thursday said two figures interviewed in the investigation,...

As BRAC brings more jobs to Maryland, water distribution - not supply - is the big issue.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen The state is moving to help local governments around Aberdeen Proving Ground negotiate access to water for an area that is expected to grow substantially as it absorbs new military jobs. Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown,...

State was too strict on home-care benefits, rules Md. Court of Appeals.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Barbara Grzincic Maryland improperly restricted Medicaid benefits for home-based services to people who need constant care from a licensed health-care provider, the Court of Appeals held. Under the Older Adults Waiver Program,...

Johns Hopkins, surgeon settle gender-bias litigation.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Ben Mook A bitter lawsuit filed earlier this year by a former professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine against the school and two of her supervisors, claiming a pattern of gender-based harassment, has been settled under...

Commentary: Here are 10 battle-tested rules for communicating well in hard times.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Henry Fawell The line of organizations delivering bad news these days is a long one. And with the financial market challenges causing a ripple effect across the broader economy, that line may be long here in Baltimore for some...

Letters to the Editor.(Letter to the editor)
November 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Take time on Veterans Day to pay your respects On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, a grateful nation will honor and recognize the 23.4 million living veterans and the generations before them who fought to protect freedom...

Marylanders on the Move: November 7, 2008.
November 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record ACCOUNTING Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates P.A. announced that Scott Handwerger rejoined the firm as a tax manager. Also, Derek Briner joined the firm's audit and accounting department as a semi-senior...

Week in Review.
November 7, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record WHFS story (Nov. 5) The call letters ‘WHFS,’ dropped by CBS Radio’s 105.7 FM station this week, are available to anyone with a radio station east of the Mississippi River who applies to the...

Commentary: What's wrong here -- MTA ridership is up but service heads down.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Joe Nathanson Riding on the light rail one morning last week from Mount Washington to Penn Station, I was struck by two things: The car I was riding in was full and my fellow riders consisted predominantly of young people in their...

Commentary: Petrucci Contracting -- building success one brick at a time.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Neil R.G. Young Imagine a table set for seven, but eight need to eat. The speaker is Domenic Petrucci, president of Domenic Petrucci Contracting, and he's explaining why he came to America. My mother couldn't afford to feed...

Commentary: Netflix has changed how we get and watch movies.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Larry Fiorino Netflix has transformed the way Americans rent and watch movies. The days of browsing the video store on a Friday night or scrambling to rent the latest new release have become faded memories for many. Netflix's...

Minneapolis-based Dolan Media shares fall on foreclosure uncertainty.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Ben Mook Minneapolis-based Dolan Media Co., parent of The Daily Record, said Thursday that a spate of government programs in place or being proposed to slow the foreclosure process has led the company to temporarily suspend its...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 7, 2008.
November 7, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff and Wire Reports FTI's stock plunges Shares of FTI Consulting Inc., of Baltimore and West Palm Beach, Fla., a national provider of business consulting and technology services, plummeted nearly 26 percent...

Commentary: Retirement concerns generally weigh heavy for women.
November 8, 2008... Byline: Dena S. Frenkel American women are not typically looking forward to retirement. Instead of envisioning the opportunity to step back from work and spend more time with the grandkids or pursue hobbies, a large number of older women...

Place to Be.
November 8, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Ongoing K’NEX: Building Thrill Rides, a hands-on look at the science, math and technology behind exciting amusement park rides, will be on display at the Maryland Science Center until Jan. 4, 2009. The...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Judiciary launches domestic violence database A new statewide civil domestic violence database has been launched by the Maryland judiciary in an effort to help police and the courts better enforce...

Maryland's new health insurance program not filling up as expected.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen The state's new health insurance subsidy program for small businesses has not yet filled to capacity, despite early predictions from policymakers that the program would quickly run out of money. The state's $15...

Maryland Public Service Commission tells utilities to find more power.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Danielle Ulman Maryland regulators have ordered the state's utilities to come up with new means of generating electricity to avoid the power shortfalls predicted to hit in about three years. The Public Service Commission warned...

Down economy leaves Maryland ski resorts on thin ice.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer A cold climate and sharp declines might not just apply to the ski conditions at resorts this winter. But while some analysts are forecasting a down season for destination resorts, ski resorts in the Maryland region...

Maryland Lawyers on the Move: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Franklin M. Lee Esq. of Tydings & Rosenberg LLP has been selected to receive the distinguished 2008 Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise's Congressman Parren J. Mitchell Vanguard (PJM) for Justice Award. The Top...

Legal Opinions - Maryland Court of Appeals: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Criminal Procedure Waiver of jury trial BOTTOM LINE: Circuit court properly found that criminal defendant's waiver of jury trial rights was knowing, as required by Md. Rule 4-246(b), where record...

Legal Opinions - U.S. District Court, Maryland: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Contracts Fraudulent inducement BOTTOM LINE: District court granted Mortgagor's motion to dismiss in action by Mortgagees claiming fraudulent inducement where Mortgagees could not show that they...

Legal Opinions - Maryland Court of Special Appeals: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Criminal Law Vehicular manslaughter BOTTOM LINE: Circuit court erred in finding truck driver guilty of vehicular manslaughter for failure to take remedial measures or warn motorists of gravel spill, since...

Legal Opinions - Court of Special Appeals - Part 2.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Criminal Procedure Validity of two-judge majority BOTTOM LINE: Opinion filed after the death of one member of three-judge appellate panel was neither invalid nor a nullity where every judge on the argument...

Law Digest.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS Criminal Procedure, Waiver of jury trial: Circuit court properly found that criminal defendant’s waiver of jury trial rights was “knowing,” as required by Md. Rule...

Commentary: Of Service: Long-term care: It's not just for the elderly.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Joe Surkiewicz Think of long-term care and the image that usually pops up is elderly folks in rocking chairs whiling away the time in a nursing home. That's not the whole picture. People can have a heart attack or stroke at...

Week in Review - Legal Edition.
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record State was too strict on home-care benefits Maryland improperly restricted Medicaid benefits for home-based services to people who need constant care from a licensed health-care provider, the Court of Appeals...

Unbillable hours: Baltimore atty. serves as president of Recycled Love animal rescue organization.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs Paul De Santis rescued a pit bull while studying for the bar in 2001. He and Gracie quickly became inseparable. It was a guy and his dog, said De Santis, a bachelor at the time. We did everything together. De...

Commentary: Business method patents after U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit ruling in Bilski.
November 10, 2008... Byline: William S. Galkin, Esq. On Oct. 30, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its much-anticipated decision in In re Bilski, No. 2007-1130, attempting to clarify the standards applicable in determining...

After presidential election, U.S Atty. Rod J. Rosenstein's not yet leaving post.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein isn't going anywhere -- yet. A new president usually appoints his own top federal prosecutors, especially when the departing president is of a different party, and Rosenstein said...

Maryland Court of Special Appeals: Lawyer fraudulently transferred money.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs A Reisterstown lawyer who was accused of sexually abusing a teenager fraudulently conveyed money to avoid paying damages to the girl and her family, the Court of Special Appeals held. The decision was the latest in...

Letter to the Editor.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record New guidelines were a first step; now, fund re-entry programs It is encouraging to witness the hard work and dedication of our judges, federal public defenders and U.S. attorney’s office to carry out...

Western Maryland couple files suit against Japanese sport vehicle company and American affiliates.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney A Western Maryland man and his wife have filed a federal lawsuit against a major Japanese sport vehicle company and its American affiliates, alleging the defective design of his utility terrain vehicle caused it to...

Maryland's two federal courthouses are running out of space, users say -- but relief is a long way off.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Caryn Tamber In a nod to Maryland's maritime history, the U.S. District Courthouse in Baltimore was built with nautical flourishes. The idea, Clerk of Court Felicia C. Cannon said, was to remind people of being in the belly of...

Jury awards Baltimore antique dealer $58K for theft.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Brendan Kearney It all began in 2004 when Michael Slattery, an Irish Traveller from the town of Rathkeale in County Limerick, limped into Elmer Mack's little shop on Baltimore's Antique Row and an authentic 18th century Georgian...

Maryland Court of Appeals revives missed diagnosis lawsuit.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash The Court of Appeals has revived a wrongful-death lawsuit in which the surviving husband alleges that medical malpractice in treating his cancer-stricken wife decreased her chance of survival by between 20 percent and 30...

What's ahead for the 4th Circuit in an Obama presidency?
November 10, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash With President-elect Barack Obama poised to take office Jan. 20 -- and four vacancies on the 15-member 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- court watchers say they see the possibility for a seismic shift on the...

Supreme Court weighs domestic abusers' gun rights.
November 12, 2008... Byline: Kimberly Atkins The Supreme Court heard argument Monday in a case that could restore gun-ownership rights to some domestic abusers. Under an amendment to the Federal Gun Control Act, people who have been convicted of a...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 12, 2008.
November 12, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Md. psychiatrists disciplined The Maryland Board of Physicians on Tuesday announced disciplinary actions against two Maryland-based psychiatrists for failing to meet basic standards of psychiatric care....

Maryland's $15.5B health care proposal gets cool reception from businesses, politicians.
November 12, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen Health care advocates are set Wednesday to unveil a $15.5 billion proposal to offer medical coverage to everyone in Maryland, but their proposal -- which relies heavily on a new business tax -- faces a difficult path...

Ronald J. Daniels named president of Johns Hopkins University.
November 12, 2008... Byline: Danielle Ulman Ronald J. Daniels' family will trade in cheese whiz for Old Bay seasoning this March when he becomes president of the Johns Hopkins University. The kids are willing to swap cheese steaks for crab cakes, Daniels...

Federal judge affirms Adventist win in Prince George's land use case.
November 12, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash A federal judge has largely cleared the way for a group of Seventh Day Adventists to build a church in West Laurel after concluding that Prince George's County intentionally discriminated against the religious sect by...

With economy souring, Md. tourism industry bracing for a rough year.(Conference notes)
November 13, 2008... Byline: Liz Farmer With American consumer confidence at historic lows and the global economy beginning to stall, the Maryland tourism industry is braced for a rough year -- but officials and analysts still say the state's long-term future...

The Orioles: The Baltimore brand.
November 13, 2008... Byline: Andy Rosen The Orioles could help cement fan loyalty and strengthen their brand with the addition of Baltimore to their away jerseys, but some customers are still waiting for a big off-season acquisition before they get their hopes...

Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment favors end to execution.
November 13, 2008... Byline: Steve Lash In a preliminary tally, the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment has voted 13-7, with three abstentions, to recommend abolishing the death penalty. While the vote by a show of hands was preliminary, Chairman...

The Daily Record News Briefs: November 13, 2008.
November 13, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Funding dilemma at United Way The United Way of Central Maryland said its 2008 fundraising campaign is running at least 5 percent behind last year's due to the economic meltdown, and that it expects to see at...

Emotions run high at rapist's sentencing in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
November 13, 2008... Byline: Danny Jacobs The six women walked into the Towson courtroom Wednesday clutching tissues and pamphlets titled Cold Cases: Time May Not Heal All Wounds. One by one, they spoke through tears about their decades of physical and...